Vol. 7, No. 23
JUNE 9, 2011
www.alextimes.com
City employee convicted of assaulting child Recreation center director pled not guilty BY DERRICK PERKINS
PHOTO/JAMES CULLUM
MIND OVER MATTER: Alexandria native Derrick Nowlin has a board broken over his back at a martial arts demonstration at the Lee Center, June 4, 2011. Nicknamed “Dragon Chyld,” Nowlin is a T.C. Williams graduate and has taught martial arts for 20 years. During the presentation, he also broke cinder blocks and performed push-ups !"#$%!&'"#()*++#,-./!0.#-"1-2.-"(#20.+#!%#$%0-+'+#!"#/-3+')45
Longtime city employee Robert Gordon was found guilty Friday of assaulting an 11-year-old boy during a pickup basketball game at the Charles Barrett Recreation Center in April. “You let a very small child get the best of you,” Judge Constance Frogale told Gordon before sentencing him to 12 months of jail — with all but 10 days suspended — and an anger management program. Though witnesses offered differing versions of the assault, Gordan, the recreation center director, was shooting hoops with five children in the center’s gymnasium when he and the victim got into an ar-
gument on April 13. After insulting Gordon and Gordon’s deceased father, the child fled to a nearby multipurpose room filled with other children and at least one staff member, according to courtroom testimony. Though he pled not guilty, Gordon admitted following the child, grabbing and lifting him off of the ground before taking the boy to his office. The 11-year-old later called his family and they, in turn, contacted authorities, according to testimony. Testifying in Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Court, the child also accused Gordon of insulting, punching and choking him before his parents arrived at the recreation center. Officer James Young, who arrested Gordon, told the court he saw signs the child had been assaulted when the
PHOTO/APD
Robert Gordon
two spoke later in the day. “I did see some scratches on his neck,” he said. “It appeared as though he’d been choked.” The boy’s mother, Symill Willis, said an apologetic Gordon admitted hurting the child when the two met on the day of the incident. He had “flipped,” Willis recalled. Meanwhile, her son’s neck was swollen and bruised, she said. “He just kept apologizing, SEE ASSAULT | 11
Rust leaves lasting legacy Retires after 41 years at Boys and Girls Club BY DERRICK PERKINS
Raising a young son and desperate for work, 28-yearold Ron Rust quit college and found a job with the then Alexandria Boys Club. He would remain there for years, becoming a neighborhood institution along the way. More than four decades af-
ter starting as the North Payne Street club’s social recreation director, he was finally ready to leave this year. On Friday, relatives, friends, co-workers and a cadre of men he’d help raise to adulthood gathered at the Dunbar AlexandriaOlympic Boys and Girls Club for something more like a family reunion than Rust’s retirement party.
ACES LOSE TO NATIONALS - 12
For a living legend, Rust had an inauspicious start at the Boys Club. He recalls coming across the job listing in a newspaper. At the time, Rust didn’t plan on picking out a career path, but then he had a family to worry about. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and I just knew I liked helping people, kids in particular. I went on and took the SEE RUST | 9
PHOTO/DERRICK PERKINS
Friends and family celebrated Ron Rust, left, and his four decades of work at the Boys and Girls Club last week.
DEL RAY OFFERS A TASTE - 14
2 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
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ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 3
THE WEEKLY BRIEFING
In Your
Times
WIN A WATER TAXI TRIP OR ACES TICKETS! Identify the photo below and where it was taken for a chance to win four round-trip water taxi tickets from the Alexandria waterfront to National Harbor or four tickets to an Alexandria Aces game. To enter, email letters@alextimes.com with your answer or write to 110 S. Pitt St., Alexandria, VA, 22314. One winner will be chosen at random from the winning entries submitted before noon on Tuesday. A different photo and hint will be featured each week between now and the end of the summer, so keep your eyes open as you meander around Alexandria!
WHERE AM I? #1
PHOTO/DERRICK PERKINS
COUNTRY FOR A CAUSE: Leif Jorgenson, above, soaks up a bit of bluegrass during Give Back Alexandria’s June 2 fundraiser. Amid the foot tapping melodies of Over Under Down Yonder, residents gave nearly $15,000 to city charities. ACT for Alexandria will match the donations and as a result, “Bubbles and Bluegrass,” Give Back Alexandria’s largest event of the year, will have raised just under $30,000 for community organizations in a single evening. Just like Michael Jordan, my number is 23 However, given where I am, he’ll probably never see me. I’m found along a well-tread path where many people walk Or jog or cycle or stroll, enjoying nature as they talk. Ducks, geese, frogs, woodchucks and snakes are around me everyday But I’m just a few minutes from the city—yet it seems miles away.
UNCF and Verizon wiring the future for student St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes senior Lauren Mizzell will leave Alexandria with a diploma and cutting edge electronics to boot after winning a Verizon Wireless and United Negro College Fund scholarship. The soon-to-be graduate will take more than $3,000 in tuition and electronics to Loyola University in the fall after penning an essay explaining how wireless technology has changed her life. She leaves for Baltimore in the fall with a new laptop and smartphone. The communications giant and nonprofit organization awarded Mizzell with the third place prize Wednesday. She competed against students from across Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.
COURTESY PHOTO
- Danielle Douez
Lauren Mizzell’s take on how wireless technology has changed her life earned her a $3,000 scholarship that included a few new gadgets.
Where am I? What am I? Congratulations to last week’s winner Maria Penn, for guessing “Three Eggs in Space,” a sculpture at Del Ray Central Apartments.
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4 | JUNE 9, 2011
CRIME
Woman robbed at gunpoint
A woman was held up at gunpoint after parking her vehicle in a 200 block S. Payne Street lot late in May, police say. Shortly after she exited the vehicle, at about 11:14 p.m. on May 31, a man approached her from behind, pulled out the gun and demanded money, said Ashley Hildebrandt, department spokeswoman. The victim handed over her cell phone, wallet and keys. She was not injured in the robbery, police said. The robber remains at large, authorities said.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Juveniles get benched
A group of five juveniles tried to break into a S. Van Dorn Street Exxon gas station using a bench as a battering ram earlier this month. The cadre lifted the bench from its spot near the entrance of the 500 block business and hurled it at the front window on June 1, police said. When the glass held firm, one of the minors threw the bench at a vehicle parked nearby. A surveillance camera caught the group in the act, said Ashley Hildebrandt, department spokeswoman. The incident, first reported about 8:10 a.m., remains under investigation.
Pizzeria burglarized McArthur school Police say thieves struck a vandalized 5400 block Duke St. Domino’s Pizza on May 24, making off with the contents of the chain restaurant’s cash register. The thieves slipped inside after removing a glass pane from the store’s steel framed door. Authorities don’t know how they removed the glass, said Ashley Hildebrandt, department spokeswoman. They left after emptying the register, she said. There was no other damage to the store. An employee reported the burglary about 11:47 a.m., Hildebrandt said.
Suggestive graffiti under investigation
A vandal scrawled graffiti across the walls of the Douglas McArthur Elementary School during Memorial Day weekend, authorities said. Principal Deborah Thompson reported the graffiti, a collection of “letters and images,” according to department spokeswoman Ashley Hildebrandt, at about 9:55 a.m. on May 31. The spray-painted graffiti was not extensive and there is no known gang connection to the vandalism, Hildebrandt said.
Police are investigating “sexual” graffiti left spraypainted on a Bishop Lane homeowner’s brick walkway on June 1. Explicit words aside, the graffiti – left in blue paint – was not extensive, said Ashley Hildebrandt, department spokeswoman. There were no witnesses and authorities do not have a suspect description, she said. The homeowner reported the offending vandalism at about 9:01 a.m.
600 block John Carlyle St. 9:54 a.m. No further information.
Assault occurred between two or more people who had a prior relationship.
- Derrick Perkins
POLICE BEAT The following is a selection of incidents reported by the Alexandria Police Department. For a full crime blotter, log on to www.crimereports.com.
400 block N. St. Asaph St. 1:50 a.m. Assault occurred between two people who were known to each other.
JUNE 7
200 block N. Pickett St. 5:33 p.m. No further information.
DRUGS 600 block Notabene Drive 1:18 a.m. Suspect was charged with possession of marijuana. Duke and Fayette streets 5:04 p.m. No further information.
JUNE 6 ASSAULT 300 block S. Whiting St. 9:45 p.m. Assault occurred between two people who were known to each other. 4100 block Eisenhower Ave. 8:45 p.m. Victim was hit on the back of the head by two unknown subjects who ran away after the assault.
LIQUOR
No further information.
4600 block Seminary Road 1:30 a.m. Assault occurred between two or more people who had a prior relationship. 4200 block Duke St. 6:10 p.m. No further information.
500 block S. Washington St. 9:08 a.m. No further information.
3800 block Executive Ave. 11:05 p.m. Assault occurred between two or more people who had a prior relationship.
DISORDER
2700 block Mt. Vernon Ave. 5:05 p.m. Victim reported that an unknown subject assaulted her by slamming the door of victim’s art studio on victim’s arms several times.
200 block Longview Drive 7:53 a.m. No further information.
DRUGS 1300 block Wythe St. 4:40 p.m. Suspect was charged with possession of cocaine.
JUNE 5 ASSAULT 5100 block Duke St. 4:13 a.m.
Fax: 703.548.1831 Email: david@damianilaw.com
LIQUOR King and West streets 12:22 a.m. No further information. 300 block S. Pitt St. 8:11 p.m. 7%*482#+.!6#%'+0).'9#-"#*%%'+.#4!%# 9%-:-"(#0"9'%#./'#-"10'"2'5
DISORDER
ROBBERY
JUNE 4
500 block N. Imboden St. 5:10 a.m. No further information.
ASSAULT
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3300 block Landover St. 5:10 p.m. Suspect was charged with possession of marijuana.
800 block N. Columbus St. 8:08 p.m. Victim reported that she was assaulted by four known subjects and that dur-"(#./'#+2041'#/'%#60%+'#,*+#+.!)'"5
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DRUGS
100 block N. Patrick St. 12:07 a.m. No further information.
3900 block Old Dominion Blvd. 10:50 a.m.
100 block Yale Drive 6:20 p.m. No further information. Duke Street and Interstate 395 8:10 p.m. Assault occurred between two or more people who had a prior relationship.
BREAKING AND ENTERING 200 block N. Breckinridge Pl. 1:45 p.m. Victim reported that unknown suspects entered his hotel room by unknown means, ransacked the room and stole victim’s laptop, watch and necklace.
DRUGS 800 block N. West St. 8:15 p.m. Suspect was charged with possession of marijuana. 1200 block Madison St. 1:19 a.m. Suspect was charged with possession of marijuana.
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JUNE 9, 2011 | 5
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ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Local veteran recalls ‘bloody’ day at Omaha Beach More than 60 years later, memories remain vivid BY DERRICK PERKINS
Rolf Valtin is quick to point out he’s not a hero, but on June 6, 1944 he waded to shore on Omaha Beach, dodging machine gun fire and struggling to survive. “If you’re going to tell the truth about that day you have to say how bloody it was, but you don’t want to make a hero of yourself. I didn’t do any fighting, but I was there,” Valtin said, sitting at a conference table at Goodwin House Alexandria — a retirement
community in the West End — 67 years to the day after he landed in Normandy. “As soon as you start bragging about yourself, you start to think about the guys who didn’t make it,” he said. “Why do I deserve the laurels?” Valtin was born in Germany, though his family fled the country and Adolf Hitler’s regime in 1938 when he was 13 years old. Drafted into the U.S. Army a few years later, his native knowledge of German destined him for military intelligence. Not long after returning to Europe as part of the growing invasion force, Valtin was at-
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tached to the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. Assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment, he could only wait and wonder when the fighting would begin. He didn’t have long to wait. On the morning of June 6, he climbed down a rope ladder into a Higgins boat bound for France despite choppy seas. They were to arrive 90 minutes after the landings began, but the soldiers already ashore were bogged down. The expected push inland hadn’t happened, Valtin said. The fear sank in the second they realized the first wave hadn’t broken through enemy lines. Then the boat ramp went down and Valtin was wading through chest deep water. “What carries you is that everybody else is doing it,” Valtin said. “I can’t remember any particular thoughts except wishing and hoping that we were going to get off this beach. I was with a crack unit and we were going to do it… I’ll gladly admit I was, on that day, seeking cover and wanting to live.” In the midst of describing the utter chaos of the fight, bodies floating in a crimson stained tide, soldiers rushing to find cover from withering machine gun fire, he paused. Valtin put his glasses down and leaned back in his chair. “To an extent there are some things I’m not going to talk about,” he said. “They’re just too personal.” It’s not an experience he brings up in casual company, said his wife, Nancy. The two met in college after the war. She knew he’d been a soldier, but many men had served during the war. His children only learned of his role in the invasion long after World War II entered the history books, she said. “He’s not angry,” Nancy said. “It’s hard to get him started [talking about it], but he’s very factual. I think he’s realized what he went through. I don’t think he broods about it. I think he just accepts it.”
PHOTO/DERRICK PERKINS
;!)4# <*).-"# 1-6+# ./%!0(/# *"# *22!0".# !4# ./'# =))-'9# )*"9-"(+# -"# >!%mandy. He arrived on Omaha Beach 90 minutes into the invasion.
The memories of that day remain among the most vivid Valtin has of the entire war. He witnessed another year of fighting, interrogating prisoners, translating maps and documents as he rose from the rank of private to lieutenant, but nothing stands out as sharply as his first day in Normandy. “It was too much death and too much firing — it’s so intense there’s no way to forget it,” he said.
Valtin may not speak of DDay often, but he keeps a letter clipped from a Time Magazine of that year in his wallet. It’s a description of the fight written by a friend and comrade, Samuel Fuller. The two men stood on their Higgins boat together, passing the time talking as they waited for their turn on the beach. He doesn’t pull it out often, but it’s always there — with him.
PHOTO/DERRICK PERKINS
REMEMBERING D-DAY:# <-:-*"# >!%1''.# +.09-'+# *# 3*6# !4# >!%mandy, provided by Col. John Marr at the Goodwin House, just days before the anniversary of the Allied landings on the French coast during World War II. Marr, also a veteran of the Korean and <-'."*3#2!"1-2.+?#9'+2%-$'9#/-+#@036#-".!#>!%3*"9A#*+#*#)-'0.'"ant in the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. Mayor Bill Euille was on hand to thank Marr personally for his military service at the West End retirement community.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 7
Local high school student’s storm research dazzles judges T.C. Williams sophomore and budding meteorologist Christopher Gerlach added yet another first place prize and $200 to his name at an invitation-only science fair on Friday. Gerlach’s research into severe thunderstorms landed him a spot in the competition, organized by the American Meteorological Society’s D.C. chapter. Judges included parents, scientists and specialists in the field. “Our goal is to foster their interest in science through interacting with professionals
and other students who are interested in the field,” said Andrea Bleistein, the chapter’s chairwoman. She has high hopes Gerlach will pursue a career in meteorology. He worked closely with their affiliates at the National Weather Forecast Office in Sterling to collect data for his project, Bleistein said. The lengthy title of Gerlach’s project matches the long road of success it has enjoyed: “Washington, D.C. Severe Thunderstorm Wind Events: An analysis of Cor-
related Thermodynamic Convective Parameters and Doppler Radar Signatures.” Gerlach’s work earned him the top prize at the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair in Norfolk. From there he traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair where he was awarded first place in the atmospheric and related sciences category. He won $2,000 and the chance to compete in Friday’s fair. - Danielle Douez
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OBITUARIES JOAN ALICE BERARDELLI (92), formerly of Alexandria, May 26, 2011 RUSSELL SWINDELL, II CARR (40), formerly of Alexandria, May 29, 2011 ELISABETH ANNE DELANEY, of Alexandria, June 5, 2011
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ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Mak of all trades Alexandria entrepreneur dabbles in hair care, cuisine and art BY MERLISA LAWRENCE CORBETT
If Makda Kibour’s life were a play, she’d be on act three. Already the owner of Mak’s Place Salon, Kibour opened Grass Roots Station restaurant last winter. Located adjacent to her East Braddock Road salon, the eatery specializes in organic and multicultural cuisine.
Kibour’s passion is on display in both businesses — literally. Colorful contemporary acrylics on canvas are featured prominently, windows into the successful entrepreneur’s artistic side. Juggling these three passions “is not easy,” Kibour said. Her shop is an Aveda Concept Salon, which features organic hair care and body products. In an industry known for promoting products and tools
to alter one’s looks, Kibour sports naturally curly hair. Her radiant skin and youthful glow are products of a healthy lifestyle, not chemicals. She approaches business the same way she does life: trusting, nurturing and organic. Hire good people and success will follow, she said. “I feel privileged to provide jobs,” Kibour said. “A lot of my employees have been with SEE MAK | 9
Obama pushes public-private partnerships President announces new initiatives in the city BY DERRICK PERKINS
Fresh off another round of grim economic news, President Barack Obama unveiled new efforts to strengthen ties between community colleges and manufacturers during a stop in Alexandria Wednesday. Speaking at the city’s Northern Virginia Community College campus, the presi-
FILE PHOTO
President Barack Obama
dent called for the creation of standardized skill certifications in cooperation with the manufacturing industry. Community colleges can adopt the new standards as part of their curriculum, helping shepherd future workers into good jobs, Obama said. Too often students invest in skills and trades not in demand, while manufacturers struggle to fill jobs with welltrained workers, he said. “We’re going to make it possible for 500,000 [workers] … to get industry-accepted credentials for manufacturing jobs companies across America are looking to fill,” Obama said. “There’s a mismatch that we can close and this partnership is a great way to do it. If you’re a company looking to hire, you’ll know exactly what kind of training goes into a degree ... [As a student, you] will be able to know the diploma you earn will be valuable as you hit the job market.”
Obama met with students and teachers in NVCC’s automotive training program prior to his mid-morning speech, touring the community college’s classrooms and labs. The certification standards heralded by the president were modeled after those already employed at the Alexandria campus. Once in place, the standards can be applied in high schools across the country, giving younger students a chance at a jump-start, Obama said. As well as the creation of nationwide certification standards, Obama also announced a new website, called “Pipeline,” pairing job listings with the required educational background. The Obama administration’s Skills for America’s Future initiative is spearheading the effort, which the president claimed will strengthen the middle class and the economy. Forging a highly
trained workforce will lower unemployment while fueling the manufacturing sector’s growth, Obama said. “The fact is, we understand what it takes to build a stronger economy,” he said. “Above all, it requires training and educating our citizens to compete with workers across the world.” The president’s trip to Alexandria comes just days
after the release of a report showing a sharp decline in job growth in May. Unemployment remains at 9.1 percent nationally and Obama’s poll numbers on the economy have begun to slide. Republican presidential hopefuls, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have tried to turn the dour economy into an early campaign issue.
malls.” Jones fears “cookie cutter chains” will leave little opportunity for privately owned businesses to thrive, stripping Old Town of its charm. Stephanie Landrum of Alexandria Economic Development Partnership dismissed
his concerns, saying the responses they received from local businesses and residents about Anthropologie’s move to the city were overwhelmingly positive. Anthropologie, owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc., sells high-end women’s clothing,
accessories, home goods and gifts. A company spokeswoman said the store markets to young, working-class women. Anthropologie is expected to open in the fall.
King Street Hallmark relocating JJ’s Hallmark is making way for women’s apparel giant Anthropologie after more than 13 years of serving customers on King Street. Owner John Jones chose not to renew his lease after a regional real estate company bought the property and
raised rent. Now shopping for a new location for the card and gift franchise, he’s concerned the new tenant might not fit in on King Street. “Small businesses are critical to Old Town,” he said. “I just don’t want Alexandria to become an extension of local
- Danielle Douez
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 9
MAK FROM | 8
me for years. They are like family. They’ve got me and I’ve got them.” She emphasizes the importance of helping her employees achieve their personal and professional goals. “It’s not a one-way ticket,” Kibour said. “I think relationships with people come before anything, including money. I love them like a family.” When the economy slipped, Kibour worried she might have to lay off more than just longtime workers: her friends. Instead she gave herself a pay cut and rode out the tough stretch. She counts Gail Jackson, the salon manager, among her closest friends.
RUST FROM | 1
job,” Rust said. “I liked working with kids and it seemed like the Boys Club at that time was committed to youth ... I
just stayed with it.” He began overseeing games and tournaments with the neighborhood kids who called the club a second home. When he was promoted to physical director the work was much the same, though now he was organizing athletic leagues in addition to shepherding the children on field trips. Eventually he would serve as the club’s program direc-
“She was my paying customer for years,” Kibour said. “One day we realized she needed a job and I needed help.” The Ethiopian-born Kibour moved to the U.S. in 1984 as part of an exchange program. She attended high school in Intercourse, Pa. while staying with a Mennonite family. As odd as it sounds, the Amish lifestyle was similar to the rural life Kibour grew up with in her home country. “Ethiopia, the country itself was very slow paced. So when we came to Pennsylvania, I felt right at home,” Kibour said. “Intercourse, Pa. and the horses and buggies were like the way my grandmother got around in Ethiopia. It was very familiar.” After graduating she attended beauty school in Reading, Pa. She found a new home
in Washington D. C. when she moved to the area in 1991 and began working for a salon in Old Town. It wasn’t long before Kibour opened her own place, a three-chair salon on North Washington Street. After 10 years she moved to Braddock Road, just across from the Metro station. When her neighbor, La Piazza, went out of business, Kibour jumped at the chance to make another life-long dream a reality. Her new coffeehouse style restaurant serves fresh, organic foods and pays homage to her heritage. “Growing up in Africa, there was nothing frozen. You kill your chicken and you eat it,” she said. Although Kibour has been painting for years, she began showing her art only recently. She paints at the Torpedo Fac-
tor, a job that had him mostly scheduling and organizing events, but he always found time to play with the kids who frequented the building. A lifelong Alexandrian, Rust soon found he was recognized everywhere.
out about the same time Rust was hired. Now a grown man, Martin has helped organize the club’s alums into a fundraising group. “This was our only place to go. We were here all day and every activity that went on, [Rust] was in charge of it. He’s seen me grow up from five to 45,” Martin said. “The Boys Club shaped everybody.” There were, of course, tough times. It’s to be expected in any life, Rust said. His included seeing some of the kids he welcomed into the club stray from the straight and narrow. Occasionally, he’ll run across them, strung out, battling addiction and poverty, but they always straighten up and greet him as “Mr. Rust.” Though it’s difficult, he tries to appreciate their circumstances. “None of us are perfect; all of us make a mistake in life,” Rust said. “I can’t say I can understand it, because I’m not that way, but I try to understand it ... I don’t totally give up on those kids. They may be adults now, but I don’t give up on them.” He also struggled balancing work with his home life. Though his children later joined him at the club, there were years when Rust barely
“Being there 41 years, you’re dealing with the first set of parents’ kids and later on you deal with those kids’ kids and so on and so forth,” he said. “I couldn’t walk downtown or go to the mall before somebody was saying, ‘Hey, Mr. Rust.’” The club — and Rust — molded the gang of boys who arrived day-in and day-out into men, said Carlos Martin, who started going to the local hang-
PHOTO/DERRICK PERKINS
Makda Kibour mixes business and pleasure, displaying her original art at her salon and eatery.
tory and has turned the walls of her businesses into a gallery. Style, cuisine and art — Kibour’s interests are as eclectic as her world travels. In the end, it’s about finding
happiness, she said. “I decided every Friday I was going to do nothing but paint,” said Kibour. “I’ve got to be happy. No matter what, I don’t feel guilty.”
saw them. Working long hours, he returned home well after they had gone to sleep. His son, Ron Rust Jr., has accepted that absence. There may have been tough times early on, but it all worked out. He’s proud of his father’s lifelong commitment to the club. “That’s life,” the younger Rust said. “He had a job to do and I have a great work ethic as well. It was all for the best.” And then, again, are the many lives he’s touched. Rust is particularly proud of Keith Bogans. Now a veteran guard for the Chicago Bulls, Bogans spent a few years with Rust at the Alexandria Boys Club. The NBA star recently returned and held a basketball clinic for the organization’s current crop of
budding athletes. Though Rust maintains it’s time to retire and looks forward to spending the days with his grandchildren, don’t expect him to stray far from the club. A day after his party, he was working a car wash fundraiser with the alumni group. Rust plans to keep volunteering at the club. “I’ve had some health problems and it’s been coming on the last few years — you’re not going to be young forever,” Rust said. “I’m trying to make a difference now and take time for myself. Do some things that maybe I didn’t get a chance to do, because my commitment was with the kids. It was somewhat more than a full time job, that was my life so to speak.”
10 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
LONG LIVE YOU Upset stomach may signal the need for a gut check Digestive troubles could signal a common, but frequently overlooked condition known as small intestine bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO. The reason doctors often miss it is that the symptoms are very similar to irritable bowel syndrome or other diseases of the digestive tract:
SIBO has several causes, including slow digestion, immune problems, prior intestinal surgery and aging. Perhaps the most common cause is taking medicines designed to decrease stomach acid. Severe cases may resemble Crohnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Disease and even cause inflammatory arthritis. s You have bloating, and cer- Gas, bloating and carbohytain foods may make it worse. drate intolerance are the most s #ARBOHYDRATES AND lBER common complaints. Some have a bad effect on your gut. patients may have diarrhea and loss of vitamins and protein. s 9OU MAY HAVE DIARRHEA A breath test is a common s 9OU MAY BE ESPECIALLY SENmethod doctors can use to disitive to certain foods.
ADOPTABLE PET THE WEEK ADOPTABLE PETOFOF THE WEEK
~ Can You Share Your Home with Me? ~ My name is Ariel, and I am almost 3 years old. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been living in a place with too many cats, so some of us cameÂ
agnose SIBO and eliminate bowel and colon because bacother possible conditions as a teria release chemicals that source of the symptoms. The cause inflammation, so treatdoctor will give you a dose ment with corticosteroids or of a sugar, like lactulose or aspirin may be needed. glucose. Patients suffering The goal of treatment is from SIBO will not to eliminate all see a rise in methintestinal bacteria, ane or hydrogen because you need gas as bacteria in them to maintain the small intestine normal gut funcbreak the sugar tion, immune funcdown. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s postion and digestion sible to have no of nutrients. Inuptick in hydrogen stead, your doctor production during is trying to strike a By Marie the breath test if balance by controlSteinmetz, M.D. hydrogen is conling growth rates. verted to methane, Treatment conso check both gases if trying sists of remedying the underthis method. lying disease, dietary manipuA small bowel biopsy can lation, antibiotics and treating help identify inflammation inflammation. Patients should associated with overgrowth eliminate any drugs known and exclude other causes of to slow movement of food malabsorption, such as celiac through the digestive sysdisease. In the absence of gut tems. Cut down on carbohyinflammation, SIBO is often drates significantly as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re asymptomatic. the main nutritional source for SIBO patients may have the bacteria. inflammation in the small Doctors can attack the bac-
teria directly with antibiotics. Rifaximin, a nonabsorbable antibiotic, is often the treatment of choice but there are other antibiotic choices. Some patients may require a longer course or repeated courses of therapy. Doctors should monitor patients carefully, and keep in mind that reactions to antibiotics can cause the same symptoms as SIBO. Patients who continue to experience nausea, for example, should not assume the treatment isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t working. Patients also may need nutritional support with vitamins they are not absorbing because of the bacterial overgrowth. SIBO is especially likely to deplete vitamins K and B12. Dr. Steinmetz is a board certified family medical doctor based in Alexandria who uses both conventional and integrative practices. She welcomes reader questions at info@caringdoc.com.
Come to the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter and test drive one of our Certified Pre-Owned Cats
~ Roger & That Silly Rabbit ~ here to the Shelter. I am a good girl͞ shy until I get toÂ
know you. I am a good companion. Humans interest me. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not seeing double! Meet Roger and Rabbit, 2 year
oldI love catnip toys, and scratches between my ears. neutered males, bonded brothers, who are looking for a place to call home. They are fun-loving, life-loving fellows I will like to lay by your side and snooze on the bed who were fast to become Staff favorites. with you. I will  enjoy having my coat brushed and I They seem to like dogs, too, if you have any. love kids, dogs and other cats, too. Stop into the Shelter to meet them, and to learn more about our Will you come to the Shelter to meet me? winter adoption promotions. Double your fun with two I will wait for you. orange tabbies for Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Weekend! Please come soon.  Your Friend, Ariel.
Please visit our family of pets at
PLEASE CALL THE SHELTER TO LEARN www.alexandriaanimals.org, or call MORE ABOUT OUR WAITING CATS. 703Â746Â4774. 703-746-4774 for more information about the good works at the Shelter. Thank you. THANK YOU.here ALEXANDRIAANIMALS.ORG.
Alexandriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pet of the week is sponsored by Diann Hicks.
Diann Hicks
703-628-2440
www.diannhicks.com
As part of our summer extravaganza, all cats over 6 months old can be adopted for $0 down and NO monthly payments! Our cats come in all makes and models and are fully loaded with these great features:
Standard 4-paw drive Current on all basic vaccinations Spayed or neutered Microchipped Made in the USA! All cats adopted through the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria come with our â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lifetime of Loveâ&#x20AC;? guarantee. Visit our showroom or website to learn more!
&JTFOIPXFS "WFOVF "MFYBOESJB 7" t 703.746.4774 t www.alexandriaanimals.com
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 11
ASSAULT FROM | 1
[saying] that he didn’t think before he reacted,” Willis said. “He admitted to me that he put his hands on my son.” Gordon, who took the witness stand as well, accused the boy of lying and tried to cast doubt on the family’s testimony. Gordon also accused the boy’s stepfather, who arrived at the recreation center before Willis, of putting his hands around the child’s neck. He never strangled the boy, Gordon told the court. Even after Frogale found him guilty, Gordon maintained there were discrepancies in the prosecution’s case. “Some of [the child’s] testimony is wrong,” Gordon told Frogale. “A lot of their story was inconsistent.” But Gordon’s admission of laying hands on the boy, to police, in a written report given to his supervisor and during his testimony was enough to convict him. Gordon, in his own words, was “provoked” and then assaulted the boy, said prosecutor Cathryn Evans during closing arguments. “The defendant laid his hands on the child in anger,” she said. “Words alone are never an excuse for battery.” Gordon, a 24-year city employee, has been on paid administrative leave since his arrest. A decision about his future as a city employee will come from the human resources department within the next seven to 10 days, said William Chesley of the department of recreation, parks and cultural activities. He will begin serving his sentence on June 15. [Graduate’s name] [School name]
Congratulate your graduate in the Alexandria Times! Call 703.739.0001 and ask for Sales.
The Bear is over the river.
O U T PAT I E N T FA C I L I T I E S :
Children’s Outpatient Center of Northern Virginia 8501 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 450, Fairfax, VA Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders of Northern Virginia 6565 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 200, Falls Church, VA P R I VAT E P R A C T I C E :
Children’s National Specialists of Virginia, LLC 3023 Hamaker Court, Suite 500, Fairfax, VA
Did you know, your child can get care from world-class pediatric specialists at the Children’s National Medical Center, without the drive into D.C.? It’s true. Right now, many of the same doctors who work in our downtown campus also see patients in our two Northern Virginia outpatient centers. You’ll also find outstanding care at Children’s National Specialists of Virginia, a private physician practice affiliated with the nation’s children’s hospital. So now, if you’re concerned about your child’s health – from conditions as common as food allergies to those as complex as brain tumors – your pediatrician can refer you to a specialist at a nearby Children’s National location. Make tracks. The Bear is nearby. Very nearby. Call (888) 884-BEAR for an appointment or go to ChildrensNational.org/Virginia for locations and specialists.
For detailed location and specialty information, scan this code with your smart phone. Download a QR code reader from your app store. © Children’s National Medical Center
12 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
SPORTS Despite late surge, Aces can’t catch up with Nationals Losing streak lengthens to three
Naval Academy. “We had a ready to go after their defense lot of potential, we just didn’t — led by relief pitcher Brenget as many runs out of it as dan Lozupone — stranded two we should have.” Nationals runners on base. BY DERRICK PERKINS After brushing off the ViThe excitement got the Three outs more and Al- enna River Dogs 6-1 in their best of them. Junior Chris exandria Aces coach Corey home opener, the Aces bats Sweeney drove one deep into Haines might have watched began to cool. They fell 8-1 centerfield and tore down the his squad overcome the in their first matchup with the baseline, trying to turn a sure Southern Maryland Nationals’ Nationals before losing 8-5 to double into a triple. He was narrow 3-2 ninth inning lead defending league champions thrown out at third base. Bethesda Big “We’ve got Tuesday night. W L to keep that Instead, Haines had to gaze Train a day Cal Ripken Collegiate to a double,” Southern Maryland Nationals 4 0 on from the dugout as a late later. They la- Youses Orioles Haines said game offensive renaissance 3 0 afterward, fell just short of carrying the bored again Bethesda Big Train 3 0 T u e s d a y , v i s i b l y Aces to victory. For a young Vienna River Dogs 2 1 by pained by team, with some players like- though Herndon Braves 1 2 the misstep. ly adjusting after trading their the seventh 1 3 “This game the Alexandria Aces aluminum bats used during the inning Baltimore Redbirds 0 2 was really college season for the wooden Aces showed 0 3 tough. We ones used in the Cal Ripken signs of life. Rockville Express Collegiate Baseball League, Wilmington Silver Spring Takoma T-Bolts 0 3 could have easily tied it, it’s no surprise the team’s of- U n i v e r s i t y senior Jordan Oncay tripled if not won it. In the eighth infense has struggled to get into and teammate Mike Godwin ning, that should have been a the swing of things. Knowing that didn’t make sent him home with a quick double.” hit to first base to make it 3-1. George Mason sophomore it any easier, though. Though the inning would Jordan Hill stood on first base “[The loss] was really tough,” said Matt Kilby, a end with a pop fly, the Aces’ minutes later after singling T.C. Williams graduate now offensive production had into centerfield. He advanced splitting time between the picked up. A short three outs to second after Nationals reAces and the United States later and they were at it again, lief pitcher Matt Diehl nailed Alex Buccilli for a walk. But with a chance to even up the score, Monmouth University sophomore John Guida struck out, stranding Hill and Buccilli and putting an end to the Aces’ best chance of tying things up. They knocked on the door once more in the ninth, Oncay again finding himself on base. With runners on first and third, Godwin came up clutch a second time with a single to drive Oncay home. As they had an inning earlier, the Aces came within spitting distance of sending the game into extra innings only to see the Nationals pull away. Frostburg State University senior John Barrett hit PHOTO/DERRICK PERKINS into a double play. As if the The Aces sole returning player from 2010, Daniel Stinsman, gave up heartbreaking out at third the inning before wasn’t enough, three runs and eight hits in seven innings Tuesday.
PHOTO/DERRICK PERKINS
Alexandria’s Matt Kilby went 0-2 at the plate Tuesday, adding to the Aces’ offensive woes.
Sweeney wasn’t quick enough to outrun a throw to first. He jogged off the field as the game’s final out. Now 1-3, the way forward is clear for the Aces: the bats need to start swinging. “We’ve got to get our offense going, we can’t get just one hit every inning. You can’t score on one run an inning,” Haines said. “We’ve got to get ahead early on offense and push it hard.” It’s hard to ask more from Daniel Stinsman, the Aces’ starting pitcher and the sole returning member of the 2010 Aces lineup. Despite being charged with the loss, Stins-
man gave up just eight hits and three runs in seven innings on the mound. Kilby gave Stinsman high marks. It’s up to the bats to provide a little support as the Aces battle back toward .500, he said. “We couldn’t put up the offensive numbers,” Kilby said. “Playing from behind is no fun.” The Aces took on the Silver Spring Takoma T-Bolts at home Wednesday night, after the Times’ deadline, before hitting the road to face the Baltimore Red Birds on Thursday.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 13
SPORTS SHORTS Angler reels in tournament title A 69-pound, 14-ounce total catch hauled not far from Alexandria’s waterfront was more than enough for Washington State native Luke Clausen to net the FLW Tour Potomac tournament. The angler from the northwest competed with top fishermen from across the country on the choppy waters of the Potomac during the four-day challenge last week. Facing a limit of five bass per day, Clausen put himself over the top with a 19-pound, 4-ounce catch before Sunday’s final weighing. He won with one pound and 13 ounces more fish than his closest rival, New Jersey native Michael Iaconelli. Though he snared 20 bass en route to the tournament title, Clausen also netted a $125,000 check for his first place finish.
Police to escort torch through city City police officers will join their comrades across the commonwealth in toting the Flame of Hope, the Special Olympics Virginia torch, through Alexandria Thursday. Members of the Alexandria Police Department will escort the flame from the Washington Sailing Marina to Jones Point, a nearly four mile leg of the torch’s more than 1,900 mile trip around Virginia. The journey, known as the Law Enforcement Torch Run, comes to a finish in Richmond just in time to kick off the summer games June 10. Local police departments, sheriff’s offices and correctional facilities, among other law enforcement agencies, have partnered with the Special Olympics since 1986, officials said.
T.C. crew offers summer courses
Fresh off another awardwinning season, the T.C. Williams crew program is offering a variety of five-week summer courses for novice and veteran rowers alike. Soon-to-be eighth graders through high school seniors can get the basics down at the Alexandria Crew Boosters’ youth novice sweep, a learnto-row program from 7:15 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday. Rising ninth graders can participate in the youth intermediate sweep, designed to improve skills and tech-
niques, weekdays from 7 to 8:45 a.m. High school varsity rowers have the option of taking youth sculling, where participants must work two oars, rather than one, weekdays from 6:45 to 7:45 a.m. Adults interested in the sport can choose from two basic classes, either Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s lessons or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday’s program. The classes begin June 25. For more information visit www.tcwcrew.org. - Derrick Perkins
14 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
SCENE AROUND TOWN
Taste of Del Ray No stomach went unfilled at the third annual Taste of Del Ray as droves of culinary enthusiasts sampled the neighborhood’s gourmet offerings Sunday. Celebrity judge Carla Hall, of Top Chef fame, awarded the Evening Star’s beet salad the top prize. Taqueria Poblano earned the People’s Choice award for their shrimp inspired chalupas. Photos by: Derrick Perkins
Top Chef’s Carla Hall served as a celebrity judge.
Clarissa and Bernardo Piereck sample Pork Barrel BBQ’s offerings with four-month-old Max in tow. The new Del Ray eatery is set to open soon.
Eric Reid, left and William Manzanares grill up a bevy of burgers for Del Ray Pizzeria.
Molly Maddra hands out sliders to hungry patrons at FireFlies’ booth.
Maddie Abram of Monroe’s works to keep customers well fed.
The Elroy Jenkins Band laid down a mean set of rock ‘n roll not far from the dining area.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
CALENDAR OF
EVENTS
To have your event considered for our calendar listings, please email events@alextimes.com. You can also post your event directly to our online calendar by visiting www.alextimes.com.
June ADOPT A CAT MONTH
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria is hosting a summer adoption extravaganza. Visit the shelter and check out their “certi8'9#6%'B!,"'9#2*.+5C#=))#2*.+#!:'%# six months old can be adopted for free. All cats are current on vaccinations, spayed or neutered, and microchipped. Time: Weekdays except Wednesdays: 1 to 8 p.m.; Weekends: noon to 5 p.m. Location: Vola Lawson Animal Shelter, 4101 Eisenhower Ave. Information: www.alexandriaanimals.org or 703-746-4774
June 9 GET PULLED IN at the opening
of Ann Zahn’s “The Gravitational Pull of Memory.” Celebrate the opening of local, veteran printmaker Ann Zahn’s solo exhibit. Meet the artist and take in her intricate linoleum cuts and lithographs, all full of depth and vibrancy. Time: 6:30 to 8 p.m. Location: The Art League Gallery, 105 N. Union St. Information: 703-683-1780 or visit www.theartleague.org
MUSIC AT TWILIGHT CONCERTS Enjoy a musical perfor-
mance by The Alexandria Singers, *#"!"6%!8.#!%(*"-D*.-!"#,/!+'# members love to perform American popular music throughout the Washington metro area. Members of the Alexandria Singers come from a variety of backgrounds, but all share a love of performing. Free and open to the public. Time: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Location: Fort Ward Park Amphitheater, 4301 W. Braddock Road Information: www.alexandriasingers.com
June 10 & 24 ALEXANDRIA CITIZENS BAND CONCERT See the city’s
oldest performing arts organization. The Alexandria Citizens Band is a community organization comprising volunteer members who provide musical entertainment for the City of Alexandria. The band was incorporated in 1912, and is currently directed by Jack Dusek.
JUNE 9, 2011 | 15 Free and open to the public. Time: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Location: Market Square, 301 King St. Information: www.band.alexandria.va.us
June 11 IT’S RAINING ART Over the last month Del Ray Artisans has served as an artistic rain barrel site sponsor for Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation. They will host a meet-the-artist reception and silent auction of their barrel and 24 other rain barrels decorated by local artists. RSVP for the reception and auction. Time: 5 to 7 p.m. Location: Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road Information: Contact Taylor Beach at taylor.beach@fairfaxcounty.gov June 12 RAZZ-MA-JAZZ In addition to activities that range from face painting, yoga and an instrument petting zoo, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present two concerts led by Vaughn Ambrose featuring music of the Harlem Renaissance during the annual Children’s Art Festival. Tickets $5, free parking in T.C. Williams’ garage. Time: 2 to 4 p.m. Location: T.C. Williams High School, 3330 King St. Information: 703-548-0885 or visit www.alexsym.org AN AFTERNOON WITH SALLY FAIRFAX Commonwealth
Books publisher James Thompson will interview Alexandria’s grande belle, Sally Fairfax. She is expected to answer questions about her aristocratic family and its connections to the founders of Fairfax County, Alexandria, the British Empire and our great nation — and her own mysterious connection with Alexandria’s most famous son. Sally Fairfax is interpreted by the Little Theater’s own Beverly Benda. $10 (plus cash wine bar) Time: 2 p.m. Location: The Lyceum Auditorium, 201 S. Washington St. Information: 703-838-4994
BACH VESPERS: PENTECOST Featuring “Passacaglia in
C Minor,” “Herr Jesu Christ dich zu uns wend,” “Te Deum” (“Herr Gott, dich loben wir”) and “Lieber Jesu wir sind hier.” Unique not only in Alexandria but also in the entire region, Bach Vespers at Westminster realize the principles of “Orthopraxis,” a translation of the ancient into the post-modern world, a return of classical
Christianity, and an exploration of the inceptive tradition of the faith (mystery, community and symbolism). Time: 3 p.m. Location: Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2701 Cameron Mills Road Information: www.musical-alexandria.org/Bach-Vesper
June 14 BRING YOUR SCRAPS: COLLAGE CUT UPS Feeling
overwhelmed with the deluge of junk mail and magazines that come in the mail? Here’s a chance to beat the paper avalanche. Play with the Collage Cut Ups in a supportive environment that promotes an exchange of ideas, creativity and networking with beginner and experienced collage artists. RSVP by 9 a.m. Time: 1 to 4 p.m. Location: Del Ray Artisans Gallery, 2704 Mount Vernon Ave. Information: Contact the DRA Outreach Director at DRA.Outreach1@gmail.com
Fleming’s work “Crown Me!” looks at the social life of one group of African-American men and a traditional American pastime. Time: 6 to 8 p.m. Location: Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe St. Information: www.alexandriava. gov/historic/blackhistory
To have your event considered for our calendar listings, please email events@alextimes.com. You can also post your event directly to our online calendar by visiting www.alextimes.com.
The Little Theatre of Alexandria presents Move Over Mrs. Markham June 4 25
LTA’s offers another outrageously funny bedroom farce this season! Move Over, Mrs. Markham electrified London and New York, with audiences gasping for breath during non-stop laughs! The Markham’s fifteen-year marriage seems just about undone, along with everything and everybody else in this wild and crazy free-for-all.
600 Wolfe St, Alexandria ! 701.638.0496 ! www.thelittletheatre.com
FUNNY, TOUCHING AND ALTOGETHER EXTRAORDINARY!” “
PETER TRAVERS, ROLLING STONE
June 15 LUNCH BUNCH CONCERT
Featuring Sir Joe Quarterman and Free Soul. Quarterman is a Funk and Soul singer from Washington, D.C. Free and open to the public. Time: Noon to 1 p.m. Location: Canal Center Plaza Amphitheater, 44 Canal Center Plaza Information: www.myspace. com/joequarterman
OPEN LIFE DRAWING SESSION Bring your supplies
to the Del Ray Artisan’s gallery to draw or paint live models. Long poses. $8 for DRA members and $10 for non-members. No need to register in advance. Time: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Location: Del Ray Artisans Gallery, 2704 Mount Vernon Ave. Information: Contact Katherine Rand at 703-836-1468, or email DRA.LifeDrawing@gmail.com.
June 16 IN BLACK AND WHITE Meet the artists of a new photography exhibit during its opening reception. The exhibit brings together friends Nina Tisara and Peggy Fleming, whose work explores Afri2*"B=3'%-2*"#20).0%'5#7/'-%#8"9ings are presented in the medium of black and white photographs and highlight two very different aspects of African-American life and culture. Tisara’s series “United in the Spirit” focuses on worship in Alexandria’s AfricanAmerican community while
GO INSIDE THE WILDLY CREATIVE WORLD OF DIRECTOR MIKE MILLS AT FOCUSFEATURES.COM
EWAN McGREGOR CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER MÉLANIE LAURENT WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY MIKE MILLS
BEGINNING FRIDAY, JUNE 10
MARYLAND LANDMARK THEATRES BETHESDA ROW CINEMA 7235 Woodmont Ave 301/652-7273 CHECK THEATRE DIRECTORY OR CALL FOR SOUND INFORMATION AND SHOWTIMES
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Alexandria Times’ Cause of the Month Alexandria Times will donate a small portion of every paid display ad in June to our Cause of the Month. Please join us in contributing to this worthy cause.
June’s cause:
To donate please contact:
K.I. Services
25 S. Quaker Lane, Alexandria 703.823.4401 r 703.823.4407 (f)
www.kiservices.org info@kiservices.org
Their mission is to improve the quality of life, health and healthcare services for those in our community most in need through intensive and culturally specific outreach, education and counselling services.
16 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
‘Tree of Life’ blossoms into a masterpiece of Americana Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” is a film of vast ambition and deep humility, attempting no less than to encompass all of existence and view it through the prism of a few
infinitesimal lives. The only other film I’ve seen with this boldness of vision is Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and it lacked Malick’s fierce evocation of human feeling. There
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were once several directors who unless we are unlucky, have yearned to make no less than a something of the same childmasterpiece, but hood, because we now there are only are protected by a few. Malick has innocence and nastayed true to that ïveté. hope ever since As I menhis first feature in tioned the O’Brien 1973. family, I realized I don’t know one detail the film when a film has has precisely right: connected more The parents are AT THE immediately with named Mr. O’Brien MOVIES and Mrs. O’Brien. my own personal experience. In unYes. Because the By Roger Ebert canny ways, the parents of other central events of “The Tree of kids were never thought of by Life” reflect a time and place I their first names, and the first lived in, and the young boys in names of your own parents it are me. If I set out to make an were words used only by othautobiographical film, and if I ers. Your parents were Mother had Malick’s gift, it would look and Father and they defined so much like this. His scenes your reality, and you were open portray a childhood in a small to their emotions, both calming town in the American midlands, and alarming. And young Jack where life flows in and out O’Brien is growing, and somethrough open windows. There day will become Mr. O’Brien, is a father who maintains disci- but will never seem to himself pline and a mother who exudes as real as his father did. forgiveness, and long sumRarely does a film seem mer days of play and idleness more obviously a collaboraand urgent, unsaid questions tion of love between a director about the meaning of things. and his production designer, The three boys of the O’Brien Jack Fisk. Fisk is about my family are browned by the sun, age and was born and raised scuffed by play, disturbed by in downstate Illinois, and so glimpses of adult secrets, filled of course knows that in the with a great urgency to grow up 1940s tall aluminum drinking and discover who they are. glasses were used for lemonI wrote earlier about the ade and iced tea. He has all the many ways this film evoked other details right, too, but his my own memories of such a design fits seamlessly into the time and place. About wide lives of his characters. What’s lawns. About a small town uncanny is that Malick creates that somehow, in memory, is the O’Brien parents and their always seen with a wide-angle three boys without an obvious lens. About houses that are plot: The movie captures the never locked. About mothers unplanned unfolding of sumlooking out windows to check mer days and the overheard on you. About the summer heat words of people almost talking and ennui of church services, to themselves. and the unpredictable theater of The film’s portrait of everythe dinner table, and the trou- day life, inspired by Malick’s bling sounds of an argument memories of his hometown of between your parents, half- Waco, Texas, is bounded by heard through an open window. two immensities, one of space Watching the film, I remem- and time and the other of spiribered Ray Bradbury’s memory tuality. “The Tree of Life” has of a boy waking up to the sound awe-inspiring visuals, suggestof a Green Machine outside his ing the birth and expansion of window – a hand-pushed lawn- the universe, the appearance of mower. Perhaps you grew up in life on a microscopic level, and a big city, with the doors locked the evolution of species. This and everything air-conditioned. process leads to the present It doesn’t matter. Most of us, moment, and to all of us. We
PHOTO/FOX SEARCHLIGHT
Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain play opposite one another in director Terrence Malick’s ambitious look at life and death for an American family.
were created in the Big Bang and over untold millions of years molecules formed themselves into, well, you and me. And what comes after? In whispered words near the beginning, “nature” and “grace” are heard. We have seen nature as it gives and takes away; one of the family’s boys dies. We also see how it works with time, as Jack O’Brien (Hunter McCracken) grows into a middle-aged man (Sean Penn). And what then? The film’s coda provides a vision of an afterlife, a desolate landscape on which quiet people solemnly recognize and greet one another, and all is understood in the fullness of time. Some reviews have said Mr. O’Brien (Brad Pitt, crew-cut, never more of a regular guy) is too strict as a disciplinarian. I don’t think so. He is doing what he thinks is right, as he has been raised. Mrs. O’Brien (the ethereal Jessica Chastain) is gentler and more understanding, but there is no indication she feels her husband is cruel. Of course children resent discipline, and of course a kid might sometimes get whacked at the dinner table circa 1950. But listen to an acute exchange of dialog between Jack and his father. “I was a little hard on you sometimes,” Mr. O’Brien says, and Jack replies: “It’s your house. You can do what you want to.” Jack is defending his father against himself. That’s how you grow up. And it all happens in this blink of a lifetime, surrounded by the realms of unimaginable time and space.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 17
‘Summer Sips’ cocktail crawl at Gaylord National An evening of cocktails, dinner and a show will take on a whole new meaning after a trip across the Potomac this summer. For a refreshing twist on classic drinks, try Gaylord National’s Summer Sips “cocktail crawl” through their atrium every Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. During this fun adventure, you can enjoy four different cocktails, one at each of the hotel’s restaurants, for $20. You’ll also receive a keepsake Summer Sips glass and a coupon for 10 percent off of dinner afterwards. The experience begins at the Belvedere Lobby Bar. Visit the bartender to purchase your Summer Sips ticket and receive your first beverage: a tangy and delightful “Pomegranate Margarita.” Enjoy it while
listening to a live jazz pianist and admiring the sunset views of the waterfront The second stop is the swanky setting of Old Hickory Steakhouse. Here, a “Champagne Cocktail,” featuring brut champagne spiked with blackberry liqueur, awaits. If your tummy is rumbling, it’s also the perfect opportunity to try Old Hickory’s artisanal cheeses. The restaurant’s maitre d’fromage will wheel over her cheese trolley and present the night’s featured selections. A rich triple crème or a fresh goat cheese would make ideal pairings with the champagne inspired cocktail. At the next stop, “KnockOut Punch” will give your taste buds a one-two punch! The signature drink at National Pastime Sports Bar
& Grill features a fruity concoction of three different rums, crème de banana, strawberry puree and a splash of orange and pineapple juice. Enjoy this bold refresher as you cheer your favorite team on while enjoying the 30-foot-wide, HD video wall. The fourth and final stop of Summer Sips culminates at Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine, where a traditional “Summer Sangria” awaits. This vibrant mixture of red wine, spirits and fresh fruit is the perfect way to end this cocktail-crawl adventure. Afterwards, stay for dinner and watch Gaylord’s free Saturday night fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. Both Moon Bay and Old Hickory offer tables with water views, meaning lucky diners can watch the fire-
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18 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Time-tested summer reading There’s nothing worse than ist. Cruising my favorite thrift a long trip without a good poet store, I found a stack of 25 P. G. by your side. Wodehouse books tucked aside. I always have trouble figProblem solved. uring out what to After a bit of read. I’ve closed outside research, I the book on dense found myself liftprose, because I ing off with “Right By Heath Gordon have trouble focusHo, Jeeves.” It’s ing on airplanes. I hard to imagine can’t read anything too light any confirmed Anglophile has because, well, who wants to escaped the laughter-inducing read a review of James Patter- adventures of Wodehouse’s son’s latest thriller? indefensible Bertram Wooster. So my choices are lim- In this installment, the fictional ited, but after a stroke of luck English socialite’s superior I stumbled across England’s problem solving skills have quintessential pre-war humor- been put to the test.
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Speaking of cost, the better part of Wodehouse’s work is in the public domain. I packed my Nook with about 45 of them before I left. They also are often found in the paperback section of a thrift store, where you can pick them up for 50 cents or so. You’d probably be just fine reading anything written by Wodehouse, but take it from me, you will scare your roommates with random fits of laughter if you pick up “Right Ho, Jeeves.” I didn’t have to consult Wooster to solve my problem. For once, he was part of the solution. I look forward to associating my traveling adventures with Wodehouse’s satirical glimpses of British aristocracy.
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Not only is his aunt most likely divorcing her husband, but a friend of his cannot summon the nerve to propose to the perfect woman. Naturally, Wooster must meddle in the affairs of others. The breakup of his aunt and uncle began with an argument over the latter’s eating habits and lack thereof. Wooster hatches a scheme — against the advice of the eponymous butler, Jeeves — as usual. The plan is simple: Wooster’s uncle simply will not eat dinner. Likewise, his love-struck friend should show the object of his affection that he is pining away by refusing food. Of course, this plan is an abject failure and only creates even more problems for all involved. If anything, this book, like many pieces of British comedy, is a lesson in unintended consequences. It’s a great read and is easy to follow. But I would be remiss in stopping there. I have never read more entertaining prose than what Wodehouse offers. Think about this, when was the last time that the inner monologue of a character caused you to laugh aloud? If you don’t find yourself forced to close the book and guffaw, then find me and I will give you your money back.
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JUNE 9, 2011 | 19
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Taste a bit of France at Le Refuge In these days of pricey airline travel, where can you experience the atmosphere, flavors and wines of a French cafĂŠ without leaving Alexandria? Le Refuge, in the heart of Old Town at 127 N. Washington St., has offered fine French country dining at moderate prices since 1983. Owner Jean Francois, his wife, Francoise, and their daughter, Ann, are all involved in making the dining at Le Refuge among the best anywhere in the mid-Atlantic. From the moment patrons enter the door of Le Refuge or sit at one of the sidewalk cafe
tables in the summer, it is as if they are instantly transported to France. A warm, eclectic collection of French art and decorations adorn the walls. Wonderful aromas flow through the air and the lighting is just right â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not too dark and not too bright. In the evenings, the soft glow of flickering candlelight enhances the ambiance. However, the primary reason for visiting Le Refuge is the consistently outstanding cuisine prepared by its French chef of 10 years, Jean Claude Lelan. While regulars have their favorites, the menu choices are all exquisite.
One just has to decide what to order. The Dover sole is outstanding as is the rack of lamb, frogs legs, soft shell crab and bouillabaisse. Le Refuge also is proud of its Beef Wellington and crème brulee profiteroles. A special worth noting at Le Refuge is the three-course fixed price menu. During lunch, the three-course menu is $18.95 and at dinner the special â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pre & Post-Theaterâ&#x20AC;? three-course menu is $27.95. The evening fixed price menu is offered on Monday evenings (not including holidays) and Tuesday to Thursday from 5:30
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20 | JUNE 9, 2011
Our View Unsung heroes deserve our gratitude now Ron Rust, a man with a quiet nature that belies his gigantic stature, retired after 41 years at the Alexandria Boys and Girls Club last week. If you’re asking yourself who Ron Rust is, you’re probably not alone, but to the hundreds — if not thousands — of boys and girls who have passed through the club’s doors since 1970, the answer is a bit different. Mr. Rust has been a constant, strong male presence. A role model to most and in some cases, a lifesaver. Mr. Rust has devoted most of his adult life to helping children, mainly poor minorities, navigate the turbulent road through adolescence. He could have made more money, probably a lot more, doing something else. Instead, he chose to stay at the Boys and Girls Club, weathering good financial times and bad, shakeups in board membership and several different club directors. Why single out one man this way in an editorial? It is because Mr. Rust is exemplary not only for himself, but for what he represents: the unsung heroes among us. In a city like Alexandria, our local elected officials are our area celebrities. Most of us recognize them when we see them in the grocery store or at public events. We are very aware of their many contributions to our city. Others, such as the leaders of our local churches and synagogues, or leading business owners or philanthropists, also enjoy a very visible stature in the community. But for every council member or prominent business owner, there are probably five or 10 Ron Rusts who toil for years in obscurity, teaching our children, working at our health clinics, putting out fires, picking up trash and catching criminals. They are the very backbone of our community. Their contributions aren’t measured by the public works projects built during their tenure, but by the individual lives they touch and improve along the way. Far too often, the Ron Rusts have their short moment of recognition only when they retire. Far too often, as the song goes, “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.” While those at the Boys and Girls Club have long valued Mr. Rust’s contributions, it is nice to see him get the recognition he deserves from the rest of Alexandria, even if it comes as he is leaving. Alexandria’s City Council honored Mr. Rust on June 3 with a proclamation saying, among other things, that “Mr. Russ (as he is sometimes called) has literally touched the lives of thousands of young people over the past 41 years and Club alumni return to the facility on a regular basis to ‘check in’ and let him know what’s been going on in their lives.” As we say “thank you” and “well done” to Mr. Rust, we should also look around and recognize the other unsung heroes in our midst: the church member who cooks the Wednesday night dinner week in and week out, the board member who tirelessly waters and fertilizes the flowers on King Street that we all enjoy or the PTL chief who spends countless hours in support of their school. Rather than wait for someone to labor for 41 years, or until they step aside, let’s stop and express our gratitude now, bit by bit, along the way. Who are the unsung heroes in your life?
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Opinion “Where the press is free and every man is able to read, all is safe.” - Thomas Jefferson
Steve Artley’s cartoons will return in July.
Your Views Keep public-private partnerships off the table for Jefferson-Houston To the editor: Your opinion that Alexandria City Public School officials should reconsider entering into a public-private partnership with developers to fund construction of a new JeffersonHouston School (“Reconsider a public-private Jefferson-Houston,” June 2, 2011) is based on unsound reasoning, possibly due to your failure to appreciate that my neighbors and I were not solely concerned about “a lack of inclusion” during last year’s planning process. While most of my neighbors
and I understand that public-private partnerships are reasonable undertakings in many situations, we believe such a partnership to redevelop Jefferson-Houston is no more than a Faustian bargain. To be clear, our primary concern is that a public-private partnership will lead to development that will fundamentally alter our neighborhood, which likely will negatively affect our quality of life. We understand that developers, as rational businesspeople, will seek to extract maximum profit out of the valuable land on which Jefferson-
Houston sits. To do that, they most likely will need to build high-density residential property, large commercial buildings or both. My neighbors and I understand that more density in our neighborhood will only worsen the already horrific traffic situation on our narrow streets. In addition, we most likely would lose the playing field and other recreational areas we have in the neighborhood. Most of my neighbors and I do not want to sacrifice our quaint, relatively SEE PARTNERSHIPS | 22
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 21
Honor the conquered, not the conqueror To the editor: As a fellow journalist, David F. Sherman’s letter complaining about his ancestor Col. Elmer Ellsworth not being mentioned in the memorial plaque at the Marshall House site rightfully earned top billing in the letters section of May 26, 2011(“Remember Ellsworth, martyr for the Northern Cause”). Nevertheless, there are good reasons for omitting mention of him. As the Alexandria Times acknowledges, the events of May 24, 1861 constituted an invasion. The states, both conceptually as institutions and, specifically in Virginia’s case, physically antedated the federal government as colo-
nies before the War of Independence and members under the Articles of Confederation, which preceded the Constitution. The Constitution acknowledged pre-existing legal arrangements America’s colonies entered into and never specifically prohibited secession (in fact, the 10th Amendment’s reservation clause could readily be interpreted to allow it precisely because it is not expressly prohibited). The founders never asserted the Constitution precluded secession and, if only to assuage anti-Federalist fears about it, acknowledged circumstances which might give rise to it during ratification conventions in New York,
Virginia and other states. Had Alexandria’s city council, confronted with a demand to quarter the troops, done so, it might not have been an invasion, but they refused. The Third Amendment prohibited the quartering of troops without the owner’s consent, except in time of war, and only then in a manner prescribed by law. Congress, hiding behind the rubric of the Confederacy being in rebellion, never officially declared war, so clearly quartering constituted an invasion. No other proper legal measure, such as a federal lawsuit against James W. Jackson ordering him to remove the secessionist flag from his
boarding house, was ever undertaken. Instead, Ellsworth transgressed against Jackson’s First Amendment right to free expression by trespassing on his property and removing Jackson’s flag. Secession’s legality or illegality was not “writ in ink” in the Constitution’s text, but in blood by the Civil War’s outcome. The original Constitution never uses the term in a context whereby singular could be distinguished from plural, such that, before the Civil War, the United States was usually used as a plural, sometimes as “these United States.” Only after the Civil War did the United States become a singular proper noun.
Where the pen had failed, cannons spoke in its stead. Because secession’s illegality was “writ in blood,” it was not, and under the Constitution could not be, applied ex post facto. Just as our war memorials do not acknowledge the Japanese pilots who perished at Pearl Harbor, even though Japan still insists (and our interventions in Iraq and Libya might confirm) its first strike was defensive, because we do not acknowledge the invader. And acknowledging the invader when he is us inches us closer to acknowledging the invader when he is not.
would put East Jerusalem in the hands of the Palestinian Authority, along with the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Mount of Olives, the Temple Mount and the Room of the Last Supper — sites of religious importance to Jews and Christians. The call for a return to the pre-1967 borders also would see the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens — Jewish, Christian and Muslim — from their rightful homes. Where these major population centers are concerned, Netanyahu correctly criticized Obama for breaking its commitment to Israel made in 2004 by former President George W. Bush. Bush rightly recognized both the existence of these population centers as well as the enormity in attempting to move those already living there. “It is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines on 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion.
It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities,” Bush wrote in a 2004 letter to then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. There is absolutely nothing in Obama’s plan that Netanyahu could possibly agree to that would satisfy and secure the safety of the people of Israel. Obama has thrown Israel under the bus, as many, including potential GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, have said since the outrageous speech. “This proposal is a slap in the face of our friends and the only democracy in the Middle East,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK). Israel is the canary in the minefield of global democracies. Obama is on the wrong side of this issue and voters should make him pay at the ballot box next year.
- Dino Drudi Alexandria
Obama on the wrong side of Israel border issue Bigger than the 2012 elec- a history text covering the tion, the security and ultimate Six Days War of 1967, a war survival of Israel are at stake where Israel was mercilessly thanks to an irattacked by responsible and Egypt, Iraq, Jorradical speech dan and Syria. given by the Israel fought most hostile back, rightfully U.S. president defending herthe Jewish state self, and in the has encountered process gained in its 63 years. possession of In his May 19 Gaza, the Golan speech, Barack Heights and the Obama callousWest Bank. ly called for a “When you MyView two-state soluwin, you win,” Sanford D. Horn tion where Isis an oft-quoted rael would revert comment from to its pre-1967 War borders. the late Rabbi Meir Kahane He may as well be seeking a (1932-90). Kahane also was solution giving Hamas, the correct when saying one does Palestinian Authority and the not return land won in war, Muslim Brotherhood reason especially a war started by to dance in the streets. one’s enemies, as was the case Obama’s suggestion would in 1967. shrink Israel’s waistline from Adding insult to injury, roughly 45 miles to a mere 12 Obama expects Israel to surmiles, creating an untenable render land for a guarantee situation with “virtually inde- of nothing in return, a plan fensible borders,” according criticized by legal scholar to Israeli Prime Minister Ben- Alan Dershowitz. This is a jamin Netanyahu. “one-sided insistence that IsObama, and anyone else rael surrender territories withsupporting such an outland- out the Palestinians giving up ish notion, need only consult the right of return,” said Der-
showitz. “The president’s speech gave no cause for optimism,” he said. Not unless that optimism is being felt by Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Palestinian Authority, who, in their various charters, call for the destruction of the Jewish state and the death of the Jewish people. No amount of surrendered land can ever placate an enemy with such genocidal goals. Land for potential peace is a farce at best. Stand on your head if you think Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood or the Palestinian Authority can be trusted. History has demonstrated there is no precedence for such trust. Once land is gone, it is gone, yet peace is fleeting at best and ever so tenuous — if ever achievable — when dealing with such volatile combatants. Further, a two-state solution is no solution, but a reward for generations of terrorism, murder and the systematic teaching of lies to future generations of anti-Semites and Israel haters. Such a return to the pre-1967 borders
The author is a writer and educator living in Westfield, Ind. The 10-year city resident still keeps a finger on the pulse of Alexandria.
22 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Opposition to public-private Jefferson-Houston runs deeper than lack of inclusion To the editor: Your editorial of June 2, 2011 suggesting a revival of the public-private partnership proposal to fund a new Jefferson-Houston school dismisses last year’s school controversy as a simple failure to sufficiently involve community members in the school board’s process, and as a result shuffles over the real reasons for the brouhaha (“Reconsider a public-private JeffersonHouston”). What the Times fails to acknowledge is that the neighborhood uprising was fueled by analysis from the planning department that the partnership would require millions of square feet of new devel-
opment to generate the developer cash needed to fund a replacement school in our low-rise, historic neighborhood. The notion that our neighborhood alone was being singled out for mega-development to bootstrap its school did not sell, especially when so few residents have children enrolled in JeffersonHouston. There also was an unpopular proposal to move the district’s administrative staff to the site, adding to the prospect of a traffic and parking nightmare in a community where narrow streets abut railroad tracks. The last straw was hearing that existing open space on the site would prob-
ably be sacrificed. Superintendent Morton Sherman’s references to rooftop soccer fields didn’t play well – this is Alexandria, not Singapore. Neighbors rightly asked why this community was being positioned as a cash cow for the city while other neighborhoods were treated like sacred cows. The Times covered the city budget process this spring without taking an editorial position, even when the city council and school board agreed to fund a new Jefferson-Houston through the capital improvement plan. The appearance of an editorial like this, on the heels of a community meeting, raises
questions about whether the Times is looking after taxpayers’ interests, or being used in a backroom campaign to revive a misguided proposal. It’s all the more telling given the Times’ previous reservations about the public-private partnership expressed in an August 19, 2010 editorial. Finally, Times reporters missed a critical issue in the spring budget negotiations. A recent boom in citywide school enrollment has served as the district’s principal lever with the city council for capital funds. However, Dr. Sherman and the board gloss over the fact that until Jefferson-Houston routinely makes annual yearly progress under
the No Child Left Behind Act, parents retain the right to optout and send their children elsewhere. It remains to be seen whether a new structure at Jefferson-Houston ultimately will do anything to relieve enrollment pressure absent a return to the levels of academic achievement that marked the school up until the late 1990s. With the example of T.C. Williams before them, residents were justified in not selling out their neighborhood and their quality of life in exchange for such a speculative return.
Council should entertain the following suggestions:
history of this great city. 5. One of the most critical items necessary for any viable development plan to be executable is an accompanying traffic management plan (TMP).
- Leslie Zupan Alexandria
A few simple suggestions for the waterfront plan To the editor: The Alexandria City Council asked most of the questions that should have been previously addressed by the planning commission during its May 14 waterfront plan public hearing. Unfortunately, the city council must now clean up this atrocious mess. Even more egregious is the fact that the planning department has never answered most of the questions posed by citizens. The city council’s first order of business should be to strip those items that cannot be implemented because of current ownership, zoning or
other legal restrictions from the plan:
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tax burdens while enabling Alexandria “to pay for a bigger, better school,” which is necessary because citywide student enrollment “is predicted to keep swelling.” Indeed, tax burdens would be lowered, but my neighbors and I would bear the costs associated with high-density development (e.g., congestion, loss of green space, plummeting quality of life, etc.). This, in effect, is a tax. We would shoulder this burden directly even though
FROM | 20
quiet neighborhood for some developer-created mega-development that resembles Clarendon. The use of taxpayer funds to build a school ensures the costs of a new school are spread more evenly among those who would reap its benefits. You suggest a public-private partnership would lower
1. The two 200 foot piers off King and Cameron streets and the 150 slip marina off Robinson Terminal South both violate the pier head line which is the federally mandated border between D.C. and Virginia. 2. Fitzgerald Square cannot be put together without the Old Dominion Boat Club giving up its parking lot. This will never happen as the membership depends on that space and giving it up would eventually reduce the number of members coming to the club. 3. The parking lot across from Chadwicks is two-
thirds owned by the Mann and Sweeney Estates. To date there has been no indication that they will sell their interests. Therefore a park is not in the offering. Those 100 parking spaces are well used. 4. The zoning to build three 150-room hotels would have to be changed to allow lodging on Union Street. The density will exceed what the current infrastructure will allow. 5. Delete the 50,000 square feet of new restaurant space. There are more than 100 restaurants in Old Town. More restaurants will just compound our parking problems. On the other hand, the most of the students populating a new Jefferson-Houston would live outside of our neighborhood. Our neighborhood should not be forced to bear a disproportionate amount of the costs of the school; a public-private partnership would yield that outcome. If all of Alexandria benefits from a new school, all of Alexandria should pay for it.
- Damon Colbert Alexandria
1. The number one item in the plan should be to aggressively pursue nuisance flood mitigation measures. 2. Adaptively reuse the Beachcomber restaurant building. Perhaps a small office building, restaurant or a seaport museum would be desirable. 3. The two Robinson Terminals should be converted to parkland. 4. The Cummings and Turner properties on The Strand between Duke and Prince streets should be converted into a cultural center highlighting the arts, archeology and the
What I have suggested is just one alternative to the waterfront plan approved by the planning commission. There are many other solutions that should have been considered, yet during the process all we saw was the same plan time and again: hotels, hotels and hotels. - “Van” Van Fleet Alexandria
Welcome to your new tax bracket To the editor: In the May 26, 2011 edition, the 49-year-old lottery winner is described as “A million dollars richer” (“Million-dollar winner played it cool before claiming his cash”). No tax bite?
Who cares?
He will continue working until his retirement and hopes the trust he is investing in will have tripled by then. TRIPLED? - Sally Hunter Alexandria
WE DO.
Send comments to the editor at letters@alextimes.com.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 23
OUT OF THE ATTIC
Despite popular design, local octagon home fell on hard times In the mid-19th century, octagon-shaped houses became a fad in the United States, spurred on by phrenologist Orson Squire Fowler, who in 1848 published “A Home for All.” The tome promoted the stylistic and functional benefits of an octagon house. Though Fowler did not invent the octagon house, he believed his designs and recommended construction materials, like gravel walls, made building such homes affordable. At least one octagon house was known to have been built in Alexandria. In the 1850s, Reverend Charles Hall, the former secretary of the American Home Mission Society, purchased property off the Leesburg Turnpike, then about a mile beyond town limits. His
new octagon house, constructed of clay, gravel and cement, had structural issues. In 1856 part of it “fell in,” according to a local newspaper.
PHOTO/COURTESY RARE BOOK, MANUSCRIPT, AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY, DUKE UNIVERSITY
After the deaths of two of his children and the reverend himself, just Mrs. Hall and her
Weekly Poll This Week’s Poll What should Robert Gordon’s future with the city be, now that he has been convicted of assaulting a child? A. >!"B'F-+.'".5#G'#+/!0)9#$'#8%'95 B. He should be able to stay on as a city
employee, but barred from jobs involving children.
How did your neighbors vote? Visit www.alextimes.com to vote and view the results.
Last Week’s Poll: Do campaign signs sway your opinion of candidates?
A: No. - 75% B: They’re an eyesore. - 25% C: Yes. - 0%
daughters remained, but they moved out around the Civil War’s start. During the first year of the war, Union officers took over the vacant property
and converted it and another nearby home for use as a hospital. In late 1861, nurse Amy
Morris Bradley with the 5th Maine Regiment became the matron of what was called the 7th Brigade Hospital. This photograph, with the Virginia Theological Seminary visible in the distance, was taken around that time. Even after its use as a hospital ended, soldiers still frequented the octagon house which was apparently ransacked. One member of the 11th Rhode Island Volunteers later wrote that while he was visiting, Mrs. Hall returned to her home but found it “more of a heap of ruins.” In 1866, the octagon house was destroyed by fire in a case of suspected arson. Out of the Attic is provided by the Office of Historic Alexandria.
Quick Takes THUMBS UP to JJ’s Hallmark on King Street, which is closing because its long-term lease expired and the landlord wants to change tenants. The store has been an Old Town mainstay for the entire time I’ve lived here. Many a birthday card, hostess gift and party invitation has been purchased there. Children used to leave with a free balloon after getting to visit with the King Street Cats on display for adoption. JJ’s Hallmark is a rare chain store that has managed to feel like a unique, local institution. It will be missed. — Denise Dunbar THUMBS UP to Lauren Mizzell, the St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes senior who won a Verizon Wireless and United Negro College Fund scholarship. This college-bound student received more than $3,000 in tuition and electronics after writing an essay on how wireless technology has changed her life. Best of luck in the future, Miss Mizzell! — Patrice Culligan
THUMBS DOWN to Robert Gordon, director of the Charles Barrett Recreation Center, who was found guilty on Friday of assaulting an 11-year-old boy following an exchange during a pickup basketball game at the center. Though it sounds as if the boy acted both obnoxiously and -"*66%!6%-*.')A?#"!./-"(#@0+.-8'+# an adult — particularly one in a position of authority — physically abusing a child. Gordon should not hold a job that involves contact with children in the future. — Denise Dunbar THUMBS UP to the Alexandria Aces opening game win on June 3. Their 2011 season began with a 6-1 win over the Vienna River Dogs at Frank Mann Field. In the pre-game ceremonies, Mayor Bill Euille and Councilman Frank E*""!"#./%',#./'#8%+.#6-.2/'+5# Despite dropping three matchups since, there are plenty left to play and we all hope the Aces can overcome this bump in the road. — Patrice Culligan
Patrice V. Culligan Publisher
pculligan@alextimes.com
David Sachs Editor-in-Chief dsachs@alextimes.com EDITORIAL Derrick Perkins Reporter & Photographer dperkins@alextimes.com Denise Dunbar Editorial Page Editor ddunbar@alextimes.com Merlisa Lawrence Corbett Business Reporter mcorbett@alextimes.com Steven G. Artley Editorial Cartoonist ADVERTISING Chuck Evans cevans@alextimes.com Marty DeVine mmmdevine@aol.com Margaret Stevens mstevens@alextimes.com Pat Booth Office/Classified Manager pbooth@alextimes.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Cat VanVliet cvanvliet@alextimes.com ALEXTIMES LLC Denise Dunbar Managing Partner The Ariail family William Dunbar HOW TO REACH US 110 S. Pitt St. Alexandria, VA 22314 703-739-0001 (main) 703-739-0120 (fax) www.alextimes.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send your comments to: letters@alextimes.com Letters must be signed by the writer. Include address and phone for verification (not for publication). Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length. Personal attacks will not be published.
24 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Living smarter without the mental calisthenics BY MARY G. PEPITONE
Downsizing from a large family home doesn’t mean the space you live in has to be dumbed-down. Even though financial nest eggs shrank during the economic downturn, baby boomers are now leading the trend toward purchasing smaller, smart-sized, new construction homes. Despite decreasing squarefootage, active aging adults still want their homes to feel large and have certain amenities. “Part of getting older is that you’re becoming wiser, and that pertains to the way in which you live,” says Stephen Melman, National Association of Home Builders spokesman in Washington, D.C. “Retirees want smaller homes, but they also want houses to be smarter, in terms of energy-efficiency and the usage of space.” ONE-LEVEL LIVING According to ongoing NAHB Economics and Hous-
ing Policy Consumer Preference Surveys, the design features found most important to the 55 and older new-home buyer include a master bedroom on the first floor and larger bathrooms, opportunities for outdoor living utilizing a patio or porch, an attached one- or two-car garage and plenty of closet or storage space. Melman says few retirees are requiring four-bay attached garages, but no one is willing to give up the airiness of a 9-foot ceiling and an open floor plan. “More are building houses that appear larger, because of the way they’re designed,” he says. “The goal is to have a better looking and better working home in a smaller area.” ENERGY-EFFICIENCY Many retirees are gravitating to homes built in activeadult communities in warmer climates located throughout North America. While it was the front porch on their new California-ranch-
style home in Nipomo, Calif., that initially appealed to Roger and Christine Ridley, both in their mid-60s, it’s the unseen aspects that make their home more comfortable than ever. Shea Homes has nearly a dozen Trilogy-branded activeadult resort living communities located in Arizona, California, Washington, Florida and Nevada. The Ridleys moved from Riverside, Calif., to the Trilogy at Monarch Dunes community in November 2009. Situated on a golf course, the Ridleys experience onelevel living in their Shea Homes’ green-certified home with an ultra energy savings package. That means in addition to added insulation, and Energy Star-rated appliances and windows, the Ridleys’ home also has a 3-kilowatt solar power system and a solarpowered attic fan. “The solar panels are built into the roof to blend with the shingles,” says Preston Holdner, general manager of the
PHOTO/SHEA HOMES
7!9*AH+#!"'B)':')#)-:-"(#4!%#*2.-:'#*90).+#/*+#+3*%.'%#!6'"#1!!%#6)*"+# with a kitchen-great room that has easy access to outdoor living.
Trilogy development. “While residents can expect to pay up to $25,000 more for energy-efficient upgrades, more than 90 percent of our residents have chosen to do so.” For Roger, an attorney, it’s what he doesn’t have to pay that makes his energy-efficient house so appealing.
“Our electricity bills average about $12 a month,” he says. “Currently, because of our solar panels, we are exporting more kilowatt-hours to the grid than we draw, so at the end of our true-up period, we expect to receive a check from the utility company.” SEE SMART LIVING | 25
HOME OF THE WEEK
Coming soon, a Rosemont home for the whole family This wonderful brick duplex home in the heart of Rosemont is a must see for anyone in the market for a great location. Boasting three finished levels, this home has three bedrooms and a bathroom on each level. Freshly painted and with refinished hardwood floors throughout, the home sparkles in the sunlight that pours through the many large windows in each room. The main level boasts lovely crown molding in the combination living and dining area, as well as a half bath and an eat-in kitchen that overlooks a very shady, beautifully landscaped backyard. Currently being renovated, the kitchen will feature new, beautiful, dark
wood cabinets and new stainless steel appliances. The second floor features three bedrooms, each complete with a ceiling fan, and a charming retro bathroom. The lower level has a full sunlight, very private in-law/ au pair suite with beautiful pine paneling as well as its own full bath and kitchen area. The suite also has its own entrance at the rear of the house. Add off-street driveway parking, and the fact that this home is only a short walk from either the Braddock Road or King Street Metro stations and this lovely home in the much-sought-after Rosemont neighborhood could be the place that you want to call home!
COURTESY PHOTOS
;'8"-+/'9#/*%9,!!9#1!!%+#*%'#6%'+'".#./%!0(/!0.# With its own entrance, this lower level suite is perfect this Rosemont home. for guests or inlaws.
At a Glance: Location: 4 East Spring St., Alexandria, VA, 22301 Contact: Becky Arnold, Prudential Carruthers Realtors 571-345-6175
Neighborhood: Rosemont Park
Year Built: 1944
Price: $579,900
Parking: One-car driveway
Style: Semi-detached
Lot: .06 acre
Square Footage: 1,156
ADVERTORIAL
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 25
SMART LIVING FROM | 24
OPEN FLOOR PLAN The Ridleys have five children and five grandchildren who they encourage to come and visit regularly in their Avila-model home. The three-bedroom house segregates visitors from the Ridleys by having the master suite and guest rooms on opposite ends of the house. “I feel like a hallway is wasted space, and this house doesn’t have one,” Roger says. “When we have company, we can retreat to opposite ends of the house when we need privacy and then we can all meet in the central kitchen-great room area.” According to a recent NAHB consumer survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents who are 55 years and older, want a kitchen that flows into a family or great room. “Residents are no longer using formal dining and living rooms, so we opened up that space for a great room,” Holdner says. “Gatherings can spill over from the kitchen-great room area right into the outside courtyard.” Form follows function in this nearly 2,000-squarefoot home. Holdner also says homeowners who have easy access to laundry facilities and a large pantry near the kitchen have a floor plan that works for
WHAT CAN THE TIMES DO FOR
YOU?
them. The kitchen is the heart of their home for the Ridleys. “Christine finally got her dream kitchen with an island and plenty of storage space,” Roger says. “I, of course, am reaping the rewards with wonderful meals.” INDOOR-OUTDOOR LIVING Creating an environment that encourages outdoor living, while also bringing the outside to the inside of a home appeals to the Ridleys. Outdoor living spaces can include an outdoor kitchen, an outdoor fireplace and fountains. These amenities increase a home’s square footage outside and complement a more casual style of entertaining. UNIVERSAL DESIGN Home offices or dens are popular additions to floor plans for active aging adults. Many continue to work, only semi-retiring, as in Roger Ridley’s case. Also, a master bedroombathroom suite is a feature that is becoming essential. Master bathrooms can be specified to have a raised commode, grab bars, widened doorways and a shower seat as additional amenities. NAHB’s Melman says that in addition to selling homes, many developers are selling a lifestyle. “More builders are offering universal design as a concept so retirees can age in-place,”
home, without making it look too institutional.” Today’s one-level living for active adults has smarter bedroom placement, laundry facilities, storage opportunities, home offices, energy-efficient packages and open floor plans
Melman says. “That means one-story living with wider doors and an entrance with no stairs, nonslip flooring, grab bars with step-free showers in bathrooms and lower kitchen cabinets. The key is to make these accommodations in a
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Saturday, June 18th, 2011 — 11am-2pm
Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. 5650 General Washington Dr, Ste D Thinking of remodeling? This event is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of free expert advice with no obligation. Learn about the hot topics you should consider when remodeling. Saturday’s Seminars: ' Kitchen and Bath Trends ' Let There Be Light! - Trends, best uses and advantages of all types of lighting. Seminars run from 11am-1pm. Lunch to follow. Please arrive at 10:45am for check-in. Seating is limited. Please call Sara at 703.425.5588 to reserve your seats! Special thanks to our sponsors: Decor And You 703-599-0648
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Alexandria Times
with a kitchen-great room that has easy access to outdoor living. Because of the way these new, smaller homes are designed, there are more options than ever for retirees to find a home they can afford, while still being able to live large.
Tailored Living 703-707-9009
Directions to Ferguson: From I-495, take exit 57B to merge on I-395 N toward Washington. Take exit 2A for State Route 648 E/Edsall Rd. Slight right. Turn right at Bren Mar Dr. Turn right onto General Washington Dr. Your destination will be on the right.
703-425-5588
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26 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Classifieds ]
HELP WANTED
Working 40 hrs To Be Poor? I'*%"#.!#!6'%*.'#*#J-"-BK482'# Outlet from home. www.PlaceOfFreedom.com
To post a Classified ad, contact Pat Booth at: pbooth@ alextimes.com
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Missile housing Z*%A#[%*".#8)3 The 18 in golf Eats in style Consume Portrait subject, sometimes Cantaloupe or honeydew, e.g. Visualize Instruction on a door Old radio features Train network (Abbr.) Stump or puzzle “___ Falling Star” Obtain Fill to the gills White-tailed eagle ['"'#=0.%A#8)3 Correct before running Go ballistic I-&'#*#6*%^0'.#1!!% Take up the gauntlet Shopper’s bag Add water to Shy loch monster What Michael Phelps has done well
DOWN
ACROSS 1 5 11 14 18 19 20 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 31
Valentine bouquet item Culinary how-to All that a country makes (Abbr.) Harp relative “It ___ what you think!” Donahue of “Father Knows Best” “Able to ___ tall buildings ...” One Earth orbit L!%-+#M*%)!44#8)3#N,-./#O7/'CP “... with the greatest of ___” “Peter Pan” pooch Apply bread to gravy Vatican emissary Post-9/11 scare ___ capita
32 34 35 38 40 41 43 44 QR# QS# 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Overlooks Jessica of the PTL Club scandal “My country, ___ of thee ...” “The Canterbury ___” Without delay, in memos Consecrate, in a way Permissible by law “I think so too!” ;-2/*%9#L0%.!"#8)3 OT)'2.%-2C#8+/'+ “Seinfeld” character Elaine Destinations for some limos Rhythm instrument Polite interruption “No ifs, ___, or buts!” Does drudge work Yogi and Smokey
57 59 60 RU# RW# 66 69 70 71 73 76 78 79 80 81 82
Fee paid up front Husky docs? You might give him the business O=48%3*.-:'VC T./')#X*.'%+#8)3 “Dropped” drug Campaign vet “Beware the ___ of March” Sicken Wear for a tailgate party barbecuer Procreate biblically Brazen boldness Tiny energy source Amateurs’ opposites Surgeon type, with “pedic” California, to the Eagles
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 21 24 29 30 31 33 35 36 37
Barbecue entree Capital of Norway Ginger cookie List-ending abbr. Comes up again Enthusiastic vigor Western “Kid” Closest friends Sportsmen on horses Before, in a syllable Country crooner Campbell Below, to a poet Turkish ruler Medium-sized wildcat Thumbs-up vote Participated in a footrace Chapter of history Maybe Prepare to pray Venomous snake “___ and the King” Blood component Chinese “way” Sparkling headwear Acquire, as debt Flower features
38 39 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 50 51 55 56 58 59 60 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 72 73 74
Giggle sounds Shoelace tips The ___ days (yesteryear) Comedian Denis Star in the Swan constellation Short-tailed lemur From Dublin Potter’s rank (Abbr.) Rummy has two? Commonplace “Designing Women” actress Annie Basic principle Most Little League ballplayers Desktop item YouTube offering Crossbones’ companion When most dreams occur Descended on the mother’s side After-Christmas store events Hispanic American Ripped off Aspiring singers’ submissions A sheriff may round one up With little effort Genus of garden pests Lying facedown
75 76 77 78 81 82 85 86 Y_# 89 90 93 94 96 98 99 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 109 110
Face reddener Sis’ male sibling When the pilot is due in, for short Duffers hit them Not so bright Current epoch Catch a glimpse of Barnyard biddy ```#1*+&#N7/'%3!+# inspiration) “Lucy in the ___ With Diamonds” Dr. Jekyll’s alter ego Proverbial backbreaker Swinger’s joint? Where Greeks met Greeks Allot (with “out”) There are three in a yard 402, in old Rome Eat, beaver-style Hose hue The enemy Movie workplace Fuss and bother ___ for tat 60 secs. They may include jingles
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ALEXANDRIA TIMES
JUNE 9, 2011 | 27
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A Public Hearing will be held by the City Council of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, City of Alexandria, Virginia, on Saturday, June 25, 2011, at 9:30 a.m., or as soon thereafter as may be heard on the hereinafter described ordinance. AN ORDINANCE of the City of Alexandria, Virginia authorizing and establishing the Tier II Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Special Services District effective July 1, 2011. The Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s area is proposed to include all of Landbay J and the area of Landbay I not included in the Tier I Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Special Services District. The Tier II Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s boundaries are proposed to be Jefferson Davis Highway from the future Bluemont Avenue to Potomac Avenue; Potomac Avenue from Jefferson Davis Highway to the northern boundary of Landbay I; the northern boundary of Landbay I from Potomac Avenue to Main Line Boulevard; Main Line Boulevard from the northern boundary of Landbay I to the future Bluemont Avenue; and Bluemont Avenue from Main Line Boulevard to Jefferson Davis Highway. The Potomac Yard real property parcels within this proposed Tier II Special Services District would be parcels: 506 (part), 507 (part), 508, 509, 510 and 511. The public is advised that amendments or additions may be made to the proposed ordinance without further publication.
ALEXANDRIAÂ CITYÂ COUNCIL JUNEÂ ÂÂ 2011
Alexandria Board of Architectural Review Â ParkerÂGray District
LEGALÂ NOTICEÂ OFÂ AÂ PUBLICÂ HEARING
A public hearing will be held by the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2011 beginning at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers, second floor of City Hall, 301 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia on the following applications: CASE BAR2011-0134 Request for fence installation at 1403 Princess St, zoned RB Residential APPLICANT: Mark & Kara Handzlik CASE BAR2011-0135 Request for door and window replacement at 1108 Queen St, zoned CD Commercial APPLICANT: Concept Analysis and Integration by Skip Maginniss CASE BAR2011-0136 Request for demolition/encapsulation at 1015 Princess St, zoned CL Commercial APPLICANT: Brian C. Thomas by Stephen Kulinski, AIA CASE BAR2011-0147 Request for demolition/encapsulation at 620 N. Patrick Street, zoned RB Residential APPLICANT: James Sisco CASE BAR2011-0148 Request for addition at 620 N. Patrick Street, zoned RB Residential APPLICANT: James Sisco Information about the above item(s) may be obtained from the Department of Planning and Zoning, City Hall, 301 King Street, Room 2100, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, telephone: (703) 746-4666
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The items described below will be considered by City Council on the following date. The City Council reserves the right to recess and continue the public hearing to a future date. For further information call the Department Planning and Zoning at 703-746-4666. ALEXANDRIA CITY COUNCIL SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2011 9:30 AM, CITY HALL CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 301 KING STREET ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2011-0010 503 KING STREET CVS/PHARMACY Public hearing and consideration of a request for a ground floor retail establishment over 10,000 square feet; zoned KR/King Street Retail. Applicant: CVS/Caremark, Inc. represented by Eugene Harris, agent Note: This item was deferred from the May 14, 2011 City Council public hearing.
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Membership Orientation & Reception Thursday, June 23 at 5:00pm * FREE program and consultation on how to reduce your business healthcare expense at 5:30pm hosted by Group Benefit Services (GBS) *
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28 | JUNE 9, 2011
ALEXANDRIA TIMES