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Arlington Connection ❖ February 17-23, 2016 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.comonline at www.connectionnewspapers.comFebruary 17-23, 2016

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Dung Tran with Zoeat Arlington MillCommunity Centerduring a “HelpingPaws” event.

‘HelpingPaws’

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‘HelpingPaws’

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13,500 Gallons of Mineral OilFlow into PotomacNews, Page 3

Budget Season BloomsNews, Page 2

Just Play’n Country for FunPeople, Page 5

13,500 Gallons of Mineral OilFlow into PotomacNews, Page 3

Budget Season BloomsNews, Page 2

Just Play’n Country for FunPeople, Page 5

2 ❖ Arlington Connection ❖ February 17-23, 2016 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

By Vernon Miles

The Connection

The birds will be singing, the snowwill be melting, and throughoutspring, Arlington County staff and

board members will spend most of their af-ternoons haggling over finances. On Feb.23, the County Board will vote on CountyManager Mark Schwartz’s proposed FY2017 budget, and 2016’s budget session willofficially kick off.

2016 shows no sign of slowing forArlington’s population growth, whichmeans increases in service demands and theschool population. Even before the County

Board can begin financing county projectsand services, the county faces $7 million innon-discretionary inflationary increases tocounty expenditures. There’s a 3 percent($1 million) increase in metro costs, andanother 3 percent ($1.9 million) in countydebt and 9.5 percent increase (also $1.9million) in county facility costs.

Residential assessments in Arlington areexpected to increase by 3 percent, with zerogrowth in commercial property growth. Inthe commercial property sector, office va-cancy continues to be a major concern. Va-cancy rates are currently at 20.8 percent,the lowest it’s been since the last quarter of2013. Vacancy rates spiked in late 2014 at

23.6 percent vacancy. With little growth incommercial property, the preliminary FY2017 outlook prepared by the countymanager’s office indicated that more of thetax burden will continue to shift towardshomeowners.

Arlington County government and Arling-ton Public Schools have a revenue sharingagreement, meaning 46.5 percent of thelocal tax revenue goes directly into theschools. Arlington County Public Schoolswill host its first budget meeting on Thurs-day, Feb. 18, where preliminary budgetguidance estimates that county and schoolswill face a $12 million budget gap. If accu-rate, that gap is less than the record $20

million gap that the FY 2016 budget startedwith.

The preliminary outlook noted that stu-dent growth had increased by between 2.8percent and 5.2 percent per year over thelast five years. However, that growth wasexpected to slow to between 2.7 percent and3.5 percent each year over the next fiveyears.

The entirety of the Feb. 23 ArlingtonCounty Board meeting will surround a voteon a request to advertise the FY 2017 bud-get. Public Budget Hearings will take placetowards the end of March, with a tax ratehearing on March 31. Budget adoption willoccur in April.

Love. Revenge. A clever hero. A beau-tiful princess. Sword fights. “ThePrincess Bride” has everything any-

one could want in a Valentine’s Day movie,which is how the classic film became anannual tradition at the ArlingtonDrafthouse, which shows the movie, alongwith a magic show or stand up, every Feb.14.

“I grew up with it, I can quote it line byline,” said Dana Biedrzycki, who also sawthe movie at Arlington Drafthouse and Cin-ema last year. “I took my boyfriend last year,and I actually did quote it word for word inthe theater.”

For Stacey Sawin, her love of the film goesall the way back to elementary school, whenshe got it as a present one year for Easter.Over the years, Sawin says it has becomeher favorite movies, but seeing it onValentine’s Day, 2016, was extra specialbecause her boyfriend of 10 months, VikramRajan, had never seen it.

“That’s inconceivable,” said someone be-hind them when Rajan confessed.

“I know,” Rajan answered, “I keep hear-ing that line.”

Further back along the line, Joe Tesher

News

Budget Season Blooms Looking at the basics of Arlington’s 2016 budget.

Commercialvacancy rateshave decreasedsince 2014, butremain high. TheFairfax Countyand Alexandriacommercialvacancy rates in2016 were bothat 16 percent,just under the 17percent averagevacancy rate forNorthern Vir-ginia.

The averagesinglefamilyhomeownersin Arlingtoncan expectan $242increase inin taxes andfees.

Graphics

contributed

Line stretching down the block forthe sold-out 3:30 showing of “ThePrincess Bride.”

‘As You Wish’Annual “PrincessBride” Valentine’sDay screening atArlington Drafthouse.

said his relationship had started with a simi-lar story. He said he had seen Princess Bridebefore dating his girlfriend, but that she’dmade him watch it again with her as a testto see whether they would last as a couple.Tesher said he had enjoyed it well enoughthe first time, but really loved it when hewatched it with her.

The stand-up routine accompanying themovie was performed by RandolphTerrance, which is what Caroline Defebbosaid brought her out on that Valentine’s Day.

“It’s already timeless,” Defebbo said,” butthis is an additional layer. I’m excited to seea new take on it.”

Not everyone in the line was seeing it tocelebrate Valentine’s Day. For JenniferBurnette and Natasha Dfosu, best friendsfrom high school in line to see the movie, italso happened to be their birthday.

“It’s the ultimate fairy tale,” Burnette said.“It’s a classic.”

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— Vernon Miles

Arlington Connection ❖ February 17-23, 2016 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

By Shirley Ruhe

The Connection

The unraveling of the oil sheenmystery on the Potomac Rivertook Federal, state and Arling-ton County officials, the Coast

Guard, multiple lab tests and days of specu-lation. And although Dominion VirginiaPower has accepted responsibility, they stilldon’t know how it happened.

The Coast Guard was notified Feb. 3 bythe National Response Center about an oilysheen of unknown origin or extent on thePotomac River. Lt. David Ruhlig, incidentcommander for the initial response phaseof the operation, said the Coast Guard gota cluster of reports in early February fromthe National Response Center. He said somereports were from their own Coast Guardboats on the river, others anonymous andsome attributed.

“We investigate every oil spill report wereceive; my specific division alone had over300 reports last year,” he said.

This was 11 days after Dominion Powerhad informed environmental officials abouta leak that had taken place on Jan. 24 whena Dominion transformer failed and the min-eral oil used to cool the equipment spilledon the ground and some of the other equip-ment. It wasn’t until Feb. 4 that the publicgot word of the situation in a news report.

“When the spill happened we notified theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA),the Virginia Department of EnvironmentalQuality (DEQ) and Arlington County laterthat same day,” said Le-Ha Anderson,spokesperson for Dominion Power. “At thesuggestion of the EPA, Dominion notifiedthe National Response Center on Jan. 25.Then we were out there every day underclose supervision with representatives of theEPA, DEQ and Arlington County while wewere doing cleanup and inspecting locationswhere oil could have gone into any water-way. There was no evidence of any oil out-side the area except one manhole in frontof the station. We inspected the two outfallsthat connect to that manhole and they wereclear of any visible sign of oil. We believewe have picked up most of the oil.”

She said they were still in that clean-upprocess when the National Park Service toldthem there was an oil sheen present on thePotomac.

Del. Mark Levine said he first found outabout the oil sheen on Wednesday afternoonFeb. 3 when he received emails from con-stituents saying there appeared to be oil onthe Potomac.

“They could see it, smell it. They asked ifI knew anything about it so I started call-ing around,” he said. The Virginia DEQ con-

NewsArlington Connection Editor Steven Mauren

703-778-9415 or [email protected]

Photos by Shirley Ruhe/The Connection

Gulls and ducks had returned to Roaches Run Wildlife Sanctuary onSunday, Feb. 14. This is the site where an oil sheen was first discoveredearlier in February.

Dominion Power transformer station at 18th and South Fern Street inArlington was responsible for a Jan. 24 spillage of about 13,500 gallonsof mineral oil used to cool the equipment. This resulted in an oil sheenfound on the Potomac, Roaches Run and manholes nearby.

Dominion Powerworking onremediation.

13,500 Gallons of Mineral Oil Flow into Riverfirmed there was something. The VirginiaDepartment of Emergency Managementknew nothing about it but said they wouldget tests to him by the next day. “As soon asI knew, I told the public within hours.” hesaid. “I don’t know why DEQ didn’t tell any-body. I thought the public had a right toknow.” Levine represents the citizens of Al-exandria, Arlington and Fairfax in Virginia’s45th district.

On Feb. 10 the Coast Guard got the firsttest results from the oily sheen. Andersonsaid the Coast Guard at first thought it washome heating oil. Then on Feb. 12 she saidthe Coast Guard got more test results andlinked the sheen to the Dominion substa-tion in Crystal City.

“These results are not like a DNA test;these tests give us a margin that the type ofoil could fall in,” Anderson said.

Petty Officer David Marin, spokespersonfor the Coast Guard, said that mineral oil isnot the same kind of fuel oil like jet oil orgasoline but is more in the spectrum withheating oil.

“Lab results from the Unified Commandfor all of the samples from Roaches Run,the Potomac, sewer system or manholeswere the same,” he added.

Anderson explained after they had readthe Coast Guard report, and done some oftheir own analysis, Dominion Power tookresponsibility. But, she said, “We don’t knowwhat could have caused this to happen. Wedon’t have any evidence from the CoastGuard that it is a match to the sheen andhow it got into Roaches Run.”

David Botkins, director of media relationsand communication for Dominion Power,said, “I think we’ll know eventually whatcaused it. We always go back and do ourown forensics investigation.”

The connection of the transformer spillto the oil sheen might seem obvious, butRuhlig said, “In the early stages we don’tpresume anything. We look where the factstake us. It was a dynamic event with a sig-nificant snow melt that made things morecomplicated, and we got a series of differ-ent reports.”

Levine says the same thing happened amonth ago in Harrisburg, and five years agothere was a Pepco oil spill. As a result, heplans to introduce legislation in the nextsession to regulate containment of mineraloil in transformers and also to require apublic notification process. “Obviously thereisn’t one now,” he said.

The next step is cleanup and remediation.Marin said that they had opened up a trustfund to pay for the response while they wereinvestigating the responsible party. Nowthat Dominion has accepted responsibility,it will be up to them to pay for all have thecleanup and remediation.

Anderson says a meeting is scheduled thisweek to talk about the next steps financially,the mitigation required and the period oftime.

“We are committed to do this quickly,”Anderson said.

Staying in the 1890s waters to notify the State Water Control Board, theDepartment of Environmental Quality, or the co-ordinator of emergency services of the affectedlocality with 12 hours. Current law allows such aperson 24 hours to give notice. The bill also re-quires that written notice follow to the board, inaddition to the department, and specifies that therequired report of potentially detrimental dis-charges by the board or the department to localnewspapers, television stations, and radio stationsbe provided to such media outlets as soon as prac-ticable after receiving it. This bill was defeated ona party line vote 37-56.

Lopez said he introduced his legislation last sum-mer because Virginia is the fifth worst state in thecountry for toxic dumps. “It was just a coincidencethat it was considered yesterday after the informa-tion became public about the recent oil spill on thePotomac.” He said the legislation would have takenVirginia from the 1890s to the 1950s in terms ofnotification because it expanded the requirementfrom newspapers to radio and TV. “And they didn’teven want that.”

Section 62.1-44.19:6 Citizen right-to-know provisions.

Current right-to-know provisions require theState Water Control Board to provide to a localnewspaper the discharge information reported tothe director of the Department of EnvironmentQuality when the Virginia Department of Healthdetermines that the discharge may be detrimentalto the public health or the board determines thatthe discharge may impair beneficial uses of statewaters.

On Feb. 15 legislation was considered in theVirginia legislature to expand the reporting re-quirements for discharge of deleterious substanceinto state waters. HB977 was introduced by Demo-cratic Del. Alfonso Lopez and reported fromcommittee. This bill was considered on the floor ofthe Virginia House the same day. It expanded cur-rent law to require any person who unlawfullydischarges any deleterious substance into state


By Amina Luqman

The Connection

When Charles and PattyToftoy visit ArlingtonMill Community Cen-

ter with Zoe in their arms, thesmiles and laughter begin almostthe moment they enter the door.

“Hi Zoe!” says receptionist. Zoe,the 6-year-old Yorkie, wags her tailand prances from side to side. It’sshow time, and she’s ready.

Upstairs, the Toftoys enter acommunity room, 12 seniors areseated in a half circle. They watchin amusement as Patty Toftoykeeps a hand on Zoe’s leash whileshe darts about and Charles Toftoysets up. The tricks begin. Zoecharms her audience as she jumpsthrough hoops, runs zigzagthrough a line of orange cones,sits, jumps and high fives on com-mand. “Good girl,” praise Pattyand Charles Toftoy. The audiencemembers clap. Zoe knows 12tricks.

The Toftoys and Zoe are “Help-ing Paws.” It began over 10 yearsago, out of a love for their dogsand a desire to make people happy.They have two dogs, Zoe, and anolder dog, Sasha. Both are York-shire Terriers. Sasha doesn’t per-form much anymore. “We used togo to senior facilities and letpeople hold her. But then the dogsstarted learning tricks,” said PattyToftoy. Soon a full performancewas born. Zoe has made appear-ances at senior adult centers, hos-pitals, assisted living, nursinghomes and rehab centers through-out Arlington County and as far

‘Helping Paws’ Entertains SeniorsA treat for the audience and treats for the performer.

News

Photos by

Amina Luqman

The Connection

Charles “Chuck” Toftoy, Patty Toftoy and Zoe

Alex Goldstein holds Zoe.

Salwa Al-Kaysi holds Zoe.

Valentina Levchemko withZoe.

Oscar Coreas holds Zoe. Zoe does tricks.

away as North Carolina. They doa show every third Wednesday atArlington Mill Center and everysecond Tuesday at Walter ReedCommunity Center.

“They really enjoy being here,”said Emma Valencia, of her seniorparticipants. Valencia is the se-nior programs coordinator at Ar-lington Mill Center. She’s been

working with the Toftoys and Zoefor years, making sure to includethem as an option in their seniorrecreational activities schedule.“They need it. Most of them livealone, ” she says.

After the tricks, the couplepasses Zoe from hand to hand.Each audience member gets achance to hold Zoe and feed her a

treat. Broad smiles appear onmany faces. “I like dogs verymuch,” smiles Salwa Al-kaysi asshe holds Zoe. Most can’t resist,and give Zoe a warm hug. Zoe, inher element, revels in it all, happyto accept their treats.

“Helping Paws” has their nextappearance on Feb. 29 at the LeeAdult Center.

Volunteer Opportunities

Email announcements to [email protected].

Shepherd’s Center of McLean-Arlington-Falls Church is seekingvolunteers to give seniorstransportation to medical andtherapy appointments, the pharmacyand grocery store. The Center alsoneeds volunteers willing to visitseniors in their homes and to make

phone calls from time to time to letlonely seniors know they have notbeen forgotten. Call 703-506-2199,email [email protected] or visitwww.scmafc.org.

Arlington Public Library is seekingteen volunteers to work on Mondays,3:30-5 p.m. with a year-long timecommitment. Responsibilities wouldinclude sorting materials, attachinglabels to books, etc. Call 703-228-

5960.ArtStream is looking for volunteers of

all ages to act as on-stage mentorsfor the 2016 Inclusive Theatreproductions in Arlington. InclusiveTheatre Companies are scriptedacting companies featuring adultswith intellectual disabilities, learningdisabilities and adults on the AutismSpectrum. The Companies aredirected by trained theatre

professionals. Call 301-565-4567.Homework Helpers Needed.

Columbia Pike Branch Library isseeking high school and collegestudents and retired teachers to workindividually with elementary andmiddle school students from 3-6 p.m.Call 703-228-5960 or visitvolunteer.truist.com/acvo/org/oppfor details.

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Vernon MilesReporter

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Jon RoetmanSports Editor703-752-4013

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Connection


SHILLELAGHS TRAVEL CLUB100 East Street SE, Suite 202 • Vienna, Virginia 22180

703-242-2204 1-800-556-8646Please visit our Web site at: www.shillelaghtravelclub.com

for a listing of all our upcoming trips and socials.

Celebratingour 50th

Anniversary

Rehoboth Beach, DE, May 9–13.........................................................$659Spend 4 nights at the Atlantic Sands Hotel on the Boardwalk. Walk to Shops,Restaurants & Live Theatre. Includes Motorcoach transportation from Vienna orRockville. 1 Luncheon, porterage & taxes.

IRELAND including the NORTH! May 22–June 1........................$3,199Includes non-stop air from Dulles, 9-nights hotels with full Irish Breakfast, DailySightseeing, Tea & Scones, Irish Coffee, 8 Dinners, deluxe Motorcoach inIreland. Call for detailed itinerary.

Canada & New England Cruise from Baltimore June 23 to July 2 ..$5709 nights cruising on RCCL’s Grandeur of the Seas. All Meals & Entertainment –call for itinerary.

OPEN SUNDAY 1 to 4 pm

“Flourishing After 55” from ArlingtonOffice of Senior Adult Programs for Feb.21-27.

Senior Centers: Lee, 5722 LeeHwy.; Langston-Brown Senior Center,2121 N. Culpeper St.; Culpepper Gar-den, 4435 N. Pershing Dr.; Walter Reed,2909 S. 16th St.; Arlington Mill, 909 S.Dinwiddie St.; Aurora Hills, 735 S. 18th

St.Senior trips: Sunday, Feb. 21, U.S.

Army Band 94th anniversary concert, $5;Tuesday, Feb. 23, Open rehearsal,Mariinsky Ballet, Kennedy Center, $23;Thursday, Feb. 25, Henley Park Hotel,

D.C., afternoon tea, $58; Friday, Feb.26, Capital Remodel and Garden Show,Chantilly, $19; Saturday, Feb. 27, Sig-nature Theatre, “Road Show,” $69. CallArlington, County 55+ Travel, 703-228-4748. Registration required.

Pickleball games and instruc-tion, Mondays, 11 a.m., Arlington Mill.Free. Register, 703-228-7369.

Skating, Mondays, 8:10a.m. – 9:20a.m., Kettler Capitals Iceplex, BallstonMall, $1. Register, 703-228-4771.

Madison Chess Club, Mondays,9:30 a.m. Games and strategies. Free.Details, 703-534-6232.

Table tennis, Monday through Fri-day, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Arlington Mill.Free. Register, 703-228-7369.

Book swap, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1p.m., Culpepper Garden Senior Center.Free. Register, 703-228-4403.

Genealogy 101, Tuesday, Feb. 23,11:30 a.m., Lee. Free. Register, 703-228-0555.

Volleyball, Tuesdays, 1:30 p.m.,Langston-Brown. Free. Register, 703-228-6300.

Belly dance class, Tuesdays andFridays, 10 a.m., Lee. Free. Register,703-228-0555.

“Flourishing After 55”

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Just Play’n Country for FunDwayne Thompson on the guitar leads off with the wordsto “Detroit City” as Marshall Hendrickson on the banjoand his wife Peggy join in. Just Play’n Country, a group oflong-time Arlingtonians, is practicing at Lee Senior Cen-ter at their regular 1-3 p.m. Friday afternoon time. Thegroup plays together for fun but also at nursing homes,churches, elementary schools, the VFW and other localevents.

Sheet music open in frontof her, Karen Mullen on theautoharp sings, “I keep myeyes wide open all the time… Because you’re mine, Iwalk the line.” Mullen saysshe has been playing withsome of this group for over20 years at the center.

Chuck Vasaley has switchedfrom the harmonica to theclarinet as the pace picksup. Anne Peret, the pro-gramming supervisor atLee Senior Center, says shegot a call last week fromLeesburg asking how theycould duplicate this pro-gram. Her answer: “Get theright volunteer musicians.”

People


Entertainment

Email announcements to [email protected]. Include date,time, location, description and contact forevent: phone, email and/or website. Pho-tos and artwork welcome. Deadline isThursday at noon, at least two weeks be-fore event.

ONGOINGArt Exhibit: “The Power of Color.”

Through Feb. 27, Monday-Friday 10a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2p.m. at Gallery Underground, 2100Crystal Drive. “The Power of Color”focuses on vibrant color. Free. Visitwww.galleryunderground.org formore.

Photography by Jan Bender andRichard Weiblinger. ThroughMarch 30, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday at The Barry Gallery–Reinsch Library at MarymountUniversity, 2807 N. Glebe Road.Photographer Jan Bender focuses onfilm, using traditional techniques,Weiblinger’s photographs and plant

photograms are hand-printed. Free.Visit www.marymount.edu/barrygallery.

Sci-Fi Book Club. Third Wednesday ofeach month, 7-8:30 p.m. at JavaShack, 2507 N. Franklin Road. Free.Visit www.library.arlingtonva.us.

“King of the Forest: Adventures ofBioPerversity.” Through April 3,gallery hours at Arlington ArtsCenter, 3550 Wilson Blvd. Thisexhibit features the work of 13contemporary artists from the mid-Atlantic region whose work exploresthe interactions between humans andnon-human species. Free. Visitwww.arlingtonartscenter.org formore.

“Daydreams in theAnthropocene.” Through April 3,gallery hours at Arlington ArtsCenter, 3550 Wilson Blvd. ArtistRachel Schmidt examines the rolehumans play in the environment.Free. Visitwww.arlingtonartscenter.org formore.

Instructor Select. Through April 3,gallery hours at Arlington Arts

Center, 3550 Wilson Blvd. In theJenkin’s Community Gallery,Arlington Arts Center will presentInstructor Select 2016, featuringwork by both students andinstructors. Free. Visitwww.arlingtonartscenter.org.

LGBT & Straight Friends Social.Tuesdays. Happy Hour, 3 p.m.-7p.m.; Mikey’s “Bar A” Video Wall, 7p.m.; start time at 8 p.m. IOTA Club& Cafe, 2832 Wilson Blvd. For 21years and older. Free. Visitwww.iotaclubandcafe.com for moreinformation.

Food Truck Thursdays. 5:30-8:30p.m. at the corner of North IrvingStreet, and Washington Boulevard.Find a round-up of regional foodtrucks. Free to attend. Visitwww.dmvfta.org.

Karaoke. 8 p.m. on the first Sundayevery month at Galaxy Hut, 2711Wilson Blvd. Visitwww.galaxyhut.com or call 703-525-8646.

Pub Quiz. 8 p.m. every Sunday atWhitlow’s on Wilson, 2854 WilsonBlvd. Prizes for first place. Free. Visit

www.whitlows.com or call 703-276-9693.

Storytime. Mondays and Fridays,10:30-11 a.m. at Kinder Haus Toys,1220 N. Fillmore St. Storytime withMs. Laura. Call 703-527-5929.

Lego Club. Monthly on the firstWednesday. 4-5 p.m. GlencarlynBranch Library, 300 S. Kensington St.The library provides tubs of legos anda special challenge and after theprogram the creations are displayedfor everyone to see. No registrationrequired. Call 703-228-6548 formore.

Crystal City Sparket. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.on Wednesdays at 1900 CrystalDrive. Sparket — A Creative Marketis an extension of DC’s EasternMarket with arts, crafts, andhandmade goods. Free to attend.Visit www.crystalcity.org.

Open Mic Night. Wednesdays, at 8p.m., sign ups are at 7:30 and 10p.m., at Iota Club & Café, 2832Wilson Blvd. Free. Visit http://www.iotaclubandcafe.com/.

Art for Life. Third Thursday of eachmonth. The Hyatt Regency Crystal

City’s “Art for Life” Partnership withNational Kidney Foundation brings anew artist each month to The Hyattfor a reception. Free. Visitwww.torpedofactory.org.

Brunch at Freddie’s. Third Saturdayof every month, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. atFreddie’s Beach Bar, 555 23rd St.The Arlington Gay and LesbianAlliance gathers for an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet ($9.99). All arewelcome. No reservation is required.Visit www.facebook.com/events/700174390103305.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 17Pet Therapy. 10:15-11 a.m. at Walter

Reed Senior Center, 2909 S. 16th St.The public is invited to meet Zoe, atherapy Yorkshire Terrier. Free. Call703-608-8314 for more.

Arlington Sports Hall of FameProgram. 6:30 p.m. at ColumbusClub of Arlington, 5115 Little FallsRoad. Arlington Sports Hall of Fameofficers will make a briefpresentation about the Hall of Fame,its activities and plans for 2016 and

Calendar

By Hope Nelson

The Connection

Northern Virginia is home to in-numerable cuisines. Salva-doran, Korean, Vietnamese,Southern barbecue, Ethiopian

… the list goes on and on. But there’s beena dearth of Hawaiian cuisine in the region— until Hula Girl’s grand opening inShirlington changed that.

Hula Girl is one of the newest neighborsin the Village at Shirlington, but its rootsgo much deeper than its new location alone.Beginning as a food truck during the eco-nomic downturn several years ago, the res-taurant quickly filled a void in the patch-work of cuisines that knit the region to-gether.

“Lo and behold, the truck kind of just tookoff,” said owner Mikala Brennan. “Our linesgot longer and people kept finding us.”

And the customer base was diverse. EastCoasters found a new outlet for culinaryadventures, and native Hawaiians got alittle taste of home.

“Hawaiian food was this weird hole herethat had not been filled,” Brennan said.

In 2013, Brennan determined it was timeto grow the food truck into something big-ger. She initially set her sights on space inWashington, but quickly determined thatmoving across the river would meet therestaurant’s needs better.

“As I kept looking in D.C., I just wasn’tfinding what I wanted. One of the big thingsfor me was to have something all on onefloor,” she said. Two floors “just didn’t ap-peal to me. … I want it to be residential. I

want it to be a community. I want it to be aneighborhood place.”

Walking through the Village at Shirlingtonone day, Brennan noticed an empty store-front with a sign in the window advertisingits availability. But to her consternation, itturned out the space had already beentaken. A month later, though, the landlordcalled to tell Brennan the deal had fallenthrough and offered her the space.

“I had already looked at the space. Thekitchen was done really well; I knew wewould have to do a lot of demolition in thefront end, but I felt like OK, we’ve finallyfound it, after a year-plus of looking,”Brennan said.

It didn’t take long for Brennan and hercrew to settle in and make the space theirown. While the food is always a linchpin ofany restaurant, it’s crucial not to underesti-mate the importance of the décor and am-bience, and Brennan spent a lot of timethinking that through.

“I think a lot of people can look at Ha-

waiian and it can go in a lot of differentdirections,” she said. “… I wanted to bringelements in that were Hawaiian, but I didn’twant to bang people over the head with it.I wanted it to be subtle.”

The final result is less tiki bar and morefriendly, comfortable beach-chic. Light-col-ored wood tables and walls serve as thefoundation for the space, and lively artworkdots the walls.

But at the end of the day, the Hawaiianfood is the star of the show. The poke – tra-ditional Hawaiian raw fish salad – andSpam musubi are two of Hula Girl’s top sell-ers, Brennan said. The musubi, a sushi snackcontaining marinated Spam, can be an ac-quired taste for some, but it generally winsover a number of converts, Brennan added.

Don’t discount the mainland entrees.Brennan says the non-Hawaiian dishes packa punch despite their stateside roots.

“We have beautiful New York steaks inhere,” she said.

And vegetarians won’t be left out of thefun, either. The menu boasts several teriyakiplates, one featuring tofu as the protein ofchoice, served with rice or a salad.

Also, Brennan says, the woodear mush-room salad is a bit of “a sleeper hit.” Teem-ing with sweet potato noodles, edamame,daikon, and of course the featured mush-

rooms, it’s great by itself — or with grilledchicken or steak for the omnivores at thetable.

The bar offers a plethora of cocktails,wines, and beers to wash down your meal.

“Our mai tai is one of the best things thatwe have,” Brennan says, and the wine listsports many regional and further-flung of-ferings, beginning with Maryland andstretching out to the Finger Lakes region ofNew York and beyond. The beers, Brennansays, are a blend of local and Hawaiianbreweries, ranging from Adroit Theory inPurcellville to Kona Brewing Company onthe Big Island.

The restaurant’s first few months of lifehave been a whirlwind of growth, butBrennan says they’re not finished yet. She’sstill aiming to get one of the D.C. area’s mostfamous Hawaiians – President Obama – infor a meal before he moves out of town.

“I briefly went to the same high school ashe did and we were born in the same hos-pital,” Brennan said.

Based on the reception Hula Girl has re-ceived from the community, he wouldn’t bedisappointed.

Hula Girl Brings Taste of Hawaii to Shirlington

DetailsHula Girl

4044 Campbell Ave., Arlington11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11:30

a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.Hidden gem: The woodear mushroom salad. “I

think when people do kind of find it, they’re like‘Oh my gosh, this is so great,’” says owner MikalaBrennan. “I wanted to do something that was ve-gan-friendly.”

Point of pride: The bathroom, which is decoratedwith photos that bring meaning to Brennan’s life.“A lot of them are pictures of my mom,” Lynda “LB”Brennan, who was a Pan-American flight atten-dant. “If you look closely at the pictures, it’s astory.”

What started as a food truck has blossomedinto a full-fledged restaurant giving Hawaiians— and Hawaiian food fans — a taste of home.

The restaurant’s cocktail, wine,and beer lists are extensive. TheSpicy Hula begins with a habanero-infused tequila and cools thetongue off with some lime andhibiscus syrup.

Hula Girl’s table décor is fun – andfunctional.


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February 26–March 12, 2016

Sam Shephard’s

Directed by Jon TownsonProduced by Mary Beth Smith-Toomey

Info/Tix:www.portcityplayhouse.org

In the Lab at Convergence1819 N. Quaker Lane,Alexandria, VA 22302

Creating BetterTogether

ourconvergence.org

C NVERGENCE

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Entertainment

beyond, including plans for a Hall ofFame display in an Arlington publiclibrary or school, and possible annualsocial events. Tickets start at $25.Contact Rick Schumann [email protected] or 703-241-0390.

FEB. 17-MARCH 27“Romeo & Juliet.” 8 p.m.

Wednesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sundayat Synetic Theater, 2611 JeffersonDavis Highway. Synetic returns withanother “Wordless Shakespeare”production. General admission ticketsstart at $35, $15 for students, andsenior citizens and military receive a$5 discount. Visitwww.synetictheater.org for more.

THURSDAY/FEB. 18Designing a Sustainable,

Manageable Yard. 9 a.m.-12:30p.m. at Fairlington CommunityCenter, 3308 S. Stafford St. MasterGardeners of Arlington andAlexandria will cover the basics ofsustainable landscapes and answerquestions about individual gardenmanagement challenges. Learn thebest management practices ofsustainable landscapes — usingnative plants, making the most ofavailable water, building soil healthand reducing maintenance. Free, butregistration required. Visitwww.mgnv.org for more.

SATURDAY/FEB. 20Workshop: Vegetable Gardening.

10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. at the EllenCoolidge Burke Branch Library, 4701Seminary Road, Alexandria. TheMaster Gardeners of NorthernVirginia, (Arlington and Alexandria)present a workshop for the beginningvegetable gardener on bestmanagement practices for siteselection, soil requirements and soilimprovement. This planning programprovides guidance on crop selectionand planting schedules. Free. Call703-228-6414.

Rock Spring Recital Children’sConcert. 10:30 a.m. at Rock SpringCongregational United Church ofChrist. “Karen Builds a Violin,” is amusical tale with selections rangingfrom Mozart to bluegrass to ragtime,children are active participants as thestory unfolds. Violinist Karen andviolist Elizabeth are both members ofthe Kennedy Center Opera HouseOrchestra. Free. Visitwww.rockspringuss.org for more.

Opening Reception. 6-9 p.m. at atArlington Arts Center, 3550 WilsonBlvd. The center celebrates the artistsand artwork of “King of the Forest:Adventures in Bioperversity,”“Daydreams in Anthropocene,” and“Instructor Select 2016.” Free. Visitwww.arlingtonartscenter.org formore.

“An Evening of String Quartets.”7:30 at Lyon Park CommunityCenter, 414 N. Fillmore St. The IBISstring quartet will perform“Queartettsatz” by Schubert. Free.Visit www.facebook.com/ibischambermusic.

SUNDAY/FEB. 21Rock Spring Recital Children’s

Concert. 4 p.m. at Rock SpringCongregational United Church ofChrist. Rock Spring Recital Series willworks by Brahms, Prokofiev, andMassanet. Free. Visitwww.rockspringuss.org for more.

Global-Phonic Music Festival:Rodrigo Amarante. 7:30 p.m. atRosslyn Spectrum Theatre, 1611 N.Kent St. Performer of the theme songfor Netflix show “Narcos” willperform contemporary Brazilianmusic. Free, but tickets required.Visit www.arlingtonarts.org.

MONDAY/FEB. 22Laughter Yoga. 6-7:30 p.m. at

Arlington Central Library, 1015 N.Quincy St. Laughter Yoga, for allages, is a fun practice that reducesstress and strengthens the immunesystem. Free. [email protected].

MONDAYS, TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS/FEB. 22-MARCH 17Rosie Riveters. 4-6 p.m. at

Shirlington Public Library, 4200Campbell Ave. Three classes, for ages4-6 (Tuesdays), ages 7-10(Mondays), and ages 11-14(Thursdays), are designed to providespace for girls ages 4–-14 to imagine,create and play while developingtheir skills in science, technology,engineering, and mathematics(STEM). Boys may also enroll. Free.Visit www.rosieriviters.com toregister.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 24AFAC Bar Olympics. 7-9 p.m. at

Spider Kelly’s, 3181 Wilson Blvd.Two-person teams compete in six bargames in a tournament-stylecompetition benefiting ArlingtonFood Assistance Center (AFAC). Theentry fee is $10 each, $20 per team.Visit www.afac.org for more.

THURSDAY/FEB. 25Home Improvement Basics. 11:30

a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Lee Community& Senior Center, 5722 Lee Highway.Home Depot staff provide easytechniques for painting, staining, andrepairing plastic or drywall. Free.Call 703-228-0550 for more.

Spellbinders Story Fest. 1-2 p.m. atWalter Reed Community Center,2909 S. 16th St. ArlingtonSpellbinders, part of the nationalorganization, is a group of retireeswho tell stories to children in schoolsand day camps. Free. Call 703-228-0955 to register.

FRIDAY/FEB. 26Lecture: Arlington During the Civil

War. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at ArlingtonMill Community Center, Street LevelGallery, 909 S. Dinwiddie St. DavidFarner, Historian and Researcher,discusses Arlington during the CivilWar. Free. Visitwww.arlingtoneconomicdevelopment.com.

Nancy Connors: The KeirseyTemperament Sorter. 1:30-2:30p.m. at Aurora Hills Community &Senior Center, 735 18th St. S. JoinSenior Adult Specialist NancyConnors and take a 70 questionabbreviated Myer Briggs personalityprofile called the KeirseyTemperament Sorter, score it anddiscover and appreciate yourpersonality temperament and style.Free. Call 703-228-5722 for more.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY/FEB. 26-27“West Side Story Meets Romeo &

Juliet.” 7 p.m. at Rivendell School,5700 Lee Highway. Middle schoolstudents at Rivendell perform aninterpretation of two Shakespeareplays. Tickets are $10, $30 forfamilies. Visitwww.rievndellschool.net for more.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY/FEB. 26-28“South Pacific.” 7:30 p.m. Friday-

Saturday, 3 p.m. on Sunday atUnitarian Universalist Church ofArlington, 4444 Arlington Blvd.Chalice Theater celebrates its 20thanniversary with Rodger andHammerstein’s “South Pacific.” Thestory revolves around prejudice, war,and romance on an Americanmilitary base during WWII. Ticketsare $20 for general admission, $15

for seniors and students. Visitwww.uucava.org for more.

FEB. 26-MARCH 6“Treasure Island.” Various times at

Thomas Jefferson Theatre, 125 S.Glebe Road. Encore Stage & Studiopresents an adaptation of RobertLouis Stevenson’s classic novel.Young Jim Hawkins leaves a dull lifeto search for where “X” marks thespot on a treasure map left behind byan old sea captain. Tickets are $10-15. Visit www.encorestageva.org.

SATURDAY/FEB. 27Bilingual Diabetes Storytime.

10:30-11:30 a.m. at ArlingtonCentral Library, 1015 N. Quincy St.This storytime is for children andfamilies living with diabetes. Offeredin English and Spanish. Free. Visitwww.library.arlingtonva.us for more.

Pirate Party. After 11 a.m.performance of Encore Stage &Studio’s “Treasure Island” at ThomasJefferson Community Theatre, 125 S.Old Glebe Road. Find stage combatdemonstrations, meet performers,and more. Tickets are $20 (soldseparately from play tickets). Visitwww.encorestageva.org for more.

Feel the Heritage Festival. 1-6 p.m.at Drew Community Center, 350023rd St. S. Find live music, dance, a“Hall of History,” children’s activitiesand more. Free. Call 703-228-5725.

Black History Month QuizCompetition & Celebration. 2-4p.m. at Charles Houston RecreationCenter, 901 Wythe St. TheAlexandria Society for thePreservation of Black Heritage inpartnership with the AlexandriaBlack History Museum will host aquiz competition. Alexandria publicschool students in grades 6-8, areeligible to participate. Free. Call 202-624-9082 for more.

“Wash Over You–Part 1.” 4:30 p.m.at Atlas Performing Arts Center – LabTheatre II 1333 H St. N.E.,Washington, D.C. Arlington’s JaneFranklin Dance presents “Wash OverYou,” which finds travelers movedalong an unpredictable river. Ticketsare $20. Visit www.janefranklin.com.

MONDAY/FEB. 29Meet the Author: Diane Kiesel. 3-

4:30 p.m. at Arlington CentralLibrary, 1015 Quincy St. As part ofBlack History Month, Diane Kieselwill discuss her biography of CivilRights pioneer Dr. Dorothy BouldingFerebee. Free. Call 703-228-2144.

Movie Screening: “An OrdinaryHero.” 7-8:45 p.m. at ColumbiaPike Branch Library, 816 S. WalterReed Drive. Freedom Rider and CivilRights activist Joan Mulholland willbe joined by author Mike O’Brien fora screening of the documentary “AnOrdinary Hero: The True Story ofJoan Trumpauer Mulholland,”followed by a discussion, Q&A andremarks. Free. Visitwww.library.arlingtonva.us for more.

Signature in the Schools: “295N.”7:30 p.m. at Signature Theatre, 4200Campbell Ave. Featuring a cast andcrew of talented Arlington Countyhigh school students, “295N” looks atthe history of race in Americathrough the lens of Baltimore’stroubled history. Free, butreservations required. Visitwww.sigtheatre.org or call 703-820-9771 for more.

MARCH 1-APRIL 17“The Flick.” Various times at

Signature Theatre, 4200 CampbellAve. “The Flick” follows the story ofthree employees at a crumblingMassachusetts movie theatre. Ticketsstart at $40. Visit sigtheatre.org.


SportsArlington Connection Sports Editor Jon Roetman

703-752-4031 or [email protected]

By Jon Roetman

The Connection

It didn’t take long for the Yorktown gym-nastics team to face adversity atregionals.

The Patriots were competing on floorduring the first rotation when freshmanJulia Hays, one of Yorktown’s top perform-ers during the season, encountered a prob-lem: the CD containing the music for herroutine wasn’t working.

“I was kind of confused,” Hays said. “Ididn’t know what to do.”

Hays, the last Yorktown gymnast sched-uled to perform on floor, had a choice: gothrough her routine with no music and re-ceive a one-point deduction, or try againlater in the meet.

Stuck in a potentially stressful situation,Hays kept a cool head and opted to gothrough her routine later in the meet. Afterthe third rotation, Hays headed from barsback over to floor and, using a video on hermom’s phone as the music source for herroutine, put forth a performance that wouldeventually have her standing on top of the

medal stand.“She handled it really well,” teammate

Juliette Mitrovich said. “She’s one of thecalmest competitors I’ve ever met. I don’thow she does it, but I think she did reallywell.”

Hays finished first on floor, beam and all-around, and helped Yorktown capture theteam title during the 6A North region cham-pionship meet on Feb. 13 at Patriot HighSchool.

Hays finished with an all-around score of37.65, with Mitrovich placing second(37.475). Hays scored 9.775 on beam and9.55 on floor, despite less-than-ideal circum-stances.

“She took it in stride like everything else,”Yorktown head coach Joanne Price said.“She offered to compete with no music andfound out that was going to deduct her afull point, so we went another route. Theytold her she could compete again later inthe meet and she said a couple of times, ‘Ican do it after beam’ or ‘I can do it afterbars.’ She was ready and willing to go when-ever. When we decided it was best she didit and nailed it.”

YORKTOWN PRODUCED a team scoreof 146.05 and qualified for states. WestSpringfield finished runner-up (143.575)and earned the other state tournamentberth.

Defending state champion McLean fin-ished third with a score of 142.625, fol-lowed by Battlefield (141.25), LakeBraddock (139.625), Osbourn Park(139.625), Chantilly (133.525) and Oakton(130.225).

“It’s just so exciting to feel like all of theirhard work and everything paid off,” Pricesaid. “They hit the routines the way theyneeded to and the scores landed where weneeded them to be.”

Yorktown had a talented team each of thelast two seasons but failed to qualify forregionals due to the competitiveness ofConference 6. The Patriots finished behindMcLean and Washington-Lee each year andonly the top two teams from each confer-ence advance.

This year, Yorktown won the Conference6 championship and followed it with a re-gion title.

“It’s the greatest feeling ever,” Mitrovichsaid. “Everyone always screams when theywin and I never really understood what thatwas like until now. It’s really amazing.”

Along with her runner-up finish in all-around, Mitrovich placed second on beam(9.725), tied for third on floor (9.5), fin-ished fourth on bars (9.05), and tied forninth on vault (9.2).

“I think I knocked it out of the park,” shesaid.

Yorktown’s Olivia Zavrel placed third on

bars with a score of 9.3.Marisa Daugherty and Courtney Frisk also

competed for the Patriots.A scheduling conflict left several

Yorktown gymnasts with a decision to makeduring the season. Some of the Patriots arealso members of the Arlington Aerials clubteam, which had a competition in Floridascheduled the same day as the 6A Northregion meet. With no guarantee the teamwould even qualify for regionals, those witha choice opted to compete for their highschool team.

“We knew as a team we had a very goodshot of making it to regionals,” Zavrel said.“For us, and most of the McLean girls, weall decided it was a priority for us to comehere because if we didn’t come we werenever going to make it to states and that’sjust a bummer.”

Next up for Yorktown is the state meet.The team competition is scheduled for Fri-day, Feb. 19 at Kellam High School in Vir-ginia Beach. The individual competition isFeb. 20.

“We have high hopes, of course,” Pricesaid. “Tonight, we had a couple of routinesthat fell short, they weren’t as good as lastweek, and then a couple that were better.… I think it was a lesson learned today thatthis takes a team and I think going into nextweek we’ll have the same attitude of whatcan we all do to help that team score ….”

Email announcements to [email protected]. Include date,time, location, description and contact forevent: phone, email and/or website.Deadline is Thursday at noon, at least twoweeks before event.

VISITORS, CALLERS NEEDEDThe Shepherd’s Center of McLean-

Arlington-Falls Church has initiatedtwo programs for senior adults whofind it difficult to leave their homes.The Friendly Visitor program matchesvolunteers to seniors who would likea visit periodically. The FriendlyCaller program allows volunteers tocall seniors to let them know they

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The Yorktown gymnastics team won the 6A North region championshipon Feb. 13 at Patriot High School.

Yorktown teammates Julia Hays and Juliette Mitrovich placed 1-2 in theall-around at the 6A North region gymnastics championships on Feb. 13.

Cool-Headed Hays Helps Yorktown Win Region TitleFreshman places firstin all-around, beamand floor.

Bulletin Board

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 17Money Talk: A Financial Course

for Women. 6:30-8:30 p.m. at theArlington Central Library, 1015 N.Quincy St. This course is designedspecifically for women. This sessionwill cover planning for future lifeevents. Free. Visit www.bit.ly/VCEFinancePrograms to register.

FRIDAY/FEB. 19County and School Boards Meet. 4

p.m. in the Library at JeffersonMiddle School, 125 South GlebeRoad. The Arlington County Boardwill meet with the Arlington County

haven’t been forgotten and remindthem to call the Center if they needhelp. Both programs allow for settingup a time convenient for both clientand volunteer. Call the Shepherd’sCenter at 703-506-2199 or [email protected].

THROUGH SATURDAY/FEB. 20YogaFit Conference. At the Hilton

Crystal City Hotel, 2399 JeffersonDavis Highway. This conference willoffer yoga teacher training classesand will also offer the chance foranyone who enjoys yoga, severalclasses to deepen their yoga practice.Visit yogafit.com for more.

School Board for the purpose ofdiscussing the new elementary schoolat the Jefferson Middle School siteand transportation options related tothe Stratford School site. The publicis welcome.

SATURDAY/FEB. 20Application Deadline. Arlington-

Aachen Sister City High SchoolExchange July 2-19, 2016. Apply atwww.arlingtonsistercity.com.

SUNDAY/FEB. 21Blood Drive. 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at St.

Agnes Parish Center, 1910 N.Randolph St. Boy Scout Troop 111 is

holding a blood drive. Make anappointment at inovabloodsaves.org,click on “Donate Blood” and entercode 7810 or sign up by calling 703-732-8677. Walk ins welcomed.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 24Community Snow Forum. 7-9 p.m.

at Francis Scott Key ElementarySchool, 2300 Key Blvd. In the wakeof the January blizzard, ArlingtonCounty Government is asking thepublic to invited to share theirexperiences. Fill out the on-linesurvey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZKSH79 prior to the event or ifunable to attend until Feb. 19.


MS programin Biotechnology

http://biotechnology.georgetown.edu

One year with rolling admission

Fall 2016 deadline is 5/1/16

Contact the Program Coordinator for details

202-687-1070

To highlight your Faith Community, call Karen at 703-778-9422

DAILY EUCHARIST:WeekdaysMonday-Friday, 8:30 AMSaturday, 8:30 AM

SUNDAY LITURGY SCHEDULE:Saturday Vigil: 5:30 PMSunday: 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 AM1:30 PM Spanish Liturgy

5312 North 10th Street,Arlington, Virginia 22205Parish Office: 703-528-6276

PARISH WEBSITE:www.stannchurch.org

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Education●Learning●Fun

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Beams of neon light flash around adark room. Young Star Wars fansfrom a galaxy not so far away wield

light sabers and move with carefully cho-reographed steps. These Jedis-in-trainingare undergoing a fantasy combat trainingthat melds martial arts with light saberfighting, Star Wars-style.

“Star Wars fans are the ultimate martialarts enthusiasts. Star Wars is 100 percentdeveloped on the concepts and philosophiesof martial arts … the use of the sword, thebelief structure,” said Michael Dietrich ofDietrich’s Karate Fitness and Life Skills inBurke. “Now we have an opportunity toinvite students because of their interest inthe movie. It’s an easy way to bring theminto our schools and show them what mar-tial arts are all about.”

Building on the hype surrounding the re-cent release of ”Star Wars: Episode VII - The

Force Awakens,” Dietrich began offeringclasses at his newly created “Laser SaberAcademy.” Students sign up for a six-weekclass, where they learn how to use a lightsaber, tap into “The Force,” and improvetheir focus, discipline and determination.

“Any time a new movie or TV show comesout that features a robot, there is a spike in

interest in robotics,” said Dan Gallagher ofRobotWorks in Burke. “Every kid I’ve talkedto since the Star Wars movie came out wantsto know how BB-8 works. Before that, theytalked about other robots like Wall-E, R2D2,and Baymax.”

At RobotWorks, Gallagher’s students learnbasic robot design, construction and pro-

gramming. “In general, though, kids arealways interested in robots and how theywork. Robots are fun,” said Gallagher.“Building robots is even more fun, so wesee a steady interest that might jump a littlewhen a new movie robot makes an appear-ance because it acts as a reminder of thatinterest — bringing it back to the frontburner.”

The concepts of the Star Wars universeare seeping into the extracurricular classchoices at local schools, with students opt-ing to take offerings like robotics and 3-Dmodeling. “I think that there is some inter-est in our STEAM (Science, Technology,Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics)activities that grows from sci-fi movies likeStar Wars,” said Richard Rho, director ofTechnology Education and Innovation at St.Stephen’s & St. Agnes School. “I have hadstudents 3D model and print the Tie Fight-ers and X Wing from the movies as well astalking about how we could create our ownBB-8 droid in the robotics lab as the off sea-son project.”

Educators say that such activities are funand engaging while also educational. “It’sgreat students are getting inspired by themovie to create ideas and designs andspreading that interest with the rest of ourcommunity,” said Rho.

‘Star Wars’ Fans Flock to Local ClassesMovie’s popularityleaves fans wanting tofeel “The Force.”

Photo courtesy of Dietrich’s Karate Fitness and Life Skills

Students work on light saber skills during a class at Dietrich’s KarateFitness and Life Skills in Burke.


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21 Announcements 21 Announcements 21 Announcements

We pay top $ for STERLING, MEN'S WATCHES,

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JENNIFER SMITH ❖ Serving the Area Since 1995

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ABC LICENSE JIGO, LLC trading as La Cote D’or Cafe, 6876 Lee Hwy, Ar-lington, VA 22213. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On and Off Prem-ises; Mixed Beverage license to sell or manufacture alcohol-ic beverages. Jacques Imper-ato, ownerNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 dates from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200

ABC LICENSE The Shamrock Arlington, LLC trading as The Spirits of ‘76, 3211 Washington Blvd, Arling-ton, VA 22201. The above es-tablishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On and Off Prem-ises; Mixed Beverage license to sell or manufacture alcohol-ic beverages. Patrick Doody, MemberNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 dates from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200

ABC LICENSEPainerya LLC trading as Pio Pio Peruvian Cuisine, 762 Walker Rd, Ste A, Great Falls, VA 22066. The above estab-lishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL(ABC) for a Wine and Beer On Premises and Mixed Beverages license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Benazur Pain,President.NOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date fo the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Ob-jections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

21 Announcements 21 Announcements

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When spiderwebs unite, theycan tie up a lion.-Ethiopian Proverb


Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

One HundredPills

What exactly am I going to do with 100pills? Well, barring unforeseen (good or bad)circumstances, I’ll certainly continue to takethem every four weeks: two the day beforemy chemotherapy infusion, two the day ofand two the day after, as I’ve done so now,for this particular medication, going on 30-plus months. “Not that there’s anythingwrong with that,” or new, for that matter.But when I refilled this prescription lastweek, I was surprised when, after the phar-macy customer-server opened the bottle toshow me the pills and ask if I had any ques-tions, she then mentioned the count: “100.”That’s a lot of pills, I thought, more thanusual. Typically, I receive only 30 pills.

As I drove home from the pharmacy, Ibegan to think (always dangerous). Whywould my oncologist prescribe so many pills?I only need six per month. Is there a mini-mum he must order? A maximum? Did heover prescribe? Does he even have anyinput? Perhaps he’s projecting my life expec-tancy? One hundred pills divided by six permonth calculates to 17 months/infusions forwhich I now have pills. I don’t want to looka gift oncologist in the mouth, but as aseven-year cancer survivor, I’m well awarethat cancer treatment/results are hardly castin stone and 17 months seems like a longtime not yet gone (David Crosby song title,sort of).

I’m sure part of my presumptuousness isnaiveté. I want/need to believe in some-thing/anything positive (any port in a storm)concerning/relating to my health/treatment.More so when I’m in between my every-three-month, face-to-face appointment withmy oncologist. That’s when we review mymost recent diagnostic scan and assess myoverall status and consider treatment optionsbefore agreeing on a schedule for the nextthree months. Not that I’m discouragedfrom communicating with him in theinterim. Quite the opposite in fact; he’s veryresponsive to my e-mails. It’s more that elec-tronic communication is a “two-dimen-sional” type of communication, and I’m a“three-dimensional” kind of communicator.Obviously, I can respond electronically to hisanswers and presumably we could type backand forth, but dare I show my age and say:It’s just not the same as being there/talkingon the telephone. Ergo, during this between-appointment interval, I’m sort of left to myown devices and in turn inclined to wobble– and wonder, emotionally, about my life.Perhaps I should look on the bright side andbe glad my oncologist didn’t order six pills.

I suppose, if I wanted to be honest withmyself, I’d say the number of the pills pre-scribed/in the bottle probably mean nothing.The doctor simply checked a box and off theorder went with nary a consideration of thepatient’s reaction. Nor do I think the doctoris aware of patient co-pays, deductibles, per-centage of benefits used or any of the otherout-of-pocket expenses associated with theprescription/patient’s health insurance.“Hippocratically” speaking, that’s not hisjob. His job is to keep me/the patient alive.

And since I’m still alive, pill-count with-standing, I’m looking forward to the next 17months. Seeing my bottles of pills becomeless full over time gives me a peculiar senseof accomplishment: that I continue to sur-vive in the face of what was originally a fairlydiscouraging set of circumstances.Occasionally, however, I have to be realistic;100 is simply a number, not a prognosis.

By Adam P. Ebbin

State Senator (D-30)

The Virginia General Assembly hasfinally reached “Crossover,” thehalfway point by which each cham-

ber must complete work on its own bills andbegin considering legislation passed by theother body. Over 870 bills have passed theHouse of Delegates and over 700 made itthrough the Senate. We will be working dili-

gently over the comingweeks to consider the re-maining legislation, in-

cluding 13 of my bills that have passed theSenate and await consideration by theHouse.

One noteworthy bill I’ve passed throughthe Senate is SB327, which eliminates theautomatic six month driver’s license suspen-sion for first-time marijuana possession. Co-patroned by Senators Bill Stanley (R-Franklin) and Tom Garrett (R-Buckingham), this bill enjoyed broad sup-port and was endorsed by both AlexandriaCommonwealth’s Attorney Brian Porter andAlexandria’s Public Defender Melinda Dou-glas. This legislation removes a consequencewholly unrelated to the underlying crimi-nal offense, which too often results in lossof employment and other hardships that dis-proportionately impact the most economi-cally disadvantaged Virginians. Passing thisbill through the House would allow Virginia

to join the 34states — includingevery state bor-dering the Com-monwealth — ineliminating thisineffective policy. Ialso co-patronedSB22, sponsoredby Sen. RyanMcDougle (R-Hanover), which

allows for the expungement of alcohol andmarijuana possession offenses after a pe-riod of five years if those offenses occurbefore a person turns 21. This passed theSenate unanimously.

This week on the floor I spoke against twobills — SB270 and SB705 — that seek toend the non-existent problem of “sanctu-ary cities” despite federal prohibitions, theDillon Rule, and state mandates that alreadymake “sanctuary cities” an impossibility inVirginia. Rather than asking localities toenforce immigration law to the extent re-quired by federal law, this legislation de-mands immigration law be enforced “to thefull extent permitted.” These billsmischaracterize localities that have inter-nal police policies that discourage profilingand encourage community policing as“sanctuary cities.” Currently, policies suchas not inquiring about the immigration sta-tus of witnesses at a crime scene are widely

practiced to encourage residents to reportwrongdoing regardless of their residencystatus. SB270 would reduce state fundingto localities with such policies, while SB705would hold them liable for the “full amountof any personal injury or property damage”caused by an undocumented person forc-ing law enforcement to choose betweenpublic safety and state dollars. Unfortu-nately, these bills passed the Senate alongparty lines despite the fact that effective pro-community policing policies exist through-out the state, from Virginia Beach to PrinceWilliam County, and despite the Senate’sunanimous support for such policies threeyears in a row.

Please join me at one of my Town HallMeetings on Saturday, Feb. 20:

❖ Lee District: 9:30-11:30 a.m., HayfieldElementary School, 7633 Telegraph Road,Alexandria

❖ Mt. Vernon District: 12:30-2 p.m.,Whitman Middle School, 2500 ParkersLane, Alexandria.

Please share your thoughts on legislationand other state-related matters with me byemailing [email protected] me on Twitter @AdamEbbin andFacebook at www.facebook.com/EbbinCampaign. You can sign up for myweekly email updates atwww.AdamEbbin.com.

It is my continued honor to represent thecitizens of the 30th Senate District.

Healthy School AwardThe Marine Corps Marathon presented theHealthy School Award and a $1,000 checkon Feb. 5 to Claremont Immersion Elemen-tary School from MCM partner Sodexo.From left are Miles the bulldog; PE teacherJason Cash; Assistant Principal CarlosRamirez; Larry McMarlin of Sodexo; PEteacher Renee Seay, Principal Jessica Panfil,Molly the Bulldog and MCM Director RickNealis. In addition to the monetary awardand Healthy School plaque, the elementarystudents also received healthy snacks fromSodexo and the students were entertainedby the health and nutrition show “JumpWith Jill” presented by MCM partner theNational Watermelon Promotion Board.

Opinion

General Assembly Reaches Crossover

Commentary

Public InputEncouragedTo the Editor:

Your recent article [“Completing theStreet,” Arlington Connection, p. 2] on thecounty’s new Neighborhood CompleteStreets (NCS) Program misrepresents theprogram. The article implies that NCS willnot solicit or consider resident and commu-nity input in the development of the projectsfunded by the program, but in fact commu-nity involvement will be greatly encouragedat all stages of project selection and devel-opment. Residents and community organi-zations are asked to nominate street im-

provement ideas for funding consideration.Proposals will be evaluated using theCounty Board-approved selection criteria.The County Board’s appointed Neighbor-hood Complete Streets Commission(NCSC), a total volunteer citizen body, willhelp make such selections.

A public participation plan will be devel-oped for each project that enters the plan-ning stage. Direct involvement will be ex-pected from residents and neighbors of thatstreet, as well as from community associa-tions and other appropriate stakeholders forthat project.

Community input will be incorporatedinto the development of the preferred scopeand design for that planned project.

Residents and other community membersare always encouraged to provide feedbackon a proposed project to the NCSC, an ad-visory commission to the County Board.

All NCS projects must be approved forfunding by the Arlington County Board.When the NCS Program Guide was ap-proved, the County Board confirmed thatthe board, and county staff, will give dueconsideration to written expressions of com-munity sentiment in regards to various ele-ments of proposed projects.

Dennis LeachDirector of Transportation

Arlington County’s Department ofEnvironmental Services

Letter to the Editor

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