Metro's first public hearing on its proposed 15-cent fareincrease will be held March 17 in Fairfax County, transit officialssaid.
The 7 p.m. hearing is the first of nine throughout the region on aplan to raise the minimum cost of a rail or bus trip from $1.20 to$1.35. It will be at the South County Center in Conference Room 221,8350 Richmond Hwy. (Route 1), Alexandria. Parking fees could alsorise as much as $2.30 a day beginning July 1.
Riders who wish to speak are asked to furnish their name, address,telephone number and organization affiliation, if any, to: HaroldBartlett, secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority,600 Fifth Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. The fax number is 202-962-1133.
If unable to attend, riders can mail statements, which must bereceived by the close of business March 30, to Bartlett at the samestreet address, or send them by e-mail to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com.
The Fairfax County Department of Community and Recreation Serviceswill hold a series of public meetings to get feedback on a proposalto charge youth sports leagues $3 an hour for using athletic fieldsand gymnasiums.
The plan, part of the county's proposed 2005 budget, is intendedto raise about $1.7 million a year to offset the cost of maintainingballfields and gyms. Sports league officials say the fee would bepassed on to parents.
All meetings listed below are from 7 to 9 p.m.
March 15, South County Center, 8350 Richmond Hwy. (Route 1), Room221, Alexandria.
March 16, Baileys Community Center, 5920 Summers Lane, FallsChurch.
March 22, Reston Teen Center gymnasium, 12196 Sunset Hills Rd.
March 24, county Government Center, Conference Rooms 2 and 3,12000 Government Center Pkwy.
For more information, call 703-324-5641 or go towww.co.fairfax.va.us/rec.
Fairfax City Manager Bob Sisson is scheduled to present theproposed city budget at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 10455 ArmstrongSt. The 2005 budget year starts July 1. The average residential homeassessment increased by 13 percent this year, signaling higherproperty taxes.
A public hearing on the budget proposal is set for 7 p.m. March 30at Daniels Run Elementary School, 3705 Old Lee Hwy.
Copies of the budget will be available after Tuesday. To obtain acopy or for more information, call 703-385-7870.
The county Park Authority will hold a workshop at 7 p.m. March 16at Edison High School to hear ideas from the public about futuredevelopment of Lee District Park.
Officials are considering several options, including lighting oneor more of Lee's athletic fields to extend their availability. Themeeting is the first step in the planning process and will befollowed by a public hearing to consider a draft plan that is stillbeing developed.
The 138-acre park is at 6601 Telegraph Rd. in the Alexandria area.Edison High is at 5801 Franconia Rd.; the meeting is in the lecturehall. For more information, call 703-324-8662.
The Groveton Elementary School community will hold a forum aboutthe effects of the federal No Child Left Behind Act at 3 p.m. Sundayat the school.
After being given an overview of the law, which was designed toimprove student achievement, parents will break into small groups forspeakers of English or Spanish and staff members will offer ways tohelp students in reading and math.
Free materials will be provided. Groveton is at 6900 Harrison Lanein the Alexandria section. For more information, call 703-718-8000.
A guide to more than 600 human services organizations in the areais now available on the Internet, Fairfax officials said.
The county's Human Services Resource Guide is atwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/rim. The guide is maintained by social workerswho research, classify, catalogue and update the data.
The guide contains such information as the services anorganization provides, how to access the services, eligibilitycriteria, hours and locations, languages spoken by staff members,income guidelines and how to contact the organization. Users cansearch by service type or organization name.
Staff members are available to train community groups andassociations on how to use the resource guide. To schedule trainingor for more information, call 703-533-5718.
Vienna residents concerned about traffic and pedestrianconditions in the Church Street corridor are invited to a meeting at8 p.m. March 30 at Town Hall.
The town's Transportation Safety Commission is sponsoring thesession to hear about the area from residents. Particular problemsinclude congestion around Church Street and Lawyers Road andpedestrian safety in the commercial section of Church and around thepost office.
Residents who cannot attend are asked to send their comments inwriting, via e-mail to pio@ci.vienna.va.us or by mail to theTransportation Safety Com- mission, c/o Vienna Town Hall, 127 CenterSt. S., Vienna, Va. 22180-5799.
The county School Board has scheduled three meetings next week forpublic feedback on the search for a new superintendent to replaceDaniel A. Domenech.
The 8 p.m. meetings are Monday at Lee High School, 6540 FranconiaRd., Springfield; Tuesday at Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Rd.,Falls Church; and Wednesday at Chantilly High School, 4201Stringfellow Rd.
Representatives from Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, a firmhired by the School Board to handle the superintendent search, willrecord comments at the meetings. School Board members will notattend.
The private search firm will present a report on its findings fromthe community at a March 15 School Board work session.
The draft profile for the new superintendent can be seen atwww.fcps.edu/news/suptsearch/profile.htm.
About 400 middle school-age girls are planning to attend theannual Future Professional Middle School Girls Conference on Saturdayat Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, organizers said.
The students -- from schools in Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington andFalls Church will participate in workshops on self-defense, teambuilding, interviewing skills and preparing for college. They willhear more than 30 professional women discuss their careers.
Virginia's secretary of education, Belle S. Wheelan, will give theclosing speech, and Isis Castro, former chairman and current memberof the Fairfax County School Board, will be the keynote speaker and aworkshop participant.
Each middle school will send 10 girls chosen by their principalsand guidance counselors.
The conference is sponsored by the Northern Virginia Online Branchof the American Association of University Women, the middle schoolprincipals' associations of Fairfax County public schools, AlexandriaCity public schools, the Northern Virginia chapter of Phi Delta Kappaand the Beta Zeta and Alexandria chapters of Alpha Delta Kappa.
Jackson is at 3020 Gallows Rd., Falls Church.
The county Park Authority is scheduled to begin improvements atJefferson District Park in Falls Church in March, officials said.
Workers will replace lighting in four tennis courts and other parkareas. The project, funded by a 1998 bond sale approved by voters, isscheduled to be completed in June.
The park is at 7900 Lee Hwy., Falls Church. For more information,call 703-324-8575.
The Starbucks Foundation has awarded the county library foundationa $10,000 grant to help continue its 'Motheread/ Fatheread' literacyoutreach program.
Launched in 2001, the program helps ensure that children from low-income families and those with limited English skills develop thereading skills necessary for entrance into kindergarten.
Since the program's inception, almost 5,000 children and more than3,400 parents and guardians have been helped.
In addition, the participants have been given more than 5,400books.
The grant will allow the foundation to hire two Spanish-speakinginterns who will help expand the program's summer service sites,officials said.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, author of 'TheyMarched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October1967,' will kick off the Fairfax County public library system'sPerspectives series at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Alden Theatre.
In his book, Maraniss, a Washington Post reporter, explores twoevents that happened in October 1967 -- the ambush of the Black Lionsbattalion of the Army's First Infantry Division in Vietnam and anantiwar protest that turned violent at the University of Wisconsin.
The event is free, but tickets will be available on a first-come,first-served basis beginning at 6:30 p.m. The theater is in theMcLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave. For more information,call 703-790-0123.
The series continues April 28 with syndicated columnist LindaChavez and concludes on May 17 with Pulitzer Prize-winner DavidBroder.
The Dulles Expo & Conference Center in Chantilly is hosting whatthe center calls the region's first equine exposition March 19through 21.
The event will include a variety of demonstrations and clinicsincluding loading and trailering a horse, horse nutrition, dealingwith aging horses, achieving successful fitness levels, farm andfield management, competing, tack, breeding and technology. A 'horseownership 101' course will also be offered for people thinking aboutbuying a horse.
Hours are noon to 9 p.m. March 19, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 20 and10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 21.
The Expo Center is at 4368 Chantilly Center, off Route 28. Formore information, call 410-321-9559 or visit www.BlueRibbonShows.com.
The Children's Friendship Project for Northern Ireland will beholding its annual auction and St. Patrick's Day party at 6:30 p.m.March 13 at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott.
The organization raises money to bring teenagers from NorthernIreland to the United States each summer for four weeks of team-building seminars and Capitol Hill events.
The teenagers come from Catholic and Protestant families and arepaired in a neutral environment in U.S. homes in an effort to promoteunderstanding and reduce conflict between the two groups.
The evening will include dinner, live entertainment, Irish dancingand a silent auction.
The cost is $45 a person. The hotel is at 45020 Aviation Dr. Formore information, call 703-568-0433 or visit www.cfpni.org.
The Old Firehouse Teen Center in McLean is sponsoring a tea dancefor seniors and teenagers from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the center.
The free dance is designed to foster intergenerationalcommunication, as high school students and senior citizens worktogether to learn classic dance steps.
The center is a satellite program of the McLean Community Center.Light refreshments will be served. Students can earn communityservice hours through this activity.
The center is at 1440 Chain Bridge Rd.
For more information, call 703-448-8336 or visitwww.mcleancenter.org.
-- Compiled by DIANE MATTINGLY and STEPHEN C. FEHR
