Editorial: Most Endangered?
Potomac River has made great strides, has miles to go to save the Bay.
Unless your home is served by well water, you are almost certainly among the five million people in the Washington Metropolitan area who get their drinking water from the Potomac River.
Column: “Psycho-not-so-matic” Anymore
Whatever I thought was only happening in my head – or not, or was really happening physically – or not, is the muddled description of the thoughts and emotions that this cancer survivor/cancer patient-still-receiving-treatment feels every time I make a 24/7 self assessment (which is often).
Column: All Aboard!
The buzzards are circling again! They see a struggling Phase II of the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line and are ready to swoop in to clean the bones of the project.
Herndon Has It All
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came out to vote on Tuesday, and placed their trust in me to provide solid, forward thinking leadership to the Town of Herndon for the next two years.
Editorial: Transparency, Technology and Tolls
With E-Z Pass transponder on the windshield, you should know what you're about to pay; whatever it is, it's going up.
Despite the high number of drivers in Northern Virginia who already have an E-Z Pass transponder, when the HOT-Lanes open on the Beltway, there will be pressure for many more drivers to subscribe.
Column: “I’m Fine”
Mostly. All things considered, and as a stage IV (terminal) lung cancer patient, it’s impossible – for me, to not consider all things.
Editorial: Reminders to Press Ahead for Housing
Spring discussion on hypothermia shelters could help preparations for winter.
In February, 2007, 59-year-old Robert Bruce Miller was found dead outdoors in Chantilly. Miller was homeless, known to businesses and residents in the area. He died of hypothermia, exposure to the cold.
Letter: Never Enough
Letter to the Editor
Once again the Democrat-majority Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gives the hard-pressed taxpayer one in the eye. With the nation’s public debt heading into the stratosphere, yet more money is to be taken from those that actually pay taxes (primarily homeowners) to sate the supervisors’ appetites. But wait, Supervisor Hudgins (Hunter Mill District) has come up with a novel justification.
Letter: Learning from Mistakes
Letter to the Editor
In response to Ms. Elaine Montgomery’s letter (Letters to the Editor, The Reston Connection, April 25-May 1, 2012), I make two points. One, reproductive rights are given to us by our Creator – a point of view not necessarily ascribed to by those with the existential mindset that sex is paramount and reproduction of the human species secondary. It is disingenuous on the part of Ms. Fluke to include recreational sex as a part of reproduction rights. I believe we are learning that reproduction is critical to maintaining a viable democracy – something our offspring may face by 2050.
Column: Higher Education Funding Squeeze
A favorite target for budget cutters in Virginia and other states during the economic recession has been higher education. While public institutions of higher education rely on state funding, there are other sources of funds available to them, the most obvious being tuition and fees.
Column: News That’s Fit To Print
As our Publisher and fellow cancer survivor, Mary Kimm, e-mailed back to me last week: “Who knew ‘stable’ could be so exciting?”
Column: Really?
Having recently upgraded my cell phone, I have finally, due to its larger keys and simplified data-entry process, learned how to enter “contacts” and their phone numbers as well as select some of these key contacts for speed-dialing.
Column: Spending Plan Approved
The General Assembly passed a spending plan for FY2012-2014 last week in a session that had much more drama than most meetings of the state’s legislature. One Democratic Senator changed his vote after the budget had failed to pass in order that the constitutionally required majority could be reached; a Republican Senator got a State Police escort back to the Capitol from visiting his wife in the hospital in order that he could vote. By a one vote margin the $85 billion spending plan for the next biennium was approved.
Column: Finally - a Budget!
It started in January, 2012 when the Virginia General Assembly convened for the 2012 Session. The Democrats, unhappy over being turned down in their bid for power-sharing in committee assignments commenced a guerilla action – putting partisan politics ahead of the needs of Virginians. The first budget was DOA. The next was a refusal to negotiate. Then, it was healthcare and education. Finally, it devolved to a $300M earmark for funding Rail-to-Dulles Phase II.
Letter: Supporting Merkel for Mayor
Letter to the Editor
I am proud to support Lisa Merkel for Mayor of Herndon. Since Vice Mayor Merkel took office in 2010, she has succeeded in re-focusing the town away from the divisive issues of immigration and day labor, and put her energies where they needed to be: land use, economic development and budget.