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Opinion: Maintaining a Viable, Diverse Community in Fairfax County

While need for housing, childcare, healthcare and other human services have grown, these programs have faced significant cuts over past few years.

The following open letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors concerns housing and human services budget recommendations from the Fairfax Budget Advocacy Coalition for Housing and Human Services.

Northern Virginia Senior Olympics Mission: Living Healthy Longer

The 2014 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics will take place Sept. 13-24 at 18 venues throughout Northern Virginia. Adults 50 years of age and over who live in one of the sponsoring jurisdictions are eligible to participate.

Cox’s Spring Special Offers Nearly 600 Free Episodes

Cox Communications customers can enjoy an all-access free pass to some of the most popular TV shows with the opportunity to catch up on past episodes of shows they love, plus get exclusive On Demand sneak peeks, all in the Spring FreeView On Demand from now until April 20.

Week in Great Falls

Town Hall Meeting on Deer Issues Great Falls Citizens Association will hold a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Great Falls Grange, as a Part II - GFCA Deer & Forest Health Program. Part one of this program was held in March when Commonwealth and Fairfax County experts discussed the role of deer in forest degradation, Lyme disease and car collisions. The April 8 program will look at possible solutions * Kristen Sinclair, Fairfax County Park Authority, who will outline deer control in county parks; * Kevin Rose, certified wildlife biologist with the VA Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, who will discuss Commonwealth hunting requirements and non-lethal forms of deer control; and * Jerry Peters, Great Falls resident and founder of Green Fire, who will describe his neighborhood's bow hunting program and the impact on local deer herds. There will be ample time for questions and answers during this public program.

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The Northern Virginia Problem

Top Virginia Universities are harder to get into: checking why and how to help.

Many Northern Virginian students are biting their nails, waiting for their college admission letters this week. But in a sea of overachievers, NoVa students are coming across a pervasive issue with in-state colleges—what is being dubbed the "the Northern Virginia Problem." Many residents of Fairfax, Alexandria City, Loudon, Fauquier, Prince William and Arlington counties are spreading the word that top Virginia universities—the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee and William and Mary are becoming harder and harder to get into.

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‘The Children’s Hour’ at Langley High

Classic Lillian Hellman play to run April 3-5.

A dainty redhead who pops into a room with daffodils behind her back is yelled at by one teacher after another until she feigns a heart attack.

Walker Road ‘Diet’ Nears Completion

$1 million project features crosswalks and street side parking.

To the average person, the Walker Road Project looks nearly complete.

Protecting Children Online

Great Falls-based Enough Is Enough protects children from the harms of the Internet.

Enough Is Enough (EIE), a nonprofit based in Great Falls, was the first of its kind.

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Local Student Starts Foundation

Katharine Jiang’s contribution grants 100 D.C.-area students notebook-laden backpacks.

Few high school students can say they have created a foundation. Sixteen-year-old Katharine Jiang of Great Falls is one of those few.

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Langley High Orchestra Inspires Florida School

The smiling high school senior held her violin in her outstretched hands, offering to show the 6-year-olds how to play it. As she plucked the strings, a child recoiled in surprise, afraid that he was close enough to hurt the instrument. Twenty minutes later, that same child was holding the violin and the bow, exclaiming,"I want to play this."

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Best in Show

Katie’s Cars and Coffee pulls hundreds of the best DMV cars.

The biggest buzz about Katie’s Coffee in Great Falls comes from much more than the free flow of caffeine. Every Saturday, hundreds of rare and classic cars from all over the east coast gather in the parking lot to talk shop for an early morning event dubbed Katie’s Cars and Coffee.

Letter: More on Great Falls Trails

More on Great Falls Trails

Thank you for your article in the March 19-25, 2014 issue of the Great Falls Connection ("Great Falls Citizens Association Talks Ticks and Trails"). We did, however, want to clarify a few points. The presentation by Robert Mobley focused on trails, not roads, where the question of surface material has been a matter of much discussion.

Letter: Taking Exception on ‘Citizens Involvement’

I'm not sure I understand the letter from Eric Knudsen ("GFCA Appeals for Greater Citizens Involvement," Great Falls Connection, March 19-25, 2014). He seems to suggest that if more people attended the meetings of the Great Falls Citizens Association, we could have prevented the ridiculous projects such as the narrowing of Walker Road from five lanes to two, walkways to nowhere that were not shoveled all winter, or the speed-traps on Georgetown Pike. He erroneously indicates that previous letters in the Connection "complain about the lack of public notice," when in reality they reflect the futility of participation in groups that know best.

Letter: Neighbors’ Side of Story

To the Editor: Reference: Special permit application for a riding stables business at 815 Blacks Hill Road.

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Cornwell Farm Tours Generate $3000 for Lift Me Up!

A beautiful warm spring day set the backdrop for a successful day of tours of Cornwell Farm on March 8. The tours of the historic home and grounds generated over $3000 for Lift Me Up’s "Good Fences" project. The Lift Me Up! door prize was won by Janice Thrush of Great Falls. Ms. Thrush won a "Winner’s Circle Package" from Lift Me Up! which includes a section of fence, a copy of Secretariat’s Meadow, a Lift Me Up! hat/t-shirt and a Lift Me Up! calendar, a $200 value.