3 McLean Neighbors in the News: Student Athlete, CIA Director, AOL Founder

Three McLean neighbors made news in Monday's The Washington Post.

Austin Vasiliadis, Langley's standout athlete, was the subject of a wonderful story in the Post explaining how an injury led to a coaching job, a rare opportunity for a student player.

Vasiliadis, quarterback for the Langley Saxons, was injured during a game last fall, according to the Post. Football is his second love. Basketball owns his heart and he couldn't play with the injury.

Enter Langley basketball coach Travis Hess, who came up with a creative plan: Make Vasiliadis a student-coach, The Post recounts.

“He probably doesn’t even realize it,” said assistant coach Scott Newman in the Post story. “But he’s soaking up good things. He’s hearing what coaches think and what coaches talk about as they watch a game. That’s what point guards need. They need to think like a coach.”

It's a great story. Here's the link.

CIA Director David Petraeus. The Post excerpts a new semi-authorized biography of Petraeus as a war commander that will be released today.

All In The Education of General David Petraeus was written by  Paula Broadwell and Vernon Loeb. Broadwell is described by her publisher as a research associate at Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, West Point graduate, and U.S. Army veteran. Loeb is a Washington Post reporter.

The excerpt describes the June 21, 2011 White House meeting with the President, the Vice President, Defense Secretary, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the UN Representative and Petraeus on the timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Here's the link.

Steve Case, the founder of AOL, wrote an Op-Ed story that says despite gridlock across the Potomac "momentum is building behind a policy . . . jump-starting job creation by improving the environment for entrepreneurs to start companies and expand existing businesses."

A year ago, the White House announced Case would lead a panel of business executives who would encourage private investment in small, entrepreneurial start-ups, according to the New York Times.

Case writes about a series of bills now pending on Capitol Hill that would help small and growing entrepreneurs. "Republicans and Democrats must come together and pass these bills. This package of pro-entrepreneurship legislation would help lay the foundation for long-term economic growth and job creation," Case writes.

Case is chairman and chief executive of Revolution LLC, a venture capital firm specializing in investments in health, living and digital, resorts, and financial services sectors. He is also chairman of Startup America Partnership, public-private partnership formed by a White House initiative to "celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation."

Here is the link to the complete column.