Chef Oh Young Streets Market & Cafe 3108 Mt. Vernon Ave. Alexandria, VA 22305 571-431-6810 http://www.streetsmarketcafe.com by Chester Simpson When did you first become interested in cooking? Why did you decide to pursue a culinary career? I first became interested in the preparation of sushi when I was 18. My father grew up in Japan and I wanted to learn sushi because of the Japanese influence my father acquired there. I got a job in a sushi restaurant and the sushi chef – who was a good friend of mine – decided to teach me. I thought it would be a great learning experience to be able to prepare sushi, which originated in Japan. It would be a great skill to take me many places. Who have been the biggest inspirations for your career? My biggest inspiration for where I am today is and will always be my first boss and dear friend who taught me so well in sushi preparation. What dish on the menu are you most curious to see how it’s received? My biggest experiment on the current menu is our Ceviche. While Ceviche is a Latin American dish, I’ve added a Japanese twist. Citrus and chili spice and Seaweed salad with fresh Sashimi. I’m hoping everyone appreciates the cross cultures here. What do you do to ensure the quality of the food going out to customers is of a high quality? Sushi preparation is serious business. I can’t cut corners and I can’t ever “take chances” with freshness and technique. I order the freshest seafood and know every origin of each type of seafood. My entire staff is trained to inspect and adhere to all health codes when handling the sushi meats. Skill and pride guarantee beautiful sushi dishes every time. If any chef…
Summer Safety with Pets By Kimberly Gill & Sarah Liu The summer season is finally upon us! The curtain has closed on the blues of winter and the sun has taken center stage. The days have grown longer, warmer, and are filled with adventure. As we soak up the summer sun, there are a few considerations we can keep in mind to ensure that our pets also enjoy a happy and healthy summer season. When we think of the summer we think of the heat. As the summer sun intensifies, safely combatting the heat becomes a primary concern. Just as we find it necessary to seek relief from the summer heat, so too do our furry friends. The Humane Society provides several recommendations for keeping pets cool and comfortable as the temperature rises. First and foremost, make sure your pets always have access to fresh water and shade. Proper hydration is essential for maintaining a safe body temperature, especially during months with high temperatures. Pets should never be left in parked cars, as temperatures can quickly become dangerous, and they should always have access to shaded spaces with unobstructed airflow when spending time outdoors. High levels of humidity can make it very difficult for animals to cool themselves down, so it is important to be mindful of humidity levels and limit your pet’s exercise on particularly warm or humid days. It is important that we educate ourselves about the symptoms of heat-induced illness so we can effectively protect our pets. Common symptoms of heatstroke, as well as effective intervention strategies if your pet is overheating, can be found on the Humane Society’s website (http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/pets_safe_heat_wave.html). Another consideration for summer safety is protection from those pesky pests, which seems to endlessly multiply as the months heat up. Summer is the perfect time…
King Street Cats Adoption Calendar for July 2016 For details please see our Website: http://www.kingstreetcats.org Or contact us via email at: contact@kingstreetcats.org King Street Cats 25 Dove Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Every Saturday and Sunday from 1.30pm-4.30pm Pro Feed Bradlee Shopping Center, 3690 King St, Alexandria, VA 22302 Every Saturday and Sunday from 1pm-4pm Petco Unleashed 1101 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA 22202 Saturday, July 2 and Saturday July 16 and Sunday July 17 from 1pm-4pm Petco Unleashed 283 S. Van Dorn Street, Alexandria VA 22304 Saturday, July 30 The Dog Park 705 King Street, Alexandria, VA22314 Saturday, July 9 from 1pm-4pm King Street Cats is looking for foster homes! You provide the spare room and TLC and we can provide food, litter and all vetting. Please email for our Kitten Fostering FAQ at: contact@kingstreetcats.org
By Steve Chaconas Up for Sail! Boat ownership got much better 50 years ago when Richard Schwartz founded BoatUS with a vision for better representation, safety and providing quality services at competitive prices. Today the range of boats covered has grown, including bass boats, and critical boating issues have expanded. The impetus for starting the worlds’ largest boat owners association came when Schwartz launched on a friend’s new boat and was boarded by the Coast Guard. As his friend was cited for having faulty engine compartment ventilation, Schwartz learned manufacturers had no liability to build boats in compliance with government safety regulations. Finding no organization fighting for or representing boat owners, Princeton University and Yale Law graduate Schwartz set up the Boat Owners Association of the United States. In 1964, the BoatUS name was registered. In 1966 the BoatUS launch brought the official informative newsletter and with a goal of 100,000 members, 1000 signed up. The start was slow and challenging. Boat manufacturers didn’t accept what was good for boat owners as Schwartz took to Capitol Hill to inform legislators of the unfair burdens placed on new boat owners. In addition, insurance companies would also take exception as Schwartz began offering policies written in plain English, not gobbledygook forced on boaters. In the 70s, the BoatUS Consumer Protection Bureau bridged the gap between boaters and builders to facilitate dispute resolutions, including sharing recall information. The wheels, or propellers, really began to turn when President Nixon signed the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971, which Schwartz had a hand in writing, to provide the Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety the authority to regulate boat manufacturers to reduce recreational boating injuries and fatalities. The opening of the first official BoatUS retail store and headquarters was in 1977 in Alexandria. By 2003…
By Sarah Becker © 2016 “Alexander Hamilton spoke in paragraphs,” 36 year-old playwright, composer, and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda told 60-Minutes. Miranda’s Broadway musical Hamilton is New York’s hottest new show. Who-da thunk an 18th century politician of Hamilton’s type capable of drawing record-setting crowds? Former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, did not think him swell. Jefferson served as Secretary of State from 1790 until 1793. Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s 1804 dueling partner, serves as the show’s narrator. The hip-hop, rap-style musical starts: “How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence comma grow up to be a hero and a scholar?” The song My Shot is the show’s anthem. Hamilton, a transplanted New Yorker, was General George Washington’s aide de camp (1777); a Federalist and Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 until 1795. His is the threatened face of today’s $10 bill, or maybe not. The musical, which opened on Broadway in February 2015, generates $500 million in profit weekly. “After so long an experience of your public services, I am naturally led, at this moment of your departure [as Secretary of the Treasury]…to review them,” President Washington wrote in 1795. “In every relation, which you have borne to me, I have found that my confidence in your talents, exertions and integrity, has been well placed,” Washington said. “I more freely render this testimony of my approbation, because I speak from opportunities of information wch cannot deceive me, and which furnish satisfactory proof of your title to public regard.” Like Washington, critics and audiences give Hamilton rave reviews. “Alexander Hamilton, an illegitimate orphan from the Caribbean, was painfully aware of his lack of status; an outsider trying to fight his way into the inner…
By Nicole Flannigan Keeping up the Motivation Now that summer is in full swing and the days are getting hotter and longer it’s easier to find excuses not to exercise. For some people it’s an everyday battle just to get up and get to the gym, although I’m sure most of us find that once we walk through the door of the club it’s not all that bad. By the time the workout is done you feel like a different person than the one that rolled out of bed just over an hour ago. Whether it’s working out before the sun comes up or taking a 20 minute power walk to break up the busy work day here a few easy ways to keep up the good work this summer. Workout Early in the Morning- If you get up and go early you will increase your chances of getting in a good workout. At the beginning of the day we have the least amount of excuses for skipping a workout. If getting up early enough is the problem, try limiting your snooze to five minutes – this way you won’t fall back into a deep sleep. Once you get into a routine of getting up and out early it will get easier. Not to mention you will get to work feeling more focused and energized. Lift before you Run- instead of sitting on a cardio machine and sweating your calories away try doing a quick toning routine pre-cardio. Strength training is something that demands a little bit more attention and skill than running on an elliptical so it works best to do these exercises first. Finish strong and Increase your metabolism- after your toning routine, jump on the treadmill for a high intensity cardio workout to finish up. High…
HOW TO CONTROL OILY SKIN DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS By Kim Putens Oily skin combined with 100% humidity in Washington DC equals havoc. It doesn’t have to reach havoc stage if you follow these simple tips. Tip 1 – Keep oily skin balanced by washing right. Make sure to use the right type of face wash to break down oils but not dry it out. When we see a breakout, our first reaction is to reach for the benzyl peroxide and dry it out. While you may see instant gratification, the problem is your skin will have a complete breakout meltdown shortly thereafter. The reason is the over drying caused by the harsh response makes the skin produce more oils to compensate for the attempt to dry it out. Thus, the skin experiences more and worse breakouts. The best way to combat this is to use a cleanser with at least 2% salicylic acid. The salicylic acid will clean out the pores of the excess oil, but will not dry it out. Tip 2 – Lighten up on your night cream. No matter your skin type, the extreme humidity of summer makes it unnecessary to use heavy moisturizers. The general rule of thumb – if you use a cream in the winter, switch to a lotion. If you typically use a lotion, consider a hydrating serum. And, if your skin is extremely oily, you may not need a lotion at all. Tip 3 – Exfoliate and slough off dead skin cells and clean out pores. Using a physical exfoliation once a week will help to relieve the skin of dead cells and unclog pores. For even better results, follow the exfoliation with a mask. Clay masks are best – particularly during summer months – because the…
Financial Focus By Carl Trevison and Stephen Bearce Manage Your Finances as You Near Retirement As your target retirement date gets closer, what was once an abstract concept may now feel more like a reality. This life event can provoke different feelings for different people. While some might feel excited about the possibilities the non-working years might bring, others may be anxious and fearful. Regardless of your emotions, now is the time to stay focused on maximizing your retirement savings while also looking ahead to develop a retirement income plan that supports your vision of retirement. The following are some tips you may find helpful. ‘Catch up’ If you are age 50 or older, one way to help maximize your retirement savings is to take advantage of “catch up” contributions. The “catch up” contribution provision allows you to make additional contributions to your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan. If you’re unable to do this, try to contribute at least as much as the employer’s match – otherwise, you’re leaving money on the table. Open an IRA If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan or you’re self-employed, consider opening an IRA. Even if you already participate in a 401(k) or other plan at work, an IRA can help supplement those savings and help you gain access to a potentially wider range of investment options. Keep in mind you are still eligible to contribute to an IRA whether you contribute to an employer-sponsored plan or not. You can also make catch up contributions to an IRA if you are age 50 or older. Convert to a Roth IRA? An often overlooked retirement planning strategy is the Roth IRA conversion. A Roth IRA conversion occurs when you take savings in a Traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE…
The first day of summer was June 20th and the heat was upon us, so I decided that for this month’s road trip I would stay close to Alexandria with a few excursions a few more miles out. Interviewing John Kenneth Zwerling was a walk down memory lane (we are about the same age and have been in the D.C. area a long time). Sarah Becker writes about Alexander Hamilton, the man and Broadway play, while in the Caribbean Connection Jeff McCord relates to Hamilton’s early years in St. Croix, USVI. Douglas Coleman goes beyond Fort Ward in this month’s Civil Discourse. Doug Fabbioli talks about the value of collaboration in the wine industry as Frank Britt takes us on a tour and tasting at Horton Vineyards. Steve Chaconas remembers fifty years later the difference Boat U.S. has made to the safety of the boating world. I hope that you enjoy this issue of the Old Town Crier. It has been a nice ride these past 29 years. We have met a lot of cool people and have visited many fine destinations throughout our regional area. Happy July Fourth and let us not forget what our personal freedoms mean and our responsibility to uphold those freedoms.
John and Ruthie Caputo took a short side trip in to Old Town on their way home to Port Clinton, Ohio and picked up an Old Town Crier in the process. In the spirit of their journey, they took another side trip to the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia for this photo op!
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