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City of Fairfax Main Street Band Welcomes WWII Vets
Honor Flight Tours help veterans around the country visit memorials.
Jenny Ebert was born in Belgium in 1930, and experienced the German army invading her homeland as a teenager.
New Principal Starts at West Springfield
Michael Mukai brings “champion” philosophy from Robinson.
Earlier this summer, West Springfield High School needed a principal... and a head custodian. Michael Mukai, who started on the first day of school as permanent relief for interim Principal Becky Brandt, said the two positions are more similar than different.

Fear Follows ICE Enforcement
Men said to be detained after leaving Mount Vernon shelter.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Mount Vernon.

New Analysis of Accotink Creek Underway
Department of Environmental Quality resumes project after EPA lawsuit.
When Meghan Walker paddles a canoe upstream from Lake Accotink looking for garbage, not much surprises her anymore. “The sky’s the limit for odd trash,” she said. “A big find last time was a wheel and tire -- still attached. That’s impressive.”
Lake Braddock and Robinson Update Security
According to school releases, Lake Braddock and Robinson Secondary Schools have each updated security features on their campuses.

Leaders Gather in Opposition to Trump Immigration Policies
Condemning ICE activity at Rising Hope Church in search of criminals in the country illegally.
In response to executive orders from President Donald Trump that expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ criteria for detaining and deporting people in the United States illegally, elected officials are speaking out against the action, as well as condemning recent activity by ICE officials to round up known immigrant criminals.

Fort Hunt Elementary School in Mount Vernon celebrates diverse student body.
Fort Hunt sixth grader Elizabeth Hutchison was looking forward to principal Thomas Fitzpatrick’s soda bread. With her family also representing Ireland, she planned to bring some herself, as well as some shamrock decorations, to the elementary school’s second annual Dance Around the World winter festival.

Fairfax County: Four Arrested at Natasha McKenna Protest
Racial justice group calls for Sheriff Kincaid to fire deputies.
Four demonstrators were arrested Monday morning at a protest outside the Fairfax Courthouse for the February 15 in-custody death of Natasha McKenna.

Small Business Saturday: Different Shops, Different Turnouts
The Bike Lane in Springfield and The Picket Fence in Burke experienced two versions of the national event.
Following the controversial additional shopping hours on Thanksgiving, the typical fray on Black Friday, and the online melee of Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is positioned in a highly competitive shopping storm.

A Look Inside the Transformation of Lorton Reformatory into Liberty Crest
Imagine living in a former prison cell, or kitchen, or administration building. Doing laundry where others once did time. The wait is down to about a year, when The Alexander Company out of Madison, Wis. and McLean-based Elm Street plan to deliver 165 new apartments as part of Phase I of Liberty Crest, a mixed-use redevelopment of the Lorton Reformatory.

$12 Million Suit Against Fairfax County Police
2013 shooting victim’s family seeks damages in wrongful death case.
The year-long silence surrounding the police shooting of John Geer has been broken — but not by Fairfax County Police or the U.S. Department of Justice. John Geer was shot to death by Fairfax County Police on Aug. 29, 2013.

Centreville: A Beginning, Not an End
School Board approves “Ignite” Strategic Plan, new chairman and vice chairman.
Citizen Michael Ducharme has lived with dyslexia since he was a student. His two daughters both have dyslexia. The father, representing the parents’ movement Decoding Dyslexia, spoke at the July 9 school board meeting in support of the proposed Fairfax County Public Schools Strategic Plan that specifically addresses challenges in the schools facing students with dyslexia. “We’re now faced with the fact tomorrow is today, the fierce urgency of now,” Ducharme said. “It’s time for vigorous and positive action in this plan.”

Thomas Jefferson Class of 2019: 70% Asian, 1.6% Black
Some say unbalanced admissions demographics at Northern Virginia’s top high school speaks to system-wide equity problems.
Consider: 70.2 percent Asian, 20.7 percent White, 5.1 percent Multiracial/Other, 2.4 percent Hispanic, 1.6 percent Black: This is the ethnic breakdown of the 493 students admitted to the 2019 class of the Fairfax County Public Schools magnet institution Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
Clifton: Super Tuesday 2016 Viewpoints
Who did you vote for and what are some of the most important issues to you in this election?
It’s important that populist leaders make logical choices, instead of emotional choices. We need someone who will lead our country, make sound decisions, have an actual plan.

Fairfax County: Police Release Use of Force Review
Review explained at latest Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission meeting.
Nearly a year ago, Fairfax County sought an outside opinion on its police department’s use of force. That July 2014 assignment went to the Washington, D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum.

Fairfax County Releases Statement on Shooting of Springfield Man
It’s been more than 16 months since John Geer of Springfield was shot and killed by a Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) officer. And since the Aug. 29, 2013 shooting, scant information on the incident has been provided by the FCPD or the county Board of Supervisors, such as an explanation of what transpired up to and following the shooting, and the identities of the officers involved. They’ve kept this information from the media, the public and the Geer family, citing an ongoing federal investigation into the death.

Hunters share venison chili at Lorton Community Action Center
Bob Flanagan of Fairfax Station and Tom Dalton of Springfield serve up samples of two styles of chili, just like a vendor at a grocery store. Except their chili — each man is responsible for one pot, either sweet and spicy or mild and chunky — is made with local venison. And the grocery store is actually the Lorton Community Action Center food pantry.
Fairfax County NAACP hosts 70th Freedom Fund Awards
‘Your Vote, Your Power’
J.E.B. Stuart High School seniors Anna Rowan, Cassie Marcotty, Marley Finley, Abby Conde and Lidia Amanuel were bothered by the Confederate legacy of their school. Inspired by a history class with teacher Keith Bropst on the Massive Resistance anti-segregation policy, the girls set out to change Stuart’s name, mascot and colors.

West Springfield Teacher Honored
Josh Masley, 13-year veteran, inspires students through technology and engineering.
It wasn’t enough just to use the classroom’s 3D printer to fabricate Spartan helmets out of plastic. Then students of West Springfield High School Technology and Engineering teacher Josh Masley presented the helmets to teachers and faculty as gifts. “He’s teaching his kids to appreciate other people in the building,” said Johnny Pope, an assistant principal at the school. “They have some intrinsic motivation about what they're doing.”

Herrity: Fairfax County Board Made Decisions Not to Disclose Geer Information
Springfield supervisor speaks up on transparency at first committee meeting to review 140+ recommendations from ad hoc police commission.
While Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond Morrogh was held up as one source of stalling the release information regarding the 2013 shooting death of Springfield man John Geer by then-Fairfax County police officer Adam Torres, Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) offered that “decisions we made” on the Board of Supervisors, on the counsel of the Fairfax County attorney, were also responsible for Torres’ name, discrepancies in the investigation and other details of the incident being withheld from the public and Geer’s family until a lawsuit finally forced the police department to release everything.