At a meeting of Northern Virginia elected officials and transportation planners yesterday, McDonnell announced that VDOT will advertise some $1.1 billion in new construction and maintenance projects during the first six months of fiscal year 2011.
The spending will create 33,900 jobs and generate $2.83 billion in total economic activity, according to the governor’s office.
“It does not come anywhere near funding the transportation needs of the state,” Barbara Favola said, of the plan’s stated goal of helping to fill the $20 billion worth of unfunded transportation needs in Virginia.
“Four-hundred-fifty million dollars is nothing,” said Chris Zimmerman, referring to the estimated one-time revenues that selling state-run ABC stores and auctioning off liquor licenses could provide. He said that one estimate puts the additional amount needed for transportation in Northern Virginia at $500 million per year.
The protesters, many of whom were affiliated with the Laborers International Union of North America and Alexandria-based Tenants and Workers United, were noisy but peaceful. Their hour-long protest was watched closely by a dozen Arlington County police officers.
The demonstrators were protesting two recent actions that they say amounts to a “war and persecution of Virginia’s immigrants.” Last week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell barred the Department of Motor Vehicles from accepting “employment authorization documents,” commonly used by immigrants, as proof of legal residency. Then this week, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency revealed a change in policy that will put illegal immigrants charged with DUI on the fast track to deportation.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell will stop by Arlington on Wednesday to participate in a grand opening ceremony at the new offices of New Media Strategies in Rosslyn.
NMS recently moved into larger offices at 1100 Wilson Boulevard, and the governor will help CEO Pete Snyder formally dedicate the space. No word yet on whether Snyder will break out the jumbo ribbon-cutting scissors for the second time this month.
Englin, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, says the surplus is the result of borrowing $600 million from the state pension trust fund and forcing state retailers to pay their July sales taxes early. That’s in addition to the $4 billion in cuts to state services that was needed to plug Virginia’s budget deficit.
“Instead of trying to score political points by claiming a surplus that isn’t, leaders of both parties ought to level with citizens who see for themselves the decline in services and quality of life,” Englin said in a statement. “A balanced budget and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars requires money in to equal money out, without gimmicks that cook the books and risk our future finances.”
Woman Locked Inside Virginia Square-GMU Station — A 25-year-old woman said she felt “completely terrified” when she found herself alone locked inside the Virginia Square-GMU Metro station Tuesday night. Metro says the station manager, who is supposed to walk the length of the platform before locking up at night, will receive some “retraining,” Fox5 reports.
Planetarium Group Doesn’t Expect to Meet Fundraising Goals — The board president of the Friends of the Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium says the fundraising goals set by the school board are “unrealistic” and she doesn’t expect to be able to meet them. Alice Monet says she hopes that showing a large base of support will convince the board to keep the aging planetarium open. More from the Washington Post.
Happy Fourth of July Weekend! — Wondering where to watch fireworks in Arlington? The county has a handy national fireworks viewing guide just for you.
Metro Board Approves Virginia Funding Deal — During an emergency session, Metro’s board of directors approved a $300 million funding deal with Virginia, which had earlier threatened to withhold its funding unless the state received two seats on the Metro board. With the deal complete, Metro will be able to order more than 400 new, badly-needed rail cars to replace aging and trouble-prone 1000-series cars.
It’s July — After the hottest June on record in DC, we have finally reached the temperate month of July.
Virginia/WMATA Deal Imminent? — The Metro board of directors is holding an emergency phone meeting this morning to approve a last-minute funding deal with Virginia’s state government. Two weeks ago Gov. Bob McDonnell threatened to withhold $50 million in funding for the agency unless the state could get two seats on the Metro board. More from the Washington Examiner.
Is the Virginia prison system failing those with mental illnesses? Does the state need to reform its re-entry program? Those were among the topics of discussion Thursday night at a town hall meeting on prison reform, held by local Arlington delegates Adam Ebbin and Patrick Hope.
Helen Trainer of the Legal Aid Justice Center pointed to a story of an inmate who wasn’t allowed to self-medicate in his prison cell. Told to wait in the daily line at the clinic, he ultimately suffered numerous seizures and left the prison as a quadriplegic. Trainer believes the story is not an isolated incident and is indicative of the reform needed throughout the nation’s criminal justice system.
Veggie Garden at Central Library Feeding Those in Need — Did you know that Arlington Central Library now has its own vegetable garden? The garden’s first crop of leafy greens was harvested yesterday. All produce grown in the garden is being donated to the Arlington Food Assistance Center. UPDATE: We hear that Christie Vilsack, wife of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak, may visit the garden later this month.
Gov. McDonnell Wants a Say at Metro — Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is making a heavy-handed push for the state to get two seats on the Metro Board of Directors. If he’s successful the seats may be taken away from Arlington and other Northern Virginia locales. More from the Washington Post.
The Texas-based engineering firm Fluor and Australian toll road developer Transurban collectively donated $20,000 to Virginia’s GOP in May, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Neither company donated to Democrats in the most recent reporting period, according to VPAP records.
The money comes as Governor Robert McDonnell and state transportation officials are pushing to resurrect a plan to replace HOV lanes with High Occupancy Toll lanes on both highways. The lanes on I-95 would then be extended from Dumfries to Spotsylvania County to make a 56-mile toll road, which would compliment HOT lanes now being built on the Capital Beltway, between Springfield and Dulles Toll Road, by the same two companies.
