River Farm Update #4 - Grassroots Group Forms, Gov Northam Weighs In & AG's Investigating

Here is the latest status update on River Farm. We have continued to have meetings among our stakeholder group working out a strategy to maximize the potential that River Farm will remain in public ownership. Here is what's going on. 

Grassroots Group Organized 

The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) has generously agreed to organize and lead a grassroots effort called Save River Farm to build support and raise private funds to support the purchase of River Farm by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA). 

The new website is here - Save River Farm Website 

If you care about saving River Farm, it is important that you do two things right now: 

 #1 - Sign up for email updates from the new group: 

 EMAIL SIGN UP HERE 

 #2 - Donate funds to help build private support. 80% of funds will be used for land acquisition, 10% for public advocacy, and 10% for administration. Donations are 100% tax deductible. 

DONATE HERE 

 

River Farm Update

Last week, I met with Supervisor Dan Storck, Senator Adam Ebbin, Delegate Paul Krizek, representatives from the offices of Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Congressman Don Beyer, and the Fairfax County, the National Park Service (NPS), and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authorities (NVRPA), and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association (MVLA). The purpose was to discuss a strategy to preserve River Farm.

The NPS owns a conservation easement on the front two acres of the property closest to East Boulevard Drive.  The American Horticultural Society (AHS) donated a conservation easement of seven acres along the river to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.  The remainder of the property appears to be unencumbered.  We have not been able to determine whether Ms. Haupt's gift to AHS contained a condition to keep the property open to the public, but if she did, such a restriction was not recorded in land records.

Thoughts On Changes to the GW Parkway

Due to last week's fatal collision, there has been renewed discussion in safety on the George Washington Parkway (GWP) in the last week.

Delegate Paul Krizek and I have been working with Congressman Don Beyer to do something about this for some time. 

Michael K. Bohn, "Parkrway Problems Will Get Worse," Mt. Vernon Gazette (May 24, 2017)

Two years ago, the National Park Service stated they intended to conduct a traffic safety study.  That has not occurred yet.

In the meantime, as we move forward with a discussion about dealing with safety deficiencies on the road, we have been hearing lots of ideas about how to reconfigure the road including major changes to intersections, lanes, or stoplights.

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.

Mount Vernon Library Opening

One of the reasons it is an honor to represent the 44th District is that I get to represent part of the Mount Vernon Estate - the home of George Washington. 

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate to have been invited to attend the opening of the new $110 million Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon.

In the last few years of his life, General George Washington expressed interest in building a library to house his books and letters.  He never got around to building it.  About 217 years later, he finally got his library.

Below are my three favorite speeches from the opening.  The prominent historian, David McCullough,  really makes you think. My favorite quote:

When we choose leaders, we should always take a careful look at how they've handled failure.  Because failure is part of life.  Failure is part of history.  It's those people who lapse into self-pity and blaming others, but get back up keep the faith and keep going.  And [George Washington is] the prime example of that.

I need to remember that one.  He goes on to talk about the importance of honor. 

Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tim Kaine really make you think about this government shutdown which was about three days away when this event took place.

You can see all of the speeches and pictures from the entire ceremony here:

Mount Vernon Library Opening Ceremonies

Video Tour of New Mt. Vernon Library

The Mt. Vernon Estate is preparing to open the new Fred W. Smith National Libary for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon on September 27, 2013. 

The library is dedicated to holding George Washington's papers and spreading the word about his principles of leadership.  The Estate has raised over $100 million to support the construction of the library and acquisition of works. 

You can take a video tour of the new facility before it opens here. 

Video Tour of New Mt. Vernon Library

You can also read more information about the project here:

Fred W. Smith National Library at Mt. Vernon Information

This is going to be an amazing asset for the 44th District and I am excited to see the construction coming to completion. 

General Washington's Whiskey is Back!

Last year, I wrote about the Mt. Vernon Estate's newest round of whiskey production.  You can read more about it here: 

The Dixie Pig: Rye Back of Sale At Mt. Vernon (Dec. 1, 2010)

I wrote about the history of General Washington's whiskey production and the legislative hurdles that were cleared to make it possible.  Senator Toddy Puller was a big part of making it happen. 

Last month, the Mount Vernon Estate sold their newest batch of rye whiskey made from General Washington's recipe (in the left picture, pictured on the left side, click to enlarge).  The newest batch was aged which is why it is brown in color.  However, General Washington did not age his rye - the stuff he produced was clear (in the bottle on the right).

The bottle on the right (the clear whiskey) costs $99/ea.  The newest aged batch runs $185/ea.  I bought several of each.  Apparently, among liquor afficiondos, they are a very in-demand curiosity.  They actually hand-number each batch so you can prove their authenticity.  The picture on the left side of the page shows the numbering. 

I'm not really much of a liquor drinker, so I can't really comment on how they taste.  I tried the first batch and I thought it tasted kind of "grassy" compared to what I'm used to - I think that's why they call it rye. 

As for my new bottles, I'm still trying to figure out when it's appropriate to drink something that costs about $20 per shot.  If you have any ideas, let me know.

Keep your eyes open for the next round.  Yet another part of our community that makes this area a unique place to live.

Virtual Tour of New Mt. Vernon Library

On April 14, the Mount Vernon Estate held a formal ground breaking for their new $30 million library that will be constructed in the forest between the Post Office and Mount Vernon Memorial Highway.

You can read some data points regarding the library here.

They have also posted this virtual tour of the new library which is pretty cool.