Weekly Column: Affordable Housing Must Be Part of U.S. 1’s Remake

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of April 15, 2018.

Affordable Housing Must Be Part of U.S. 1’s Remake 

U.S. 1’s revitalization, called Embark, is generating some legitimate questions about the future of affordable housing for current and future members of our community.  The first part of the Embark plan envisions building fourteen miles of bus rapid transit and extending the Yellow Line to Hybla Valley.  This is a long-overdue plan that can bring new life, opportunities and jobs to our area.

From the beginning, I have been concerned about Embark Route 1’s impact on affordable housing and have raised concerns in the planning meetings.  The South County Task Force led by Mary Paden recently convened a panel discussion on affordable housing after it was largely omitted from the Embark Route 1 recommendations.

Neabsco Creek Possible Shutdown

Neabsco Creek & Leesylvania State Park

Last month, the United States Coast Guard refused to place navigational buoys in Neabsco Creek after they determined that the creek had silted in to the point that it is not safe.  They went on to put up "Danger Shoaling" signs at the entrance to the creek.  The marinas served by the creek dispute those measurements and believe that the creek is still to navigate.

This will cause numerous problems:

• There are three marinas with 50 jobs that could be threatened - E.Z. Cruz Marina, Hamptons Landing Marina, and Pilot House Marina.
• There are 1,000 boats in slips in the three marinas served by the creek.
• The Prince William County Fire/Police response boat is housed there on a lift.  Moving the boat will cost taxpayers $120,000 for new docking facilities and if no lift is available, it will cost $18,000 per year in bottom paint and a reduction of 4 knots per hour in response time.
• Lost access to the only 24 hour gas dock in Prince William County
• Lost access to the boat sewage pumping out facility
• Lost tax revenues
• Put massive pressure on Leesylvania State Park which is already overwhelmed with users.

The Army Corps of Engineers last dredged the creek in 1998 but has not conducted further dredging due to budget limitations.  This is also a statewide problem all over the tidal Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Weekly Column: State Regulation Thwarted, Time for Local Action

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of April 2, 2018.

State Regulation Thwarted, Time for Local Action

The March for Life put a spotlight on the country’s and Virginia’s permissive firearms regulation culture.  The young people’s outburst of civic activism and the new efforts of others who have not been very politically active is inspiring. 

Historically, I have proudly supported reasonable, bipartisan measures to allow Sunday hunting, reduce fees and cut paperwork for concealed carry gun holders.  Unfortunately, sensible measures to prevent firearm violence have been at a stalemate in Virginia.  Until there is broader political change in Virginia, we must take some steps at the local level.

Currently, Virginia law allows local governments to ban loaded shotguns and rifles, including semi-automatic rifles like AR-15’s, on public highways.  Nineteen localities, including Alexandria and Loudoun and Fauquier Counties, have adopted this approach.  I can think of no reason anyone needs to carry a loaded AR-15 or a shotgun a Northern Virginia highway.

Weekly Column: Embark Ushers in a New Phase for U.S. 1

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of March 26, 2018.

Embark Ushers in a New Phase for U.S. 1

Last week, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Embark Route 1 comprehensive plan revision, a step that lays the groundwork for development over the next 30-40 years for the seven miles of U.S. 1 between the Huntington Metro Station and Fort Belvoir.  This plan, reflecting several years of community input, has significant implications for both Fairfax and Prince William Counties.

When I was elected to the House of Delegates in 2009, efforts to reach consensus for a Fairfax County, U.S. 1 road design had frozen during work on the U.S. 1 Centerline Study, issued by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in January, 2010 after a 15-year process.  Prince William County was planning a series of U.S. 1 redesigns while Fairfax County’s decision-making had stalled after disputes arose about incorporating transit into redesigns and right-of-way impacts.  Then-Congressman Jim Moran had secured $180 million to expand U.S. 1 to six lanes in Fort Belvoir, but that expansion would create a bottleneck at Jeff Todd Way.

Weekly Column: Successes in the State Legislature

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of March 12, 2018.

Successes in the State Legislature
Last week brought an end to the regular 2018 session of the General Assembly. Once again, I had some significant successes. The legislature sent 13 of my 61 bills to Governor Northam for his signature. Legislators continued 15 to 2019 for studies and referred several to agencies for administrative consideration.

While several of my budget amendments were included in the Senate budget, including the funding the first staff at brand new Widewater State Park in Stafford, we unfortunately adjourned without adopting a biennial budget due to the Senate Republican Caucus’s refusal to include Medicaid expansion into their budget. Budget discussions have completely stalled out and Governor Northam will call us into special session at some point in the next two months.

Spring 2018 Status of U.S. 1 Improvements

This morning, the "U.S. 1 Delegation" consisting of myself, Senator Ebbin, and Delegates Krizek and Sickles met with the project team with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation to talk about the status of the U.S. 1 widening and bus rapid transit in anticipation of our next public hearing.

First, Fairfax County's process to implement the state-funded U.S. 1 Multimodal Alternative Analysis Study will come to a conclusion when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will vote to approve the Comprehensive Plan changes developed as part of the EMBARK Richmond Highway Process on March 20, 2018.  This plan will lay the groundwork for the next thirty years in our community.  You can get more information here:

EMBARK Richmond Highway - Plan Amendment 2015-IV-MV1

The County is in the process of developing its application for federal transit funding under the New Starts Program to fund approximately fifty-percent of the cost of bus rapid transit (BRT) from Huntington Metro to Fort Belvoir.

Kingtowne/Beluah Corridor Monthly Column: 2018 Session Wrap Up

The following will appear in next month's Kingstonian Magazine and Beulah Corridor monthly magazine.

This year, I had a relatively successful session.  I passed 13-14 pieces of legislation including bills to lower fees for security freezes on credit reports, facilitate child testimony at abuse proceedings, provide juvenile court judges discretion to reduce charges if children rehabilitate, allow courts to withhold for spousal support, providing local government funds for commercial transit corridor utility undergrounding, and education children about the dangers of sexting. 

My bill to raise Virginia’s lowest-in-nation misdemeanor-felony threshold passed after putting the bill in for nine years.  Also, my bill to extend our coal ash study process for twelve months so we can clarify how many billions of dollars the coal ash remediation process will cost before choosing a method.

Weekly Column: Underground Utilities, Transportation Solutions Get Attention

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Mt. Vernon Voice, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of March 4, 2018.

Underground Utilities, Transportation Solutions Get Attention

The second to last week of the General Assembly session brought a conclusion to most committee work in the legislature, passage of several important bills and a fierce wind storm. 

On Friday, a powerful wind storm struck Virginia and inflicted millions of dollars in damage to people and property, far more harm than most people anticipated.    Many people lost electricity, some for several days.  According to Dominion Energy, it was the fifth worst power outage in company history after Hurricanes Isabel, Floyd, Irene and the 2012 Derecho. 

The mass destruction reaffirms my view that we need to invest in utility undergrounding immediately.  The newer developed parts of Northern Virginia where power lines are underground did not suffer outages and while undergrounding is expensive, the disruption of people’s lives has great value also.

Powerful Nor’Easter Moving Through 36th District (UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

A powerful wind storm is causing damage across Northern Virginia and the 36th District. 

Dominion reported that 224,000 customers were without power this morning.

Here are couple important tips, websites and numbers to keep you safe:

Weekly Column: Budget Overtime Likely, BYOB Legalized, and U.S. 1 Utilities

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Mt. Vernon Voice, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of February 6, 2018.

Budget Overtime Likely, BYOB Legalized, and U.S. 1 Utilities

Week Seven of the General Assembly brought some focus to the state’s budget situation and movement on a few important bills of the session.

On Tuesday we debated our respective budget amendments.  The budgets are separated by a massive revenue gulf due to Medicaid.  The House of Delegates’ budget included Medicaid Expansion with a work requirement.  The Senate Budget did not.

BYOB at Swimming Pool Legal After July 1, 2018

This week, we passed a bill that legalized activity that most of my constituents probably thought was legal.

Before homeowners' associations came into existence in the 1980's, neighbors banded together to form associations to purchase property to build recreational amenities such as pools and tennis courts.  We have many in the 36th District including the Little Hunting Park Club, Inc., Hollin Hills Pool, Hollin Meadows Swim and Tennis Club, Riverside Gardens Swim and Tennis Club, Hayfield Farm Swim Club, Mansion House Club, Inc., Virginia Hills Swim Club, and the Mount Vernon Park Association.

As a side note, one of these pools was the defendant in litigation that resulted in the desegregation of pools.  I wrote about it here:

The Dixie Pig: Black History Month & Mount Vernon's Paul Sullivan (Feb. 15, 2012)

I have been a member of the Mount Vernon Park Association since I was four-years old in 1975.  As an adult, we've often used their picnic facilities to cook out and drink a bottle of wine.  I was surprised when this year, I found out that was illegal!

Apparently, Virginia Law currently requires a private facility to obtain a banquet license every time someone wants to consume alcohol on their premises.  Delegate Rip Sullivan came to the rescue with HB 1520 which codifies an exception for personal consumption of alcoholic beverages at swim clubs.

The bill actually got a little bit of heat in committee and on the floor so I had to stand up and defend it.  You can watch the floor debate above.

I am proud that my constituents can now continue to drink alcohol at their swim clubs (subject to club rules) without fear of prosecution!

Weekly Column: 21 Bills Cross, Predatory Lending Restricted, and Coal Ash Progress

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Mt. Vernon Voice, and the Potomac and Stafford Locals in the week of February 6, 2018.

               Week Six of the General Assembly brought us to the midpoint of session, completion of work on all bills in our own chambers, and announcement of the proposed House and Senate budgets.

              Twenty-one of my bills “crossed over” to the House of Delegates including several this week.  First, my legislation continuing the moratorium on permitting the closure of coal ash ponds was continued for fourteen months so the legislature could have more time to gather information. 

Most other states have moved towards recycling coal ash into products such as bricks and concrete instead of burying it the ground for eternity.  Dominion has estimated that recycling will cost $4-8 billion but the recycling community contends that is greatly overstated.  My bill requires Dominion to seek specific recycling proposals from coal ash recyclers and to pass proposals along to the legislature so we can consider the actual cost of recycling next year.  It is important that we have correct information before we decide to make a decision that will pass along over a billion dollars of cost to electricity rate payers.