Three library Friends groups face eviction

Library Friends groups make most of their money through book sales, like this one at George Mason Regional Library in Annandale.

Three library Friends groups are being evicted from Fairfax County libraries because they refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that calls for them to hand over all records of their financial transactions to the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL).

This action comes after months of rancor between the library Friends groups on one side and FCPL Director Jessica Hudson and the Library Board of Trustees on the other.

Car show at The Block draws huge crowd

Hundreds of cars filled the parking lot in front of the Kmart shopping plaza in Annandale Aug. 18 for the Cars & Cream car show hosted by The Block and two of the vendors based there: Munch Ice Cream and SnoCream Company.

Report documents economic impact of immigrants

Think immigrants are a drain on the local economy? A report released by the City of Alexandria Aug. 17 paints a different picture.

Based on their income, the report states, immigrants living in Alexandria contributed $262.4 million in federal taxes and $102.2 million in state and local taxes in 2016.

Immigrants in Alexandria contributed $150 million to Social Security and $39 million to Medicare, but were 33 percent less likely than U.S.-born residents to receive Medicare or Medicaid benefits.

The 42.400 immigrants in Alexandria comprised 28 percent of Alexandria’s overall population in 2016. They represented 32 percent of the working-age population and 31 percent of the employed labor force. This means immigrants were more likely than non-immigrants to be employed.

More than a third of the entrepreneurs in Alexandria (34.2 percent) were immigrants, and they generated $79.4 million in business income for the city. Just over 36 percent of the immigrants in Alexandria are undocumented.

While that report is limited to the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County has a similar proportion of immigrants and likely would have similar results.

Fairfax County’s 359,200 immigrants made up 30.5 percent of the county’s population in 2016, according to a demographic report issued by the county in 2017, and 72.3 percent of immigrants in Fairfax County are in the labor force.

Hidden Oaks volunteer honored by Park Board

Hidden Oaks Nature Center, where volunteers make all the difference.

Hidden Oaks Nature Center volunteer Marilyn Schroeder, a volunteer at Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Annandale, is one of three recipients of a 2018 Elly Doyle Park Service Award.

Elly Doyle Awards are presented by the Fairfax County Park Authority Board to individuals or organizations who exemplify outstanding volunteer service.

Schroeder has been a role model for staff and volunteers at Hidden Oaks Nature Center for 12 years, serving as a program leader, working with the Invasive Management Area program, and serving as the park board’s liaison for Fairfax Master Naturalists.

She educates students about watersheds, takes part in other school outreach programs, represented Hidden Oaks at programs at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Museum, and has given presentations on natural history stewardship for Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect, Rec-PAC summer camp programs, and Earth Day events at a senior center.

The park board also announced Elly Doyle Awards for Michael Applegate, a volunteer who puts in long hours maintaining the grounds at Laurel Hill Park in Lorton, and Turner Farm Events, a nonprofit that supports equestrian events at Turner Farm Park in Great Falls.

Five individuals received Elly Doyle Special Recognition Awards, including William Tuceling, a volunteer at Green Spring Gardens.

The awards will be presented at an evening ceremony in November.

Just Neighbors advises new residents on immigration issues

An immigrant counseling session. [Just Neighbors]

Just Neighbors, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to immigrants, wants the public to understand its work and the immigrant populations who live in our community.

Just Neighbors relocated from Bailey’s Crossroads to 7630 Little River Turnpike in Annandale last October. The group’s offices had been in the Landmark Building on Columbia Pike, which is being demolished.

Parents of toddler who fell from Skyline Towers window are suing the building's owner

Sayed Zaidi [WUSA]

Days after a toddler fells to his death from the 24th floor of the Skyline Towers, the parents of another child who died in a similar accident just over two months ago are suing the building’s owners and managers, according to a report on WUSA Channel 9.

A 2-year-old boy was pronounced dead on Aug. 13 after he fell from a balcony at 5601 Skyline Towers North in Bailey’s Crossroads. Three years ago, a little girl survived after falling through a window on the fifth floor.

Now the parents of Syed Zaidi, age 3, who fell through a window screen on the 26th floor of Skyline Towers North on May 30 are suing Skyline Towers and Equity Residential Properties. 

The Annandale cannon is getting a makeover

The cannon was here.

The Annandale cannon is expected to be returned to its spot at Columbia Pike and Backlick Road in the center of Annandale in several months completely refurbished.

The cannon is a 1905 three-inch field gun that was used in the Mexican campaign against Pancho Villa. American Legion Post 1976 is in charge of maintaining it. Over the years, the cannon has been slowly deteriorating due to rust.