Letter: Best to Continue Moran's Reform Legacy
To the Editor
Letter: Neighborhood
Taylor Run
Friends and relatives of the late Beverly Beidler gathered for a celebration of her life at Everly-Wheatley on Saturday, April 26. The entire congregation sang “Oh Shenandoah,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Grandchildren Brad and Mariah Simonton spoke, and Mariah read a poem.
Letter: Committed, Despite State
To the Editor: My partner of 20 years and I are getting married next month in Maryland because Virginia, of course, does not allow same-sex marriage. For non-resident marriage applications, Maryland allows us to appear before a Clerk of the Circuit Court where we reside to affirm, under oath, that the information we provide on the application (names, Social Security numbers, address, etc.) is true.
Letter: How Did This Get Approved?
To the Editor: I want to apologize to the residents of Alexandria who live around the new Jefferson-Houston School currently under construction. I did nothing to help prevent the building of that school. I live in Old Town but not near the school and didn't pay much attention to the plans.
Letter: Budget Hurts Senior Citizens
To the Editor: The new city budget will hinder the people most in need and bring dismay to our city residents and the communities throughout the city.
Letter to the Editor
To the Editor: I urge my fellow Alexandrians to contribute generously to help fund the Alexandria Police Memorial honoring 18 Alexandria police officers who have given their lives in the performance of duty. The memorial will be located in a publicly accessible area in front of the new Alexandria Police Department Headquarters building on Wheeler Avenue.
Father and Son "Twogether"
As a born, bread and buttered Bostonian (Newton Centre, a suburb, to be specific), one of my enduring and genetic passions has been to live and die (figuratively speaking; this is not a cancer column) for The Boston Red Sox. My father sold concessions at Fenway Park (the stadium home of the Bosox since 1912), during the Depression when he was a little boy (not yet an adolescent even). He was nicknamed "Beezo," (his given name was Benet, although he was always called Barry) so he could gain full acceptance to a local knothole gang. Named after the wooden planks which surrounded the old Braves Field in Boston (a National League team called Boston its home as well back in the day), the kids ("gangs") would stand and peer through the knotholes in the wooden planks which otherwise blocked their view. It was a privilege and an honor for my father to be so connected to the game this way. He grew up loving baseball, and as a parent, he passed his love of the game on to me – and my brother.
Editorial: Trending in the Right Direction
Commitment to ending homelessness shows progress, but more affordable housing is needed.
On one night in late January, local jurisdictions in our area fanned out to count the number of people who were literally homeless. Fairfax County released its numbers last week; Arlington and Alexandria will do so in the near future. In Fairfax County, the commitment in 2010 to end homelessness in 10 years has resulted in significant progress, even in the wake of the great recession. The number of people literally homeless decreased by a third from 2008 to 2014, from 1,835 to 1,225 counted this year. Many non-profit organizations have partnered to prevent homelessness one family or individual at a time for those on the brink and to house chronically homeless individuals. There is so much still to be done.
Letter: Renew Commitment To City’s Seniors
To the Editor: On behalf of the board of directors of Senior Services of Alexandria (SSA), we are writing to express concern about proposed cuts to the Alexandria City budget which will have an unfair and unprecedented negative impact on the most vulnerable seniors in our community.
Letter: Musical Treasure
To the Editor: One one of the most distinguished chamber music series in the Washington, D.C. area is the least well known. The National Chamber Players, an ensemble made up of National Symphony Orchestra members and guests from the region and around the country, perform four superb concerts a year at Episcopal High School.
Letter: Sewage Overflow Requires Collaboration
To the Editor: As cited in last week’s article, “Keeping Sewage Out of River by 2035,” the sewage pipes under the streets of Old Town were laid in 1890 to remove both storm water and human waste. Today, during rainstorms, these 120-year-old pipes overflow rain-diluted sewage into the Potomac. In this day and age, that’s not OK. Solving the problem will require 21st century thinking and collaboration.
Letter: Value of Tax Money Spent?
To The Editor: I found Mary Kimm’s March 27 editorial on access to income taxes absolutely distressing. Giving our city access to another revenue stream is the political equivalent of giving drugs to an addict.
Letter: Dominant Urban Mode
To the Editor: Going by foot is the most natural, energy efficient, safe, and uncongested way to traverse an urban environment. It is overwhelmingly sociable, nonthreatening, accommodating and doesn’t require much by way of an investment to enjoy. Feet were made for walking, and people navigate even the smallest, tightest spaces best as pedestrians. And left to themselves, it is exceedingly rare to find that pedestrians are a hazard.
Commentary: Celebrating Creativity, Recovery and Mental Health
Alexandria will open its fourth annual Art Uniting People celebration and exhibition on May 7 with several firsts this year. For the first time the opening exhibition and reception will take place at The Gallery@Convergence. Convergence, a faith community that explores the intersection of art, faith and the human experience, is well known for presenting the work of local artists, musicians and dancers.
Editorial: Past Time for Later Start Times
Teenagers are sleep deprived, and sleep deprivation takes a significant toll on safety, health and learning. We’ve known this for decades. But for decades, literally, Fairfax County Public Schools (and Montgomery County, Md.) have let a combination of reactionary blabber ("buck up and get moving;" "just tell them to go to bed earlier") and organizational resistance prevent implementing a solution to this very real problem. Getting up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. to hop on a school bus at 5:45 a.m. or even as late at 6:30 a.m. to get to school by 7:20 a.m. is not healthy for teenagers. It is nearly impossible for teenagers to go to sleep before 11 p.m. or midnight. Fairfax County high school students average six hours of sleep a night on weeknights. Research shows they need nine hours of sleep. Research has also quantified the costs of sleep deprivation.