Wednesday, May 15, 2013
City Council has many questions and little recourse when it comes to railroad company's request to expand operations.
Alexandria City Council members lamented Norfolk Southern's request to double the number of rail cars offloaded per day at its ethanol transloading facility in the West End at Tuesday night’s meeting at City Hall. Earlier this year, Norfolk Southern filed for a permit with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to increase offloading from the current 14 rail cars to 30 cars per day. Increased emissions under the plan mean Norfolk Southern needs an air quality permit to expand the scale of operations at the facility at 1000 S. Van Dorn St. Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday expressing its opposition to the issuance of a permit because of “increased air emissions” and requesting an informational meeting and separate …
Alexandria residents have until May 20 to register to participate in June 11 Democratic primary.
Residents of Alexandria must register to vote by May 20, 5 p.m. to participate in the June 11 Democratic primary for Virginia lieutenant governor and attorney general. Democrats Ralph Northam and Aneesh Chopra are seeking the nomination for lieutenant governor. Democrats Mark Herring and Justin Fairfax are seeking the nomination for attorney general. The primary ballot does not include the office of governor—Terry McAuliffe was the only Democratic candidate who filed, so he will be the Democratic Party nominee. Voter registration applications submitted by mail must be postmarked on or before May 20. The same deadline is in effect for Virginia voters who are registered, but have moved within the City of Alexandria, or within Virginia. Voter…
Beginning in May, residents will see more tree trimming along city streets.
For the next few months, City of Alexandria residents will see increased activity along many city streets associated with the implementation of the city’s Urban Forestry Master Plan. The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities is launching a proactive tree maintenance program to enhance its efforts to prune dead or broken limbs from trees, and to remove hazardous trees where necessary. Roadways covered by this work plan include King Street, Commonwealth Avenue, Mt. Vernon Avenue, U.S. Route 1, Washington Street and several thoroughfares in Warwick Village. Overhanging limbs and leaning trees along South Van Dorn Street and Timber Branch Parkway also will receive trimming. Watch the short video of tree trimming at Peyton and…
Monday, May 13, 2013
Mayor Bill Euille says there is a chance to fix an issue caused by a misunderstanding between city staff and council during the budget approval process.
Alexandria City Council eliminated the mechanism of set-aside funding for affordable housing and open space acquisition when it adopted its fiscal year 2014 budget last week in a move that is being chalked up to miscommunication between city staff and council. • See: Alexandria, Your Average Tax Bill Is Increasing $314 “If this was a misunderstanding or miscommunication, we still have a chance to go back and fix it,” Mayor Bill Euille said Friday. “We’ll have more conversations about this at Tuesday’s meeting.” The city takes a percentage of the real estate tax rate for both affordable housing and open space funds. Throughout budget work sessions, some councilmembers expressed a desire to move away from dedicated funding mechanisms, …
The city plans to create a Eisenhower West Small Area Plan, but it could be a long time coming.
Alexandria citizen activist Don Buch is happy to talk about the need for an Eisenhower West Small Area Plan—and his frustration with city government over its inaction on the West End neighborhood. That “neighborhood” is home to mainly commercial interests, including the Covanta Waste-to-Energy facility, Virginia Paving, Vulcan Materials and Norfolk Southern’s ethanol transloading facility. Warehouses take up much of the remaining space. The area does contain a few residential developments, including townhouses near the Van Dorn Street Metro station, Summers Grove and The Reserve at Eisenhower. But without a plan for the area, development comes in a piecemeal fashion, with few amenities for residents and visitors. “They’re saying, we would…
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Democratic gubernatorial candidate laid out platform at George Mason's Arlington campus.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe said on Thursday he would push to reform the state's Standards of Learning, or SOL, tests if he is elected in November. "The current, once-a-year, high-stakes, multiple-choice testing isn't working for students, parents or teachers," he told a crowd of more than 300 people at George Mason University's Arlington campus, to rousing applause. Under the current system, a fifth-grade teacher who raises a child from a first-grade reading level to a fourth-grade reading level is considered a failure, he said. Teachers who want to break up the test into smaller portions, or test at different levels based on student achievement should be encouraged, he said. McAuliffe also said he would establish a…
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Richmond representatives to discuss upcoming changes to state laws.
The Alexandria Democratic Committee will host a 2013 Legislative Review session with all five elected officials who represent Alexandria in the Virginia State Capitol at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, at George Washington Middle School on Mount Vernon Avenue. State Sens. Dick Saslaw, D-35th; George Barker, D-39th; and Adam Ebbin, D-30th; along with Dels. Charniele Herring, D-46th, and Rob Krupicka, D-45th, will discuss the 2013 session and upcoming changes to state laws. Attendees will also be given an opportunity “to talk to their elected officials about what’s important to them and the local community,” according to a press release. Saslaw is the leading Democrat in the senate, while Herring is the House Minority Whip. The event is scheduled…
Seven candidates are vying for the spot. With such a large pool, a frontrunner is hard to pick.
Seven Republican candidates are gunning to be nominated for lieutenant governor at the Virginia Republican Convention on May 17 and 18, and who will win is anybody’s guess. The candidates will have to appeal to the majority of a few thousand Republican Party activists at the Richmond Convention Center. “When you’re talking about any contest involving seven candidates, it’s like a hockey faceoff—who knows who’s going to end up with the puck?” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at University of Mary Washington. “You’re not really going to know who the nominee will be until you’re actually inside the hall, and even then it may not be clear.” Whoever is nominated will run against the winner of the June 11 Democratic primary…
Norfolk Southern is seeking a state permit to increase offloading from 14 to 30 rail cars per day at its Alexandria facility.
Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille said Tuesday he plans to do everything within his power to oppose Norfolk Southern's request to double the number of rail cars offloaded per day at its ethanol transfer facility near the Van Dorn Street Metro station. Norfolk Southern filed for a permit with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to increase offloading from the current 14 rail cars to 30 cars per day. Increased emissions under the plan mean Norfolk Southern will need an air quality permit to expand the scale of operations at the facility at 1000 S. Van Dorn St. Euille said he plans to bring a resolution before City Council next month opposing any expansion, then meet with Norfolk Southern and Virginia environmental officials to make …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The Virginia Republican Party will nominate its candidates during a convention in two weeks, and some experts have weighed in on the system.
When Virginia’s Republican Party made a last-minute decision to nominate candidates for the 2013 election in a convention instead of a primary, it prompted Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to withdraw his name from the race for governor. The move made Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s current attorney general, the GOP’s de facto nominee for governor. He's expected to be officially nominated during the Virginia Republican Convention on May 17 and 18 in Richmond. (See our guide to the convention right here.) See Also: Poll: Does the Virginia GOP Convention Represent True Democracy? Bolling said he dropped out of the race because he didn’t agree with the convention system, arguing that it made the nomination exlusionary. “Conventions are by their very nature …
Leslie Hagan
9:26 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Perhaps, as much as I hate the pollution and chance of a really terrible accident at the site, at least Council is getting a taste of how citizens who live in development zones in the City feel when they try to deal with Council, staff, or the Planning Commission. I guess it is too much to hope that Council might learn something here. more ›