Saturday, May 19, 2012
You may think twice about telling your kid to stop doodling.
If you've ever wondered what Sharon Bulova, Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is scribbling under the microphone during those incredibly long public hearings, it turns out that she's a lifelong doodler. In addition to her duties as a public official for 25 years, Bulova has run more than a few pens dry by making cartoon likenesses of her colleagues. The drawings tell a sort of truth — from a certain point of view. Once you see them, you'll never mistake the mustache of U.S. Rep Gerry Connolly (D-11) for another, or the familiar dome of Mount Vernon Supervisor Gerry Hyland. "Since becoming Chairman, I don't draw and doodle as much as I used to," Bulova told Patch from her office in the Fairfax County Government Center. "I …
Friday, May 18, 2012
USTA grant helps Reston Association build courts sized for the smallest players.
Reston Association will formally open its six new kid-sized tennis courts on Saturday at 1 p.m. On hand for the ribbon cutting will be Reston founder Robert E. Simon (a longtime tennis fan), representatives from the United States Tennis Association and Slice,the mascot of the Washington Kastles tennis team. The courts replaces two regulation-sized tennis courts at North Shore Tennis. A $17,000 grant from the USTA helped to build the Quickstart courts, sized for children 10 and under. The North Shore 10 and Under Courts will feature bleachers for families and storage lockers. Currently, instructors carry all their equipment –including child-sized racquets, balls and a net to courts each time.
State Senator wraps up Richmond at McLean appearance.
Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, spoke to members of the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, recapping this year's tumultuous Virginia legislative session in which she "went viral." “It was a very unfortunate session in so many ways — divisive and rancorous. But I think things are getting better,” she told a breakfast gathering of about 25 business people at J. Gilbert's in downtown McLean. "It was so disappointing for so many reasons. I can imagine the public watching in horror and saying, 'They are turning into Congress,' " she said. The Virginia State Senate had prided itself for not being like gridlocked Congress, she said. Marcus Simon of Ekko Title, said, "It's great that she took time to tell us what happened …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate answered questions in appearance at AOL's Dulles office.
U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Kaine said the federal government should chip in for the Silver Line Phase 2 — but that the commonwealth also needs to pay a bigger share than the $150 million it has promised to ensure it gets built as scheduled. "What we are seeing in Washington is an anti-investment mentality," Kaine (D) told a group at AOL's Dulles headquarters Thursday. He said he worked with the Bush and Obama administrations to get $900 million for the first phase and the next phase has centered on who pays for it. "I believe it is a project of federal significance because it links Dulles with the most important capital city in the world," he said. "But when it comes to the state being a meaningful participant, Virginia has fallen short too. …
Follow along with our live blog.
Tim Kaine, a Democrat candidate for the open Virginia U.S. Senate seat, will appear at the AOL Dulles campus today at 1 p.m. to speak with Aol employees and other guests. Patch will be covering the event live and we invite you to join in on the conversation.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Supervisors received an update about the potential revenue generated by participating in Metro's Silver Line project.
A presentation about the potential fiscal impacts of Metro on Loudoun - if the Board of Supervisors agrees to participate in Phase 2 of the Silver Line project - clarified some questions, but also appeared to fuel arguments for those for and against participating. The presentation by Len Bogorad, the managing director of Charles Robert Lesser & Co., the company that conducted the fiscal impact study, showed that commercial developers would be drawn to the county with or without rail. However, he also said there would be lost opportunities without Metro because businesses would be drawn to rail stations to the east. Supervisor Suzanne Volpe (R-Algonkian) said the decision the board must make is huge. In an earlier meeting, someone called …
Goals include fostering community involvement, sustainability, checking funding priorities.
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Wednesday, May 16
During recent planning sessions, the Reston Association Board of Directors set strategic plan objectives for the next 12 months. The goals are consistent with the goals of the multi-year strategic plan for 2012-14, which were developed in February. * Strategic Area of Focus: CHANGE & OPPORTUNITY To promote the Essential Elements of Reston as standards for the development, redevelopment, and revitalization of our community. Board Selected Priority: Objective 3 ‐ By 2013, establish procedures that will ensure Reston Association’s interests are considered in redevelopment and revitalization of our community. Strategic Board Action: Devote focused time and resources to define optimal approaches to ensure Reston Association’s interests are …
Group takes a look at planned community and Fairfax County services.
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Wednesday, May 16
Representatives from the province of JeollaNam-Do, South Korea. visited Reston on Tuesday – this time to learn how the planned community delivers services to residents. Since Reston is not a town, Reston Association partners with Fairfax County to provide a full range of programs and services to the nearly 60,000 members of the community. Joining in the discussion were Reston Association president Ken Knueven and other RA representatives, as well as Fairfax County officials - Joe Mondoro, deputy director of management and budget; Heidi Merkel with the department of planning and zoning; Chris Leonard from the office of human services; and Goldie Harrison, legislative aide to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins. JeollaNam-Do …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Superintendent Jack Dale proposes eliminating compensation adjustments in favor of meeting five-year state requirement within the next year
Though Superintendent Jack Dale presented his recommendation for adjustments to Fairfax County Public Schools' $2.4 billion advertised budget at a work session Monday, some school board members said they weren't satisfied his proposed changes fully met their priorities or produced a budget that best met the needs of the system. Dale returned to the board after the system's $1.68 billion transfer from the county Board of Supervisors, an amount 4.5 percent higher than what schools received last year but still short of the 8.4 percent increase board members asked for when they moved forward the approved advertised budget. Despite the school board's approval of the advertised budget in February, Dale and School Board Chairwoman Janie Strauss…
Officials respond to Virginia transportation secretary calling legislators "idiots."
Connie Hartke
8:10 am on Saturday, May 19, 2012
These courts are great! more ›