Biofuel Potential for Loudoun County

April 30, 2010 by Tony Noerpel Columns, Sustainable Planet Be the first to comment

The recent Green Energy Partners’ power plant application and the County Energy Strategy recently adopted provide excellent stimuli for us all to begin thinking about Loudoun’s energy future. A few weeks ago, several members of the business (including GEP), agricultural, and environmental community pooled their efforts to write a briefing on the subject of bio-fuels. We have submitted it to the Board of Supervisors as a “Friend of the Board” submission [Sustainable Loudoun].

Bio-fuels have received a lot of attention in recent years, but the discussions are usually about corn-based ethanol, mid-western farmers, or massive industrial concerns like Archer-Daniels-Midland. The briefing our team submitted to the Board addresses the economic, agricultural, technical and environmental considerations of using bio-fuels as a potential component of our energy supply right here in Loudoun.

Some readers may object to the concept of using plants as a source of energy assuming it is not technically possible, or is not economically competitive with regular fossil fuels. But within a few years that may no longer be the case.

Plants are hydrocarbons, just like fossil fuels. Our coal resources were once plants which for the most part lived about 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous Period. Our petroleum resources were marine diatoms and coccolithophores and other phytoplankton. There are several maturing technologies for converting plants into diesel fuel, gas, lubricants, and even plastic. Some plants, such as algae, are nearly 70 percent oil by weight. Another plant that can be made into bio-fuels is switchgrass. Switchgrass looks a lot like hay, and is planted, grown, harvested, and stored just like hay – using the very same equipment, and the same types of land, and the same rainfall pattern – and less fertilizer.

There is one difference between using fossil fuels and bio-fuels: bio-fuels recycle CO2 back to the atmosphere where the plants harvested it in the first place, instead of creating new atmospheric CO2 which happens when fossil fuels are burned. If Loudoun County used bio-fuels to generate all of our electricity, our CO2 creation would drop by about 29 percent.

From an economic and agricultural perspective, the new power plant will spend nearly $140 million per year on fuel at today’s prices. If that fuel was bio-fuel instead of fossil fuel, much of that $140 million per year would go to Loudoun’s farmers. It’s worth noting that Loudoun still has 140,000 acres of highly productive farmland, of which about 40,000 acres are devoted to hay production. That may be enough farmland to provide for all of Loudoun’s current electricity consumption. We should easily make up for future demand with conservation and efficiency improvements.

In addition to fueling the power plant biofuels could be used to run our cars, our school busses, our commuter busses, and our tractors and heat our homes.

The briefing we submitted to the Board of Supervisors can be downloaded from the Sustainable Loudoun website at http://www.sustainableloudoun.org . Hopefully, you will find it entertaining reading and well-researched. Our paper discusses the pluses and minuses including most importantly the energy recovered as a function of the energy that would need to be invested, i.e., the energy cost of the fuel. We have identified the most conservative estimates as our baseline.

In a 2005 study conducted by Pimental and Patzek [Pimentel], switchgrass production was analyzed for energy recovered over energy invested (EROEI), with these results:

The average energy input per hectare for switchgrass production is only about 3.8 billion calories per year. With an excellent yield of 10 tons per hectare per year, this suggests for each one thousand calories invested as fossil energy the return is 11,000 calories — an excellent return.

If the energy recovered over the energy invested is about 11:1 for switchgrass this is promising. The next question, of course, is how much energy it takes to convert that switchgrass to fuel and to distribute that fuel to the end-user. The task of making the conversion and distribution functions cost-competitive with fossil fuels is the subject of considerable research and development at the moment [DEP, 1].

The Department of Energy is soliciting public input on proposed USDA energy plans including the use of biofuels so this is the right time for us to educate ourselves on this promising set of technologies. And President Obama gave an important speech on the subject recently [Obama].

Of course we must also consider competing uses of our farm land such as growing food and biofuels, without wind and solar, will not solve all of our energy needs and are not a substitute for conservation.

The bio-fuels briefing we prepared provides a readable, short, and very informative survey of the potential for a new bio-fuel economy here in Loudoun. You may be surprised by what you read, and get inspired to discuss it with other members of the Loudoun business, agricultural, and environmental communities. To join our list-serve e-mail discussion system, just send an e-mail to lccss-request@deciph.com. Please include the word “help” in the subject line, and we’ll send you instructions to join the list. To download the briefing from our website, just point your browser to www.sustainableloudoun.org.

Tom Pfotzer, Will Stewart and Tony Noerpel

[Sustainable Loudoun] http://www.sustainableloudoun.org

[Pimentel] Ethanol Production Using Corn, Switchgrass, and Wood; Biodiesel Production Using Soybean and Sunflower. Pimental and Patzek, January 2005. http://www.c4aqe.org/Economics_of_Ethanol/ethanol.2005.pdf

[DEP, 1]U.S. Department of Energy briefing on BioFuel technology methods and trends. http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/renewable/bioenergy/kickoff/21-spaeth.pdf

[DEP, 2] http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010/04/usda-20100428.html

[Obama] http://climateprogress.org/2010/04/29/taking-biofuels-to-the-next-level/

WAGE is Back

April 29, 2010 by Blue Ridge Leader Dear Editor, Opinion Be the first to comment

WAGE Radio was first established in 1958 and served as Loudoun County’s only licensed radio station. After more than 50 years the station suspended its operations and “went dark” Sunday morning, August 2, 2009. I had always been an avid WAGE listener since my family moved into the county in 1993 after I learned that WAGE broadcasted the Virginia Tech football games each Saturday. Later I recognized that WAGE provided opportunities to raise monies for charities and local causes and promoted awareness of religious activities and local events.

I often contacted WAGE News Director Tim Jon to address my concerns for the homeless and destitute living in Loudoun and for the need to create shelters and food pantries in our community. Ten years ago most Loudoun residents were unaware how many poor were living among us. Tim Jon’s Good Morning Loudoun, Loudoun Newsbeat and one-hour interviews called Loudoun Clear came across the airwaves with distinction and gave every charitable group a chance to receive worthy media coverage and periodically free air time to engage the public about their specific issues and concerns.

I could not begin to count the times WAGE covered the Good Shepherd Alliance’s plea for financial assistance and request for volunteers during a time when the homeless ministry was struggling to make ends meet. Every year WAGE informed their listeners about the LINK Food Pantry’s Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday events where literally thousands received food, clothes and toys in Sterling and Herndon. WAGE also covered the Loudoun Board of Supervisor meetings and gave special attention to the monthly public comment sessions where anyone could voice their opinion and be heard by our local elected officials. WAGE was also a free source of available local information accessible to everyone.

I recently learned that WAGE may be back on the air as early as October 2010. I look forward to dialing in on WAGE radio on my morning commute and possibly hearing some of the old personalities that were once the voice of Loudoun County.

Mark Gunderman
GSA Board Chair
Sterling Park

It’s Time for Change

April 29, 2010 by Contributor View From the Ridge Be the first to comment

Submitted By Kelli Grim, Candidate for Town Council

Abraham Lincoln, once said that nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. Our sixteenth president was an ardent believer in that messy, creaking process we call democracy, both in its capacity to improve the human condition and also to improve the human. Selecting candidates, voting, abiding by the results, are an important part of the process, to be sure. Lincoln thought that the greatest virtue of democracy is that it calls all of us to be better human beings, or, at least, use the process we call democracy to move us farther along on that road. Sometimes, in the rough process of electioneering, amidst all the rhetoric, hoopla, and, yes, the lies and distortions, there is a goal often missed, an arrow that falls far short of its mark. Yet, it is a lofty goal, to both set public policy, even on a stage as small as Purcellville’s, to be a good steward of the people’s money, to set decent, responsible, and compassionate policy, and still to aim for something greater: to become a better human being and to instill in others a respect for the human condition and its vast God-given potential.

So much has passed since the time of Lincoln, some of it good, such as the end of slavery, and some of it bad, two world wars, for example. Someone else said that people get the government they deserve, a proposition I have never agreed with. Why good people do bad things or why good people tolerate people who do bad things is a question I will leave to theologians and residents of Purcellville.

One thing, however, is certain: Lincoln distrusted power, and what it could do to people. And, Lincoln himself had to exercise great power. Leadership is a great part of power, and we touch and influence many lives every single day. Leaders do not have the right to serve only those that agree with them. A good leader is always open to new ideas and never degrades anyone for their own. As a leader, one must respect everyone’s opinions, and embrace, as opposed to belittle, those involved and listening.

The problem in Purcellville is not only that the Town is immersed in debt, but, that its managers are engaged in a shell game with the Town’s finances. Not only are major decisions constantly made behind closed doors, its leaders are impervious to any view but their own, and find it acceptable to ignore citizens requests for explanations. How many lost lawsuits, for example, does it take to drive the point home to the Town’s leaders that you cannot sue your way out of bad decisions. The battle with the County has hurt us all. The battle with the Browns over the Southern Connector Road has diminished all of us as individuals, and as taxpayers. The Town’s childlike attempts to lay at a couple of individuals’ feet the blame for the road delays is erroneous and absurd, with bad consequences for us all.

It is time for a change in the way Purcellville deals with its problems and time for a change in the way Purcellville deals with its citizens, and it is time for a change in the way Purcellville sees itself and in the way it deals with its neighbors. Democracy is a messy, often terrible, often agonizing process, and not immune to outside pressure. That’s why the voting is secret. Because, it is only in a democracy, and in the privacy of the voting booth, where voters do not have to walk the line between pressure and intimidation. There, they can vote their consciences.

Davenport Report on Current and Future Status of Town Funds Delayed

April 29, 2010 by Contributor News, Our Towns Be the first to comment

Submitted By Ryan Cool

Peel back the layers of the front page news of an “equalized tax rate” a bit more and some of the realities of the Town’s Financial situation come into view. The Town employs Davenport and Company, LLC to evaluate the current and future status of the Town’s General Fund and Utility Enterprise Funds Capital Plans. Here are some … Continue Reading

Voters Toolbox

April 29, 2010 by Blue Ridge Leader News, Our Towns, Uncategorized Be the first to comment

When: Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: Emerick Elementary School, 440 South Nursery Ave., Purcellville, VA 20132
Absentee Voting: Absentee in-person voting begins approximately 45 days prior to a general election (30 days for primaries) and ends at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday (May 1, 2010). Obtain Absentee … Continue Reading

Town Snubs Cole Farm Appeal

April 29, 2010 by Blue Ridge Leader News, Our Towns Be the first to comment

If Sam Brown is elected to the Town Council, he would not be the first town Council Member to sue the Town over a land-use issue. Jim Wiley, a current Council Member, up for re-election, sued, as did former Member Eric Lyles. … Continue Reading

Strong, Prudent Fiscal Management?

April 29, 2010 by Valerie Joyner News, Our Towns, Uncategorized Be the first to comment

Purcellville Mayor Bob Lazaro has been quoted in recent newspapers touting the Town’s $622K surplus. As a recent Town press release notes:“With strong, prudent fiscal management, the Town has been able to grow its rainy day fund from $2.2 million to $3.8 million over the past 3 years while adopting a tax rate that has cut or held the line on property tax for the average … Continue Reading

New Blood Needed

April 28, 2010 by Blue Ridge Leader Dear Editor, Opinion Be the first to comment

In this election, I believe voters in Purcellville have a clear choice to make: continue the policies of the current Council or vote to bring new, fresh thinking and – frankly – some dissension to our Town Council.

Under the current Council, our debt has risen to a staggering $61.5 million while our population has hardly increased at all over the same time period. Some examples of the spending practices of this Council include the purchase of an 80 year old church with a flooding basement and mold to become the new Town Hall with a total cost projected to reach upwards of $8 million. The town also approved the building of a new maintenance building at a cost of $5 million.

The town takes credit for good financial stewardship on the basis of awards for budget presentation (note: not actual financial performance). They claim a surplus each year, despite an unprecedented growth in Purcellville’s outstanding debt. The Mayor and Council continue to pass an equalized tax rate year after year while shoving off to future Councils and generations the fiscal responsibility for repayment of the debt they have accumulated. This makes perfect political sense: it makes the incumbents look good and, should they lose, those future representatives will be left holding the bag and the bills.

This year the Council has changed their budget format to hide the full cost of capital improvement projects (CIP) by not including the “out” years. This means you and I, the taxpayers, do not see the true cost. For example, instead of the real cost of the Main/Maple intersection improvement of over $9 million, the cost shown in this year’s budget shows a mere $1.9 million. And now the Council has delayed the scheduled budget meeting of April 28 to a date after the election.

The choice seems apparent to me: vote for the current fiscal policies that have spent millions and run up our debt for which we all must somehow pay or, vote in new, fresh thinking that will counterbalance some of these decisions and enable some alternative ideas to spend, borrow and spend more. Let’s reestablish democracy in action within the Council. We need representatives on the Council that have full access to all of the information and discussions that the council members have and who can raise the concerns that many share to curb spending. I endorse Sam Brown, Kelli Grim and Keith Melton to represent the cause of true fiscal conservatism and responsibility.

Chris Bledsoe
Purcellville

Blue Ridge Leader News – April 25, 2010

If you only read one story today, Read This One

April showers, spring flowers, and all the rest of Nature’s abundance is certainly gearing up for the outdoor play season; one thing to remember in these here parts, though is the danger of disease from those disgusting, little, blood-sucking ticks. Their mere behavior makes my skin crawl, but you want to do your best to protect your family from these things: they are very proficient at spreading … Continue Reading

Heartland Institute Part 2

April 24, 2010 by Tony Noerpel Columns, Sustainable Planet 1 comment

“To talk about global cooling at the end of the hottest decade the planet has experienced in many thousands of years is ridiculous.” Ken Caldeira, Climate Scientist [1]

“The Climategate scientists, for example, falsified temperature data to keep the warming scare alive” Diane Carol Bast, Heartland Institute [2]

“We wish to solve this equation for m. To do this we first use the mathematical trick…” Richard Feynman, Lectures in Physics, p15-10.

“The scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied.” Internal technical report of industry disinformation group Global Climate Coalition, 1996 [11].

In response to my March 3 column, Scotus [3], Diane Blas of Heartland Institute suggested that we should focus on the science of anthropogenic global warming in her letter to the editor [2]. I agree. But first it is relevant to note Bast’s unchristian, uncharitable and unequivocally false rush-to-judgment of climate scientist Phil Jones and other climate scientists over the so-called climate-gate controversy, if only because if one visits the Heartland Institute web site looking for any science, one is forced to wade through these ignorant and unjustified personal attacks, which all look rather foolish now. Since her letter Jones has been vindicated, twice [4-5]. If Bast was at all concerned for personal liberty as she claims in her letter, she will gladly apologize not only to Dr. Jones but to all the rest of us for spreading disinformation, but I’m not holding my breath.

With respect to science, each year Heartland Institute hosts a global warming denier conference. On March 2, 2008, prominent denier Pat Michaels was their keynote speaker. The focus of Michaels’ talk was the disingenuousness of the global warming denier canard that the Earth stopped warming and is now cooling. He said, addressing the room full of deniers: “You’ve all seen articles saying that global warming stopped in 1998. With all due respect, that’s being a little bit unfair to the data.” He then went on to describe why. I include a reference to the amusing and informative youtube video [6] by Peter Sinclair so you can see for yourselves.

Michaels concludes “Make an argument that you can get killed on and you kill us all.” His meaning was that if deniers make an argument that is easily debunked all global warming deniers will lose their credibility. He added: “Global warming is real and the warming in the second half of the twentieth century, people had something to do with it.”

Yet on the Heartland website [7] there is a list of denier arguments leading with:

“Temperatures have been cooling since 2002, even as carbon dioxide has continued to rise”.[7]

Why would the folks at Heartland post an argument that they were informed at their own conference by their own keynote speaker was not true? It is not surprising to find “denier” Pat Michaels and “alarmist” Ken Caldeira in agreement. We observe that Bast does not even listen to her own experts let alone real climate scientists. Peter Sinclair does a respectable job of explaining the science in his little video.

None of the talking points on Heartland’s list is supported by any reference to any science, sound or otherwise, and so from a skeptic’s perspective they are not useful since they cannot be validated or confirmed. There is no understanding or information in a list of talking points. Another argument on the Heartland list is exemplary of the kind of easy mistake a gullible ideologue might make [7].

Reconstruction of paleoclimatological CO2 concentrations demonstrates that carbon dioxide concentration today is near its lowest level since the Cambrian Era some 550 million years ago, when there was almost 20 times as much CO2 in the atmosphere as there is today without causing a “runaway greenhouse effect.”

That sounds like a clincher argument for the denier but it leaves some very important science out. Carbon dioxide levels were indeed higher during the early Phanerozoic [see for example Berner, 2004], but any curious person can find out easily enough that the sun was less luminous as well. This is explained in my article titled Climate Factors [8] and is discussed in every Earth sciences text book [see for example Lunine, 2000 and Kump, 2004] with which I’m familiar, so only an unreliable and uninformed person would make this argument. Briefly, the sun was cooler 550 million years ago and the Earth required much more carbon dioxide in order to maintain a suitable climate to support liquid water and life. This is not an argument against Svante Arrhenius’ anthropogenic global warming theory as erroneously portrayed by deniers but an argument in support of it. Atmospheric carbon dioxide at those levels is the only way the planet would have been habitable by complex life forms. Any skeptic reading this will get one of the books I reference to confirm this. And she will not do so simply because she wants to be convinced but also out of curiosity and the joy of learning something new.

We see straight off that two of heartland’s top arguments are specifically false, not just misleading. The rest of the arguments on their list are dubious as well. Without reference to any data or analysis all the arguments are unverifiable. The onus is on the Heartland Institute to salvage what arguments they might from the list, defend only those and drop the others. A little apology for the attempt to mislead us would be appropriate.

The Heartland institute web site contains what they claim to be three lists of peer-reviewed journal articles. I was thrilled to find these lists, even as I noted that they are just lists with no text or explanation. The references are not cross linked to the list of denier talking points [7], for example. Certainly for a denier the presumed existence of such a list is sufficient since he is not interested in the science anyway. But a skeptical person wants to actually read the articles and understand why they might support the denier view and here is where the editors at Heartland run into trouble. I have a subscription to the Journal Nature and can download those articles for free. Twelve of the references are from this journal. Obviously I did not cherry picked these twelve as my criteria was completely independent of any assumption on my part about them. Four of the twelve references are correspondences or letters to the editor [Slingo, 2007, Wunsch, 2004, Ladle, 2004, Gordon, 1996]. These in fact are opinion and are not peer-reviewed so they do not belong on this list at all. Further, there is nothing in these letters which contradicts the consensus view. Ladle’s letter, which is the only entry in Heartland’s “species extinction” category, criticizes the main stream media for misinterpreting the conclusions from a previously published peer-reviewed article [Thomas, 2004]. Thomas (and this is peer-reviewed) concludes:

“We predict, on the basis of mid-range climate-warming scenarios for 2050, that 15-37 percent of species in our sample of regions and taxa will be ‘committed to extinction’.”

This conclusion pointedly does not support denial. If it is the purpose of Heartland Institute to criticize main stream media why not just fill up their web site with links to clips from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”? Nobody does that better than him.

Three of the Twelve Nature references are commentary; one of a paper by Emanuel and two are commentary on policy. These are not peer reviewed either and in any event do not contain science which supports or contradicts global warming. Prins, for example, writes [Prins, 2007]

“Kyoto has failed in several ways, not just in its lack of success in slowing global warming, but also because it has stifled discussion of alternative policy approaches that could both combat climate change and adapt to its unavoidable consequences.”

Please note that Prins completely contradicts the denier claim that global warming stopped in 1998 or 2002 or whatever, in agreement with Michaels and Caldeira and every other climate scientist. Prins commentary is opinion on policy. It is not peer-reviewed science. In any event, the commentary does not dispute in the least the science of anthropogenic global warming. Prins simply voices the opinion that there may be better ways to address the problem than the Kyoto process. We can honestly have that discussion without spreading disinformation.

Roger Pielke’s commentary on policy [Pielke, 2007] does not dispute AGW theory either but argues for adaptation in lieu of mitigation. Well that’s a reasonable discussion too, but it is not peer-reviewed science and does not belong on a list advertizing “peer-reviewed” science.

One of the five peer-reviewed journal articles starts:

“Between 34 and 15 million years (Myr) ago, when planetary temperatures were 3-4 oC warmer than at present and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were twice as high as today…” [Naish, 2001]

Just to be clear, this is actually at the high range of the consensus view which estimates equilibrium climate sensitivity (the amount the Earth would warm with a doubling a atmospheric carbon dioxide) to be between 2 to 4.5 oC. How in the world did this paper make a list of papers supposedly supporting the denier view? As I pointed out in my article titled Anjia Eichler [9], this technique is common among deniers but what else are they going to do? Deniers like Bast make a pretense of adhering to solid science so they must occasionally, albeit reluctantly, reference it and thus apparently have no choice but to contradict themselves.

Another peer-reviewed article doesn’t support the denier view either and is in fact unrelated to the discussion [Braun, 2005]. Interestingly, one of the authors is Stefan Rahmstorf, who contributes to Real Climate, perhaps the best on-line source for global warming science. In fact I cite one of Rahmstorf’s paper’s [Rahmstorf, 2008] in my Anjia Eichler article [9]. The 2008 paper is a great summary of the science behind Arrhenius’ anthropomorphic global warming theory. I recommend this paper for any skeptically minded person who wants to understand global warming and would prefer sound information and solid scientific explanation.

In another peer-reviewed paper which Heartland cites, Moberg et al,[Moberg, 2005] concludes

“We find no evidence for any earlier periods in the last two millennia with warmer conditions than the post-1990 period—in agreement with previous similar studies (my note: they are referring to agreement with Mann et al which deniers claim has been debunct, obviously not.). The main implication of our study, however, is that natural multicentennial climate variability may be larger than commonly thought, and that much of this variability could result from a response to natural changes in radiative forcings. This does not imply that the global warming in the last few decades has been caused by natural forcing factors alone, as model experiments that use natural-only forcings fail to reproduce this warming. Nevertheless, our findings underscore a need to improve scenarios for future climate change by also including forced natural variability—which could either amplify or attenuate anthropogenic climate change significantly.”

This actually is quite alarming. The authors find evidence of forced natural variability which might amplify or attenuate climate change significantly. The authors do not speculate of course but leave open the possibility that warming could be much worse. This is in agreement with a more recent paper by Swanson et al, 2009 which concludes

“If the role of internal variability in the climate system is as large as this analysis would seem to suggest, warming over the 21st century may well be larger than that predicted by the current generation of models, given the propensity of those models to underestimate climate internal variability.” [Swanson, 2009]

Interestingly this paper was cited by the Cato institute as supporting denial as I pointed out in my Anjia Eichler [9] article. Another Swanson and Tsonas paper did make the Heartland list but I don’t have access to it. Swanson once wrote on the Real Climate web site that he is completely mystified that deniers should misinterpret his research [10]. In this article, Swanson explains his research and why it suggests that global warming might be much worse than the consensus view.

A skeptic is left to conclude that Heartland’s list of peer-reviewed papers is a deception. There are 180 papers listed and I sampled 12 or 7.5 percent. While I recognize that this is a small sample size most articles cited were not peer-reviewed journal articles, 7 of 12. And all 12 either contradict the denial view or at best are neutral. Not one of these citations supports denial. A denier sees a long list and accepts the Heartland conclusions unquestioningly. A skeptic does the homework. Ever the skeptic, myself, I view the list as a resource and will be trying to get as many of the papers as I can, certainly out of curiosity.

I’m familiar with several other references on the Heartland list such as to a paper by Lindzen [Lindzen, 1990]. This is an interesting paper, by the way, and one of perhaps a very small number which might actually be said to support the denier view. Of this paper, though, the technical team for the now-defunct industry funded misinformation group Global Climate Coalition concluded in their 1996 report [11]:

“Lindzen’s hypothesis that any warming would create more rain which would cool and dry the upper troposphere did offer a mechanism for balancing the effect of increased greenhouse gases. However, the data supporting this hypothesis is weak, and even Lindzen has stopped presenting it as an alternative to the conventional model of climate change.”

This may be the most solid science supporting denial on their list and we note that “the data supporting this hypothesis is weak”. In his paper, Lindzen points out another problem with emissions of CO2:

“…admittedly leaving us with the problem of fossil fuel depletion;” and

“It is entirely legitimate to ask whether we should be worried about increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. (The depletion of fossil fuels is another matter.)”

Lindzen recognizes as early as 1990 that we may have a more serious or acute problem if we do not reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and convert our society to alternative energy sources as soon as possible. We note that both problems: fossil fuel depletion and global warming, have the same solution. So a skeptic might be inclined to ask “why do deniers care so much about global warming to the point of making stuff up if we have to address this problem anyway?”

I do not for a minute discount the usefulness or validity of resources such as letters-to-the-editor or commentary but these references are not in fact peer-reviewed and should not be included in a list of “peer-reviewed” resources. That in itself constitutes misinformation. They could have titled the list “references that support the denier view” or some such. But even that is misleading since many of these references do not support their view.

Unfortunately, an uncritical reader of their web site would accept the “existence” of the list as “proof” that the denier view has scientific support which it doesn’t have or that there is a legitimate scientific controversy regards the IPCC consensus view which does not exist. In this regard I think the list may constitute fraud.

There are a few articles which do support the denier view, which I recognize because I’ve read them. Somebody at Heartland Institute should remove the references which are not peer-reviewed and read the remainder and eliminate the ones which don’t actually support their position. But I suspect that then heartland would be left with perhaps a dozen disputed or debunked papers supporting their view, and that list would look rather flimsy.

As to the talking points, Heartland Institute should eliminate the points which are not true or otherwise indefensible and attempt to defend the remainder. I conclude there isn’t much in the way of solid science at this web site which disputes the consensus view on anthropogenic global warming.

I recommend a video of a speech given by one of the climate-gate scientists at last year’s AGU meeting. Richard Alley does an exceptionally good job of explaining climate science [12]. This is a great resource for Bast to consider linking to on the Heartland Institute web site.

Tony Noerpel

Berner, Robert, The Phanerozoic Carbon Cycle, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Kump, L. R., Kastings, J. F., and Crane, R. G., The Earth System, 2004.

Lunine, J. I., Earth, Evolution of a Habitable World, 2000.

Dangers of crying wolf over risk of extinctions (Nature 428, 799, 22 April 2004) – Richard J. Ladle, Paul Jepson, Miguel B. Araújo & Robert J. Whittaker – correspondence

Gulf Stream safe if wind blows and Earth turns (Nature 428, 601, 8 April 2004) – Carl Wunsch – correspondence

Is global warming climate change? (Nature 380, 478, 11 April 1996) – Adrian H. Gordon, John A. T. Bye, Roland A. D. Byron-Scott – correspondence

Sea-ice decline due to more than warming alone (Nature 450, 27, 1 November 2007) – Julia Slingo, Rowan Sutton – correspondence

Naish TR, Woolfe KJ, Barrett PJ, Wilson GS, Atkins C, Bohaty SM, Bücker CJ, Claps M, Davey FJ, Dunbar GB, Dunn AG, Fielding CR, Florindo F, Hannah MJ, Harwood DM, Henrys SA, Krissek LA, Lavelle M, van Der Meer J, McIntosh WC, Niessen F, Passchier S, Powell RD, Roberts AP, Sagnotti L, Scherer RP, Strong CP, Talarico F, Verosub KL, Villa G, Watkins DK, Webb PN, Wonik T, Orbitally induced oscillations in the East Antarctic ice sheet at the Oligocene/Miocene boundary (Nature 413, 719-723, October 2001) -

Rahmstorf, S., 2008: Anthropogenic Climate Change: Revisiting the Facts. In: Global Warming: Looking Beyond Kyoto., E. Zedillo, Ed., Brookings Institution Press, Washington, pp. 34-53

A Millennium Scale Sunspot Reconstruction: Evidence for an Unusually Active Sun Since the 1940s (Physical Review Letters 91, 2003) – Ilya G. Usoskin, Sami K. Solanki, Manfred Schüssler, Kalevi Mursula, Katja Alanko

Wang, Y.-M., J. L. Lean, J. L., and Sheeley, N. R. Jr , Modeling the sun’s magnetic field and irradiance since 1713, The Astrophysical Journal, 625:522–538, May 20, 2005
Krivova, N. A., Balmaceda, L., and Solanki, S. K., Reconstruction of solar total irradiance since 1700 from the surface magnetic flux, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 467, Number 1, May III 2007, 335 – 346.

A 150,000-year climatic record from Antarctic ice (Nature 316, 591 – 596, 15 August 1985) – C. Lorius, C. Ritz, J. Jouzel, L. Merlivat, N. I. Barkov

Possible solar origin of the 1,470-year glacial climate cycle demonstrated in a coupled model (Nature 438, 208-211, 10 November 2005) – Holger Braun, Marcus Christl, Stefan Rahmstorf, Andrey Ganopolski, Augusto Mangini, Claudia Kubatzki, Kurt Roth, Bernd Kromet

Highly variable Northern Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed from low- and high-resolution proxy data (Nature 433, 613-617, February 2005) – Anders Moberg, Dmitry M. Sonechkin, Karin Holmgren, Nina M. Datsenko and Wibjörn Karlén

Are there trends in hurricane destruction? (Nature 438, E11, 22 December 2005) – Roger A. Pielke, Jr. – brief communications – commentary on a paper by K. Emanuel – the Emanuel paper is not included in the Heartland list.

Time to ditch Kyoto (Nature 449, 973-975, 25 October 2007) – Gwyn Prins, Steve Rayner – commentary

Climate change 2007: Lifting the taboo on adaptation (Nature 445, 597-598, 8 February 2007) – Roger Pielke Jr., Gwyn Prins, Steve Rayner, Daniel Sarewitz – commentary

No upward trends in the occurrence of extreme floods in central Europe (Nature 425, 166-169, 11 September 2003) – Manfred Mudelsee, Michael Börngen, Gerd Tetzlaff, Uwe Grünewald

Trenberth, K. E., 2009: An imperative for adapting to climate change: Tracking Earth’s global energy. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 1, 19-27. DOI 10.1016/j.cosust.2009.06.001.

Lindzen, R. S., “Some Coolness Concerning Global Warming”, American Meteorological Society, Vol. 71, No. 3, March 1990.

[1] Ken Caldeira http://climateprogress.org/2009/10/26/global-cooling-myth-statisticians-caldeira-superfreakonomics/

[2] Diane Carol Bast, letter-to-the-editor, Blue Ridge Leader, http://brleader.com/?p=1453

[3] Scotus, http://brleader.com/?p=1448

[4] House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, “The disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia” Eighth Report of Session 2009–10 http://climateprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/HC387-IUEAFinalEmbargoedv21.pdf

[5] Joe Romm, Climate Progress, http://climateprogress.org/2010/04/14/climatic-research-unit-scientists-cleared-again/

[6] Sinclair http://www.youtube.com/user/greenman3610#p/u/2/QwnrpwctIh4

[7] http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=970&idli=3

[8] Noerpel, http://brleader.com/?p=1414

[9] Noerpel, http://brleader.com/?p=1247

[10] Swanson, http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/07/warminginterrupted-much-ado-about-natural-variability/

[11] Global Climate Coalition see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Climate_Coalition and http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_Climate_Coalition

[12] Alley, 2009, http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm09/lectures/lecture_videos/A23A.shtml

Vote Now!

April 24, 2010 by Blue Ridge Leader Dear Editor, Opinion Be the first to comment

Every two years Leesburg, Middleburg, Purcellville and the other Loudoun County towns hold municipal elections. The election this year is set for May 4.

These elections involve voting for individuals who will determine the town’s philosophy toward the budget, land use planning, utilities, police and parks/recreation. These are services that impact the citizens most directly! If you believe that we don’t have enough police, you need to vote. If you think we have enough police, you need to vote. If you think the town is growing too fast, you need to vote. If you think we need more growth, you need to vote. If you think taxes are too high or too low, you need to vote.

In other words, all registered town citizens need to vote.

The County Supervisor, State General Assembly and National Congressional elections will not have as dramatic an impact on town citizens as the local town elections will.

Yet every year the number of individuals voting in the town election is stunningly low. In the last elections only eight percent of the registered voters bothered to go to the polls and vote.

Everyone living in the town needs to get informed, get involved and get out and vote. Don’t let others decide what it important for you.

May 4 is an important date for all of us. So this year let’s participate in the process, exercise your privilege, and make a difference in your community. VOTE!

Kelly Burk
Leesburg District Supervisor
Loudoun Board of Supervisors

enGAUGE IT 2010

April 22, 2010 by Blue Ridge Leader News Be the first to comment

Kaitlin Bledsoe, a senior at LVHS, is the student lead for an event in partnership with the Newton-Marasco Foundation on Friday April 23 from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Loudoun Valley Shopping Center, Giant, and Rite Aid.

The event is called enGAUGE It and this is the second … Continue Reading

Local Bed and Breakfast Open House

April 20, 2010 by Contributor Business, Loudoun County Be the first to comment

The Loudoun Bed & Breakfast Guild Annual Open House Tour on 4/25 is a FREE event suitable for the whole family. Take a self-guided tour along some of the most scenic roads in Western Loudoun and visit the NINE charming and historic B&Bs and one event facility participating in the tour. Local wineries, restaurants, and caterers will be providing tastings at the various B&Bs and event venues.

Loudoun County is located about 30 miles west of Washington DC in the heart of Virginia’s Horse and Wine Country. The area is also known as DC’s Wine Country, Loudoun County, and now boast 25 wineries, historic towns and villages, civil war history and interesting attractions.

The participating B&Bs include:

Briar Patch Bed & Breakfast, Middleburg (www.briarpatchbandb.com)

The Red Fox Inn, Middleburg (www.redfox.com)

J. Patrick House Bed & Breakfast, Philomont (www.jpatrickhouse.com)

Montrose Farm B&B, Purcellville (www.Montrosefarm.com)

Silverbook Farm B&B, Purcellville (www.silverbrookfarmbandb.com)

Oakland Green Farm, Leesburg (www.oaklandgreen.com)

Georges Mill Bed & Breakfast, Lovettsville (www.georgesmill.com)

Stone Manor Vineyard & Orchard B&B, Lovettsville (www.mycountryretreat.com)

Zion Springs Bed & Breakfast, Hamilton (www.zionsprings.com) – this B&B is NEW and is not included on the tour map

Special event venue, and Loudoun Bed & Breakfast Guild member, Rose Hill Manor (www.rosehillmanor.com) in Leesburg is hosting a Bridal tasting with Celebrations Catering and Sunset Hills Vineyard that afternoon.

Visitors will have a chance to enter special drawings to win overnight stays, restaurant certificates, packages from Great Country Farms and Bluemont Vineyard, etc. at many of the B&Bs.

For more information and to download a tour map for the event, visit http://www.loudounbandb.com.

Start at any point on the map and spend an enjoyable afternoon.

Call 866-771-2597 or email info@loudounbandb.com for more information.

For media inquiries, please contact Chris Geno at chris@genocommunications.com or 703 203 0543.

Heartland Institute Reply– Part 1

“… a philosophy is influenced by facts. So there is a constant interplay between what do I think and why do I think it….Now, if you gather more facts and have more experience, especially with things that have gone wrong – those are especially good learning tools – then you reshape your philosophy because the facts tell you you’ve got to… Ideology is a lot easier, because you don’t have to know anything or search for anything. You already know the answer to everything. It’s not penetrable by facts. It’s absolutism.” Paul O’Neill (Suskind, The Price of Loyalty, 2004)

“Curiosity demands that we ask questions, that we try to put things together and try to understand…” Richard Feynman, Lectures on Physics, volume 1,

“If money were driving The Heartland Institute’s work on global warming, surely we and other skeptics would be raving alarmists by now. As Alexander Cockburn has noted, ‘Billions in funding and research grants sluice into the big climate-modeling enterprises and a vast archipelago of research departments and institutes of climate change across academia. It’s where the money is.’” Diane Carol Bast

It’s not always about the money, Mr. Noerpel. Some of us have principles—common sense, sound science, individual liberty—for which we toil even when it would be more profitable to go over to the dark side. Diane Carol Bast

I thank Diane Carol Bast, Executive Editor The Heartland Institute, for reading my article and taking the time to respond. It is a pleasure to know that the Blue Ridge Leader is read as far away as Chicago. I welcome this exchange of views.

Bast takes offense at the term denier and calls me an alarmist. For my part, I don’t mind. I certainly don’t mind being called a global warming alarmist. I think it is appropriate. As a former volunteer firefighter, I’m well aware of the necessity for alarms. They save lives. We get in very serious trouble when we don’t heed them in fact. The descriptive term denier simply happens to fit the Heartland Institute folks remarkably well; no offense on my part is intended. They are not skeptics.

A skeptic is somebody who is curious, asks questions, demands justification or supporting material, is not content with mere opinion, is not afraid to be wrong and wants above all to find the right answer. These qualities are orthogonal to whether or not somebody accepts or denies Svante Arrhenius’ theory of anthropogenic global warming. In other words, within the uncertainty of the science we can assume for now a denier or an alarmist may be skeptical, provided that person is skeptical of arguments on both sides with special emphasis regards one’s own arguments, of course. Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman councils:

“Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” Richard Feynman, from lecture “What is and What Should be the Role of Scientific Culture in Modern Society”, Galileo Symposium in Italy, 1964

A skeptic questions a hypothesis because she thinks there is not enough supporting evidence. When enough evidence is discovered, a skeptic will concede and accept the point. An ideologue, according to Paul O’Neill, rejects a hypothesis independent of the evidence or data and therefore there will never be enough evidence. This is obviously an important distinction. To be a skeptic, one must be familiar with the evidence. In the case of global warming, one must have had to at least read the IPCC report. And one must be prepared to be wrong.

“What distinguishes science from pseudoscience is not whether your theory originated with some particular conviction about how the world works, or whether you feel an emotional attachment to it. What matters is the evidence you find to support it, and whether you are ultimately prepared to accept that it could be wrong.” Gabrielle Walker, Snowball Earth.

It is asymmetric to label just one side of this debate “skeptic”. If Bast would prefer an alternate descriptive besides “denier”, she can suggest something, and if it is reasonably accurate I will use it, happily. The science journal Nature referred to folks like Bast as denialist in an editorial on so called climate-gate.

“…denialists use every means at their disposal to undermine trust in scientists and science.” Nature Editorial Staff, Vol 462 | Issue no. 7273 | 3 December 2009

If Bast prefers denialist, I’ll use that.

Bast complains about my reference to the Heartland Institute as a tobacco lobbying company but does not deny it. This information is in the public domain from Source Watch and from their Wikipedia page. I went to their web site and they have a whole section on the goodness of tobacco. Bast did not deny that the Heartland institute is funded by tobacco companies but that too is in the public domain.

Bast quotes Alexander Cockburn, without attribution, and it is instructive to examine this quote as a skeptic would. If there are no references an opinion is not verifiable and therefore not useful. This is an appropriate observation about the Cockburn quote. Skeptics ask questions. Who are the sluicers and the sluicees? What is their motivation? How much money is it really and over what period of time? Billions is rather vague. Since we really don’t have any idea what Cockburn is on about, we are free to speculate.

Climate physics is fundamentally a subfield of Earth Sciences which is a rather large and important field of science but the science that influences it or is relevant to it spans astronomy to zoology. I assume Cockburn is referring to all international funding of all scientific research which is notionally associated with climate over the last several decades. With this interpretation “billions” has some descriptive accuracy. The beneficiaries of this money, as noted by Cockburn, are universities, research institutes, professors, scientists, post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate students in hundreds of fields, and including engineers, scientists, technicians and support staff. The sources of these funds includes NIH, NIST, NASA, NSF, NOAA, USGS and other domestic government science organizations as well as many other international scientific funding organizations. This funding supports Earth monitoring satellite systems, Antarctic and Arctic research stations and ocean research vessels. None of these funding sources has a profit motive or shareholder equity which needs protecting. The principle motivation of both sluicers and sluicees is curiosity about the world around us and adding to the human trove of knowledge. Characteristic of ideologues, denialists Bast and Cockburn both criticize knowledge which disagrees with them and slide down the slippery slope, denigrating all of science and every scientist as the Nature editorial warns.

When Phillip Morris, ExxonMobil or the Koch Brothers invest in companies like the Heartland Institute there is a direct benefit to their bottom line. The payback in profits is measureable and easy to appreciate. By contrast the National Science Foundation does not make a profit on scientific funding. There is only the expectation of solid science.

Bast is misleading us and herself to suggest that Heartland Institute could easily go over to the dark side and receive any of this funding. Heartland Institute is not qualified to do scientific research of any kind. They simply do not have that expertise. Heartland Institute participates in public relations and lobbying and not scientific research.

Bast might instead be referring to the money spent by the environmental movement on lobbying and publicity as opposed to the “billions” to which Cockburn is referring. In my article on which Bast comments, I reference an article written by Dr. Jeff Masters. Masters writes:

“According to Center for Public Integrity, there are currently 2,663 climate change lobbyists working on Capitol Hill. That’s five lobbyists for every member of Congress. Climate lobbyists working for major industries outnumber those working for environmental, health, and alternative energy groups by more than seven to one.”

Thus we see that Heartland is fortunate to have the principles they do because the fossil fuel industry is much more generous than environmental groups when it comes to funding companies which do the kind of work Heartland does. In other words, Bast is incorrect to suggest that Heartland would do well on the dark side. In fact they would go bankrupt. So of course it is about the money.

With respect to Bast’s complaint that Heartland is motivated by principle as well as money, I don’t entirely disagree. The second half of my article describes these principles related to the “Julian Simon” effect.

The principles to which Bast refers are: supply-side neo-classical economics, which we know to be flawed because it ignores the second law of thermodynamics (see Soddy); small governments, which statistically are disasters for their populations; and opposition to government regulation of industry and protection of citizens from predatory companies. Of course, we have direct experience with removal of government regulation of the banking industry which had stood the test of time since the Great Depression and the subsequent collapse of our economy (see Germany). So these are principles, and while lucrative for Heartland, they are just not particularly sound ones for the rest of us.

Masters described them in this way:

“These front groups received funding from manufacturers of dangerous products and produced “sound science” in support of their funders’ products, in the name of free enterprise and free markets. Think tanks such as the George C. Marshall Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Heartland Institute, and Dr. Fred Singer’s SEPP (Science and Environmental Policy Project) have all been active for decades in the Manufactured Doubt business, generating misleading science and false controversy to protect the profits of their clients who manufacture dangerous products.”

Bast’s claim that Heartland is interested in personal liberty is also not true. They are actively and rather overtly opposed to the personal liberties of non-smokers including infants, small children, pregnant women, people with heart conditions, asthma, allergies, the elderly and rational people who chose to believe the solid science that second hand smoke is harmful.

Jeff Masters describes two exceptionally important books Climate Cover-Up by James Hoggan and Doubt is Their Product by David Michaels. I recommend both.

I agree with Bast that what is important is the science. In part 2 we will visit the Heartland Institute web site and examine the scientific content with respect to global warming.

Sign up for our email newsletter:

Find us on Facebook:

Sustainable Planet

Galileo and the Deniers

26 Apr 2013

noerpel150

“Some years ago, as Your Serene Highness well knows, I discovered in the heavens many things that had not been seen before our own age. The novelty of these things, as well as some consequences which followed from them in …

(Be the first to comment)

Ask Dr. Mike

Recent 1 in 50 CDC Autism Rate Increases Parental Anxiety

1 May 2013

Michael_Pic

By Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D. With last month’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (the CDC) reporting that as many as one in 50 children in U.S. schools have autism, the topic of autism has created an increase in parental anxiety …

(Be the first to comment)

Virginia Gardening

Bachelor Buttons – Harbingers of Spring

1 May 2013

BachelorButtons

By Donna Williamson Spring is here. My winter sowing experiment was amazingly successful and I have bachelor buttons, broccoli raab, dill, scallions, lettuces, all ready to go into the normal garden. I love how this frees you to start the …

(Be the first to comment)

Sushi's Corner

… And They All Danced

5 May 2013

sushi

Sometimes even a Mighty Cairn Terrier farm dog like me needs to take a little break. Each and every day, start to finish, my concern for all of the farm creatures great and small is the very first and last …

(Be the first to comment)

Amy V. Smith's Money Talks

13 Financial Planning Strategies for 2013-Part Two of a Series

1 May 2013

Amy Smith-BRL

By Amy Smith Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on New Year’s Day. A number of changes came out of the act that will affect your tax bill. In this month’s column, I will be offering financial …

(Be the first to comment)

Go Take a Hike

Blandy Experimental Farm

6 Jun 2012

Molly

By Molly Pinson Simoneau It’s no secret that I love a challenging hike. I’ve written here about hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail and Shenandoah National Park. I’ve taken vacations with my family to Colorado where I’ve attempted to conquer a “fourteener” (a summit that is higher than 14,000 feet), …

(2 comments)

Real Estate Ticker

Real Estate Ticker – April

2 Apr 2013

Carl Fischer headshot

I’m writing this article from the new Omni Hotel in downtown Fort Worth, Texas… while attending United Country’s Annual Convention being held this year in Forth Worth Texas. It’s an interesting contrast with the familiar universe of Northern Virginia market …

(Be the first to comment)

From the Farm

From the Farm

5 Jul 2012

From the Farm

When the heat index reaches 110 degrees, as it has been doing recently, I try to keep in the shade, or stay indoors. But my lavender, about halfway from full bloom, seems to thrive in it. Hot and dry, I …

(Be the first to comment)

Events

May 2013
M T W T F S S
    1

Qigong Class

Close
10:15 am9:45 am
Carver Center
200 Willie Palmer Way
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Qigong Class

iCal

Certified Tae Kwon Do Master Harold Bauch, who taught the well-received Self-Defense for Seniors class at Carver Center’s recent Health Fair, will be returning in November to teach an on-going bi-monthly class incorporating joint stretches and Qigong. Qigong is similar to Tai Chi, but much simpler to learn because the movements are fewer. These are done standing, so participants must be comfortable in an upright position. Master Bauch will be teaching proper breathing techniques along with the movements, and will be helping students to understand the physical benefits of this exercise form, which has an 800 year history. Please come to the first session and see what it is all about.

Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

Close
12:45 pm
United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
15 W. Washington St.
Middleburg, VA

Details about Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

iCal

Every Wed. at 12:45. Open game. $5.00. Contact: MiddleburgBridge@aol.com

Worship and Healing Prayer

Close
7:30 pm
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church
37730 St Francis Ct.
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Worship and Healing Prayer

iCal

Time of praise, worship, and prayer for the healing and needs of all who attend.

2

Alzheimers Support Group Meeting

Close
10:00 am
Spring Arbor of Leesburg Assisted Living
237 Fairview Street NW
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Alzheimers Support Group Meeting

iCal

First Thursday of each month
10am

Call Susan 540-338-6520 for additional information

Nar-Anon Meeting

Close
7:00 pm8:00 pm
Leesburg Presbyterian Church
207 W. Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Nar-Anon Meeting

iCal

For families of addicted loved ones.
Thursday Evenings 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Leesburg Presbyterian Church, In the lounge

3

Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

Close
10:00 am11:15 am
Rust Sanctuary
802 Childrens Center Road
Leesburg, VA 20175

Details about Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

iCal

Join our book club with your 3-5 year old child. Each week come listen to a nature themed book appropriate to the season, and then enjoy activities, games and nature walks related to that theme. Dress for the weather.Members: Free Non-members: $3.To register:julieg@audubonnaturalist.org or call 703-669-0000 x 1.

Home Demonstration Club Meeting

Close
7:30 pm
The Old Stone School Community Center
Hillsboro, VA

Details about Home Demonstration Club Meeting

iCal

A group of Hillsboro Residents are in the beginning stages of reviving an innovative club that will re-cultivate traditional crafts of the past; Candle Making, Soap Making, Knitting, Gardening and Canning are just a few of the learning opportunities the club will offer. Hope you can attend on May 3, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. The Old Stone School Community Center, Hillsboro, VA RSVP to 540 668 6758 or dftaplin@aol.com

4

CA$H Bingo

Close
10:00 am
American Legion Post 293
112 N. 21st Street Purcellville
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about CA$H Bingo

iCal

CA$H BINGO - 1st & 3rd SATURDAYS of the month, Doors open at 8:45 AM, first game at 10:00 AM, --- 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS of the month, Doors open at 6:00 PM, first game at 7:00 PM, --- 35 BINGO games - Specials, Quickies, TWO $500 Progressive Jackpots, Food and Beverages Available, NON-SMOKING, 540-338-0910, vapost293.sharepoint.com, HELP US HELP VETS

Morven Park Blood Drive

Close
10:00 am3:00 pm
Morven Park
17263 Southern Planter Lane
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Morven Park Blood Drive

iCal

The Greater Chesapeake & Potomac Blood Services American Red Cross will conduct the drive in Morven Park’s Winmill Carriage Museum. Schedule an appointment in advance at www.redcrossblood.org. All donors will receive free tickets to tour the Davis Mansion and Winmill Carriage Museum plus a 25 percent off coupon to Saddlery Liquidators in Haymarket.

Live Music at the Blue Ridge Eagles

Close
8:00 pm
Blue Ridge Eagles
120 East O Street
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Live Music at the Blue Ridge Eagles

iCal

Come to the Blue Ridge Eagles for live music by The Tyler James Band. The Tyler James Band is a power trio specializing in Texas style swing blues. They also perform some rockabilly and hard driving boogie woogie. 540-751-1435

5

Mosby Ride

Close
10:00 am
Near Ebenezer Churches, Northern Loudoun Co.
20421 Airmont Rd
Bluemont, VA 20135

Details about Mosby Ride

iCal

Trailer in your horse for a two-hour guided ride focusing on the Civil War stories around the Ebenezer Churches and Mosby's Rangers followed by lunch and a program.

Scouting for Bricks™ LEGO Event

Close
12:00 pm4:00 pm
Heritage High School
520 Evergreen Mills Road SE
Leesburg, VA

Details about Scouting for Bricks™ LEGO Event

iCal

Members of Purcellville Boy Scout Troop 39, charted to Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church in Purcellville, struck upon a novel way of raising funds for their campouts and activities. The troop is sponsoring a LEGO fan event which has drawn the attention of top name LEGO related vendors and exhibitors from as far away as California. Scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 11am-5pm and Sunday, May 5 from 12-4pm at Heritage High School, 520 Evergreen Mills Road SE in Leesburg, VA. The Scouting for Bricks™ event is open to the public. Tickets are $5 per person and available only at the door.

Visitors will be treated to over 30,000 square feet of LEGO related exhibits and merchandise. The vendor Brixalot will have over 100,000 LEGO and DUPLO blocks affording visitors a hands-on opportunity to play and create. Additional exhibitors include the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area LEGO Train Club, Abbie Dabbles, Brick Brigade, Bricks 4 Kids, Classic Plastic Bricks, Clone Army Customs, Play-Well, Snapology, and The Great Adventure Lab. Ashburn Robotics will host a robotic scrimmage and the amazing Great Ball Contraption will be on display, while live Star Wars ‘Stormtroopers’ from the 501st Legion will be roaming the exhibit halls.

Senior Patrol Leader Vincent Escobar, age 17, remarked, “The boys in the troop are very excited about Scouting for Bricks™, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking of the coolest vendors and exhibits and its awesome that so many are participating.” When asked what sparked the idea for the brick fair, Troop 39 Scoutmaster Joseph Gleason stated, “Many of the boys in our troop are LEGO fanatics who frequently exhibit at and attend at regional brick fairs, so we got the idea of hosting our own as a way for the boys to earn funds to cover camping equipment and activities.”

For more information visit the event’s website at: www.scoutingforbricks.com.

6
7

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

Close
7:00 pm8:30 pm
Rust Library
380 Old Waterford Road
Leesburg, VA

Details about Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

iCal

12-step support group for men and women with a desire to stop eating addictively. Visit www.foodaddicts.org or call (540) 809-9572/(703)216-6242 for more information.

8

Inova Loudoun Hospital Stroke Survivors & Caregivers Support Group

Close
11:00 am12:00 pm
Inova Loudoun Hospital
44045 Riverside Parkway
second floor Patient Education Room
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Inova Loudoun Hospital Stroke Survivors & Caregivers Support Group

iCal

Inova Loudoun Hospital hosts a free Stoke Survivors and Caregivers Support Group. The purpose of the support group is to provide a supportive and encouraging environment as a part of the stroke recovery process for those who are affected by stroke and their caregivers. The group will meet the second Wednesday of the month from 11 a.m. – noon at Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Parkway, Leesburg in the second floor Patient Education Room. The next Stroke Survivors and Caregivers Support Group will be on Wednesday, March 13. At the March meeting there will be a nutritionist speaker offering insight about nutrition after a stroke.

Stroke is a “brain attack” cutting off vital oxygen and blood to parts of the brain that control everything we do. Every year, stroke affects nearly 800,000 people in the US. The survivors of stroke forever experience changes that can affect speaking, walking, memory, and thinking. The recovery process after a stroke is life long. Socializing in a supportive and encouraging environment is an important part of stroke recovery. Support groups allow stroke survivors and caregivers to interact with others who understand the life changes that occur after stroke.

Participation is free and registration isn’t required. For further information, please contact Robyn Thomson at 703-858-6667 or robyn.thomson@inova.org.

Inova Loudoun Hospital, serving Loudoun County for over 100 years, is part of Inova, a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient

Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

Close
12:45 pm
United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
15 W. Washington St.
Middleburg, VA

Details about Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

iCal

Every Wed. at 12:45. Open game. $5.00. Contact: MiddleburgBridge@aol.com

Worship and Healing Prayer

Close
7:30 pm
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church
37730 St Francis Ct.
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Worship and Healing Prayer

iCal

Time of praise, worship, and prayer for the healing and needs of all who attend.

9

Nar-Anon Meeting

Close
7:00 pm8:00 pm
Leesburg Presbyterian Church
207 W. Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Nar-Anon Meeting

iCal

For families of addicted loved ones.
Thursday Evenings 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Leesburg Presbyterian Church, In the lounge

10

Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

Close
10:00 am11:15 am
Rust Sanctuary
802 Childrens Center Road
Leesburg, VA 20175

Details about Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

iCal

Join our book club with your 3-5 year old child. Each week come listen to a nature themed book appropriate to the season, and then enjoy activities, games and nature walks related to that theme. Dress for the weather.Members: Free Non-members: $3.To register:julieg@audubonnaturalist.org or call 703-669-0000 x 1.

CA$H Bingo

Close
7:00 pm
American Legion Post 293
112 N. 21st Street Purcellville
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about CA$H Bingo

iCal

CA$H BINGO - 1st & 3rd SATURDAYS of the month, Doors open at 8:45 AM, first game at 10:00 AM, --- 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS of the month, Doors open at 6:00 PM, first game at 7:00 PM, --- 35 BINGO games - Specials, Quickies, TWO $500 Progressive Jackpots, Food and Beverages Available, NON-SMOKING, 540-338-0910, vapost293.sharepoint.com, HELP US HELP VETS

Fiddler on the Roof

Close
7:30 pm
Belmont Ridge Middle School
19045 Upper Belmont Place
Leesburg, va

Details about Fiddler on the Roof

iCal

The Pickwick Players present the beloved, classic Broadway musical, "Fiddler on the Roof", music by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. Performances are May, 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7:30 pm and May 11 & 18 at 2 pm at Belmont Ridge Middle School, 19045 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, Va. Tickets available at the door: Adults $15, Seniors/Children 12 and under, $12 or advance discounted tickets through the website thepickwickplayers.org via Paypal. Special family rate offered on May 11 for the 2 pm matinee. For more info go to thepickwickplayers.org or contact 540-751-0098.

11

Sadie's Smile 5K Run

Close
8:00 am

Details about Sadie's Smile 5K Run

iCal

Sadie Smile Foundation is holding its second annual 5K run, walk and kids fun run at 8:00 a.m. Saturday, May 11, in Purcellville

Stop Hunger Now

Close
9:30 am12:00 pm
Leesburg Firehouse
215 West Loudoun Street
Leesburg, VA 20175
USA

Details about Stop Hunger Now

iCal

Stop Hunger Now is an organization committed to alleviating starvation around the world. Volunteers raise money to buy the ingredients necessary to sustain good health and then package these ingredients in small bags to be transported to countries where children and adults are starving. We will package over 10,000 meals in 2 hours.

Car Wash

Close
11:00 am3:00 pm
KFC/TacoBell
201 Hirst Road
Purcellville, VA 20132
USA

Details about Car Wash

iCal

Car Wash to benefit RELAY FOR LIFE and the American Cancer Society

Introduction to How Foods Fight Diabetes - LVCC

Close
12:00 pm1:30 pm
Loudoun Valley Community Center (LVCC)
320 W School St
Purcellville, VA 20132
USA

Details about Introduction to How Foods Fight Diabetes - LVCC

iCal

The road to diabetes does not have to be a one-way street. There is a reason for hope! People who eat plant-based meals are less likely to ever develop diabetes, and for those who have diabetes, plant-based meals can help to improve blood sugar levels and prevent complications. These meals are affordable and can be quite delicious and satisfying. A low-fat, plant-based approach offers a new tool that many have found to be very useful. Review the latest science behind this approach, consider some simple ideas for getting started, sample four dishes, and explore useful resources.

Recipes demo’ed: Good-Enough-for-Guests Green Salad, Yes-You-Can Black Bean Chili, Sweet Potatoes, and Chocolate Cherry Nirvana Smoothie.

Fiddler on the Roof

Close
2:00 pm
Belmont Ridge Middle School
19045 Upper Belmont Place
Leesburg, va

Details about Fiddler on the Roof

iCal

The Pickwick Players present the beloved, classic Broadway musical, "Fiddler on the Roof", music by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. Performances are May, 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7:30 pm and May 11 & 18 at 2 pm at Belmont Ridge Middle School, 19045 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, Va. Tickets available at the door: Adults $15, Seniors/Children 12 and under, $12 or advance discounted tickets through the website thepickwickplayers.org via Paypal. Special family rate offered on May 11 for the 2 pm matinee. For more info go to thepickwickplayers.org or contact 540-751-0098.

Healing Service

Close
5:00 pm7:00 pm
Church of the Holy Spirit
908 Trailview Blvd SE #200
Leesburg, VA 20175

Details about Healing Service

iCal

Come out for worship, a short teaching on healing and the Kingdom of God followed by personal prayer ministry for healing. Bring your friends and family and encounter the Holy Spirit in a powerful, personal way.

12

Mother's Day Photo Sessions at Notaviva Vineyards

Close
11:00 am6:00 pm
Notaviva Vineyards
13274 Sagle Road
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
USA

Details about Mother's Day Photo Sessions at Notaviva Vineyards

iCal

Treat Mom to a one-of-a-kind family photo session with professional photographer Joey Darley of Scene2bSeen at Notaviva Vineyards!
Our $40 basic photo session package includes:
- one (1) wine tasting for mom
- one (1) glass of wine for mom
- one (1) pose (family or individual)
- CD delivery of your digital photo files with print release so you may print yourself
We also have an UPGRADE package available!!!
Each photo session will occur on the hill overlooking our pond, vineyard and mountains in the distance, capturing the natural beauty of the rural vineyard setting. Whether shooting a photo of Mom herself, or Mom with kids/grandkids, or just the kids/grandkids to send to Mom, you decide who participates!!!

Zelda's Tea Party

Close
2:00 pm4:00 pm
Welbourne
22314 Welbourne Farm Lane
Middleburg, VA 20117

Details about Zelda's Tea Party

iCal

Join F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald at Welbourne, where F. Scott visited in 1934 at the request of his publisher. Fitzgerald's short story, Her Last Case, which was featured in the Saturday Evening Post, is based on his stay. Bring Mom out for a lovely tea party on the veranda of this antebellum masterpiece and listen to stories form Welbourne in the 1930s.

13
14

Gamer's Union for Teens with Aspergers

Close
6:00 pm
Rust Library
Leesburg, VA

Details about Gamer's Union for Teens with Aspergers

iCal

Gamer’s Union for Teens with Asperger’s meets the second Tuesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. at Rust Library in Leesburg. The Gamer’s Union is open to ages 12 to 21, accompanied by a caregiver. Registration is recommended, by calling the library 703-777-0323, or online at library.loudoun.gov.

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

Close
7:00 pm8:30 pm
Rust Library
380 Old Waterford Road
Leesburg, VA

Details about Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

iCal

12-step support group for men and women with a desire to stop eating addictively. Visit www.foodaddicts.org or call (540) 809-9572/(703)216-6242 for more information.

15

Qigong Class

Close
10:15 am9:45 am
Carver Center
200 Willie Palmer Way
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Qigong Class

iCal

Certified Tae Kwon Do Master Harold Bauch, who taught the well-received Self-Defense for Seniors class at Carver Center’s recent Health Fair, will be returning in November to teach an on-going bi-monthly class incorporating joint stretches and Qigong. Qigong is similar to Tai Chi, but much simpler to learn because the movements are fewer. These are done standing, so participants must be comfortable in an upright position. Master Bauch will be teaching proper breathing techniques along with the movements, and will be helping students to understand the physical benefits of this exercise form, which has an 800 year history. Please come to the first session and see what it is all about.

Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

Close
12:45 pm
United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
15 W. Washington St.
Middleburg, VA

Details about Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

iCal

Every Wed. at 12:45. Open game. $5.00. Contact: MiddleburgBridge@aol.com

Worship and Healing Prayer

Close
7:30 pm
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church
37730 St Francis Ct.
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Worship and Healing Prayer

iCal

Time of praise, worship, and prayer for the healing and needs of all who attend.

16

Nar-Anon Meeting

Close
7:00 pm8:00 pm
Leesburg Presbyterian Church
207 W. Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Nar-Anon Meeting

iCal

For families of addicted loved ones.
Thursday Evenings 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Leesburg Presbyterian Church, In the lounge

17

Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

Close
10:00 am11:15 am
Rust Sanctuary
802 Childrens Center Road
Leesburg, VA 20175

Details about Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

iCal

Join our book club with your 3-5 year old child. Each week come listen to a nature themed book appropriate to the season, and then enjoy activities, games and nature walks related to that theme. Dress for the weather.Members: Free Non-members: $3.To register:julieg@audubonnaturalist.org or call 703-669-0000 x 1.

Fiddler on the Roof

Close
7:30 pm
Belmont Ridge Middle School
19045 Upper Belmont Place
Leesburg, va

Details about Fiddler on the Roof

iCal

The Pickwick Players present the beloved, classic Broadway musical, "Fiddler on the Roof", music by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. Performances are May, 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7:30 pm and May 11 & 18 at 2 pm at Belmont Ridge Middle School, 19045 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, Va. Tickets available at the door: Adults $15, Seniors/Children 12 and under, $12 or advance discounted tickets through the website thepickwickplayers.org via Paypal. Special family rate offered on May 11 for the 2 pm matinee. For more info go to thepickwickplayers.org or contact 540-751-0098.

18

CA$H Bingo

Close
9:00 am
American Legion Post 293
112 N. 21st Street Purcellville
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about CA$H Bingo

iCal

Doors open at 9:00 a.m., first game starts at 10:00 a.m. , 1st and 3rd Saturdays of month, 34 total bingo games with early birds, specials and TWO $500 Progressive JACKPOTS, food and beverages available, American Legion Post 293, 112 N. 21st Street Purcellville, VA 20132, Phone: 540-338-0910 alpost293.web.officelive.com

CA$H Bingo

Close
10:00 am
American Legion Post 293
112 N. 21st Street Purcellville
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about CA$H Bingo

iCal

CA$H BINGO - 1st & 3rd SATURDAYS of the month, Doors open at 8:45 AM, first game at 10:00 AM, --- 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS of the month, Doors open at 6:00 PM, first game at 7:00 PM, --- 35 BINGO games - Specials, Quickies, TWO $500 Progressive Jackpots, Food and Beverages Available, NON-SMOKING, 540-338-0910, vapost293.sharepoint.com, HELP US HELP VETS

Fiddler on the Roof

Close
2:00 pm
Belmont Ridge Middle School
19045 Upper Belmont Place
Leesburg, va

Details about Fiddler on the Roof

iCal

The Pickwick Players present the beloved, classic Broadway musical, "Fiddler on the Roof", music by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. Performances are May, 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7:30 pm and May 11 & 18 at 2 pm at Belmont Ridge Middle School, 19045 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, Va. Tickets available at the door: Adults $15, Seniors/Children 12 and under, $12 or advance discounted tickets through the website thepickwickplayers.org via Paypal. Special family rate offered on May 11 for the 2 pm matinee. For more info go to thepickwickplayers.org or contact 540-751-0098.

Preakness Party

Close
4:30 pm9:00 pm
Morven Park Equestrian Center
41793 Tutt Lane
Leesburg, VA 20176
Loudoun

Details about Preakness Party

iCal

Horse lovers meet racing fans for an evening of celebration and an opportunity to support the important work of Loudoun Therapeutic Riding (LTR). The public is cordially invited to join this “must attend” event being held in the beautiful rural setting of Morven Park in Leesburg. The event features a live telecast of the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes from Pimlico racetrack in Baltimore, a silent and live auction as well as live horse races with local amateur jockeys racing on Morven Park’s historic race track.
“This one of a kind Preakness Party , held against the beautiful backdrop of the Loudoun County, Virginia countryside is an opportunity where guests can enjoy an evening of horse racing, great food, music, dancing, and Black Eyed Susan’s, the signature drink of the Preakness, while supporting LTR’s very special programs”, commented Joanne Hart, Executive Director of LTR.” Our goal is to raise awareness of our organization and funds that, in turn, will be used to enrich the lives of children and adults with physical, cognitive and psychological challenges through equine assisted activities and therapies, including our newest program for wounded military and families. “
As part of the day’s activities there will be a silent and a live auction, featuring valuable items and activities such as a Bethany Beach Weekend Getaway, Nationals Tickets, Roundtop Mountain Adventure Package, International Spy Museum Tickets for the Bond Villains Exhibit, winery tours, and date nights. Guests are encouraged to wear garden party attire, and prizes will be awarded for Best Hat so ladies bring out your finery.
Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased online at www.ltrf.org or via phone at 703-771-2689. There are also a few sponsorship opportunities remaining and more information is available by contacting the LTR office.

"Diamonds To Die For" at Notaviva Vineyards

Close
7:00 pm10:00 pm
Notaviva Vineyards
13274 Sagle Road
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
United States

Details about "Diamonds To Die For" at Notaviva Vineyards

iCal

Come and enjoy an evening of fun and intrigue. Work through the clues and participate in the mystery that culminates in a shocking ending!!! After the legendary diamond “Curse of Death” is stolen from renowned jewel collector and philanthropist, Ben O. Factor, he unexpectedly announces he will give away his billions to deserving parties. You've been invited to one of these special events. But be warned - tonight’s event has a twist. You will be asked to help solve the murder of Ben's lifelong friend, William Shady, who was found dead in an alley two weeks ago. He had been asked by Ben to investigate the diamond's disappearance.

7:00 pm Doors
7:30 pm Dinner Theatre Begins!
$42 per person* plus tax

*Includes a catered buffet meal and the show!! Wines can be purchased that evening by the glass or bottle and is not included in the ticket price. Gratuity and tax not included in the ticket price.

Shamrock Showcase

Close
7:00 pm

Details about Shamrock Showcase

iCal

Enjoy the illusion as the Franklin Park Arts Center Stage is magically transformed into the Shamrock Music Shoppe. Families will be entertained as Shamrock’s teachers dazzle you with their performances that span everything from Highland bagpipes and bluegrass, to rock n’ roll and jazz. This show promises to delight and surprise you.
Tickets: Tickets: $10 Adults, $7 Students available at Shamrock Music Shoppe on 21st St in Purcellville or reserve by calling 540-338-7973.

Live Music at Blue Ridge Eagles

Close
8:00 pm
Blue Ridge Eagles
120 East O Street
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Live Music at Blue Ridge Eagles

iCal

Come to the Blue Ridge Eagles for live music by Half Past 3. Half Part 3 plays classic, modern, country, rock & roll, Motown and originals.

19

Broadway Favorites Band Concert

Close
3:00 pm
Franklin Park Arts Center
36441 Blueridge View Lane
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Broadway Favorites Band Concert

iCal

Loudoun Symphonic Winds
Tickets: $12 Adults, $10 Students and Seniors. Reserve by calling the Franklin Park Arts Center Box Office at 540-338-7973.

Buchanan Hall presents Janice Weber, piano

Close
3:00 pm
8549 John Mosby Highway
Upperville, VA

Details about Buchanan Hall presents Janice Weber, piano

iCal

Buchanan Hall is excited to present a special performance by renowned pianist Janice Weber. Known for her interest in the uncommon avenues of the piano literature, Miss Weber has performed at the White House and Carnegie Hall, appeared with the Boston Pops and Sarajevo Philharmonic, and has twice toured China. She is a member of the piano faculty at both Boston Conservatory and MIT and is a Steinway artist.
Miss Weber will perform an exciting and diverse program including works by Beethoven, Liszt and Franck, as well as more recent compositions by Sowerby and Templeton. Tickets are $10/general, $5/student, and may be purchased in advance or at the door. For more information visit www.buchananhall.com/wordpress. All proceeds to support historic Buchanan Hall.

20

Marine Corps League Meeting

Close
7:00 pm
American Legion Post 293
112 N 21st Street
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Marine Corps League Meeting

iCal

Loudoun Detachment 1205, meets the third Monday of each month. Meeting starts 7:00 PM at the American Legion Post, 112 N 21st Street, Purcellville, Virginia. The detachment has been active for many years, providing a continuing home for Marines of all ages and backgrounds, keeping alive our links with The Corps and serving the community. Contact www.loudounmarines.org.

21

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

Close
7:00 pm8:30 pm
Rust Library
380 Old Waterford Road
Leesburg, VA

Details about Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

iCal

12-step support group for men and women with a desire to stop eating addictively. Visit www.foodaddicts.org or call (540) 809-9572/(703)216-6242 for more information.

22

Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

Close
12:45 pm
United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
15 W. Washington St.
Middleburg, VA

Details about Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

iCal

Every Wed. at 12:45. Open game. $5.00. Contact: MiddleburgBridge@aol.com

Worship and Healing Prayer

Close
7:30 pm
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church
37730 St Francis Ct.
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Worship and Healing Prayer

iCal

Time of praise, worship, and prayer for the healing and needs of all who attend.

23

Nar-Anon Meeting

Close
7:00 pm8:00 pm
Leesburg Presbyterian Church
207 W. Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Nar-Anon Meeting

iCal

For families of addicted loved ones.
Thursday Evenings 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Leesburg Presbyterian Church, In the lounge

24

Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

Close
10:00 am11:15 am
Rust Sanctuary
802 Childrens Center Road
Leesburg, VA 20175

Details about Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

iCal

Join our book club with your 3-5 year old child. Each week come listen to a nature themed book appropriate to the season, and then enjoy activities, games and nature walks related to that theme. Dress for the weather.Members: Free Non-members: $3.To register:julieg@audubonnaturalist.org or call 703-669-0000 x 1.

CA$H Bingo

Close
7:00 pm
American Legion Post 293
112 N. 21st Street Purcellville
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about CA$H Bingo

iCal

CA$H BINGO - 1st & 3rd SATURDAYS of the month, Doors open at 8:45 AM, first game at 10:00 AM, --- 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS of the month, Doors open at 6:00 PM, first game at 7:00 PM, --- 35 BINGO games - Specials, Quickies, TWO $500 Progressive Jackpots, Food and Beverages Available, NON-SMOKING, 540-338-0910, vapost293.sharepoint.com, HELP US HELP VETS

25

Round Hill Hometown Festival

Close
10:00 am

Details about Round Hill Hometown Festival

iCal

The 11th Annual Round Hill Hometown Festival will be held Saturday, May 25. Events include a 5K, parade, memorial ceremony, pie-eating contest, downhill derby, and community feast. Children's rides and games. Stage entertainment by LVHS Jazz Band, Magician Steve Kish, the Immortals, the Polka Dots, Banana Express and Half Past 3. For more information, including online registration, see www.hometownfestival.org.

Author Book Signing

Close
12:00 pm3:00 pm
Market Street Coffee, Purcellville
1020 E. Main Street
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
USA

Details about Author Book Signing

iCal

Science fiction and horror author Dean Lombardo will sign copies of his new novel, Space Games, at Market Street Coffee. (This is a cash-only event.)

26
27 28

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

Close
7:00 pm8:30 pm
Rust Library
380 Old Waterford Road
Leesburg, VA

Details about Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

iCal

12-step support group for men and women with a desire to stop eating addictively. Visit www.foodaddicts.org or call (540) 809-9572/(703)216-6242 for more information.

29

Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

Close
12:45 pm
United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
15 W. Washington St.
Middleburg, VA

Details about Middleburg Duplicate Bridge

iCal

Every Wed. at 12:45. Open game. $5.00. Contact: MiddleburgBridge@aol.com

Weekly In-store Dog Training

Close
6:30 pm
Pet Valu Purcellville
120 Purcellville dr.
Purcellville, Va 20132

Details about Weekly In-store Dog Training

iCal

Weekly in-store dog training classes start 6:30pm. Classes taught by Bright Dog Academy contact them for more information at 304-404-3647. Or contact Pet Valu in Purcellville 540-441-7637.

Worship and Healing Prayer

Close
7:30 pm
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church
37730 St Francis Ct.
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about Worship and Healing Prayer

iCal

Time of praise, worship, and prayer for the healing and needs of all who attend.

30

Nar-Anon Meeting

Close
7:00 pm8:00 pm
Leesburg Presbyterian Church
207 W. Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Nar-Anon Meeting

iCal

For families of addicted loved ones.
Thursday Evenings 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Leesburg Presbyterian Church, In the lounge

31

Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

Close
10:00 am11:15 am
Rust Sanctuary
802 Childrens Center Road
Leesburg, VA 20175

Details about Rust Sanctuary’s Children’s Nature Book Club

iCal

Join our book club with your 3-5 year old child. Each week come listen to a nature themed book appropriate to the season, and then enjoy activities, games and nature walks related to that theme. Dress for the weather.Members: Free Non-members: $3.To register:julieg@audubonnaturalist.org or call 703-669-0000 x 1.

1

Saturday in the Garden - Summer Vegetable Garden Maintenance

Close
10:00 am12:00 pm
Master Gardener Demonstration Garden
Ida Lee Park
60 Ida Lee Drive N.W.
Leesburg, VA 20176

Details about Saturday in the Garden - Summer Vegetable Garden Maintenance

iCal

Come on out for free expert advice on vegetable gardening at the Loudoun County Master Gardeners' “Saturday in the Garden” program with a talk on “Summer Vegetable Garden Maintenance". The program is held at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg.
The award winning Loudoun County Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden is a practical organic garden that is open to the public to visit and learn about chemical-free gardening. The approximately 1/3 acre garden includes raised beds and small space vegetable areas, a Heritage garden highlighting some plants from Virginia’s past, a Children’s garden featuring child-friendly plants and activities, a Shade garden created under beautiful pine trees, bulb and drought tolerant gardens, a Butterfly garden and a fruit tree area. All produce grown is donated to Interfaith Relief Food Pantry.
For more information about the Loudoun County Master Gardener program, visit www.loudouncountymastergardeners.org or call the Loudoun Extension Office at 703-777-0373.

CA$H Bingo

Close
10:00 am
American Legion Post 293
112 N. 21st Street Purcellville
Purcellville, VA 20132

Details about CA$H Bingo

iCal

CA$H BINGO - 1st & 3rd SATURDAYS of the month, Doors open at 8:45 AM, first game at 10:00 AM, --- 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS of the month, Doors open at 6:00 PM, first game at 7:00 PM, --- 35 BINGO games - Specials, Quickies, TWO $500 Progressive Jackpots, Food and Beverages Available, NON-SMOKING, 540-338-0910, vapost293.sharepoint.com, HELP US HELP VETS

Dog Adoption Event!

Close
12:00 pm3:00 pm

Details about Dog Adoption Event!

iCal

Dog Adoption Event! Virginia German Shepard Rescue. Pet Valu Purcellville 540-441-7637

Author Book Signing

Close
12:00 pm3:00 pm
Around The Block Books
120 N. Hatcher Street
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
USA

Details about Author Book Signing

iCal

Science fiction and horror novelist Dean Lombardo will appear at Around The Block Books on Saturday, June 1, from 12 to 3 p.m., to sign copies of his latest novel, "Space Games," published by Kristell Ink in England.

2

Princess & Knight Parade

Close
1:00 pm3:00 pm
Morven Park
17263 Southern Planter Lane
Leesburg, VA 20176
United States

Details about Princess & Knight Parade

iCal

Dress in your regal best for Morven Park’s Princess & Knight Parade in the Winmill Carriage Museum. Learn about the carriages that are fit for royalty, have a photo taken in the carriage once used by Princess Grace, and parade to Morven Park’s “castle,” the Gov. Davis Mansion. Join the royal tea on the portico, complete with etiquette lessons and delicious treats. $10/child; $5/adult.

Recent Comments

View From the Ridge

What Is Our Vision For The Future?

3 May 2013

blueridge2

On a beautiful spring day like today – or on any of the beautiful days we’ve experienced here in western Loudoun County lately – it’s hard to imagine that one morning you might wake up and wish things were different. The sun is out and the weekend is here. You’ve …

(Be the first to comment)

Editorial

Guest Opinion: Juvenile Injustice in Our Schools

18 Apr 2013

blueridge2

By John P. Flannery Many students and parents are rightly upset that school principals, administrators and counselors conspire and combine with police assigned to the schools (called “resource officers”) to make schools more like prisons. Police are assigned to almost every school with one principal function being to criminalize what used to be student discipline, to stigmatize young students, to …

(1 comment)

You Have a Target on Your Back

6 Feb 2013

town of purcellville sign

Those who live in the proposed Purcellville Joint Land Management Area (JLMA) are in the target area for the future growth of Purcellville. If this growth area is approved as part of the County’s Revised General Plan, sooner or later you will become part of Purcellville, or, as the Loudoun Times Mirror called it “The Ideal Town.” Unfortunately, the newspaper …

(Be the first to comment)

Lifestyle

Round Hill Readies for Hometown Festival

5 May 2013

derby6

Plans are shaping up for Round Hill’s Eleventh Annual Hometown Festival, to be held this year on Saturday, May 25. From the 5K and parade in the morning to the community feast and evening concerts in the park, the fun-filled family-friendly event features something for everyone. Registration is open now for the 5K race, which begins at 8 a.m. at …

(Be the first to comment)

Drive for Charity

5 May 2013

On Thursday, May 16, paying the toll on the Dulles Greenway has a special meaning for local charities. This, the 8th annual Drive For Charity, is a one-day event that raises thousands of dollars that go directly into the local community. Each year, the money raised has increased, and last year’s event raised $261,000, divided among five local charities: The …

(Be the first to comment)

Sheriff Chapman Invited as Guest Lecturer for FBI National Academy

5 May 2013

SheriffChapman2012

Loudoun County Sheriff Michael L. Chapman was at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Tuesday, as a guest lecturer for students of the 253rd session of the FBI National Academy in the Contemporary Issues in Police/Media Relations class. During his presentation, Sheriff Chapman discussed high-profile cases that he worked while serving as a Special Agent with the DEA and compared them …

(Be the first to comment)

Around Virginia

Kaine Launches New Website

Kaine

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine launched his permanent Senate website today. Through the site, Virginians can contact Kaine to voice their opinions on legislation, access a number of constituent services and seek assistance as they resolve issues with federal agencies. “This easy-to-use website will allow Virginians to share opinions with me …

(Be the first to comment)

The Republican Ticket for November Is In – Democratic Primary June 11

blueridge2

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli formally accepted the GOP nomination to be the gubernatorial candidate in Virginia’s November’s election. E.W. Jackson is the candidate for lieutenant governor – after four rounds of voting late Saturday (May 18) at the Republican party’s convention in Richmond, and Mark Obenshain is the candidate for …

(Be the first to comment)

Kaine Visits Business Communities in Northern Virginia

Kaine

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine visited the Eden Center in Falls Church today to meet with members of the Asian-American business community and discuss the ways immigration reform would have a positive impact in the region and throughout Virginia. Kaine, a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, noted that an improved legal …

(Be the first to comment)

Sports

FCA Power Surpasses Fundraising Goal

24 May 2013

Nats Park at the dugout

The FCA Power 13u, a western Loudoun based baseball team, surpassed their fundraising goal of $20,000 by raising an amazing $21,880 in support of Kyles Kamp and the Children’s National Medical Center. The Kyles Kamp tournament was started in 2010 after a local boy, Kyle Hahne, was diagnosed with leukemia. …

(Be the first to comment)

Lady Viking Laxers on Five Game Win Streak

1 May 2013

MAYA_HRTG2

By Mac Shuford The Loudoun Valley Lady Vikings Lacrosse team moved to 10-2 on the season with wins over John Champe (22-1) and Dominion (23-5) and three win earlier: Monday, April 15 over Potomac Falls (14-7), April 17 over Kettle Run (17-10), and April 18 over Briar Woods (16-7). The …

(Be the first to comment)

Letters

Town Intimidation

3 May 2013

speak

Dear Editor: I cannot stand by and allow Purcellville Mayor Bob Lazaro to disparage the good reputation of yet another resident of this town. Call …

(1 comment)

Choose Your Delegate Wisely – June 11

21 Apr 2013

speak

When Republicans consider who to cast a vote for in the June 11 primary, they should check the facts to make sure they are voting …

(1 comment)

Endorsement of Dave LaRock, 33rd District State Assembly

18 Apr 2013

Dave_larock

State Assemblyman Joe May’s latest campaign flyer calls on Republicans to vote for him because he is “a pro-life conservative standing up for our values.” …

(1 comment)

Tags

2012 Election... Aldie... Amy V. Smith... Andrea Gaines... Appalachian Trail... Ask Dr. Mike... Attorney General Cuccinelli... Autumn Hill... Behind the Scenes... Berklee College... Bill Druhan... Bluemont... Blue Ridge Middle School... Bob Lazaro... BRMS... Business... Campaigns... Carl Fischer... Catoctin Creek... Catoctin Creek Apartments... Chairman Scott York... Columns... Committees at a Glance... Crooked Run... Dave LaRock... Dave Williams... Dear Editor... Delegate Joe T. May... Development... Dine With Us - Hunt Country Gourmet... Donna Williamson... Down Syndrome Association... Dulles Greenway... Dulles Rail... Editorial... Environment... Equestrian... Events... Faith... Farm and garden... Fields of Athenry... Franklin Park... Franklin Park Arts... Frank Wolf... Furnace Mountain Band... George Allen... GLBR... Gold Cup... Good Shepherd Alliance... Gov. McDonnell... GSA... Hamilton... Hamilton Day... Hampden-Sydney College... Hannah James... Hill High Store... Hillsboro... Hunt Country Gourmet... Hurricane Sandy... James Madison University... Janet Clarke... Jim Burton... JMU... John Flannery... Joshua's Hands... Karen Jimmerson... Kelli Grim... Ladies Board of Inova Loudoun Hospital... Ladies Board Rummage Sale... Lansdowne... Latanger N. Gray... LCHS... LCSO... Leesburg... Lincoln... Lincoln Elementary School... LINK... Loudoun BOS... Loudoun Country Day School... Loudoun County... Loudoun County BOS... Loudoun County Fairgrounds... Loudoun County Fire and Rescue... Loudoun County Government Reform Commission... Loudoun Master Gardeners... Loudoun Youth Volleyball... Lovettsville... Lucketts... LVHS... Malcolm Baldwin... Mark Dewey... Mark Gunderman... Mark Nelis... Mary Baldwin College... Meredith McMath... Metro... Middleburg... Mitt Romney... Mosby Heritage Area Association... Music... MWAA... NoVa West Lacrosse... Oatlands... Old Dominion Valley... Opinion... Patrick Henry College... Police Blotter... Polka Dots... President Obama... Public Safety... PUGAMP... Purcellville... Purcellville First Friday... Purcellville Town Council... Question 1... Randolph_Macon Academy... Real estate... Rep. Frank Wolf... Round Hill... Schools... Sheriff Chapman... Southern Collector Road... Sports... St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church... Supervisor Delgaudio... sushi... Sushi's Corner... Sustainable Corner... Sustainable Loudoun... Tally Ho... Thomas Balch Library... Tim Jon... Tim Kaine... Tony Noerpel... Town Council... Transportation... ULLL... University of Mary Washington... Upperville... Veterans... View... View from the Ridge... Vineyards... Virginia Gardening... Waterford... Watermelon Park... Wild Loudoun... Woodgrove... Your Money

Archives

  • +2013
  • +2012
  • +2011
  • +2010
  • +2009