The View from Over Here
I love snow. So I should be happy, what with 14 inches of white stuff surrounding us. Unfortunately, the internet still brings me the local news and the intrepid delivery folks still get the newspapers to my gate. Too bad. I’m OK looking through Olympic news from Putin’s Place, but then I get to news from the Richmond swamp and the skullduggery at Reston Association, and it’s downhill… The Virginia General Assembly is half way through its legislating during the day, getting lobbyists’s checks at night session in Richmond. Dominion Power has likely gone to all electronic transfers of money to each and every legislator’s account. Later, many will also get executive suite tickets to a Redskins game of their choice, worth about $200 - $250 each. Business as usual in the swamp. On the legislative side, ironically, ethics was the first order of business—because of that terrible misunderstanding about Bob and Mo getting all those gifts and cash. Governor Terry McAuliffe proposed real reform for gifting legislators—strict limits, publicity and empowered oversight. The good ol’ boys and gals had a good laugh at that, then did it the “Virginia way”. “Reform” is even bipartisan—so nobody gets hurt and nothing really changes. The new law will limit gifts to $250 (thus accommodating Redskin tickets), disclosure (snicker) of family gifts, and an oversight body with no teeth. Ethical, the Virginia way! Then there’s a proposal to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance to about 400,000 uninsured Viginians--all paid for by the Feds, $20 billion over the next 10 years. The expansion would create a bunch of jobs, save rural hospitals, but Repubicans know it’s Obamacare and don’t believe in healthcare for common folk. Gov. McAuliffe wants it, too. But it just ain’t the Virginia way. Instead, let’s do something bipartisan we all agree on—like this $560 million write-off for Dominion nuclear investment! What’s good for Dominion is good for Virginia! Meanwhile, our Reston Association (RA) is at it again. Remember Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning (RELAC), the dilapidated chilled water air-conditioning monopoly to which just 343 homes remain bound by RA covenants? The system is hopelessly outdated and inadequate, yet the owners refuse to invest in bringing it near a conventional A/C standard. Now, the RA Board, guided by interested Board members, is poised to rubber stamp a punitive covenant amendment which effectively bars the medical exemptions to the monopoly’s poor excuse for modern A/C. Those with a special interest seek to bar homeowners from getting off the system, thus raising rates for those who through special circumstances benefit from the system. One provision in the amendment would permit only residents classified as “handicapped” by Federal law to seek even temporary exemption for limited supplemental conventional A/C which provides healthy, reliable cooling. Also, the homeowner with an exemption will be forced to continue to pay for RELAC A/C which is no longer being provided! And, for a homeowner who somehow succeeds to get an exemption, he/she will be issued a formal “Notice of (Covenants) Violation, NOV” in force for the period of the exemption. Etc! Homeowners from Washington Plaza, Hickory and Waterview Clusters who attended the RA planning meeting where this hitherto secret “clean draft” was revealed said they were shocked. They had been led to believe that the new draft would be written with residents’ participation. Now, Board leadership says they will approve this amendment of dubious legality at its March 27 Board meeting. This behind-closed-doors style is reminiscent, some say, of last year’s land swap through which the condo association in effect was given gratis one acre of RA upland hardwood trees, common land owned by the community. One hopes the upcoming RA Board election will result in a new direction for RA.
I really should be putting another log on the fire along with some newspaper and emails, and enjoying the winter wonderland view of the lake!
