Thursday, May 9, 2013
Democratic gubernatorial candidate laid out platform at George Mason's Arlington campus.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe said Thursday he would push to reform the state's Standards of Learning, or SOL, tests if he is elected in November. "The current, once-a-year, high-stakes, multiple-choice testing isn't working for students, parents or teachers," he told a crowd of more than 300 people at George Mason University's Arlington campus, to rousing applause. Under the current system, a fifth-grade teacher who raises a child from a first-grade reading level to a fourth-grade reading level is considered a failure, he said. Teachers who want to break up the test into smaller portions, or test at different levels based on student achievement should be encouraged, he said. McAuliffe also said he would establish a "…
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
An Internet radio host called for a march from Virginia into the district on July Fourth with loaded guns.
D.C. Chief of Police Cathy Lanier said Metropolitan Police Department officers would meet protesters as they enter the District, should they proceed with their plan to march into Washington with loaded guns, according to the Washington Post. Lanier's remarks were directed at Adam Kokesh, who has created a Facebook page for an event he is calling the "Open Carry March on Washington." "We will march with rifles loaded [and] slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated [or] cower in submission to tyranny," according to the Facebook page. Lanier said there's a difference between civil disobedience and violation of the law. It is legal for D.C. residents to have registered firearms in their homes, but …
U.S. Air Force JAG office requested case be turned over to the military.
The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office for Arlington and Falls Church will proceed with the the sexual battery case against Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski rather than hand it over to the military for prosecution. Krusinski, a 41-year-old Arlington man who works at the Pentagon, was charged this weekend by local police after a woman said he groped her in Crystal City parking lot. Thanks to his position as chief of the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch, his face — scraped and cut in a booking photo — appeared in national news stories Monday afternoon. Upon hearing the news, the Air Force removed him from his position. Gen. Mark Walsh, Air Force Chief of Staff, told U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine on Tuesday that an area …
The Virginia Republican Party will nominate its candidates during a convention in two weeks, and some experts have weighed in on the system.
When Virginia’s Republican Party made a last-minute decision to nominate candidates for the 2013 election in a convention instead of a primary, it prompted Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to withdraw his name from the race for governor. The move made Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s current attorney general, the GOP’s de facto nominee for governor. He's expected to be officially nominated during the Virginia Republican Convention on May 17 and 18 in Richmond. (See our guide to the convention right here.) See Also: Poll: Does the Virginia GOP Convention Represent True Democracy? Bolling said he dropped out of the race because he didn’t agree with the convention system, arguing that it made the nomination exlusionary. “Conventions are by their very nature …
Arlington police charged the Air Force's Sex Assault Prevention chief With sexual battery Sunday in Crystal City.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., pressed U.S. Air Force officials at a hearing Tuesday about sexual assault in the military, specifically noting the recent arrest of Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski. Krusinski, a 41-year-old Arlington resident who works at the Pentagon, was removed from his position as chief of the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch on Monday. Arlington County police early Sunday charged him with sexual battery after a woman said he fondled her breasts and buttocks in a Crystal City parking lot. “I just worry about the effects of this,” Kaine said. “There are all sorts of today effects of this event when someone is charged — particularly when a person overseeing a program to deal with victims of sexual assault is in…
Sunday, May 5, 2013
The Republican Party in Virginia decided to have a primary in 2013, but later changed its mind.
Virginia’s Republican Party annual convention is set for May 17 and 18, and delegates from around the state will select nominees for Lt. Governor and Attorney General. GOP officials have gone back and forth in recent years on whether to host a convention or conduct an open primary. In 2011, GOP officials had decided to hold a primary in 2013, but a group of newly elected members of the Commonwealth's GOP central committee changed course in 2012 and switched to a closed convention. The switch to a convention saves local governments and the state money — primaries are paid for with state and local dollars, but convention costs come directly from the Virginia GOP’s funds. It was the announcement of plans for a 2013 convention that drove Lt. …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Arlington police and the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office found no criminal activity or intent, county officials say.
Arlington County announced this week that it had restructured a popular senior travel program in the wake of problems caused by lax oversight — including employees maintaining independent bank accounts for the program that were not subject to county auditing or financial controls. “The Senior Travel Program is a very successful program that unfortunately, cut corners in its operations,” Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan said in a statement. The county found out about the accounts in November 2010 and subsequently coordinated an investigation with the Arlington County Police Department and the local Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. That concluded in May 2012 and no criminal activity or intent was found, according to a news release…
Monday, April 29, 2013
Top news of the week from our Patches around Virginia and DC.
Patch has 31 community sites in Virginia and D.C. Here are some of the top stories from around the region over the past week. 16. Mark Wahlberg Visits: Actor Mark Wahlberg visited T.C. Williams High School on Wednesday morning for an assembly presented by Get Schooled, a nonprofit that aims to engage high school students in an effort to improve graduation rates and empower more students to achieve in college. “I had to work really hard to get where I’m at,” Wahlberg said. “And I don’t mind working really hard to try and maintain it." 15. Runner Pledges 30 Races: Arlington resident Lauren Bailey is halfway through a personal challenge that has been daunting and exhilarating — running 30 races in one year, the year of her 30th birthday. …
Saturday, April 27, 2013
The public is invited to use online polls, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram to earn points to help Arlington historic sites win funding for preservation work.
The Arlington House and the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington are finalists competing for part of a $1 million historic preservation grant. Partners in Preservation, a joint venture of American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is letting the public vote on which projects should receive funding for a project. Voting started this week and continues through May 10. You can learn more and earn points for the Arlington House or the Marine Corps War Memorial here. You can also see a list of all projects that could receive grant money — there are more than 20 in the greater Washington area. Points are calculated based on online polls, Foursquare check-ins, Instagram photos and tweets. "Most sites will get at least a…
Thursday, April 25, 2013
There will be a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor and attorney general June 11.
It's getting to be that time again — time to cast your ballot. On June 11, there will be a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor and attorney general. Absentee voting for the primary begins Friday. There are several qualifying circumstances to vote absentee. To learn more about circumstances in which absentee voting is an appropriate option, visit Arlington's absentee voting page. A list of who is qualified to vote absentee, from Arlington County: Absentee Voting in Person You can go to the Office of Voter Registration on the third floor of 2100 Clarendon Blvd. and cast your ballot in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays from April 26 through June 7. The office also will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, …
oldtowner
6:41 pm on Monday, May 13, 2013
wow...I guess Don Joyless doesn't like women (affirmative-action hires).....Note the word CIVIL, Don....maybe you should try it some time....One can have a protest (a civil one) without breaking any laws.... more ›