Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A humorous look back at 2012.
Well, it’s that time of the year again: the time to make fun of as many people as possible as I recall events of the past year that no one in Mount Vernon even cares to remember. Towards the end of the year, Mount Vernon-zions were startled to see that their school board representative, Dan Storck, actually cut his beard off. As we all know, with the beard Dan bears a striking resemblance to President Abraham Lincoln and he has taken things so far as to play Honest Abe in local parades, school assemblies and Tupperware parties. But Ole Honest Dan apparently had a bad reaction after seeing the Steven Spielberg epic “Lincoln: A Story Inspired by a True Guy” and the next day he cut off his beard! To determine his reasoning, we tracked Dan …
Monday, December 10, 2012
Part I: Hell Hole, diking and occupation
This is the first of two articles on Dyke Marsh’s human history, based on a presentation by Matthew Virta to the 90 people who attended the Nov. 14 meeting of the Friends of Dyke Marsh. Virta is the Cultural Resources Program Manager for the George Washington Memorial Parkway, U.S. National Park Service. The second article will be posted on Wednesday. --- From diking to daunting escapades, from bootlegging to railroading, the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve has had a fascinating human history. Dyke Marsh is a wooded, watery, green nature preserve along the parkway at the Potomac River’s edge to most people, a treasured freshwater tidal wetland, alive with beavers, birds, muskrats, snakes, dragonflies and more. In addition to its rich natural…
Thursday, December 6, 2012
2012-13 Majors look to make state tournament run
Mount Vernon had Tuesday’s game at Oakton circled on the calendar for nearly 10 months. Oakton, which captured the 2011-12 Virginia AAA state title, handed the Majors their only two losses last year. The two teams last met in February's Northern Region tournament semifinal where Oakton defeated the Majors 55-38 en route to winning the school’s first state girls’ basketball title. The Majors exacted their revenge on the Cougars on Tuesday night. “They ended our season last year,” said Mount Vernon head coach Courtney Coffer shortly after his team’s 68-52 victory. “I’m just very, very proud of everybody. We played a great game. It’s kind of scary because I don’t even think we’re playing our best basketball yet.” In an atmosphere that Coffer …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Changes to Virginia’s buyer agency laws affect buyers and sellers; October sales volume is up and inventory is down from last year.
On July 1, amendments to the Virginia Code went into effect that essentially clarify further new laws relating to buyer agency in Virginia. Most consumers are not fully aware of the intricacies of agency law, but real estate agents have been schooled on it regularly to keep up with changes. Buyers and sellers know that typically speaking they can choose to hire a real estate brokerage firm to represent them in either the sale, purchase or rental of a property. While this remains true, these new amendments aim to make clearer who is representing whom. What many consumers may not know is that in 1997, the Commonwealth passed a law that established “buyer agency” or an exclusive agreement between the buyer and a real estate brokerage firm in …
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Mount Vernon hosted Chantilly in Tuesday's Northern Region opener.
UPDATE (Oct. 24, 9 a.m.): The Majors defeated Chantilly in last night's game. They will face West Springfield Friday night at MVHS. Mount Vernon field hockey (15-3-1) coach Jessica Hebel watched Chantilly play (8-9-1) in the Under the Lights tournament in late August. While the two teams didn’t square off against one another, Hebel took note of Chantilly’s strengths. The fifth-year head coach will dust off those notes Tuesday evening when Mount Vernon hosts the Chantilly Chargers in the opening round of Northern Region tournament play. “I saw that they had a really good small passing game, and that’s one of the things that our team is good at as well,” Hebel said. “I think that it will be a good game for both teams and it’ll be pretty …
Monday, October 22, 2012
The following information was supplied by the Fairfax County Police Department. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.
On the above map, the addresses are block numbers, not specific home or business addresses. The following items are from recent police updates through Oct. 18 from the Mount Vernon Police District of the Fairfax County Police Department. Fatal Pedestrian Crash (marked in blue on above map), Police are investigating a fatal pedestrian crash that occurred around 1:50 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. A 64-year-old man was operating a 2002 Kenworth dump truck northbound in the right lane of Richmond Highway just south of Huntington Avenue. A man walked into the unlit roadway, crossing left to right and walked into the path of the oncoming dump truck. The driver took evasive action but was unable to avoid striking the man. The driver stayed on the …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The following information was supplied by the Fairfax County Police Department. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.
On the above map, the addresses are block numbers, not specific home or business addresses. The following items are from recent police updates through Oct. 10 from the Mount Vernon Police District of the Fairfax County Police Department. Assault/Weapon (marked in blue on above map), 7100 block of Fairchild Drive, 10/4/12, 10 p.m. The 18-year-old victim reported she was struck by her boyfriend. He also allegedly fired a pistol into the air several times. Roman E. Avila, 18, of Alexandria, was charged with domestic assault and reckless discharge of a firearm. In separate and unrelated incidents: Burglary (marked in green on above map), 8700 block of Liberty Springs Circle, 10/4/12, 12:45 p.m. A resident reported someone entered the home and …
Monday, October 15, 2012
The most recently available restaurant inspection reports from Sept. 26 to Oct. 4 in the Greater Alexandria area.
Between Sept. 26 and Oct. 4, quite a few restaurants along the Route 1 corridor were inspected. For prior restaurant inspection reports, click here. In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports aren't quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy to see number rating to post in the front window. That said, we all want to know how our favorite restaurants stack up on cleanliness and sanitation. Inspectors grade restaurants based on critical and non-critical violations. A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance. "Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Holly Bertone was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.
Holly Bertone was riding in a Metro car during rush hour one hot August afternoon in 2010 when she receieved a call she could barely hear. It was her 39th birthday, and on the track between Braddock and King streets, the caller's words finally broke through: "You have breast cancer." “My doctor was actually on vacation, so someone else from her office called me,” Bertone said. “The train was packed and you could barely hear...I’m on my cell phone and a doctor who I’d never talked to before said, ‘I’m sorry to tell you, you have breast cancer.” A few months prior to receiving this news, Bertone said she discovered an unusual lump in her breast in early July and immediately scheduled an appointment with her primary doctor. Her doctor …
Monday, October 8, 2012
The following information was supplied by the Fairfax County Police Department. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.
On the above map, the addresses are block numbers, not specific home or business addresses. The following items are from recent police updates through Oct. 5 from the Mount Vernon Police District of the Fairfax County Police Department. Contributing to Delinquency of Minor (marked in blue on above map), 8400 block of Madge Lane, Sept. 28, 10:15 p.m. The mother of a 15-year-old girl reported her daughter was possibly having sex with an 18-year-old. Following an investigation Olman Centeno Sanchez, 18, of Alexandria, was arrested and charged with consentual sex with a child and possession of alcohol. In separate and unrelated incidents: Peeping (marked in yellow on above map), 5300 block of Bedford Terrace, Sept. 28, 12:30 p.m. The victim …
Kari Wright Warren
10:16 am on Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Watching these girls play so competitively and with skill has been so much fun to watch. Seeing the boys "Hype Squad" grow larger and full of spirit has only enhanced the experiences...for both the fans and the players! In all the years of sports competition for my two daughters, this season is a stand-out! Come and join us Friday and watch them keep fighting forward. more ›