Jentleman Jim Jots

Fairfax, VA - students gathered outside of horizon Hall on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University in protest of Governor Youngkin's upcoming commencement speech. Signs with Governor Youngkin's face in a circle with a red slash through it waved high above a small crowd in between the Johnson Center Horizon Hall and the Fenwick Library. "Who keeps us safe," Julian Lee asked the crowd through a megaphone. "We keep us safe," was the rallying cry from students opposed to the university's invitation to the governor. This is not without contentious text. The university Brands itself on its diversity equity and inclusion. Governor Youngkin ran on a platform of removing accurate history curriculum from Virginia schools, and forcibly outing potentially closeted LGBTQIA+ grade school students. Culture wars enraptured Virginians during the last gubernatorial race; though, Youngkin has avoided the LGBTQ community at large when he throws his hat into the ring. ...

Alexandria, VA — He lives just blocks away from the Shirley Highway, and a hop skip, and a jump from the nearest community college, the highrise apartments reach out toward the sky like a forest of fat rectangular rectangle trees. At the main lobby entrance, a buzzer rings up to a room on the top floor, where Tony Hamin, steps into his private recording studio setup at home and becomes Spiralus of Just Gorilla.  Just Gorilla is an alternative hard rock band led by Hamin's original character Spiralus Kong, the stage name under which he drives his concept. Spiralus is a space-faring gorilla who left a war-torn home planet in search of peace. He stumbled across what he describes as “a perfect, blue gem,” which we call Earth.  His former home broke out into their own advanced ape society consisting of former test-subject animals. The civil wars and unrest led Spiralus to our homeworld, in spite of his turbulent past, as the prince of his old homeworld. “He wanted to find a new pla...

 By Jimmy Henderson Fairfax, VA—Late-comer candidate Catherine Read defeated Sang Yi in Fairfax to become the city’s first female to serve as mayor. Early and absentee votes favored Read by 9 to 14 percent. Yi won five precincts, closing Read’s lead until the eighth precinct tallies came in, solidifying her victory.  Late returns from eight of nine precincts reported in with a total of 4,757 votes for Read (50.45 percent) and 4,639 votes for Yi (49.19 percent), and 34 write-ins on election night.  The vote count reached a decision for the city with Read ahead by a margin of 1.26 percent and one precinct left to count. By then, Yi fell short of the range for a recount.  With all nine precincts now tallied, Read has defeated Yi by a margin of 1.48 percent, with 50.56 percent of the vote (4,793). Some of Read’s supporters questioned the integrity of a sample ballot issued that listed Yi on an independent card. On the other hand, Jacob Downs, a spokesperson for Yi’s cam...

by Jimmy Henderson Fairfax, VA—A last-minute entry by a new candidate has produced a real contest for Mayor in Fairfax City. Veteran City Councilman Sang Yi , will now face Catherine Read on November 8th. "If elected, we will make history as the City of Fairfax's first ever immigrant and person of color to serve as its mayor," Yi told Patch after his announcement. He served in uniform as a reserve for over 19 years and still serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve. He has served on Fairfax City Council for the past four years and represents the Republican party on the ballot. Yi has joined residents in a discussion of their preferences for the Old Lee Highway corridor. He also said he will balance the city's needs with ensuring residents are not taxed out of the city; as well as supporting all types of housing to “bolster residential neighborhoods.”  As the deadline for others to file for candidacy approached, it seemed he would be the first in the city...