River Farm Update - Attorney General Herring Weighs In

We continue meeting among our stakeholder group working out a strategy to maximize the potential that River Farm will remain in public ownership.  Here is what is going on.

You can watch the press conference with Attorney General Mark Herring, Supervisor Dan Storck and Delegate Paul Krizek here:

River Farm Press Conference With Attorney General Mark Herring

News Coverage About River Farm
Several media outlets covered Attorney General Herring's investigation of River Farm. Some of the top stories are highlighted below:

Weekly Column: Major Paving Operations Set to Start this Summer in 44th District

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of May 9, 2015.

Major Paving Operations Set to Start this Summer in 44^th District

As the weather warms and we approach the summer, it also means that we are approaching the road mowing and paving season in Northern Virginia, and good news is coming for the 44^th District.

From 1987 to 2013, the General Assembly refused to raise Virginia’s $0.17/gallon gas tax to even keep up with inflation.  As salaries, the cost of materials, and infrastructure needs all increased, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) had to prioritize funds for other critical maintenance needs.  As a result, grass mowing was massively limited, primary and interstate maintenance was prioritized and secondary road paving was limited.  Over 70% of secondary roads in Northern Virginia were rated to have substandard pavement quality (secondary roads are roads numbered over 600).

Over the last six years I have been in office, I have consistently received complaints about pavement quality – especially on major secondary arteries like Fort Hunt Road and Sherwood Hall Lane.

Newly Released - Mount Vernon History Revisited!

Waynewood resident Michael Bohn and former Patch Reporter Jessie Biele have come out with a new book that focuses on local history called, Mount Vernon - Revisited.

I picked up a copy a few weeks ago at the Village Hardware.  It's a good primer into the early 44th District and provides some perspective as to how we got to where we are today in the 44th District.

Over the past two decades, Mike has written several series in the Mount Vernon Gazette focused on the Mount Vernon Trolley, old prominent homes in the Mt. Vernon area, and old Mount Vernon schools.  I published a series of them on this blog:

The Dixie Pig: Local History Articles

My favorite pictures are the old shots of U.S. 1 before it was four-laned and straightened out in the 1930's.

It's a quick must read for anyone whose zip code is between 22306 and 22309!

The text of the press release from the publisher is below the fold.

Gum Springs Pride Circa 1966

The 44th District is home to Gum Springs - the oldest historically black neighborhood in Fairfax County tracing its roots back to its found Wes Ford - a freed slave of George Washington.

Gum Springs has endured many challenges through the years and often had to fight for its fair share of resources from the federal, state, and local government.  My grandparents were involved in many of these fights starting when they moved to Mt. Vernon in 1941.

The President of the New Gum Springs Civic Association has forwarded me a link to this fascinating movie made in Gum Springs nearly fifty years ago when Fairfax County was first beginning to confront the effects of desegregation in 1966.

It is a fascinating glimpse into Mt. Vernon's past including a great cameo from then-Mt. Vernon District Supervisor and future Eighth District Congressman Herb Harris.

44th District's Osprey Impress!

As the Potomac River continues to recover, raptors have begun to rebound including Osprey.

William Young and Ashley Bradford has done an amazing job documenting an Osprey family near Bellehaven Marina (just north of the 44th District, but frequented by many 44th District residents!).

You can find Osprey nests all over the 44th District along the Potomac River including Little Hunting Creek and Dogue Creek.  I've also seen Osprey nests on the softball field light poles at Walt Whitman Intermediate School and Mount Vernon High School.

It's only ironic that these nests include plastic bags (thank you AutoZone for helping our Osprey make their nests). What would these birds do without plastic bags?    They attempted to reproduce with plastic bags attached.

 Excellent videos and resources about a striking predator in our area.

2014 Paving Projects in 44th District

Last year, I raised an issue with the Virginia Department of Transportation about the lack of paving projects in the 44th District on some of the lists I was seeing.

This year, VDOT provided me with a map showing all paving projects in our part of the County.  I was glad to see a large increase in the number of projects.  If you have any questions or would like to suggest some roads that are in dire need, feel free to shoot me a note at scottsurovell@gmail.com.

2014 Paving Projects in the 44th District

2014 Repaving Projects in the 44th District

xxx

2014 Paving Project List
Street	Length
Sherwood Hall Ln	1.73
Fort Hunt Rd	1.488
Fort Hunt Rd	2.27
Paul Spring Rd	0.446
Bedford Ln	0.05
Stafford Rd	0.29
Rippon Rd	0.37
Drury Rd	0.12
Boswell Ave	0.304
Hollindale Rd	0.3
Whiteoaks Dr	0.66
Radcliffe Dr/Rollins Dr	0.37
Roanoke Dr	0.13
Duke Dr	0.39
Dartmouth Dr	0.24
Colgate Dr	0.32
Rollins Dr/Westgrove Blvd	0.76
Mary Baldwin Dr	0.35
University Dr/Canterbury Ln	0.25
Canterbury Ln	0.14
Davis St/Oberlin Dr	0.26
Smithway Dr	0.13
Westhampton Dr	0.17
Temple Ct	0.05
Memorial St	0.346
Groveton St	0.367
E Lee Ave	0.195
E Side Dr	0.273
Schelhorn Rd	0.47
Frances Dr	0.436
Elm Dr	0.03
Covertry Rd	0.29
Woodlawn Ln	0.07
Rebecca Dr	0.716
Stone Hedge Dr	0.15
Devonshire Rd	0.31
Glasgow Rd	0.13
Memorial Heights Dr	0.222
Marlan Dr	0.11
Ridgecrest Dr/Park Terrace Dr	1.73
Rita Ct	0.05
Davenport St	0.065
Brentwood Pl	0.087
Daphne Ln	0.08
Bluebill Ln	0.276
Hollindale Ct	0.04
Morningside Ln	0.452
Evening Ln	0.17
Earldale Ct	0.13
Midday Ln	0.61
Daybreak Ct	0.036
Custis St	0.32
Courtland Rd	0.57
Shannon Ct	0.05
Leric Ln	0.05
Lida Ct	0.05
Traies Ct	0.18
Jube Ct	0.09
Shiver Dr	0.66
Mason Hill Dr	0.84
Windmill Ln	0.08
Kimbro St	0.17
Maid Marian Ct	0.07
Saville Ct	0.05
Cheshire Ln	0.09
Delafield Pl	0.13

44th District Real Estate Data By Zip Code

The Washington Post has put up recent real estate data by zip code.  I thought it was interesting to see what's going on in the 44th District.

Unfortunately, the way the data is posted, it is very hard to compare it against the rest of the area or even Fairfax County.

Either way, here it is:

Zip	Sales	MSP	PperSF	MDOM	AvgSPtoOLP
22308	222	$614,250	$374	20	97.20%
22307	234	$470,000	$345	18	96.90%
22315	512	$434,700	$285	12	98.30%
22306	298	$387,000	$275	16	97.30%
22309	422	$360,000	$240	16	97.10%

KEY

Sales: Number of homes sold
MSP: Median sale price
PperSF: Price per square foot
MDOM: Median days on market (a measure of how long a home was on the market before it went under contract.)
AvgSPtoOLP: Average sale price to original list price
(a measure of how much a home sold above or below its original price)

You can get the full data here and the story about leading/trailing zip codes here.

Preliminary 2014 Constituent Survey Results!

Nearly 200 responses are in electronically with about 500 about to drop in from the mail.  Here are some of the preliminary results.  Click on the button below for your voice to be heard!

The 22308 and 22309 zip codes dominates the responses so far as usual:

• 32% live in 22309 (Mt. Vernon/Woodlawn/Janna Lee)
• 30% live in 22308 (Fort Hunt)
• 20% live in 22306 (Sherwood/Hybla Valley)
• 9% live in 22307 (Bellehaven/Hollin Hills)
• 2% in 22315 (Hayfield)
• 16% lives in other zip codes (22315, 22303, 22060, 22042)

Here's some results from prior surveys:

• 2013 Preliminary Survey Results
• 2010 Preliminary Survey Results

Find out preliminary results for this survey below the flip!    

The Retirement of Congressman Jim Moran

January 15, 2014

Statement of Delegate Scott Surovell on the Retirement of Congressman Jim Moran 

The retirement of Congressman Jim Moran is a huge loss to Virginia.  Congressman Moran has been a passionate advocate for improving the quality of life of Northern Virginians since his election in 1990 over Republican Congressman Stan Parris in what was then a swing congressional seat.

Many credited his 1990 election as turning on the emerging issue of women's reproductive rights.  Since that time, Congressman Moran has been a steadfast supporter of women's rights to make their own healthcare decisions and determine their own economic futures.  

Our federal workforce has no fiercer advocate.  Congressman Moran has been a solid bullwark against attempts to use federal workforce salaries as a piggy bank for other budget priorities and attempts to demonize federal workers who work every day to do the work of the United States of America.   

The Mt. Vernon Bike Trail, George Washington Memorial Parkway and Dyke Marsh are better places and will continue to be our community's crown jewels due to Congressman Moran's stewardship including a $25 million grant that Congressman Moran just secured to restore wetlands.  

Fort Belvoir and the U.S. 1 Corridor have lost a champion.  The $180 million grant Congressman Moran secured to improve U.S. 1 will start construction in a few months.  After the I-95 HOT Lanes, it will be the largest road construction project in Northern Virginia, will benefit millions of people for decades, facilitate access to Fort Belvoir, improve South County and Mount Vernon's quality of life, and create thousands of jobs for decades to come.   

Finally, Congressman Moran has also been a strong advocate for progressive values.  He truly understands the consequences of growing income disparities, the lack of investment in our social safety net, and the policy distortions further facilitated by Citizens United case.  Over the last twenty years, Congressman Moran has remained unbowed in his call for social justice.  

In his first term in 1991, Congressman Moran gave me one of my first jobs as a intern, and I have counted on him as a mentor and supporter of my own efforts since I first ran for office in 2009.  Above all I count on him as a friend.  

With Congressman Moran's retirement, Northern Virginia has lost one of its champions.  We will all miss him.  

Thank You 44th District!

On Tuesday, November 5, 18,387 of the 44th District's 80,000 residents participated in the 2013 Election.  Seventy-one percent of them chose to give me the honor of continuing to represent our community in Richmond.

Since I was first elected in 2009, the long-term improvement of the U.S. 1 Corridor has been my number one priority and it will continue to be. The extension of the Yellow Line is the long-term solution to redevelopment on U.S. 1.

The U.S. 1 Corridor is projected to add 40,000 new residents and 17,000 new jobs in the next 30 years. We need to lay the groundwork for moving those people now.

44th District Demographic Dot Map

44th District Demographic Dot Map

The Stat Chat Blog by Weldon-Cooper Center at UVA continues to be one of my favorite blogs because they are doing really incredible things to visualize math.

Their latest creation is map which puts a dot for each person on a map colored by their race. I've zoomeded it in for the 44th District and thrown some rough boundaries over it for kicks.

It clearly highlights the differences in housing patterns in the 44th District. 

If you want to play with the entire country or Northern Virginia, you can access it here.

Weldon-Cooper Center Racial Dot Map

The Destruction of Liberty by Government-Owned Rec Centers

As Memorial Day approaches and our local pools open up for the weekend, we thought it was important to highlight Ken Cuccinelli's views on public recreation centers. 

I wrote about this and about the history of the Mt. Vernon Recreation Center last week here:

The Dixie Pig: Ice Rinks Become Political in 2013 (Apr. 14, 2013)

Today, I appeared at the free Fairfax County pool at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Gum Springs to highlight another "liberty-destroying" facility in our community with Democratic Chairwoman Charnielle Herring and Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay.  Our conference is below. 

Happy Memorial Day! 

Poverty in NOVA: Redefining Poverty in Virginia

The Weldon-Cooper's Stat Chat blog continues to be one of my favorites because they are constantly changing the way we look at numbers.  Their latest project - redefining Virginia poverty.

First, their new report points out that poverty is not something can be defined uniformly across all areas due to different variables - different costs of housing, transportation, healthcare, good, etc.  Existing poverty measures are built on consumption models from the 1960's.  People spend their money differently today.  For example, one big expense variable in Northern Virginia is be childcare - numerous studies have shown that the D.C. Metropolitan Area has the highest childcare costs in the United States. 

Therefore, they have defined poverty into something called the "Virginia Poverty Index" or "VPI."

Ice Rinks Become Political in 2013

The other day, I dropped my girls off at the Mt. Vernon Ice Skating Rink for the weekly Skate Night.  Skate Night is basically a bunch of 5th through 8th graders skating in circles with disco lights, music, and a bunch of parents huddled in the stands gossiping away.

I've been going to this rink and the Rec Center my entire life.  Skated there and played in the pool as a kid.  We did infant swimming lessons there with my girls.  My children have taken soccer classes and gymnastics at the Lee District Recreation Center.

One night, I noticed a plaque outside the entrance to the skating rink.  It said the following:

In 1978, the Fairfax County Park Authority opened the region's first public indoor ice skating rink significantly enhancing opportunities for healthful activities, competition and leisure time pursuits available to Fairfax County residents.  The Mount Vernon Ice Skating Rink would not have become a reality without the tireless support and effort of:
Warren I. Cikins
Mt. Vernon District Supervisor
1975-79

During the session, I read Ken Cuccinelli’s new book.  In the book, he wrote the following:

As a result of the unfair competition of the government-owned rec center, not only is the business person essentially prevented from doing business (his liberty—his opportunity to pursue happiness—curtailed), but the citizens are also harmed because everyone has to pay for the rec center through taxes, even if they never use it.  
                                                   - Ken Cuccinnelli, The Last Line of Defense, Page 241

This left me scratching my head.

Belleview Safeway Has Opened!

Back on January 6, I swung by the Belleview Shopping Center to grab a Subway sandwich and a 12-pack of beer on my way to the Redskins-Seahawks games.  I walked up to Safeway and then suddenly realized - it's closed.  You don't realize how important something is until it's not there.

The Belleview Safeway is a community institution and it's absence has been felt.  The Hollin Hall Safeway has been a mob scene for the last six months as it handled all of the overflow, but all that is coming to an end! 

The newly renovated and expanded 45,000 square foot store is OPEN!

Medicaid & The 44th Distict

Medicaid is the state's health care program for low income families, children, the disabled and the elderly.  I just received the 2013 "Medicaid at a Glance" report for the 44th District. 

Here's some interesting statistics about your community. 

Total Allowed Costs:  $39,574,482

Covered Population
11,402 people or about 14.1% of 44th District residents.

• 8,533 Children (75%)
• 866 Blind & Disabled (8%)
• 631 Adults (6%)
• 586 Pregnant Women (5%)
• 465 Aged (4%)
• 311 Other (3%)

Of this population, 105 people are disabled in home/community-based waiver programs.  47 are in nursing home facilities. 

Most Utilized Hospitals

• Inova Fairfax Hospital
• The Alexandria Hospital
• Virginia Hospital Center - Arlington
• Mt. Vernon Hospital
• Potomac Hospital Corporation

Most Utilized Nursing Facilities

• Manor Care of Alexandria, Virginia LLC
• Mount Vernon Nursing Center
• Woodbine Rehabilitation Health Center LLC
• Manor Care of Arlington, Virginia LLC
• Sleepy Hollow Manor

SURVEY SAYS!

The initial responses to my constituent survey are starting to come in and after 70 random responses generated  by my 8,000 piece mailing and newspaper column, here's some interesting trends:

• Transportation has overtaken improving the economy as one of people's Top 3 concerns (65% v. 57%)
• An overwhelming majority wants a Yellow Line Extension versus anything else:
• 64% Yellow Line Extension
• 12% Light Rail
• 9% Bus Rapid Transit
• 74% Oppose the $25 million Private School Tax Credits we enacted last year
• 74% Support paying more for renewable energy
• 80% Support No Excuse Absentee Voting for Seniors
• 65% Support Enhancing Medicaid Reimbursement for in home providers
• 84% Support Licensing for In-Home Health Care Providers
• 61% Support Incentives for Energy Efficient Vehicles
• Top Choices for Funding New Transportation Construction:
• 55% Support Raising the Gas Tax
• 49% Support Raising the Sales Tax for Transportatio
• 23% Support Using Public Private Partnerships
• Top Choice for Improving Schools was Lower Class Sizes
• 30% Lower Class Sizes
• 16% Higher Teacher Salaries
• 12% Better Preschool & Quality Childcare
• 12% More Funding to School Boards
• 4% Computers for Every Child 7th Grade and Up
• 50% Support Raising Taxes to Fund Higher Education:
• 20% Raise the Sales Tax
• 20% Other
• 17% Do Nothing
• 16% Reinstate the Estate Tax
• 14% Raise the Income Tax

Make your voice heard!  Fill out my constituent survey today! 

COMPLETE DELEGATE SUROVELL'S
CONSTITUENT SURVEY

Three Mt. Vernon Authors

One of these days, I'm going to get around to writing a book.  In the meantime, I can live vicariously through our neighbors!  Mt. Vernon has three authors in our midst - Marfe Delano, Chuck Santangelo and Steve Hayes.

First, one local author has written about a subject of local interest.  Marfe Ferguson Delano hails from my neighborhood of Tauxemont and has written several children's books.  Her latest book, Master George's People: George Washington, His Slaves, and His Revolutionary Transformation, is about George Washington's slaves and the process that led towards their emancipation at his death. 

General Washington's impact on our country cannot be underestimated although his views on slavery were never widely promoted.  He was one of a handful of Founding Fathers from the south who freed his slaves at his death.  Several started the communities of Gum Springs and Springbrook (the area where West Potomac High School stands) today. 

Maryland Goes for NOVA's Discretionary Income

There's an interesting article in today's Washington Post about Congresswoman Donna Edwards lone stance against the effort to bring casino gambling to National Harbor (Question 7).  I've always been impressed by her independence.  It got me thinking. 

I had to suffer through about 20 gambling industry sponsored ads for an against this while trying to watch Hurricane Sandy news tonight.  The money being spent is incredible - and it's because the stakes are high.

The problem is that the ads are completely disingenuous.  I don't think this fight is about keeping $500 million of Maryland's money in Maryland.  I think it's more about attracting Northern Virginia's discretionary spending into Maryland which is why they are going to park the casino a 10-minute car ride from my front door and just about everyone else with an Alexandria post office address just in time for the completion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

Weekly Column: Five Lessons from the Derecho of 2012

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, the Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch in the week of July 2, 2012

Five Lessons From The Derecho of 2012


The storm of June 29, 2012 will go down as one of the more memorable moments of Mother Nature in the Lee-Mount Vernon Area. I pulled into my drive way around 9:30 p.m. while listening to WTOP. There was no mention of a pending storm. Within an hour, the trees in my yard were wildly swinging around. After we lost power and my natural gas generator didn’t automatically come on, I ventured outside to turn it on manually and the battery exploded. Lesson #1 – Stay inside the house during a Derecho.

While everyone in the 44th District will probably not be fully restored by the time this newspaper is delivered, substantial progress has been made on restoration of service. If you continue to have difficulty getting service restored, please contact my office at 571.249.44TH(4484) and we will do our best to get you assistance.