Letter to the Editor: Help Keep The Lights On
I thought you would be interested in an update about the ongoing saga of the Christmas tree lights on King Street. They were all turned off April 15 and the short-run effort to keep them on through this spring did not work.
Tea Party Ticket
Republican convention selects conservative slate of candidates for November.
Perhaps the biggest sign that the Tea Party has taken control of the Republican Party of Virginia was the yellow Gadsden flag emblem that appeared on placards distributed by supporters of Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, who was one of seven candidates vying to be the nominee for lieutenant governor last weekend at a raucous convention in Richmond. Davis, who represented Fairfax County for a decade in the General Assembly, has a reputation as being a moderate.
Column: Commission Praises Foundation
The Ronald M. Bradley Foundation recently received an “Excellence in Aging Award for an Organization” for its commitment to the City of Alexandria’s holiday Meals-on-Wheels program.
Alexandria Bulletin Board
Information on events going on in Arlington.
Column: Observing Memorial Day
Public invited to May 27 ceremony at Alexandria National Cemetery.
Memorial Day is about remembering those who died for our values to make our way of American life possible. This honoring of the memories of the fallen and the values for which they died is not limited to one day.
Military Notes
Information on Alexandria natives in the military.
Calendar
Ongoing Summer Classes. Art at the Center, 2804 Sherwood Hall Lane. Children ages 6-10 can participate. Register at www.artatthecenter.org or 703-201-1250. Art Exhibit. Through Sunday, May 26, Thursday, Friday and Sunday noon-4 p.m.; Saturday 1-4 p.m. at The Athenaeum, 201 Prince St. See works by Mary Margaret Pipkin. Free. Visit www.mmpipkin.com.
Centreville, Westfield Garner Cappies Nods
‘Cabaret’ and ‘Flowers for Algernon’ are honored.
When the winners are announced during the 14th annual Cappies Gala, June 9, at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., students from Centreville and Westfield high schools will be there, eager for the results. That’s because both schools were nominated for awards for their Cappies shows. Centreville received nominations for its high-spirited musical, “Cabaret,” and Westfield was recognized for its touching play, “Flowers for Algernon.”
Remembering a Promise To Remember
Alexandria war memorial is decaying.
The monument in front of Alexandria's railroad station is a pledge that residents who die in wartime service never will be forgotten. How, then, could the monument itself be so forgotten? On Monday, Nov. 11, 1940, a crowd of 3,000 gathered for the dedication. Speakers, whose words were not recorded, undoubtedly said the sacrifices of the dead would be remembered forever. But time has affected the stones representing those promises. Decay has set in. Joints are opening. Mortar and caulking have fallen aside, preparing the way for further damage. Those who participated in the long-ago ceremonies would be taken aback at what is visible today.
Volunteers To Place 5,000 Flags
On Saturday May 25, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 609, American Legion Post 1775 along with other veterans and volunteers will place more than 5,000 American flags at the graves at Alexandria National Cemetery, 1450 Wilkes St., Alexandria. It is the oldest veterans cemetery in the U.S., established in 1862.
A Joyous Occasion
To the Editor: Artists, their families and friends, and members of the community who attended the opening reception of “Art Uniting People” at the Lee Center not only got to see some powerful, moving, sad, jarring and funny works of art including photography, paintings, sketches and sculpture, they also got a chance to learn what it takes to be happy with Liberian-born storyteller Vera Oye' Yaa-Anna who told her tale of the king of the historic city of Timbuktu who was always unhappy no matter what his loyal subjects and servants tried to do. With the help of dancers Diane Freeman and Thomas Lee and drummers Yerone Sanders and Joseph Ngwa, the audience was soon clapping, dancing in their seats, down the aisles and on stage and chanting “I am Happy.” A few tried drumming including an intrigued four-year-old.
‘Lights Out’ District?
To the Editor: Keeping the streetlights on in Alexandria starts with city hall’s new Call-Click-Connect system, where like Dorothy going to Oz, you click three times and land in a place that asks you to “call the power company.” The city stays out of the loop and in the happy zone. You’re on your own road to discovery, dude. Arriving to the Historic District by Metro, you may begin your journey to the water by traversing the western end of King Street’s “lights out” district, where night-shuttered businesses and few restaurants create a picture of gothic gloom. It is here, like Pepper and Martin, whose shop is fronted by an unlit streetlamp, you might feel the need to squint.
Help Keep The Lights On
To the Editor: I thought you would be interested in an update about the ongoing saga of the Christmas tree lights on King Street. They were all turned off April 15 and the short-run effort to keep them on through this spring did not work. Now The trees have been trimmed on King Street. It was a long overdue procedure to maintain the tree canopy over the city. As far as we know now the budget has been created and the lights will not be on again until Thanksgiving this year.
Educational Crisis
To the Editor: Reporter Michael Lee Pope’s two articles, “Historic Tax Hikes” and “Uncertainty Haunts Groundbreaking,” are inextricably linked. In the former Mr. Pope writes: “One of the leading drivers of the need for capital spending is the public school system.” In the latter he states: “when the new $45 million Jefferson-Houston School facility opens its doors, it may not be under the control of city leaders.” Jefferson-Houston School, my family’s failing neighborhood school, becomes the responsibility of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2014.
Bookstores Abound
To the Editor: I would like to comment on two recent items in the Gazette Packet: a letter in the May 9 issue ("A City's Priorities" from Carl A. Posey), and the item in the May 16 "Business Matters" column headlined "Books Without Bookstores." I agree strongly with Mr. Posey's point that Alexandria's library system needs to receive high priority in Alexandria's budgets, but I take issue with his statement that "Alexandria is a community where no bookseller can survive." The "Books Without Bookstores" item stated that Alexandria is "bereft of a place to buy books." I disagree.
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