Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The goal is to make cleanups unnecessary.
There’s literally too much litter in Mount Vernon, say leaders of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizen Associations, and the county should adopt the Citizens’ Action Plan for Litter Prevention. At the initiative of the Council’s Environment and Recreation Committee, chaired by Elizabeth (Betsy) Martin, MVCCA is advocating a comprehensive strategy to combat litter and is asking the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to act. The key components of the anti-litter plan are these: In addition, MVCCA asks that the Board of Supervisors include in its 2013 legislative requests to the Virginia General Assembly additional measures: MVCCA passed a resolution in October 2011, maintaining that litter degrades property values, the environment and “…
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
What does the chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors look forward to in the new year?
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
As 2012 draws to a close, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova has shared with Patch her legislative priorities and goals for 2013. They have been published below. As an added bonus, she also included her New Year's resolutions. The adoption of the Fiscal Year 2014/2015 Budget begins in earnest in late February when County Executive Ed Long releases his Advertised Budget. We already know that Fairfax County is, and will be, affected by the current federal climate. Our income projections (flat to modest) coupled with expenses needed just to maintain our current levels of service result in a projected shortfall of approximately $170 million for FY2014. It is my goal, working with my colleagues and County staff, to adopt…
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Virginia officials doubt Fairfax County will get money for transportation projects in 2013 legislative session.
As officials sat down Tuesday to discuss priorities for the legislature’s fast-approaching 2013 session, the county’s widely publicized road funding woes—a $3 billion need for road projects and improvements over the next decade—took center stage. The county faces a $300 million per year funding shortfall for the next 10 years. But nobody is quite sure where the money will come from. And at Tuesday's joint meeting of county supervisors and representatives from the Virginia State Senate and General Assembly, tidings were grim. “I honestly don’t expect a transportation bill to pass this session,” Del. Vivian Watts (D-39th) said. The Commonwealth’s Secondary Road Program, from which the county used to get $29 million annually, is dry. The …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Facing hundreds of millions in deficits in Fiscal Year 2014, Fairfax County leaders try to plan around federal sequestration, unpredictable revenue.
As the leaders of Fairfax County and its school system sat together Tuesday to stare down upcoming fiscal years threatened by larger-than-normal deficits and the potential impact of sequestration, both groups agreed they would have to take a new approach in future budget cycles, one that relies less on what has been done in the past and more on multi-year budgeting and reprioritizing wants and needs — a "new way of doing business." "I think we have to look at things very differently and we have to be willing to take some risk on things we haven't done before," County Executive Ed Long said during a joint meeting Tuesday afternoon between the Board of Supervisors and Fairfax County School Board. Combined with the loss of $61 million in one-…
Friday, November 9, 2012
Alice Ferguson Foundation awards local environmental steward.
The Alice Ferguson Foundation (AFF) recognized Stratford Landing resident Elizabeth “Betsy” Martin as an environmental steward and litter prevention champion at the seventh annual Trash Summit in Silver Spring, Md., on Wednesday. “Elizabeth has partnered with us during the Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup for more than 10 years and last year she coordinated 10 sites along Little Hunting Creek,” said Lori Arguelles, AFF’s executive director. “Martin has engaged her community and raised awareness, building local stewardship efforts surrounding the litter problem. Though her cleanup efforts are extraordinary in themselves, what makes her a true champion is her continued work outside of cleanups.” Martin served on the advisory committee …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Officials’ and advocates’ choices rebuffed.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Board of Geographic Names has given four unnamed islands in the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve official names — Angel, Bird, Coconut and Dyke Island — rejecting suggestions from Rep. Jim Moran, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Friends of Dyke Marsh (FODM). They had requested that the islands be named Osprey, Marsh Wren, Kingbird and Cormorant Islands. The USGS Board accepted names recommended by the scientists who prepared the 2010 study documenting the severe erosion occurring in Dyke Marsh and entered the new names into the Geographic Names Information System, the official repository. Commenting on the decision, Congressman Moran said, "Dyke Marsh is one of Northern Virginia's treasured …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Fairfax County's Human Services Council has recommended $5 million in human services cost-saving measures.
Fairfax County officials have recommended approximately $5 million in reductions to services and personnel in an effort to fill holes in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board’s (CSB) FY2013 budget. The CSB, a county agency that coordinates and provides substance abuse treatment, mental health services and care for adults and children with intellectual disabilities, was faced with an $8 million budget shortfall in FY2012 and a $9.5 million shortfall for FY2013. But money from the upcoming FY2012 budget carryover process could close the CSB’s remaining $2.6 million shortfall for last year, and cover $3.5 million in personnel costs and fringe benefits for FY2013, shrinking this year’s shortfall to a still-substantial $6 million. …
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday.
The Fairfax County Equestrian Task Force will present its report on the county’s need for a full-time equestrian coordinator during the Tuesday meeting of the county’s Board of Supervisors. The task force hopes that a full-time coordinator will be able to help the county’s equestrian culture thrive and combat a trend that has seen at least 50 equine-related businesses close in the last 20 years. (Patch published a four-part series on the equestrian industry in Fairfax County earlier this year.) Some members of the equestrian community told Patch in February they had been disappointed with or unaware of the task force’s actions. They feared that a lack of outreach and poorly publicized meetings might lead to a missed opportunity for an …
Sunday, July 8, 2012
The Super Derecho, the Fourth of July and more news from the past week.
Here's a look at what happened in the past week across Fairfax County and what to look forward to in the week ahead. The Super Derecho Storm coverage dominated the news this past week, as thousands of Fairfax County residents waited out their power outage in the heat and dark. The derecho knocked out power to more than 1 million people in Virginia, Maryland and the District — the largest non-hurricane outage in Virginia’s history. Fairfax County officials are asking Verizon to investigate the failure of the 911 system in Fairfax and other jurisdictions. Here’s information on debris pick-up in Fairfax County. Locally, Hollin Hall businesses were without power for more than three days. Up in Reston, the community responded when they learned…
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Members approve plan to begin looking at campaign to stop speeding in residential areas.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is taking action against reckless county drivers—especially those who speed through residential neighborhoods. During its meeting Tuesday, the board unanimously approved Braddock District Supervisor John Cook’s motion to begin developing a campaign focused on safe, slower driving. "I have heard a high level of anxiety and concern from residents regarding unsafe driving through their neighborhoods," Cook said, adding that it was the No. 1 concern for residents highlighted in a survey conducted by the Braddock District Council. "Clearly, many of us in Fairfax lead very hectic, faced-paced lives where tight schedules are exacerbated by heavy traffic," he said. "However, that is not an excuse to drive …
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Greg Crider
9:14 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
A neighbor saw two teenagers (one pushing the other in a shopping cart) along Collingwood Road near Williamsburg Manor Neighborhood Park. The abandoned cart was found the next day, and I returned it to Michael's in Mount Vernon Plaza on Richmond Highway about 2 miles away. I recommend confronting the people taking shopping carts and/or call the police at the non-emergency number 703-691-2131. more ›