Virginia Leaders React to Supreme Court Ruling on Affordable Care Act

High Court ruled 5-4 today to uphold what some call 'Obamacare.'

Area leaders were quick to react today to the news that the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama's health reform law. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R): "Today's Supreme Court ruling is extremely disappointing for Virginia and for America. The PPACA will create a costly and cumbersome system that will impair our country's ability to recover from these challenging economic times, infringes on our citizen's liberties, will harm small businesses, and will impose dramatic unfunded mandates on Virginia and all states. Simply put, this is a blow to freedom. America needs market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less." (For the governor's full statement, visit his Web site.) On his Twitter feed, the governor wrote: "Simply …

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Report: Alexandria's Children Among Least Spoiled

Do you consider children in Alexandria spoiled? Take our poll.

With all the fancy strollers around the region, it might come as a surprise that children in Alexandria and Washington, D.C., are among the least spoiled in the United States according to Bundle.com. WTOP reports that the data compilation website ranked 36 metropolitan cities against national averages to find out where the most money is spent on children—or, by and large, how spoiled those children might be. According to the report, a middle-income family spends an estimated $12,000 on child-related expenses during a baby's first year. Costs for a child’s second year go up to more than $12,500.  Alexandria came in at No. 29, with parents spending 47 percent less than the national average on their children. The District came in at No. 28, …

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Dixie Pig Owner Adelaide 'Addie' Arthur Dies At 73

Del. Scott Surovell paid tribute to Addie in his 'The Dixie Pig' blog named after a favorite restaurant of his grandmother's.

Hayfield Farms resident and entrepreneur Adelaide 'Addie' Arthur died on Thursday, March 22, 2012. She was 73. Addie's family was the owner and operator of many businesses, opening the Dixie Pig BBQ restaurants, according to the Legacy obituary in The Washington Post. "People from all across the country have raved about the Dixie Pig, including weatherman Willard Scott," the Legacy obituary reads. "The restaurant was also featured on an episode of CSI." According to The Washington Post, the first Dixie Pig opened in 1924 on Powhatan Street in Alexandria. Now it's Vaso's Kitchen, but the old Dixie Pig signage still sits atop the restaurant. The second Dixie Pig location opened on Route 1 in 1946. Although the location at Beacon Hill Road …

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Poll: What Do You Call Home?

Outside of Alexandria City, but not quite far enough south to be Mount Vernon. Where are we?

If you're a resident of Huntington, Belle Haven or Groveton, chances are you tell people you live in Alexandria, Fairfax County or Mount Vernon to keep it simple. But in the context of a conversation with a nearby resident—say, someone you meet in the carpool line or in the grocery store—what do you call the general area we call home?

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Krupicka Believes Agenda Sets Him Apart

State senate candidate says creating local-state partnerships will be critical to future of Northern Virginia.

Rob Krupicka argues he’s the only candidate in the Democratic primary for the 30th District state senate seat with a clear, focused agenda for the office. In a race against two other similarly-aligned party members—Del. Adam Ebbin (D-49th) and Arlington School Board member Libby Garvey—Krupicka believes it is this agenda, one he says has specific plans to boost education in the state and to create state-local partnerships to build mass transit and environmental solutions for Northern Virginia, that sets him apart. “We’re asking people to hire us for a job that we could be in for a very long time,” Krupicka said. “I think people need to not just understand what your experience is or what your values are. I think they need to understand what…

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Tom Cadorette

9:56 am on Monday, August 22, 2011

Seems to me that Krupicka will get more done as a city councilman and member of the state Board of Education than he will as a part-time legislator in a sharply divided General Assembly -- I imagine citizens of Alexandria would rather have him stay there than see his efforts diluted in the Senate.   more ›

Green and Simple

Green and Simple: The Added Benefits of Buying Local

A simple shopping errand is a reminder of the rewards of buying local

A couple of months ago I wrote about my commitment to avoiding big-box stores for the month of April in honor of Earth Day. While I have not been able to avoid them completely, I have made a significant effort to change my shopping habits and buy locally. I recently needed new bags for my vacuum cleaner, which can be purchased online or at a vacuum cleaner store. It is the kind of purchase I do not make very often and one that I sometimes make online for the convenience. This time I decided to go to SunSewVac, which is just a few miles down Richmond Highway where I bought the vacuum cleaner more than 10 years ago. The store is not too far from my son's preschool and it is in a shopping plaza where I needed to make another stop, so it would…

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