The English poet John Donne (1572-1631) famously wrote “No man is an island…any man’s death diminishes me….” I’ve been thinking about that since getting the sad news, just before Christmas, that a beloved mentor, Bethine Church, had passed away. Few in Falls Church probably ever heard of Bethine, but she […]

By Brian L. McCan The struggle continues in the Virginia legislature over whether the state should participate in that section of the Affordable Care Act that provides expanded health insurance coverage for the poor and working poor. My purpose is to set the controversy in the context of the law […]

The surprise announcement by our venerable U.S. Congressman Jim Moran that he will not seek re-election this November, to retire from Congress after 24 years next January, suddenly makes the 2014 mid-term election year very interesting, even in this region unaccustomed to much competition or change in the make-up of […]

I can already hear the anti-government screeds: First they came for our lightbulbs, then they banned our Big Gulps, and now they’re fixing to take away our fancy bottled water. A fizzling flood of facts on Arlington’s H20 habits enlivened the Committee of 100 dinner Jan. 8, as county board […]

By Cindy Chojnacky I am concerned over the proposed “restoration” of Coe Branch, a tributary of Tripps Run in “Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park” between Broad Street and T.J. Elementary School. The $1.2 million project will “daylight” 500 feet of stream now piped, completely relocate Coe Branch and in […]

On Saturday, January 4, the Northern Virginia Delegation to the General Assembly convened its annual, non-partisan public hearing at the Fairfax Government Center. Most Northern Virginia elected representatives attended for at least part of this session, which ran for about five hours. More than 70 speakers pressed the delegation to […]

County Executive Ed Long’s proposed FY 15 budget is still in development, and won’t be released for nearly two months, but demands for funding already are starting. The Fairfax County School Board has an $800 million renovation and repair list in addition to their request for an eight percent increase […]

All eyes turn to Richmond this week as the newly-configured state legislature is convened and, this week, the inauguration of Terry McAuliffe as the new governor of the commonwealth ushers in what may signal the next important stage of a genuine shift of Virginia from a red to a purple […]

During neighborhood walks, I often squint and visualize Arlington back when it was rural farmland, devoid of neon and modern suburban curbs. This little local history game has recently centered on the extended Birch family, 18th- and 19th-century denizens who owned my East Falls Church neighborhood among other parcels. Samuel […]

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) refers to “thinking regionally and acting locally” at the beginning of its draft regional transportation priorities plan. Based on that, a good description of how we can best provide for the kind of future we want for the City of Falls Church might […]