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Helping Homeless ‘Close to Home’

Springfield man launches the 25th Project Charity Golf Classic to benefit homeless.

“On Christmas Eve, my church has a gift-wrapping party, and we’ll wrap whatever we have, from tents and sleeping bags to flannel shirts,” Herriott said. “As The 25th Project has grown, we have expanded our goals and now provide tents, batteries, sleeping bags, tarps and other life essentials.”

‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, RELAX!’ at Fairview Elementary Spring Family Night

Fairview Elementary School’s PTA in Fairfax Station is very excited about its first ever family recycling event being held Friday, May, 3 from 6-9 p.m. on the school’s blacktop behind the school.

Andreotta-Urben Engaged

Mr. and Mrs. Mark P. Andreotta of Clifton are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Ashley Marie to Andrew Paul Urben, son of LTC (Ret.) and Mrs. Edward A. Urben of Woodbridge, Va.


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The Comeback Kid

Paralyzed after tragic accident, Nick Balenger throws out WSLL’s Opening Day pitch.

"You always get a special kick on Opening Day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen,” said baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.

Woodson High Celebrates ‘50 Years of Excellence’

Former students and faculty gather for an afternoon of performances, nostalgia and a dedication.

A brisk breeze and bright spring sunshine were nearly as prevalent as the pride and fond memories expressed by alumni and faculty commemorating the 50th anniversary of W.T. Woodson High School on Saturday, April 13.

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Editorial: Value-added Evaluation?

TJ admissions illustrate growing gap between “haves” and “have-nots.”

More than 181,000 students attend Fairfax County Public Schools. So why do the 480 students who were accepted for next year’s freshman class at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology seem so important? Fairfax County Public Schools have a single elite magnet school, Thomas Jefferson, and TJ is frequently referred to as the top high school in the country. Dramatic disparity in the makeup of admissions at TJ is an indicator of disparity in early identification of students as gifted and talented, of access to advanced classes and enrichment, and in the basic education that the Fairfax County Public school system offers to all of its students.


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Robinson Students Make the Cut for Caring

26 Acts of Kindness campaign continues.

April 1st marked the beginning of Robinson Secondary School’s “26 Acts of Kindness”—a tribute to the 26 children and adults who were killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December in Newtown, Conn. The Student Government Association (SGA) pulled out all the stops to make this “pay it forward” campaign a success, even providing t-shirts with space on the back for supporters to fill in each act of kindness performed, producing a promotional video that was uploaded to YouTube, and even establishing a Twitter site where do-gooders could post what good deeds they had done.

Letter: Thinking of History In Real Time

Letter writer Kiran Hampton asks if she is "the only one alarmed by the presence of high schools named after Confederate leaders?" ["Alarmed By School Names, Connection, April10-16, 2013]. In response, I would say, "Why yes, I believe she is."

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Robinson Coach Rike Reaches 500 Wins

60-year-old has coached Rams girls’ soccer for 32 years.

Rike coached the Falls Church boys' soccer team for five years before taking over the Robinson girls' program.


Column: A False Sense of Security

Not that there’s anything wrong with that; in fact, as a four-year, stage IV, non-small-cell lung cancer survivor, it’s amazing to have any security, false or otherwise, whatsoever.

‘We Have Not Forgotten’

Residents rally in Vienna to support stricter gun control measures.

Less than six miles from the National Rifle Association (NRA) headquarters in Fairfax, more than 100 people gathered on the Vienna Town Green Saturday, April 13, to urge Congress to support stricter gun control measures.

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West Springfield Woman at Boston Marathon Carried to Safety by NFL Champ Joe Andruzzi

Friends and family pray for the Wittich family.

The Wittich family of West Springfield was excited about attending the Boston Marathon, one of the historic city’s prominent annual civic pride events. On Saturday, April 13, Christine Wittich, a West Springfield High School student, posted several tweets about the upcoming trip. “Wittich invasion has commenced. Is Boston ready?” and “Yay for being that matching family,” with a photo of mom Julie and sisters in matching blue t-shirts. But after Monday’s bomb blasts transformed the Boston Marathon into a scene of chaos and terror, leaving three dead and more than 100 injured, Wittich’s tweets became more muted.


Editorial: Voting Again

Every year is election year in Virginia, and it’s a bit much.

The most hotly contested race for statewide office in Virginia, the Republican contest for lieutenant governor, will be decided at a statewide convention on May 18. That’s about a month from now.

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Local Real Estate: February 2013 Top Sales

Local Real Estate: February 2013 Top Sales

April 17 Well-being Festival Prevents Extinction of a People

GMU professor brings health to Maijuna indigenous people, whose population has dwindled to 400.

The Mason Center for Social Entrepreneurship and the Center for Consciousness and Transformation have partnered with Mason ethnobiologist Dr. Mike Gilmore and Mason students to bring clean drinking water as well as proper sanitation and hygiene to the Maijuna communities, an indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon whose population has been reduced to the low number of 400 individuals. The Maijuna are dying due to dysentery and waterborne diseases contracted from contaminated drinking water.


Classified Advertising April 10, 2013

Read the lastest ads here!

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Lake Braddock Baseball Getting Healthy

Bruins blast West Springfield as team bounces back from injuries.

The Lake Braddock baseball team is 8-2.

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History, Up Close and Personal

West Springfield High School students interview veterans at World War II Memorial.

The heat is palpable and the buzz of tourists is mesmerizing but Courtney Simmons is focused on Carmel Whetzel’s account of his World War II experience. Whetzel is a veteran and Simmons, a current freshman at George Mason University and a West Springfield High School graduate, is interviewing him as part of “Capturing the Voices of World War II: A Student Interview Project.”


County to Complete Road Projects

Projects that came in under-budget free up $11.2 million.

Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists received a bonus Tuesday, April 9, when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reallocated $11.2 million in existing funds to complete more than 12 planned pedestrian and road improvement projects.

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Animal Control Officer Nabs Elusive Shih Tzu

Officer’s dogged pursuit saves sly pup from life on the streets.

Just 13 pounds of matted fur and fluff, “Biscuit,” a sly shih tzu, evaded capture in the Franconia area for nearly two years, porch-surfing and stealing cats’ food to survive.