Surviving Christmas Day in Solitude
Ideas for coping with being alone on the holiday
While Christmas Day will be different and difficult for many this year, it will be especially difficult for seniors who live alone and will be in solitude because of COVID-19 risks.
Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Cutting Pollution for Our Health
Ella Kissi-Debrah had severe asthma, frequently visiting the ER with cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Opinion: Editorial: Merry Christmas
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The pages of the Connection (including the Alexandria Gazette Packet, the Mount Vernon Gazette, the Potomac Almanac and the Centre View) are usually full of holiday spirit, beginning before Thanksgiving.
Appealing Bad Rulings
Lawmakers to consider expanding appeals court, providing new oversight to judges.
Virginia is the only state in the country that does not guarantee a right to appeal, allowing circuit court judges to make decisions with little oversight or scrutiny. Critics have been calling for reform ever since the Court of Appeals was first created in 1985. The Supreme Court of Virginia recommended an appeal of right as a "long term goal" in 2018. Now, Gov. Ralph Northam says he wants lawmakers to add four judges and support staff "to ensure the court can hear more appeals cases in a timely manner under an increasing workload."
Opinion: Column: Three Strikes...
...and now I'm out – of the Handel's Messiah sweepstakes.
Virginia Master Naturalist Program Graduates Spring Class
The 2020 Spring class of Virginia Master Naturalists (VMN) graduated, finally, in a Zoom ceremony on Dec. 14.
A Holiday Season Reimagined
The pandemic leads to altered and new traditions.
When schools adjourn for winter break, the anticipation of a COVID-19 pandemic holiday season will become a reality.
Absurd Leverage
Lawmakers to reconsider mandatory minimum for assaulting law enforcement
Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected a bill that would have ditched the mandatory minimum sentence for assaulting a law-enforcement officer. Now the General Assembly is about to consider the issue again.
What Does It Cost to Buy a Dog?
Virginia observes Puppy Mill Awareness Month
Second article in series.
A Look Inside the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Meeting Dec. 1, 2020
Highlights of discussion and actions that impact all who live, work and play in the diverse county
Dec. 1 marked the final Fairfax County Full Board of Supervisors Meeting with Public Comment of 2020.
National Park Foundation Hero Award for Sen. Warner
Award for his efforts to pass the Great American Outdoors Act
Monday, Dec. 7, at an outdoor and socially-distanced ceremony at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) was awarded the National Park Foundation’s Hero Award by Foundation President, Will Shafroth.
Opinion: Column: “Medican’t” Take It Anymore
The non-stop – or so it seems, television advertising letting all of us viewers know that the 2020 Medicare Open Enrollment window is about to slam shut is nearly over.
Drawing the Line
Newly created redistricting commission zooms toward new maps in 2021
Now that voters have approved a constitutional amendment creating a new redistricting commission, the pieces have already started falling into place for how the commission will work and who will serve on it.
Opinion: Column: A Bone To Pick
Not that I'm the most-stressed about it, but I am at least stressed about a bone scan I'm having this week.