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KLMNO POSTLOCAL Talk to us. Talk to newsmakers. Talk to each other. Join the conversation at postlocal.com Cat cuteness


Cheetah-doption in Front Royal T


PGirl: Congrats to Dr. Crosier and her team for saving not only these two cubs, but for working toward saving this endangered species. THANK YOU!


D_E_V_O:Hope all goes well for the cubs and mother.Mammals are so appealing to us, but the vast majority of animals are not furry, cuddly mammals. The vast majority of animals don’t even have backbones.My point is that as sentient beings, we must behave as such.


larsp: “Cute” doesn’t do them justice.


coqui44: I don’t care what you say, but cheetahs are ugly. Now, wait a minute: That doesn’t mean I want them dead or anything. They are just ugly.


BeaverCleavage: The smaller and fluffier they are, the cuter.


jameon: Just goes to show, love doesn’t have to be biological, even with animals. Cute cubs.


Itzajob: Awwww!


CHEETAH CHAT Crosier took reader questionsWednesday during


a live chat on PostLocal.com.


Q: Did the mother immediately accept the foster, or did it take some time?


Crosier: Zazi immediately picked up the new addition and then put him right back down in her nest box. She started grooming him right away. Within one hour, she was nursing him and her own cub at the same time.


Q:How many cheetahs are in Front Royal, and how often do you breed them?


Crosier:We have a total of nine cheetahs here in Front Royal, including the two newcubs.We also have four cheetahs at theNational Zoo inD.C.


he two cheetah cubs recently born at the Smithsonian’s Northern Virginia research center are the sixth case of “cross-fostering” in North America since 1995, according to cheetah biologist Adrienne Crosier. Zazi, mother of a 2-week-old female cub, has adopted a 3-week-old male cub born to a mother named Amani.


JOHN KELLY'S WASHINGTON


Catching up with notable mentions in this year’s columns


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efore we say hello to 2011, I thought I’d revisit 2010, with updates on some of the people wemet inmy column this year.


Dawn the shopkeeper I wrote about Dawn Spencer in April, after


customers and fellow shopkeepers threw a fundraising party to keep Dawn fromlosing her greeting card store in the Colesville Center inMontgomery County. “I’mstill holding on,” Dawn toldme when I


visited her store, Patches, recently. “I’mnot caught up, but I’mnot where I used to be.” She said she received “tons” of letters after


my column appeared. “I got a lot ofmarriage proposals fromthat article,” she said. Dawn has declined the offers — including


the one fromtheman who wrote: “I’m70 years old, I’ve gotmoney.What do you have to lose?” She took a job driving a school bus tomake endsmeet and has two friends covering for her at Patches between her driving stints. She was touched by the outpouring of


support fromreaders, some of whomdrove fromas far away as Northern Virginia to shop at her store. “It just shows there are good people in the world,” Dawn said.


Esther the sculptor InMay, I wrote about “Guns Into


DAYNA SMITH FOR THE WASHINGTON POST


Afemale cheetah, one of two cubs born this month at the Smithsonian’s Front Royal facility, is weighed to ensure its viability. The cub’s mother has “adopted” a male cub born to another mother.


These are the first cubs produced here at the


Front Royal facility.We will be breeding our other adult females here in Front Royal in the spring.


6 From the roads


Toll rates at the main plaza on the Dulles Toll Road are scheduled to increase by 25 cents Saturday.


Toll increases toll for thee


The tolls will increase 25 cents Jan. 1 and again


by 25 cents Jan. 1, 2012. Beginning next month, the newrates at the main


toll plaza will be: lTwo axles: $1.25 l Three axles: $1.50 l Four axles: $1.75 l Five axles: $2 l Six axles or more: $2.25 The rates for the on- and offramps are not scheduled to change. Will this affect your commuter behavior? Will


you change routes or look for alternative means of transportation? (Or will nothing change?) E-mail us at transportation@washpost.com.


Just the facts


Historians have found dozens of errors since Virginia officials ordered a review of textbooks by Five Ponds Press, the publisher responsible for a controversial assertion that African American soldiers fought for the South in large numbers during the Civil War.


Textbook troubles in Virginia


dgra: Don’t kid yourselves. This problem goes far beyond Virginia and is not limited to typos and some deletions.


Daedulus: I have written a book: “Oh Yikes!History’sWorst History Books EverWritten.”


helloisanyoneoutthere: It’s always pretty easy to dump the blame of educating our children on the parents, especially when teachers are primarily being forced to teach students how to better take tests that determine whether they’re being successful.


svato: If the teacher has her or his class do the simple (date) corrections in the books by hand, the correct dates may stick in the students’ minds better. (Not a reason to stay with the uncorrected edition also next year.)


teicad01: This is beyond embarrassing for Virginia.


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Rubicon1: Errors in textbooks are a nonpartisan issue. It could


MORE COMMUTER NEWSAND INFO Visit washingtonpost.com/drgridlock.


Empty streets Today on


Got plans? Talk new year’s entertainment with the Going Out Gurus at 1 p.m. Visit washingtonpost.com/discussions.


Weather watch Get forecasts, data and the CapitalWeather Gang blog. Visit washingtonpost.com/weather.


Public safety Get the latest crime and courthouse news and send us tips. Visit washingtonpost.com/crime.


Tell us What do you think of this page and our local coverage? E-mail us at metro@washpost.com.


THE DAILY QUIZ


At which of the following theatres can PostPoints members enjoy a show and


also earn points? (Hint: Log in to your PostPoints account and click on PostPoints Spots for the answer.)


EARN 5 POINTS: Find the answer, then go to washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on “Quizzes” to enter the correct response.


The suggestion that nobody is a local in the Washington region really seems to irk many of those who have lived here their whole lives, writes Extraordinary Observations blogger Rob Pitingolo for The Post’s Local Blog Network.


Gone for the holidays? I understand their frustration, but still,


there’s at least some truth to the comment. One ofmy favorite things aboutWashington


and Arlington County is the vibrant street life. There always seemto be people around and something to do. Needless to say, when I was in the city on


Thanksgiving, it felt different.Walking toMetro was eerie, sidewalks were empty, and aside from a bus and a few taxicabs, the streets were bizarrely quiet.


POINTS EVENTS


History Buff? Platinum and Gold members can search the Post’s Archives for free! Platinum members receive 50 free historical archives searches per year. Gold members receive 25 free searches. To begin your search, log onto washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on The Washington Post Archives, listed under “Benefits.”


Over time, I’mconfident that this


phenomenon will change. Already, a few ofmy friends have started hosting their families and friends in the District over the holidays. And asmore people become established and


callWashington “home,” fewer are going to want to leave town during the holidays.


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CAN YOU RELATE? Share your thoughts and suggestions with us at


washingtonpost.com/localopinions. POINTS & REWARDS


Mattress Warehouse: Make a New Year’s resolution to rest well—find a new mattress at sleephappens.com.


Ritz Camera Centers: Start the New Year by saving big, during the blowout clearance sale at Ritz. See ritzcamera.com.


Rosenthalauto.com.: Shop here for grand opening specials, holiday sales and more. See rosenthalauto.com.


washingtonpost.com/postpoints


Not a PostPoints member yet? Log onto washingtonpost.com/postpoints for more information about this exciting free program.


be called a bipartisan issue.


post34: They should turn this into a teaching opportunity. Challenge the kids to find errors in the textbooks. The process of reading chapters, cataloguing the “facts” and then checking them against multiple sources would teach the children critical thinking and analysis skills . . . as well as the underlying subject matter.


Koko3:Well, good for Virginia for taking this matter seriously and working to remedy it.


genericrepub: I’ve found errors in just about every textbook I’ve ever read. I send a note to the publisher and usually receive a “thank you”—and it’s corrected in the next edition.


funfun881: College textbooks are full of errors and omissions, too. But then, so are stories in newspapers.


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MORE SCHOOLS COVERAGE Visit washingtonpost.com/education.


MORE LOCAL CONVERSATIONS every day on PostLocal.com.


Plowshares,” amassive sculpture created by Esther Augsburger fromold firearms. It once stood in front of D.C. police headquarters downtown but was exiled to Blue Plains in 2008. Esther wondered when a new home might be found for it. She’s still wondering, said her attorney,


Richard “Ric” Daniels. There has been no movement in efforts to put it back on display inWashington. Said Ric: “I have had conversations with the University ofMaryland about placing it there at as temporary home until we can locate a suitable public location in the District of Columbia. Esther would still like to see it there, since the handguns came from the District and the underlying problems with violence are still there.”


Lynn the fundraiser Lynn Gaubatz is the Falls Church bassoonist


who was named one of 10Women ofWorth by L’Oreal of Paris, earning $5,000 for local food charity So OthersMight Eat. Lynn was hoping enough people would cast their votes for her in L’Oreal’s online competition — an example of crowd-sourced charity — so that she could snag $25,000 for SOME. Lynn didn’t win. She wroteme in an e-mail:


“The people running the show said that this was the first year (of five) that the vote was really close, although they didn’t say who came in second. The winner was Taryn Davis, who started the AmericanWidow Project. “Still, because of this event SOME gets a


$5,000 donation and through your column a lot of attention.”


Dave the anvil guy Dave’s the guy who put up a sign looking


for an anvil. He’s interested in blacksmithing as a hobby. I received numerous leads on anvils, which I passed on to Dave. He checked out one very promising anvil, but “it was pretty heavy. I couldn’t get it out of his basement.” Dave was able to tote away an anvil that


another reader offered at a reasonable price. But that anvil is a little beat up, so Dave is still on the anvil hunt.


Beatrice’s drain Early this year I recounted the horrifying


tale of the hair-clogged drain in the bathroom my teenage daughter uses and how, in an inspired bit of parenting, I taught her how to snake it out. I would like to say Beatrice kept the drain clean in the ensuingmonths. She didn’t. But she did snake it herself the other day. That has to count as progress. Speaking of progress, please helpmemake


some. If you would like to take a 2010 tax deduction for your contribution to Children’s Hospital, please donate by Friday.We have a lot of ground to cover.With a week left in this year’s campaign we’re about halfway to our goal of $400,000. Butmost donations come in a flurry at the end. I hope yours will be among them. Your gift will be used to pay the bills of underinsured children. Please send a check ormoney order (payable


to Children’s Hospital) toWashington Post Campaign, P.O. Box 17390, Baltimore,Md. 21297-1390. To donate online with a credit card, go to www.washingtonpost.com/ childrenshospital or call 301-565-8501. kellyj@washpost.com


6


TO CATCH UP ON MORE OF JOHN’S COLUMNS and share your thoughts. Visit


washingtonpost.com/johnkelly.


A complete list of PostPoints Spots can be found at washingtonpost.com/postpoints.


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2010


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