Friday, May 18, 2012
Winners will be announced at Kennedy Center in June.
Paul VI Catholic High School's spring musical “Hello, Dolly!” received nine nominations for the 2011-2012 Cappies program. Nominations included Best Musical; Lead Actress in a Musical (Sean Pugerude); Lead Actor in a Musical (Daniel Rozmajzl); Supporting Actor in a Musical (Connor McAlevy); Supporting Actress in a Musical (Casey Enochs); Comic Actress in a Musical (Patty Kelleher); Male Dancer (Alex Siegal); Female Dancer (Kayla Sharpe); and Ensemble in a Musical (The Waiters). The Cappies is a program where high school students are trained as theatre critics, attend shows at other schools, write reviews, and publish those reviews in local newspapers. Each school submits one play to be critiqued through the program. At the end of the …
Virginia has appealed a federal judge’s decision to vacate the convictions and sentences regarding Daniel Robert Petrole Jr.’s 2001 murder.
Virginia’s appeal of a federal court decision to vacate the conviction and sentence of Justin Michael Wolfe—who a Prince William County jury sent to death row in 2002 for murder-for-hire—goes before the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond on May 17. Owen Merton Barber IV, of Centreville, testified before a federal judge in 2010 that he made up his testimony against Wolfe, of Chantilly, under pressure from prosecutors and his own defense attorney. Barber followed Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. for more than an hour before blocking his car along a dead-end street in front of Petrole’s Bristow home and killing him. In his order vacating the convictions, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson said prosecutors withheld exculpatory …
Check out this week's crop of new listings!
Real estate: The source of endless fascination at cocktail parties. A reason for otherwise normal neighbors to turn into peeping voyeurs as they check out the closets of their neighbor during an Open House. The cause for great angst, if a house is out of reach for a would-be buyer, or if it’s priced far below what a new owner just paid for a nearly identical house. To help keep you apprised of the local real estate market scene, Patch’s weekly House Hunt will highlight five houses that have come on the market in the past week, along with information about Open House schedules, if applicable. Okay, on to this week’s new listings: 5405 Colchester Meadow Lane, Fairfax, VA; $900,000; 5BR, 3BA; MLS: fx7840228 5512 Ashleigh Rd, Fairfax; $729,000…
Fairfax County Public Schools staff is looking into possibility of deferring budget approval
The Fairfax County School Board continued to debate how to implement changes to the Virginia Retirement System into the fiscal 2013 budget during a work session Thursday, with most of the members leaning toward phasing in the required shift to 5 percent employee contributions. Susan Quinn, chief financial officer for Fairfax County Public Schools, presented six of the hundreds of options for how to adjust VRS and Educational Employees' Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC) contributions, market-scale adjustments and STEP increases. [See the options in a PDF included with this article.] Option A showed Superintendent Jack Dale's proposal, which would have FCPS complete the 5 percent shift in fiscal year 2013 and eliminate…
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate answered questions in appearance at AOL's Dulles office.
U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Kaine said the federal government should chip in for the Silver Line Phase 2 — but that the commonwealth also needs to pay a bigger share than the $150 million it has promised to ensure it gets built as scheduled. "What we are seeing in Washington is an anti-investment mentality," Kaine (D) told a group at AOL's Dulles headquarters Thursday. He said he worked with the Bush and Obama administrations to get $900 million for the first phase and the next phase has centered on who pays for it. "I believe it is a project of federal significance because it links Dulles with the most important capital city in the world," he said. "But when it comes to the state being a meaningful participant, Virginia has fallen short too. …
Follow along with our live blog.
Tim Kaine, a Democrat candidate for the open Virginia U.S. Senate seat, will appear at the AOL Dulles campus today at 1 p.m. to speak with Aol employees and other guests. Patch will be covering the event live and we invite you to join in on the conversation.
Michele Menapace, a parent advocate, questions some of the school board's budget decisions
In testimony to the Fairfax County School Board on May 15, I expressed concern that our school system has a serious credibility problem. Yes, it's easy to dismiss such a comment as out-of-touch or not consistent with the remarkable successes of our students and teachers. But ask yourself ... Do you think it's credible to approve a monitoring report (from the Department of Communications and Community Outreach) that asserts FCPS has 100% fulfillment on FOIA requests? On March 22, I asked for the details of Undelivered Orders for 2010 and 2011 to see why FCPS is spending more than 2% of its operating budget on purchases in the final two months of the fiscal year. I have sent three followups and, as of May 15, don't have that information to …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Former School Board Member Brad Center (Lee) says school systems shouldn't wait to tackle tech advances in K through 12 instruction
- OPINION
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Wednesday, May 16
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to serve eight years as a School Board member in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). It was a great opportunity, but the pace of the work rarely gave me the opportunity to sit down and think about the important trends in education in a more philosophical manner. There was always the “Crisis De Jour” – something or some group that needed immediate attention. It is only now, since leaving the Board that I have had a chance to really reflect on the things I learned. During my tenure at FCPS, I observed a number of emerging trends in K-12 education – with special attention to those involving technology and the changing workplace. As we all know, technological advances have exploded over the last …
A special adoption event takes place this week.
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is hoping pet adopters will not look over oldies but goodies this week. Cats five years and older will be available for adoption for $15, half the normal fee. Those who adopt will also receive a gift bag with cat bed, food, scratching toys, and cat toys. Older cats will also receive a free spay or neuter and will be current on all vaccinations. Anyone adopting a cat seven years or older will also receive a free full panel of blood work on the adopted cat (provided by the shelter’s contract veterinarian) to give the adopter basic health information about the cat. The event takes place from noon until 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the shelter at 4500 West Ox Road. …
The new law requires radiologists to send a letter to women who have dense breast tissue that could make it harder to detect cancer.
A Fairfax County breast cancer survivor's efforts mean women getting mammograms will learn whether they have dense breast tissue that could hide cancer. New legislation addresses the test’s failure to detect certain cancers in women with dense breast tissue. It goes into affect on July 1. Under the new law, if radiologists conducting mammograms find dense breast tissue, they must send the patient a letter noting that fact – and that dense breast tissue can hide cancer. The letter will urge women to talk to their physicians about the matter. The new “patient inform” law resulted from efforts by a breast cancer survivor, Cathryn Tatusko of Fairfax County, with support from an aptly named national awareness organization called Are You Dense. …
Bob
6:46 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
What's this? Moon is actually doing some work on the School Board for a change? He's actually consulting with colleagues? Wow - that's IS a change! more ›