Reston - The Connection Newspapers

Kaplan
Opinion
An Immortal Virginian
By Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
State Delegate (D-36)
Ask Virginians the name of
a native of the Commonwealth
who has had the
greatest impact on history, and you
are likely to get a variety of answers.
Few are likely to give the
name of the Virginian whom I believe
has had and will continue to
have the greatest influence on
human history:
Henrietta
Commentary
Lacks. Unfortunately
few
have heard of her, and her name
does not appear in many history
books. All that is changing with the
2010 publication of the book, The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,
by Rebecca Skloot.
Henrietta was born in 1920 in
Roanoke and grew up in Clover in
Southside Virginia. She moved to
Baltimore as an adult. She died at
age 31 of cancer. Her body was
returned to Clover and buried in
Letters to the Editor
From Page 6
county supervisor, Cathy
Hudgins, will stand for election in
the fall and right now, she runs unopposed.
Her re-election will give
her a mandate to continue planning
extraordinary changes to
Reston.
Significant numbers of our
neighborhoods will be considered
by the Task Force for redevelopment
in order to increase density
and county revenues. Reston Association
Board President
Kathleen Driscoll-McKee stated in
a letter to the Reston Patch that
no one will have to sell out unless
they choose to do so. She was misinformed.
Only 75 percent of
neighbors in a neighborhood have
to agree to a buy-out by a devel-
A Breath of
Fresh Air
To the Editor:
Contrary to Mr. Simon [“Disappointing,”
Reston Connection, July
13-19, 2011], I find Mr. Lovaas a
breath of fresh air. He brings conscious
thought to the table — germane
issues which apparently Mr.
Simon would prefer were not discussed.
1. “Density is community” is
ludicrous. Why not say a traffic
jam is community? The discussion
seems to get stuck on the effects
of increasing the Reston population
at the expense of traffic,
www.ConnectionNewspapers.com
an unmarked grave in
a family burial plot.
What Henrietta never
knew and her family
has only in recent years
found out is that when
she was being treated
for cervical cancer at
Johns Hopkins University
Hospital, small tissue
samples were removed
from her body.
Amazingly, the cells
from these samples did what scientists
had never seen before.
They could be kept alive and
grown. The cell line that was
started was named for its unwitting
donor “HeLa” and became the
first immortal cell line.
HeLa cells were used by Dr.
Jonas Salk to help develop a vaccine
for polio.
The cells have been used around
the world for research into cancer,
AIDS, effects of radiation and toxic
substances, gene mapping, human
sensitivity to many substances,
oper.
Right now 50 of our neighborhoods
are zoned high-density.
However, many were built at medium
density. Because of the zoning
a developer can offer to buy
out the neighborhood and redevelop
at the higher density “by
right.”
Should the Task Force recommend
to the Board of Supervisors
that the area zoned high density
be increased over what it is now,
many more than those 50 neighborhoods
will be available for potential
redevelopment.
The time to discuss the future
of Reston is now, before the election.
It is not too late for an independent
candidate to file to run
for the Hunter Mill seat on the
Board of Supervisors. I hope that
someone in Reston will have a dif-
schools and open space, things
which made Reston an oasis in an
area that has been rapidly overdeveloped.
2. Developers are primarily
interested in maximizing profits —
to assume otherwise is naïve. Why
should the community assume
that the developers’ sense of what
is “good” is in the community’s
best interest?
Write
and others too numerous
to mention
here. It is estimated
that scientists have
grown more than 20
tons of her cells.
More than 11,000
patents have been
granted involving
the cells. Henrietta
nor her family ever
received any compensation.
This week the Virginia
Department of Historic Resources
is erecting a roadside
marker near Clover to recognize
her important contribution to
medical science. I hope to attend
its unveiling.
I recommend reading Skloot’s
book. A documentary has been
produced, and more are likely to
follow. A humble African American
woman of very limited means
has had a profound effect on all
our lives. She may truly be the only
immortal Virginian.
ferent idea of what community is
than Bob Simon. I hope someone
will run as an independent.
I believe the connections between
people, families and friends
are what constitute community. I
hope that my family will be able
to continue living here until my
great-grandchildren are also
Restonians. We have come to love
this place. I hope my family will
not be driven out by the frenzy of
residential redevelopment being
contemplated by the county.
We need to have an open community
forum about the buy-out
of Reston’s clusters by developers
and the impact that will have on
our town. An election provides a
prime opportunity to begin that
discussion.
Kathy Kaplan
Reston
3. In the last analysis, privately
and publicly elected officials can
have their own political agendas,
which may or may not align with
those of their constituents. An informed
electorate is the key. That
is why Mr. Lovaas’ input on the issues
is a breath of fresh air.
Jennifer Fergus
Reston
The Connection welcomes views on any public issue.
The deadline for all material is noon Friday. Letters must be
signed. Include home address and home and business numbers.
Letters are routinely edited for libel, grammar, good taste and
factual errors. Send to:
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1606 King St., Alexandria VA 22314
Call: 703-778-9410. • By e-mail: mclean@connectionnewspapers.com
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Reston Connection ❖ July 27- August 2, 2011 ❖ 11