95 Express Lanes Scheduled to Open in December in Stafford County and Fairfax County
Beginning next month, a 29-mile stretch of I-95 should look a little different. Existing HOV lanes will change to “Express Lanes,” offering drivers with an E-ZPass a less congested alternative. The change affects 95 starting in Stafford County around Garrisonville Road, north to I-395 in Fairfax County by Edsall Road.
Rites of Fall
Viewpoints: What do you like to do during Fall and before the start of the holidays?
As the foliage reached its peak, Fairfax County residents turned to their favorite fall activities before the mad rush of the holidays. At the Burke Farmers Market, which runs until Nov. 22, John and Nancy Menke, of Burke, found a way to keep the fresh and local fruits and vegetables they love throughout the year.
Bubbling Caldron, Rambunctious Theatre
Robinson company puts on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”
Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and caldron bubble. The Robinson High School theatre department, newly named Rambunctious Theatre Company, is changing it up with their fall show: Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The show opens Nov. 20 and runs through Nov. 22.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors makes two rail-facilitating moves; Arlington ends streetcar project.
As the Silver Line Metororail project progresses towards its second phase opening date of 2018, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors are helping pave the way.
In the Spirit of the Season
The Burke-Springfield based Netcasters are focusing on traditional carols of the season.
The Netcasters have turned into a real song and dance outfit … but that’s been a pretty positive thing for some of their audiences lately.
Democratic Women of Clifton Launch Holiday Donations Drive
Again this year, the Democratic Women of Clifton and Northern Virginia (DWCNV) will participate in two holiday projects for two organizations. The general public is invited to participate in the donations drive on Sunday, Nov. 16, 3 - 4 p.m. at the Clifton Community Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton.
Jean R. Packard Remembered at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna
Jean Packard was Frank Roberts’ first boss. He was 13, she was 22 and the acting editor of her father Dave’s Clermont Sun newspaper in Batavia, Ohio. “I was a ‘devil’s rat,’” Roberts said, responsible for odd gofer jobs around the office. “I was trying to hide from work and she’d track me down. She was a tough boss.”
HOT Topic
Fairfax County Fire & Rescue invites the media for Hands-On Training.
Rob Schoenberger is pretty good with a 15-foot extendable camera. Its built-in microphone and powerful lights come in handy, paired with a Delsar seismic sensor device, when trying to locate people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building.
Comstock Wins 10th District Race
Comstock scores resounding 17-point victory over Democratic opponent John Foust.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday night, Republican Del. Barbara Comstock entered the Hilton ballroom in Ashburn to the tune of her favorite song - “This One’s for the Girls” sung by Martina McBride. The sassy, defiant country anthem – which tells girls to “stand your ground when everyone’s giving in” – struck the right chord with Comstock’s supporters, who chanted and clapped along with the music as Comstock took the stage to deliver her victory speech.
Gerry Gets Things Done
Democratic incumbent Connolly fends off Republican challenger Suzanne Scholte.
As Huey Lewis and the News’ “Power of Love” poppy ballad led a soundtrack infused with ’80s pop and modern country music, the mood at the DoubleTree Crystal City hotel in Arlington ebbed and flowed between elated cheers and frustrated boos.
Paper Trail
Single voting method helps streamline the process.
When it comes to voting, paper is the past, the present and the future. The assistant chief election officer at Robinson Secondary school James Emery Jr. of Fairfax said paper is too valuable as a voting record to abandon.
Poll Position
Local academics following the 11th Districts race say there’s really no substitute for the strength of incumbency.
Despite low public opinion of President Obama and a minimally productive Congress, representative Gerry Connolly has plenty going for him as the incumbent seeking re-election in Virginia’s largely democratic 11th district.
Writing Their Verse
Fairfax Station couple’s ministry supports vulnerable children in South Africa.
When Alec Zacaroli and his wife Amy hosted a boyhood friend from South Africa, they didn’t expect their lives would change in one evening.
Board Approves Bicycle Master Plan
The Fairfax County Government Center has several massive parking lots. Many hundreds of spaces. But Bruce Wright and members of the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling only needed some rack real estate in front of the building. They rode into the afternoon session of the Board of Supervisors on two wheels apiece from Reston, taking the West Ox Road Side Path.
Batter, Up
Former Lake Braddock baseball player Nick Balenger recognized for injury recovery.
Nick Balenger’s promising athletic career all but disappeared in an instant. In 2012, the former Lake Braddock pitcher suffered a spinal cord injury while swimming in Hawaii.