Author of 'Rachel in the World' in Loudoun

If you or someone you know has a developmentally disabled child, this author is a must-read. In her first memoir, “Loving Rachel,” Jane Bernstein wrote about her first four years raising her daughter, Rachel, and the challenges of coping with and accepting her disabilities.

In her follow-up memoir, “Rachel in the World,” Bernstein chronicles Rachel’s life from age 5 to 22, covering topics and challenges that every parent of a child with disabilities will most surely face -- working with social services, the school system, caregivers and the difficult task of finding housing for your child once he or she is an adult.

Bernstein will be at the Cascades Library at 2 p.m. Sunday.

What’s the Hold-Up?

Tammi Marcoullier, the original blogger of Living In LoCo, has called me a couple of times during the last two weeks complaining about traffic back-ups at the 28 North toll-road exit. “It’s 4:30 p.m. -- pre-rush hour -- and the cars trying to exit here are already backed up to the Herndon exit,” she said.

The real frustration, Marcoullier said, is that blackmailed feeling one gets whilst deciding whether to go ahead and pay that $3 to drive the Greenway traffic-free.

The culprit of the traffic delay? Not an accident or an arrest, but state troopers standing by the tollbooths checking for "non-compliance" (police talk for toll-shirkers).

First Sergeant Blankenship with the Virginia State Police told me that the 28 North exit has one of the highest rates of non-compliance on Rt. 267, and occasionally they’ll get a request to monitor the site. He said officers are usually out there a couple times a month, but he hasn’t had any complaints of traffic hold-ups. “Anytime there is a car parked off the road (like a police car), cars will slow down,” he said.

Blankenship said he’d look into the issue, and if the troopers were indeed impairing traffic, he said the department would consider adjusting the times they’re out monitoring the site.

Broadlands "Wildly" Celebrates a New Honor

On Saturday, the National Wildlife Federation will name Broadlands an official Community Wildlife Habitat -- the 25th designation in the United States.

Broadlands will thus join its Loudoun neighbor, South Riding, with the honor it received in 2004.

The public is welcomed to attend the celebration, which will include nature exhibits, workshops and a performance by Eagle Ridge Middle School’s jazz band. I hear there will also be give-aways from Harris Teeter and door-prizes featuring Home Depot’s eco-friendly product line.

When? 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Broadlands Nature Center on Claiborne Parkway.

For information on how to get your neighborhood certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat, click here.