Delegate Tom Rust Contributes Key Provision to Texting While Driving Bills
Last week, the General Assembly passed two pieces of legislation—SB 1222 and HB1907—which would change the offense of texting while driving from a secondary offense to a primary one. Earlier in the 2013 session, Delegate Tom Rust (R-Herndon) introduced a bill (HB1357) which, on its own, would change the status of the offense, and receiving wide bipartisan support, the bill was incorporated into HB1907.
Alliance Pushes for New Policies
Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence holds vigil at NRA headquarters.
Members of the Reston-Herndon Alliance to End Gun Violence gathered at the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax Friday, Feb. 22, to advocate for stricter gun laws. This was the group’s second such protest, where more than 30 members carried signs citing statistics about gun-related deaths.
A Positive Reflection
Joan Brady gives foster children needed exposure.
On Monday, Sept. 10, 2001, Joan Brady of Great Falls had just started a three-month sabbatical from her job with an Internet company. Newly-married, Brady, who was 36 years old at the time, was exhausted from 80-hour work weeks in a rigid corporate environment. She wanted time that fall to contemplate what to do next with her life. The next day provided answers and a sense of urgency. It was Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks, and the moving stories of heroism and tragedy on 9/11, indelibly left their mark. Brady, like many Americans, was inspired to do something new, to take more chances, to change direction.
Herndon Moms Club to Meet
The MOMS Club® of Herndon will host its monthly meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21.
'Stuff the Bus’ Campaign Helps Feed the Hungry
Donations continue to increase as campaign enters third year.
Local grocery stores were packed this weekend with shoppers stocking up on Super Bowl snacks for the annual football fan party. At the Wal-Mart in Fairfax, shoppers were greeted with colorful displays of chips, dips and other party favorites. They were also greeted by volunteers from Our Daily Bread (ODB), who were handing out flyers and encouraging shoppers to donate gift cards or specific items to restock ODB’s pantry shelves. A Fairfax nonprofit for nearly 30 years, ODB provides food and other critical services to the working poor, the elderly and the disabled. More than half of ODB’s clients are local children.
Lily Dunlap of Herndon Middle Wins Peace Poster Contest
Lily Dunlap, an eighth grade student at Herndon Middle School, won a competition sponsored by the Reston Lions Club.
Reston Lions Honor Music Competition Winners
Students win awards at the James A. Bland Music Scholarship competition, co-sponsored by the Reston Lions Club and the Reston Community Center and held at the community center on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
Elaina Lenore Heller and James Eric Rosenquist Wed
Elaina Lenore Heller and James Eric Rosenquist were married Oct. 6, 2012, at Wintergreen Resort.
Joan Lorraine (Stark) Mikulak, 81, of Oak Hill, Dies
Joan Lorraine (Stark) Mikulak died on Monday, Jan. 28, after a short illness. She was 81.
For the Love of Art
Photo exhibition draws art lovers to ArtSpace in Herndon.
The night was cold and windy, but there was hardly enough space to contain visitors and art lovers at ArtSpace in Herndon, who came to see the works of two photographers—Catherine Powers and Michael Austin Kane—in their exhibits, “U.S. 17: The Scenic Highway” and “Hopeful Calm & Beginnings” on Friday, Feb. 2.
Declaration of Independence Signer and Loudoun County Resident Remembered
Few people are aware that the land occupied by Washington Dulles International Airport was once the home of one of the country’s founding fathers. Francis Lightfoot Lee was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the only Loudoun County resident to have that honor.
A Chorus of Praise
Fairfax County mentors celebrated during National Mentor Month.
Can we get an “amen?” The joyful noise coming from the David R. Pinn Center in Fairfax on Saturday wasn’t a gospel revival, but it was just as inspiring and enlightening.
Column: A Simple Question
I don’t quite know how to start this column so I’ll begin with its ending: “I’m fine.”
Nazi Commonwealth
Bipartisan team seeks compensation for victims of forced sterilization.
Nobody knows how many people are survivors of Virginia’s forced sterilization program, which targeted people with mental illness, mental retardation or epilepsy. But a bipartisan effort now under consideration in Richmond would hand each and every one of them a $50,000 check from the people of Virginia. According to one calculation, that could mean as much as $73 million.
MLK Foundation Celebrates Diversity
Organization welcomes member of Tuskeegee Airmen.
The Martin Luther King Cultural Foundaion hosted a celebration of cultural diversity Saturday, Jan. 26, at ArtSpace in Herndon. The Reston-based organization provides thousands of dollars per year to send local students to college.