Springfield Politics

Springfield Politics

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Fairfax County: New Year, New Superintendent for County Schools

Budget shortfall, equity and nondiscrimination storylines for 2017

“What does equity really mean,” Corbett Sanders continued. “We’re going to have some healthful discussions about it. Everything from early education on.” The budget will once again be a major storyline for the school system, as Hynes said the board is currently looking at about a $90 million shortfall for FY 2018.

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Fairfax: ‘Just Pause and Don’t Do It’

Residents debate University Drive extension

The City’s proposal to extend University Drive has sparked strong feelings in Fairfax residents. They spoke both for and against it at the Nov. 1 community outreach meeting and before the Nov. 8 City Council meeting. But most of the speakers during Tuesday night’s public hearing were firmly opposed.

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Fairfax: University Drive Decision Postponed

Council to mull community’s comments, get more information.

After 29 residents – the vast majority in opposition – spoke about it, the Council decided it needed more time to consider the community’s comments, see if a grid network in Northfax is really needed and obtain more information about its options.

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Fairfax: Three Council Members Are Vying for Mayor

Politics

Three members of the Fairfax City Council have tossed their hats in the ring to become the City’s next mayor. Vying in the Feb. 7, 2017 special election will be Council members Michael DeMarco, David Meyer and Ellie Schmidt.

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Clinton and Kaine Carry Virginia, Trump Seizes Key Battlegrounds

Comstock, Connolly, Beyer re-elected; meals tax voted down; bonds voted up.

MEALS TAX referendum would have allowed Fairfax County supervisors to enact up to a four percent tax on prepared foods and beverages.

Bulova: Vote Yes

A legally binding commitment 70 percent would go to Fairfax County Public Schools.

I was elected chairman in 2009, just as the Great Recession settled over this country like a stubborn storm cloud. The market value of property in Fairfax County plummeted, resulting in historic reductions in both residential and commercial tax revenues. At the same time, more people than ever turned to the county for assistance. Former County Executive Tony Griffin’s prediction, in the throes of the Recession years, that “this will be our new normal” has proven prescient.

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Debating Pro & Con on Meals Tax

League of Women Voters hosts forum on Meals Tax issue.

The League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area sponsored a debate-style panel discussion on the Meals Tax issue which will go before county voters in the Nov. 8 General Election.

Interfaith Partners for Justice Address Needs of Returning Citizens

Interfaith Partners for Justice (IPJ), a cooperative effort of members of ten Northern Virginia faith communities, invites returning citizens (ex-offenders), people of faith and justice advocates to come together for a come-when-you-can afternoon of opportunities for voter registration and photo IDs, as well as a series of workshops, advocacy tables and conversations on the needs of returning citizens (often less hopefully and permanently called “ex-offenders”) on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, 2 to 5 p.m. at Lake Anne Community Center, 1609 A Washington Plaza in Reston.

‘Sextortion’ Victims Are Mostly Men

Photos, video used to demand money from victims.

Detectives of the Major Crimes Division of Fairfax County Police report a trend in an unsavory type of financial scam. Sexual extortion scams, commonly referred to as “sextortion,” involve meeting someone the victim believes is a real person online who coaxes him or her into feeling a sense of connection and intimacy, and then sending risque photos or video.

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First Lady Comes to GMU, Campaigns for Clinton

Speaks on Hillary Clintons 'lifelong record of public service.'

Excitement filled the air when First Lady Michelle Obama addressed an enthusiastic crowd, last Friday, Sept. 16, at GMU’s Johnson Center. Speaking on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, she urged everyone to vote and called Clinton the only qualified candidate in the race.

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One Step To ‘One Fairfax’

Agreeing on a policy to create opportunity for all.

Jeff McKay didn’t mince words when discussing racial, social and economic inequity in Fairfax County.

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Senator Kaine Hosts Interfaith Forum

Senator Tim Kaine spends last day before VP pick showing why Virginia matters.

No one knew it at the time, but Sen. Timothy M. Kaine’s (D-Va.) public appearances moderating roundtables in Northern Virginia last Thursday, July 21 would be his last day of relative political anonymity before being catapulted to political prominence 24 hours later as Hillary Clinton’s pick for her Vice-Presidential running mate.

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Burke and Springfield: McAuliffe Signs High School Curriculum Bill Into Law

On Monday, June 13, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn’s (D-41) bill, HB 659 in the State Capitol in Richmond. HB 659 will require high-school family-life curricula to include awareness, understanding and prevention of dating violence, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and sexual violence.

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Burke and Springfield: Saving ABLE Savings Accounts

Governor McAuliffe signs Del. Eileen Filler-Corn’s Bill exempting ABLE Savings Accounts from means testing.

Summer STEM Academy at NOVA

High school juniors and seniors are invited to apply for a weeklong summer STEM academy at Northern Virginia Community College. Selected students will unravel a forensics mystery by conducting various STEM experiments in a college setting.