Results tagged “fairfaxcounty>”

You have to feel sorry for the 15-year-old son of Vienna's Jenifer Joy Madden, who got outed by his mom in an op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post for having only just now learned how to ride a bus.

We couched it as another test of their mettle. After all, if these 15-year-olds could swing at objects flying 90 miles an hour and get whacked by titanium lacrosse sticks, they could walk to a bus stop and ride a few miles across town.

We're working on a Snake Theme here, people. WTOP's Hank Silverberg reports that a house fire in Fairfax County has claimed the lives of dozens of snakes, scorpions, and lizards that were trapped inside cages in the attic when the fire broke out. Resident Zachary Frodge had been breeding the animals, which included "non-poisonous ball pythons, corn snakes, rat snakes, Columbia red tail boa constrictors, bearded dragons and a green iguana," for sale. No humans were injured in the blaze, though the house, which is in the Alexandria section of the County, was pretty badly damaged.

The McCain campaign has announced that a rally originally planned to be at Fairfax High School on Wednesday morning has been moved to Van Dyck Park in Fairfax County. The campaign told supporters through an email and robo-telephone calls that the event, which will begin at 8 a.m., had been moved because the high school field was not big enough — no mention of the concern voiced by some that the county school system had violated one of its own rules by agreeing to host the rally during school hours. The Post says the high school field house can hold as many as 6,500 people -- so we'll have to see tomorrow whether more than 6,500 people show up to Van Dyck Park.

UPDATE: Point now moot! The rally has been moved amid all the outcry, although no word yet on the new location.

Good morning, Washington. Supporters of Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Barack Obama are riding high off their caucus victories in Iowa last night, but locally, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty continues to suffer some bumps in the road after one year in office. Just weeks after the resignation of Attorney General Linda Singer, Fenty's former deputy chief of staff, Neil Richardson, has also resigned. Richardson, who was a key Fenty aide during his mayoral campaign, had been moved out of Fenty's "bullpen" in October and placed in an office called Serve DC, where he was tasked with creating a volunteer program to help the school system. Yesterday Richardson decided that the demotion, which came, according to the Post, after Richardson complained to the mayor that he was not listening enough to the public on key decisions, wasn't worth sticking around for, and tendered his resignation. WTOP has excerpts from Richardson's resignation letter, which reiterates complaints heard from others about Fenty's dictatorial governing style.

Temperatures are expected to remain well below freezing again overnight, which can mean danger for the District's homeless population. The city has put out a reminder to call their Hypothermia Shelter Hotline should you spot anyone trying to sleep outside when it's this cold.

A happy Friday to you, Washington. Hopefully you all made it in to work on time despite Metro having reduced the speed of their rail cars in several areas this morning. Speed restrictions were in place until 8:10 a.m. along portions of the Orange line in Maryland and Virginia, the Red line from Union Station to Silver Spring and from Shady Grove to Grosvenor, and the Green line from Branch Avenue to Congress Heights...

Happy Thanksgiving, Washington. The streets are quiet this morning in the capital; one cab driver remarked to this writer that it was his favorite day to drive in the city -- no traffic, no tourists, and everyone he picks up tends to be cheery and a big tipper. The forecast in D.C. today is calling for an unseasonably warm high of 72 degrees, with a solid chance of afternoon showers and gastrointestinal distress. What's the...

Now is the time of year when we all get to start complaining about how stupid standard time is and how walking out of our offices last night into pitch black darkness was weird and uncomfortable and made us confused about what time happy hour was supposed to start. That is all. 'Fat Gap' Between Whites and Blacks in D.C. High: We've certainly talked about the income gap between whites and blacks in our city...

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Things used to be clearer for Fairfax County. It used to be known as the epitome of upper-middle class suburbanity, even earning name-checks in popular novels and songs as such. With acres and acres of rolling hills covered in leafy suburbs and landscaped office parks, it was a quiet complement to the quirky inner suburbs of Northern Virginia and the dense chaos...

If you live in Virginia and take public transportation into Washington every day, WMATA is looking for you. Metro’s Riders’ Advisory Council needs commuters from Virginia to fill three vacant positions on the Council, two from Fairfax County and one from Arlington County. To be eligible for the positions, you need to live in either Fairfax or Arlington counties, ride bus, rail and/or MetroAccess, and not be a Metro employee, contractor or elected official. You...

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Summer in Washington means the return of many familiar sights, some welcomed, others not as much. It means baseball, but also sticky heat and humidity. It means evenings at barbecues and bars with outdoor seating, but also children roaming the streets with backpacks full of cherry bombs and bottle rockets. It means, for many of us, time off. For others it means...

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Sometimes I imagine that the vicious territoriality residents of this or that place occasionally display when comparing their home enclave to another is a sign of something positive, a rootedness and sense of belonging, maybe, to the neighborhood or city or state one calls home. If that’s the case, then residents of the cities of Baltimore and Washington must be some rooted...

It's never a good sign when it's already this steamy this early in the morning, and indeed, the heat index looks like it will near 100 degrees today (actual temps closer to 94). The D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management has some helpful tips to beating the oppressive heat, but this list has a shameful lack of ice cream sandwiches involved. DCist heartily recommends the Ice Cream Sandwich Method of keeping cool today, which involves...

>> Dan Steinberg has some classic footage on "Bog TV' of Preakness Race fans drunk off their gourds. One guy's insistence that "this is what Maryland is all about," and by "this" he means heavy drinking, is just fun for the whole family. [D.C. Sports Bog] >> Fairfax County police locked down Willow Springs Elementary School in Centreville this morning after reports of a shooting in the nearby area. The school re-opened around noon without...

Good day, Washington. Are you getting tired of this gorgeous weather yet? Yeah, us neither. As you work out the kinks in your upcoming Memorial Day Weekend plans, we wish you good luck and delight in describing the rest of this week and weekend ahead as forecast to be sunny and hot enough to give you that sunburn you've been hoping for. We're also putting together a few ideas for last-minute day trips for those...

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. The news came as absolutely no surprise to most observers of the city of Washington, but it still managed to produce banner headlines and an outbreak of hand wringing. Which, I suppose, should also have been no surprise, in a city where issues of race and income lade every public policy discussion. Earlier this week, the Census Bureau released new data on...

>> D.C. looks to be trapped in the middle of a presidential endorsement face-off, with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine already firmly in the Sen. Barack Obama camp (the first governor to endorse the candidate), and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley declaring his support for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Will D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty step into the fray with an endorsement of his own? >> Police have arrested a 12-year-old boy in connection to the "pins in the...

Good Morning, Washington. It looks like another fine spring day from our vantage point at DCist headquarters -- weather fit for a queen, as it were. Thanks to Flickr user Jon-Miles for sharing some of his shots with us from yesterday's press event with President Bush and Queen Elizabeth II. Today is the final day of the Queen's tour of the region. Before a private dinner with the Bushes, she'll spend it by visiting the...

Today, Washington is still dealing with the aftermath of losing so many area residents at Virginia Tech and trying to grasp the scope of Monday's events. Even those not connected to the school have been moved to prayer and shows of support. In situations like these, many of us feel powerless, yet some gain strength by joining others to reflect and remember. Yesterday students at UVa, Georgetown, Galluadet, Howard, UMd, Catholic University, American, UDC, GW...

We're continuing to update the list of 32 people killed in Monday's massacre, as those names are confirmed by the Associated Press. The Post has some touching profiles of some of the victims. Feel free to continue sharing your thoughts and memories with the DCist community here. While we at DCist are heartbroken by these events, there is hope in the tremendous strength being shown by students and families, as well as stories of...

Police have now confirmed that the man responsible for yesterday's horrific murder of 32 people at Virginia Tech is Cho Seung-Hui, 23, who grew up in Centreville, Va. Cho, a citizen of South Korea, graduated from Westfield High School in Fairfax County in 2003. As well, several of the students killed were from Northern Virginia suburbs, including Mary Read, 19, Reema Samaha, 18, Erin Peterson, 18, Leslie Sherman, 20, and Emily Hilscher,19. The Post has...

It's the Ides of March and there's not much to fear, D.C. As long as we don't step on any cracks (and therefore break mothers' backs) or allow black cats free reign, we might not jinx our chances for voting rights. Stay tuned for full DCist coverage on the debate/vote today. On a more personal note, for all those who succumbed to the irrational exuberance of sartorial selection this week, temperance is due; it's back...

Well D.C., if you're reading this it means you're not one of the 3000 or so people in our area currently without power. NBC4 reported the outage in Foggy Bottom last night, although they focused on the problems for four ritzy hotels, rather than the 790 other folks left in the dark. D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals are also closed today due to the lack of power. Then, there's the massive...

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. "Has a second core emerged?" asked a Bureau of Labor Statistics report this week, drawing the metropolitan area's attention to the remarkable growth in business and professional employment in Virginia's Fairfax County. Headline after headline emphasized the county's new status as second pole in a newly bipolar metropolis, after we learned that Fairfax had pulled to within 100,000 jobs of the District...

What's up, D.C.? Remember those halcyon days of 70 degrees a few weeks ago? Yeah, now hit yourself over the head* to induce amnesia and get ready for another chilly day. Tonight we could even see a few more flurries. (*Note: the DCist legal department does not advise this treatment for extreme cases of it's-actually-winter-itis) State of Emergency: Yesterday, the District's Board of Education passed the "Emergency Student Achievement Act of 2007" in an attempt...

Good morning, Washington. How was your State of the Union viewing experience? We hope that "enjoyable" is the answer — although not so enjoyable that you now have a State of the Union hangover experience (don't you love living in a city where such a thing is a possibility?). Whatever your experience, this morning it seems like some of the week's frantic political energy is draining out of the city, as the shot to the...

Hey D.C., watch where you step. It's still icy out there, but today's temps should reach the 40's, melting the remaining ice for at least a while. Some kids are still in luck with a few school delays this morning, mostly in the Virginia suburbs. Here's hoping the warmer conditions mean drivers can stop acting like it's locusts, not snow, crunching under the tires. Chief Inspector Also Convict: Clearly D.C. doesn't have any problem with...

Buck up, D.C. Of course we're all still reeling from the Justin Timberlake-Cameron Diaz split confirmation, but there's plenty to be cheerful about this Friday before a holiday weekend (especially one that's shaping up to at least be mild temperature wise, if rainy). Why, even a few of this morning's headlines seem downright cheery. New Taxi Zone Map in the Works: Even while the new District government is considering making the switch from zones to...

Happy May Monday, D.C.! Oh, sorry, it's actually December. Forgive me for not realizing that, since it's slated to be a ridiculous 66 degrees today. Can anybody enlighten us as to what is going on? Anyone? For now, you can read a post over on CapitalWeather.com that "glaringly exposed the disconnect between television meteorologists and the climate science community," according to the site. Meanwhile, enjoy the weather! Virginia Parishes Break Away: Those Episcopalian churches in...