<sh>Police: Be Wary
Of Car Break-ins
<bt>Master Police Officer (MPO) Thomas Black, a crime prevention officer with the McLean District station, recently cautioned residents of McLean and Great Falls to protect themselves against car break-ins.
“Car break-ins are still very popular and no neighborhood is immune,” wrote Black in a community e-mail. “We still see them seven days a week all over the county. In almost all the cases items stolen were in plain view from outside the vehicle. So if they can see it from outside the car, they will break into the vehicle to get it.”
According to Black, the following items are very popular to steal: GPS systems, satellite radio systems, cell phones, briefcases, purses, laptops and money. Black noted that GPS navigation systems are the most popular item among car thieves.
“Please remove valuable items from your car or put them in your trunk,” said Black.
<sh>Paddlers Celebrate
‘Nation’s River’
<bt>The July 13-15 celebration of “the Nation’s River,” presented by Potomac Paddlesports, features over a dozen events from Great Falls through the Mather Gorge. International freestyle champions and Olympic team athletes will perform alongside paddlers of all skill levels. “Expert instructors will conduct on-water clinics Friday afternoon,” said Risa Shimoda, Potomac Festival 2007 chair. “Saturday morning many of those same experts paddling in the Great Falls race will electrify the weekend beginning at 9 a.m.” Wave surfing, the Community Downriver Paddle and freestyle competitions will follow, staged from various locations. Saturday evening’s feast for famished paddlers and friends, sponsor displays, music by Fat Chance and kayaker karaoke will entertain participants at Rockwood Manor as a silent auction encourages folks to bid on an array of outdoor gear and gifts.
Beginner-to-expert paddlers are invited to pre-register for this event that will be staged from C&O Canal National Historical Park (Maryland) Saturday and Great Falls National Park (Virginia) Sunday.
On Sunday morning, the attainment race (upstream from Anglers Inn) will be followed by freestyle finals for surface and squirt boats, all leading up to the weekend finale — boatercross, easily viewed from the Great Falls Virginia observation deck.
To see the event schedule, visit www.potomacfest.com.
For more information contact Risa Shimoda risa@theshimodagroup.com or call 301-502-6548.
<sh> Public Workshops
On Tysons Future
<bt>The Tysons Land Use Task Force will hold three identical public workshops on July 16-18 to get input from the public on three test planning scenarios for the future of Tysons Corner. The public will also be able to provide comments online at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/tysons from July 16-30.
The public is invited to the workshops scheduled for:
* Monday, July 16, 7 to 10 p.m. at Vienna Elementary School, 128 Center Street South, Vienna;
* Tuesday, July 17, 7 to 10 p.m. at Spring Hill Elementary School, 8201 Lewinsville Road, McLean; and
* Wednesday, July 18, 7 to 10 p.m. at Marshall High School, 7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church.
Each workshop will start with a visual presentation of the test scenarios, followed by a question and answer session. Afterwards, participants will break into smaller groups for discussion and comments.
More information and graphics of the scenarios can be found at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/tysonscorner/tysonsfactsheetjune07.pdf.
For more information about the workshops or to sign up for e-mail or printed mail updates, visit the Web page, call the information line at 703-324-1344, TTY 711, or e-mail tysonscornerspecialstudy@fairfaxcounty.gov
<sh>Connection Online
Photo Galleries
<bt>The Connection has launched a new feature on the Connection Newspapers’ Web site, photo galleries. Every week, Connection photographers and reporters take hundreds of pictures at events around Northern Virginia and most often only one or two photos make it into print.
Now on the Connection Web site, readers can find many more photos from events. It is a work in progress, but photos from many events, including high school proms, graduations and community events are already posted.
Readers can e-mail the images to share them, and also have the opportunity to purchase prints, digital images or other items.
See www.ConnectionNewspapers.com, and click on “Connection Photo Galleries.”