Editorial: Award-Winning Connection Newspapers
Still striving to be the Connection to your community.
Connection Newspapers won dozens of awards from the Virginia Press Association for work done in 2015.
Speaker Series
Senior Services of Alexandria will present Aging Well, Working Together for a Livable Community for all Ages, next in a speaker series, on Wednesday, April 13, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Beatley Central Library, 5005 Duke Street, Alexandria.
Luxury Condos are a Growth Market for Seniors
Active retirees seek options for independent living, including condos in Alexandria, Arlington, Tysons, Reston, McLean, Bethesda and Chevy Chase, among others.
When Joyce and Don Lipman decided to move out of their Potomac, Md. home, they opted for a high-end townhouse instead of a retirement community.

Taking the Long View
Budgeted, incremental improvements are the key to effective planning, aging in place.
When they decided not to move-on after retirement, seniors Mike and Sandy Nusbaum slowly began enlarging their long-term residence with several goals in mind.
Golden Notes
Living well at any age.

‘Shark Tank’ for Seniors
High school students design and present tech products to improve lives of older adults.
Chantilly High School freshman Aru Rajpurohit remembers seeing her great-grandfather struggle to drink his morning tea and other beverages, his hands shaking from Parkinson’s disease.

Letter: Help Prevent Child Abuse
If you see a blue pinwheel dotting the landscape in April, we hope you will pause and think about what it represents--National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Letter: Limiting Health Care Choices
To the Editor
Recently it was announced that Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna are planning to merge, which would severely limit the choices residents of the Commonwealth have when picking their healthcare provider.
Sanderson Honored for 25 Years of Civic Service in the Arts
Douglas J. Sanderson, a principal in the law firm of McCandlish & Lillard, P.C., was honored at the 2016 Fairfax County Federation of Citizens' annual awards banquet with a Citation of Merit recognizing his 25 years of “pro-bono legal service
Send in Mother's Day Photos to the Connection
Mother’s Day is May 8 this year and as usual every year at this time, this newspaper calls for submissions to our Mother’s Day photo gallery.
Editorial: Move Forward with Independent Oversight
While FCPD has embraced many critical changes, supervisors need to move forward with oversight.
Last week, the Fairfax County Police Department posted a list and progress report of 202 recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission, each currently labeled as one of: implemented, in progress or under review.

First Responders Honored at 38th Annual Valor Awards
‘Ready for All Emergencies’
Technician Ryland Chapman and Lieutenant Lawrence Mullin with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were preparing to return home from a deployment with Virginia Task Force 1 to earthquake-rocked Kathmandu, Nepal when another quake sent them back out for duty.

Lawmakers Wrap-up Richmond Legislative Session
Unspent TANF grant money, prisoner rights among social issues discussed.
On average, low income families in Virginia who are eligible and sign up for funds from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant receive $269 monthly and are cut off after five years. But lawmakers say there’s a lot more unexpended money available in the federal grant that, if it remains unused, could one day be taken back.

‘Share Your Hair’ at Westfield High School
Allie Bush, an 11th grader at Westfield High School, working with other Class of 2017 officers, will be holding a hair-cutting opportunity at school so that classmates and teachers can donate hair for Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths Program.

Clifton Snapshot: Autism Awareness
Students at Union Mill Elementary School participate in the Autism Awareness Program. The program includes six stations in the gym that are designed to create awareness of some challenges children with autism may experience.
Oak Hill Letter: Outrageous Budget Requests
Letter to the Editor
The following statement was addressed to the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education.
Centreville Letter: Countering Terrorism With Interfaith Prayer
Letter to the Editor
We often see Muslims in the media creating terrorism, but the Muslims of the Ahmadiyya Community are fighting against it.
After 15 Years, Wolfe Admits Guilt
Writes confession saying he killed Danny Petrole.
After 15 years of denying that he ordered the killing of Danny Petrole, Justin Wolfe reversed himself last week in a handwritten confession. In it, he admitted giving the go-ahead to the man who carried out the hit.

Centreville: ‘He and Erin Are Together’
Grafton Peterson, Virginia Tech victim’s father, dies at 57.
Like most people, Grafton Peterson experienced both great joy and great sadness in his life. He had a long and happy marriage and two children he adored. But he outlived both his daughters and, on March 18, succumbed to a heart attack at age 57.

New decision-making training meant to alter how Fairfax County police officers approach use of force
Making decisions can be instinctual, from the gut. It can also be practical and informed, coming to the best judgement considering all variables. For police officers responding to calls where there might be a threat of violence to civilians and or themselves, their decision whether to use force and which type to neutralize the situation quickly must be a hybrid.