Monday, May 6, 2013
Amazing Race finale lands in Mount Vernon.
The Amazing Race on CBS finished its season Sunday at the Mount Vernon estate after a stop in Washington, where contestants had their picture taken with "President Obama," and then traveled to the Tidal Basin, where "spies" were hanging out before landing at National Stadium. The Amazing Race, which features contestants racing against each other to complete tasks in different parts of the world, aired its finale Sunday with the teams of Max and Katie, Anthony and Bates, and Mona and Beth each vying for the $1 million prize. Anthony and Bates Battaglia finished first, crossing the finish line on the lawn of the mansion. Tasks that the contestants must complete are typically related to the part of the world they're in at the time. In …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
County Survey Seeks to Determine Numbers
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Glenda Booth
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
It’s a little dull grayish-brown bug that can devastate trees. The fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) is “very prevalent” in the Mount Vernon, Huntington and Franconia areas, but not other parts of the Fairfax County, county urban forester Joan Allen recently said. No one knows why they are concentrated in the eastern part of the county at this time. This winter, county staffers are trying to determine whether fall cankerworm populations are reaching dangerous levels and where. In the past ten years, these insects have defoliated up to 5,000 acres in the Mount Vernon area. (The spring cankerworm, Paleacrita vernata, is a different species.) Cankerworm population levels were high enough in early 2012 in the Mount Vernon-Franconia area …
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…
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 …
Thursday, October 4, 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 Sept. 28 from the Mount Vernon Police District of the Fairfax County Police Department. Assault (marked in red on above map), 4500 block of Colony Court, 9/23/12, 3:35 a.m. The victim was drinking with a couple of acquaintances when a disagreement turned into a physical confrontation. David Rodriguez Barrer, 31, of Alexandria and Alexander Cerna Cabrera, 40, of Alexandria, were each charged with assault. In separate and unrelated incidents: Robbery (marked in blue on above map), 7800 block of Richmond Highway, 9/22/12, 8:30 p.m. The employee victim reported two individuals entered the …
Carrie Berry
9:42 pm on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
I could not agree more! Have you ever seen such soul-less people before?!?! more ›