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Fairfax: Beauty of the American Songbook
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra presents Rodgers & Hammerstein.
Spring is arriving with its jaunty cherry blossoms and daffodils.
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Column: General Assembly Agrees on Budget
Commentary
The past week has been a busy one in the General Assembly as the House of Delegates passed the 2016-2018 biennial state budget. The Senate also passed a similar budget. During the next two weeks, differences between these two budgets, which are relatively minor, will be negotiated to form a consensus budget that will be forwarded to the governor. The new budget will take effect July 1.
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Centreville: Stone Middle Students To Visit United Kingdom
Exchange program began in 2003.
With Spring Break around the corner for Fairfax County Public Schools, 19 students from Centreville’s Ormond Stone Middle School are gearing up for the trip of a lifetime: an eight-day adventure in the United Kingdom.
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Heading to Eastern Super Regionals
FTC team 6700, the X-BOTS, a Robotics team of high-school and middle-school students from Northern Virginia, is heading to the FTC Eastern Super-Regional championships in Scranton, Pa., following a successful performance at Virginia State Championship on Feb 13 where they were awarded Inspire Award (3rd place), Won Kamen Division, were Championship finalists, and Nikhil Chintada won Dean’s List finalist award to represent Virginia at World Championships.
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Chantilly: Meet Westfield Principal Anthony Copeland
Decades of leadership prepared him for the job.
Westfield High Principal Anthony Copeland has a wealth of experience as a leader, both in schools and in the military. Before taking over the reins at Westfield in September 2015, he was an assistant principal at Lake Braddock Secondary and North Stafford High and an Army field artillery officer who served 20 years in the military.
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Burke Historical Society begins new research education series.
When Col. Blake Meyers’ (U.S. Army, ret.) mother and grandmother died, he inherited boxes of family records that no one had ever taken the time to archive, much less even go through and organize.
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Fairfax County: Commonwealth's Attorney Finds No Criminality in Paul Guida In-Custody Death
After a determination from the medical examiner that Falls Church resident Paul Guida, 68, died of natural causes while in the Sheriff’s custody at the Fairfax County Detention Center, Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh concluded there was no evidence of criminality associated with involved law enforcement or staff at the jail.
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Health Department Confirms Raccoon in Clifton Incident Had Rabies
Fairfax County Police investigated three separate incidents of wild animal bites at the end of last week, including a report of a Clifton man being awakened around 11 a.m. on March 3 by a raccoon in his home. The next day, police said the Health Department confirmed the raccoon tested positive for the rabies virus.
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Burtons allergy-friendly Grill & Bar opens at Hilltop Village Center in Alexandria
The Big 8: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. These represent the vast majority of all food allergies in the United States.
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Alexandria Man Charged with Assault after Police Barricade Incident in Franconia
Alexandria resident Sayed Robbie Javid was charged with assaulting a police officer and falsely summoning police after an incident at his home on Larkspur Drive escalated into a barricade situation.
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Boutique fitness studio WheelHouse Clifton caters to mind and body, men, women and children
Michele Achterberg is a winner. When the Clifton resident was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer in 2015 despite having no family history with it, she underwent 20 weeks of chemotherapy and won. She went through a double mastectomy in June 2015, and won.
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Springfield: Meeting the Challenge of Our Time
Greenspring resident and colleague receive U.S. Patent for process aimed at combating global warming.
Greenspring retirement community resident, 98-year-old Charlie Bliss, and his 78-year-old colleague Charley Moseley, are doing their part to suggest options for combating global warming.
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Commentary: Bills Becoming Law as Session Ends
The eighth week of the General Assembly session brought a few vetoes and heated debates as the most contentious bills of the session moved toward final passage. Eight of my bills have either been signed into law, passed by both houses or are on Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s desk awaiting signature.
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Baldassari Is Named Officer of Month
Acknowledged for his expertise, enthusiasm and professional demeanor, PFC Kevin Baldassari is the Sully District Police Station’s Officer of the Month for January. He was honored during the Feb. 10 meeting of the station’s Citizens Advisory Committee.
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Mount Vernon: National History Day
More than 160 seventh grade students from Walt Whitman Middle School shared presentations in the 13th annual National History Day on Feb. 11 and 12.
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Mount Vernon: Local Residents See Cuba Up-Close and Personal
Witnessing the resourcefulness of the “Cuban Spirit.”
Elected American officials have been making news recently on trips to Cuba, with Gov. Terry McAuliffe and District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser leading the way in January and February. And President Barack Obama will gain more attention with his two-day visit, March 21-22.
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Mount Vernon Letter: Mainstream or Extreme?
Letter to the Editor
In the Feb. 25, 2016 Gazette, my letter was published concerning Senator Surovell's opposition to a Senate Bill that if enacted into law would allow all State judges whether active or retired to carry a concealed handgun without requiring them to obtain a permit. In the State Senate, only six senators opposed the Bill.
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Mount Vernon Letter: Choose Site C for Outdoor Gym
Letter to the Editor
Gum Springs is poised to receive equipment for an outdoor exercise gym/fitness station, that is welcomed and supported by the community. The eight pieces of equipment were obtained through a grant similar to the grant the National Park Authority obtained for the outdoor exercise gym/fitness station in Anacostia Park.

