Winter Fun with Food
Easy and tasty ideas for winter meals.
The stove is fired-up, a sauté pan is sizzling and the thud of a steel knife blade hitting a wooden chopping block fills the air along with the woodsy aroma of fresh thyme. The temperature outside is frigid, but the kitchen feels like an inferno as Chef Kristen Robinson drives a knife though a fennel bulb, kale leaves and a tough-skinned butternut squash with staccato succession.
Classified Advertising Jan. 23, 2013
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Volunteering to Cheer
Special Olympics “Cheer Team” wows crowd with high-energy performance.
Like many girls, Jacquelyn Hoffmeier of Burke always wanted to be a cheerleader. The 25-year-old, born with Down Syndrome, finally got her chance to perform on Friday, Jan. 11. Hoffmeier, along with seven of her Special Olympics teammates, cheered and danced before a crowd of nearly 200 parents and students during halftime at the West Springfield High School girls’ basketball game.
National Day of Service Launches Inauguration
Local residents give back to their communities and pledge ongoing service.
“Our volunteers packaged food at our Vienna Pantry and delivered it to 30 clients throughout the Fairfax County area who receive supplemental food from us every two weeks for approximately four months.” Lisa Whetzel, executive director, Our Daily Bread
Jail Tours Provide Wake-Up Call for At-Risk Teens
The Sheriff’s Office runs the Teen Awareness Program (TAP).
“At-risk kids are able to see and hear first-hand the effects of making a right decision versus a wrong decision,” says Deputy Sheriff Lieutenant Steve Elbert, about the tours and presentations he leads at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. The Sheriff’s Office initiated the Teen Awareness Program (TAP) a year ago, in partnership with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, to become part of the court’s diversion program for first-time, non-violent juvenile offenders.
Area Roundups
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will host a presentation by resiliency expert Nan Henderson, “Resiliency in Action: How Families, Schools and Communities Create ‘Bounce Back’ Kids,” on Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 7-8:30 p.m., in the Robinson Secondary School cafeteria. Robinson is at 5035 Sideburn Road in Fairfax.
Sharing People’s Stories Is Filmmaker’s Passion
Local grad Monica Zinn working on second movie.
Monica Zinn is an independent documentary filmmaker. This Burke resident already has one successful film under her belt and is hard at work on another. She graduated from Lake Braddock Secondary School in 2011, but attended the Fairfax Academy from 2009-11, and that’s where her talent began to blossom.
Editorial: Expanding Medicaid Good for Virginia
Real health coverage for an additional 400,000 people is in reach.
Virginia has an opportunity to expand Medicaid in a way that could extend health coverage to more than 400,000 residents who currently have no health insurance while the Federal government picks up the tab; Virginia would pay 10 percent of the additional cost after 2020.
News Briefs
As Democratic delegates fight to keep firearms further from school property, Republican Bob Marshall (D-13) is pushing legislation to bring more guns in. Marshall is the chief patron of HB 1557, which would require every school board in the state to designate one volunteer to carry a concealed weapon on school property. Training for selected volunteers would be provided by either the Virginia Center for School Safety or the NRA, of which he is a member.
Four Northern Virginia Senators Targeted
Redistricting effort puts Fairfax County seats in the spotlight.
Four Northern Virginia state Senators are targets of a Republican-led effort to draw new districts — Sen. George Barker (D-39), Sen. Dave Marsden (D-37), Sen. Toddy Puller (D-36) and Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34). Democrats say the redistricting effort is a cynical attempt to take advantage of the absence of Sen. Henry Marsh (D-16), a prominent civil rights veteran, who was in Washington, D.C. for the inauguration on Monday. But state Sen. John Watkins (R-10) of Powhatan defended the effort as a way to create a sixth majority black Senate district in Southside. It passed the Senate on a 20-to-19 vote.
Making Schools Safer
Two Northern Virginia Democrats take part in panel to consider school security.
Do Virginia schools need more guns? That question is at the heart of a debate that’s now reaching a fever pitch in the commonwealth, especially after a man with a Bushmaster assault rifle blasted his way into a Connecticut elementary school and killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell responded to the tragedy by creating a School Safety Task Force, which is considering a proposal for every school in Virginia to have an armed school resource officer.
Woodson Boys’ Basketball Extends Win Streak to 12
Cavaliers adapt to TC’s physicality in second half.
The Woodson boys' basketball team outscored T.C. Williams 23-14 in the fourth quarter.
Searching for ‘The New Virginia Way’
Need to change the way Virginia supports people with disabilities.
In light of Virginia’s settlement with the Department of Justice over Virginia’s state institutions for people with disabilities, also known as training centers, it is time for us to enter “The New Virginia Way.”
Burke Home Sales: December, 2012
In December 2012, 37 Burke homes sold between $617,000-$123,000.
Burke Home Sales: December, 2012
Fairfax Families4Kids
Fostering bonds with children.
Nationwide, more than 463,000 children live in foster care. In many states, including Virginia, the number of foster youth has tripled in the last 25 years. As of Sept. 30, 2011, nearly 5,000 youth were in foster care in Virginia, according to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Physical abuse is the most common reason children enter foster, but it’s not the only reason. Often there’s emotional abuse, sexual abuse and the parent or caretaker’s inability to provide a safe environment due to substance abuse.
A Family Made Whole
After a tragic loss, Reston couple creates a family through adoption.
The Granvilles look like a made-for-TV family. On a bright October afternoon, Chris, a computer engineer, is teasing his teenage son, Kenny, about what kind of pet to adopt, while Tiffany sits on a sofa, cradling Elijah, Kenny’s baby brother, who has just woken up from an afternoon nap. “Fish? No way,” Kenny, 15, says. “They just go ‘round and ‘round in a bowl.” Kenny is lobbying hard for a dog or—at the very least—a guinea pig or hamster.
A 10-Year Mission: End Homelessness
Our Fairfax-Falls Church community is one of the most affluent in the country. Our schools are second to none. We are the home for many Fortune 500 businesses. Even with the challenging economy, our unemployment rate is among the lowest in the country.
Classified Advertising January 16, 2013
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Queen of Household Hints to Share Five Essentials Every Home Should Have
Heloise to headline 2013 Home and Remodeling Show at the Dulles Expo Center.
The high priestess of household hints will share her domestic wisdom this weekend at the 2013 Home and Remodeling Show at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va. A nationally syndicated columnist, Heloise is one of the presenters scheduled to headline the weekend’s show.
Defense Propels TC Boys’ Basketball Past Lake Braddock
Titans hold Bruins scoreless for 7-minute, 31-second stretch.
The T.C. Williams boys' basketball team used a 17-0 run to pull away from Lake Braddock on Jan. 11.