Into the Budget Fray
Bulova highlights accomplishments, challenges in annual address.
Despite the lingering impact of an anemic economy, and the regional ripple effects of federal sequestration, Fairfax County residents will see some concrete signs of progress this year.
Imagining a Transformed Springfield
Executive Director of Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce shares her thoughts on 2014.
Last year may have been a big year for Springfield, but according to Nancy-jo Manney, the executive director of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, 2014 will be even better.
Garza Proposes $2.5 Billion Budget for FY 2015
Proposed Fairfax County public schools budget would cut 731 positions, increase class size.
At the Jan. 9 School Board Meeting, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza released the proposed budget of $2.5 billion for FY 2015. The budget proposal requires an additional $98.1 million, or 5.7 percent increase compared to FY 2014, from Fairfax County, which the school system says is due to uncontrollable factors such as enrollment growth, retirement rate increases and the structural deficit. The FY 2015 proposed budget is an increase of $59.4 million from last year’s approved budget.
From Late Night Comedy to Your Bedroom
Why the General Assembly matters more in Virginia than most states.
The Virginia General Assembly began its annual session last week on Jan. 8. The actions of the Virginia General Assembly matter more to localities than it would in many other states. In Virginia, localities have only the power specifically granted by the General Assembly, the Dillon rule. So, for example, Montgomery County and Prince Georges County in Maryland recently voted to increase the minimum wage in those localities. They didn’t need permission from Maryland General Assembly to do so. Arlington and Alexandria might be inclined to follow suit (the District government also voted to increase the minimum wage) but do not have that power.
Let Sun Shine on Virginia’s Financial Disclosure Laws
State legislators turn attention to ethics in wake of McDonnell gift scandal.
As members of the Virginia General Assembly convene for the first time since last February, legislators are stampeding to introduce ethics legislation in response to the gift scandal which engulfed then Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R). The revelations last spring about numerous undisclosed gifts and purported loans from businessman Jonnie Williams to McDonnell — including a $6,500 Rolex watch engraved to the "71st Governor of Virginia" and $35,000 in gifts and catering for his daughters’ weddings — shined a spotlight on Virginia’s porous financial disclosure laws.
Legislators Head to Richmond, Address Upcoming Session
Proposed bills and priorities include ethics reform and ABC Transformation.
As the General Assembly convenes on Jan. 8, several delegates from Fairfax County have written bills that tackle some of the issues they believe are important to Virginians. Del. Dave Albo (R-42) proposed a bill that would get rid of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s three person board and would replace them with five citizens with business experience who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state legislature. Members of the current three-person board make six-digit salaries and are appointed by the governor. Albo’s plan would make the position part time and would pay 50 dollars per day.
Supervisors Make Predictions for 2014
Q&A with Supervisors Pat Herrity (R- Springfield) and Jeffrey McKay (D-Lee).
Q: What were some successes of 2013? A: Transportation updates. The Fairfax County Parkway will have interstate level traffic in the next 10 years, if not already. We need to work on the long-term solution. I was able to get the Board of Supervisors to pass the requested corridor improvement study. We’ve got the study underway for the Pope’s Head Road interchange on the parkway, and those are both really big things. I also asked the Board to take a look at Braddock Road and changing it into a primary road.
Albo Looks at Year Back, Year Ahead
Q&A with Del. Dave Albo (R-42).
Q: What do you think was a major success of 2013? A: The transportation bill was not only the most important bill of 2013, but the second most important bill we’ve passed in my twenty years in the General Assembly. We found a solution that lets us keep 100 percent of our money.
Herrity’s Top Local Issues for 2014
Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) talks about what he believes will be the top issues this year in Fairfax County:
Delegates Make Predictions for 2014
Q&A with delegates David Bulova (D-37) and Eileen Filler-Corn (D-41).
Q: What were some successes in 2013? A: The big one from last year was transportation, and it would be great to keep that momentum going into 2014. I see 2014 as being a potentially very productive year and a way to differentiate Virginia from the federal government and the gridlock we are seeing up there.
Del. Filler-Corn Co-hosts Open Resources Forum
How to provide students new education resources at no charge.
On Dec. 2, Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn (D-41) co-hosted a forum with David Anderson, executive director for Higher Education, Association of American Publishers and Nada Dabbagh, professor and director of Division of Learning Technologies, George Mason University to discuss new technologies and affordable options for higher education textbooks. This forum brought together several important stakeholders involved with higher education and the development and usage of textbooks.
What More Could FBI Want?
Virginia leaders tout merits of Springfield site for FBI HQ relocation.
A high-ranking delegation of Virginia politicians gathered in Springfield Tuesday morning in a renewed effort to convince the Federal Bureau of Investigation to relocate its headquarters to a warehouse site in Springfield. The move in the high-stakes, highly competitive regional competition comes after site selection guidelines eliminated almost all other Northern Virginia locations.
New Approach to Mental Health
Reforms in wake of tragedy involving state senator's son.
Advocates for mental health services have been calling for improved services and increased funding for years, although the issue has been pushed aside year after year.
Every Tweet Counts
How Republican Brian Schoeneman earned wrath of his party by making sure every vote counted in county.
On the morning of Nov. 6, the day after the general election, it appeared that Republican Mark Obenshain had eked out a razor-thin victory over Democrat Mark Herring to become Virginia’s next Attorney General. Like most hotly-contested political battles, the close race generated even closer scrutiny.
Library’s Beta Plan: Dead on Arrival
Supervisors endorse Library Board’s recommendations to increase funding, discard beta plan.
"You can assume that the BETA Plan is dead. I will make that motion tomorrow." In her email to a concerned library patron the night before the Board of Supervisors Nov. 19 meeting, Chairman Sharon Bulova (D-at-large) put to rest speculation that the board would resuscitate the controversial beta plan aimed at streamlining the county’s library system.