You may have heard that yesterday, Governor McDonnell declared a state of emergency throughout Virginia in anticipation of Hurricane Irene hitting the Commonwealth this weekend.
571-249-44TH
(571-249-4484)
You can also contact my office by email at scottsurovell@gmail.com. My office will be monitoring any outages and emergency response during the duration of the storm and it's aftermath.
If you have any other problems after the Hurricane also feel free to contact us. For example, the Bureau of Insurance can help facilitate the processing of insurance claims. We also have liasons with VDOT and Verizon. Please contact my office with any problems.
As always, please avoid unnecessary travel during inclement weather and be sure to check in with your neighbors who may have difficulty dealing with the effects of the storm.
Today, August 23, 2011 in primary day in Virginia. It is also the day for all independent candidates to file their papers to run and for all parties to declare their nominees not decided in a primary.
Invasive species are really starting to clog up right of ways and county land in our area. The last few times I've hiked through Paul Spring, it's been a mess. It was much clearer when I was a kid. Parts of the County's Paul Spring property along Fort Hunt Road is also cloaked with invasives. The George Washington Memorial Parkway is also getting especially bad (see picture at right) and with the Federal Government budget situation, it is not going to get any better.
In Fairfax County, Black and Hispanic households are disproportionately affected by poverty and 13.8% of Fairfax County residents are living at less than 200% of Federal Poverty Level ($44K/yr. for a family of four). Therefore, in the 44th District, that percentage is higher. This is easy to see if you simply look at it graphically below (click to enlarge).
This translates to a higher uninsured population. Eleven percent of Fairfax County's foreign born citizen population does not have health insurance and thirty six percent of our non-citizen foreign born population. Five percent of Fairfax County's native born population is uninsured.
In Fairfax County, Hispanic 8th-12th Graders reported feels of depression at rates 50 % higher than the rate of white children. Black children reported feelings of depression about 25% higher. Surprisingly, suicide rates among whites and blacks was double the rate for hispanics for individuals age 15-24.
Lastly, the survey has this chart regarding low birthweight clients by zipcode.
The bottom lines from the survey:
This year, both the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River took a step backwards. The Potomac backslid from a C to a D and the Chesapeake went to a C-. It was both systems first decline in four years. The Potomac grade reversed because of severe storms and high streamflows during the spring and early summer resulting in significant sediment deposits flowing into the creeks. Every single indicator declined. Poor water quality, ruins biotic indicators which resultingly hurts our fisheries.
All of this underscores the importance of getting Virginia's stormwater management under control. I have written before on this blog about the quality of Mount Vernon's steams.
The Dixie Pig, Plastic Bags & Mt. Vernon's Watersheds (Nov. 18, 2010)The Dixie Pig, Cleaning Up Quander Brook (May 9, 2010)
Quander Brook is biologically dead. One neighbor calls it a natural toilet bowl because of the stormwater that hits it during rain events. Paul Spring has fewer fish in it than I remember as a kid. Little Hunting Creek and Dogue Creek are full of trash and you can barely see inches below the water surface.
During our last session, I also argued against hiding pollution data during the session, but we created a Freedom of Information Act exemption for compliance data provided provided by polluters.
It's that time of year again - just as in previous years, the Commonwealth is sponsoring a sales tax holiday as parents and students begin to prepare for the start of another school year. The sales tax holiday will run this weekend, August 5-7.
The AHS is located just off the George Washington Memorial Parkway just past the stone bridge along the Potomac River on East Boulevard Drive. It's property was originally the headquarters for one of George Washington's five farms - the one he called River Farm. It's a great property and open to the public during business hours. It's also where I was married! A picture showing where the tree is on the property is on the right.
In the 2009 Session, I was sitting on the floor one day when my former colleague Delegate Sam Nixon from Chesterfield County stood up and described legislation designating a portion of U.S. 1 through Chesterfield County, Virginia as "Historic Route 1." As soon as I heard "Route 1," my ears perked up.
The following column appeared in the Mount Vernon Gazette, Mount Vernon Voice, and Patch.com on July 19, 2011: WMATA Considers Yellow Line Extension
There has been some talk in the papers lately about the Metro and the Yellow Line. This article is an update on some of the recent efforts by your state legislators.
First, a few months ago, multiple committees of Supervisor Hyland’s Visioning Task Force cited the extension of the Yellow Line from Huntington south towards Fort Belvoir as the number one economic development priority for our area. After the Washington Post reported that Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) was updating their Metro system map for the first time in 30 years, Senator Puller and I wrote to the WMATA Board asking that a Yellow Line extension be included in the new map. In response to our letter, Senator Puller and I met with WMATA staff here in Mt. Vernon to discuss the timeframe for extending the Yellow Line.
WMATA is currently in the process of revising their long-term plans. They are exploring extensions and expansions of existing metro lines, expanding bus service, trolleys, and bus rapid transit. Basically, everything is on the table as they try to plan for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area over the next forty years.
WMATA made clear that their next map will not reflect any new lines until the proposed lines have cleared environmental studies, are included in a regional plan, and have been officially added by the WMATA Board. That step has not even yet occurred for the Silver Line.
However, WMATA is considering an extension of the Yellow Line – along with Blue and Orange extensions as part of their long-term plan. WMATA staff provided us with a map showing the homes of people who currently use the Huntington Station parking lots. Users are stretched from Lorton and Springfield to Prince George’s County although probably seventy-five percent are located between Huntington Avenue and the Potomac River in my district. I have posted the map on my blog.
Staff also provided us planning documents contemplating proposed Yellow Line extension with stations at Penn Daw, Beacon Hill Road, Gum Springs, Pole Road, Woodlawn, Fort Belvoir, Telegraph Road, and Lorton. I have posted the map they gave us on my blog as well along with a Powerpoint presentation regarding their long term plan and other contemplated extensions of the Yellow, Blue, and Orange Lines.
WMATA is currently studying the economic, engineering, and funding feasibility of these extensions by looking at ridership, system impacts, and trip impacts. Currently, the Route 1 Corridor is not zoned for the density of 10-12 housing units per acre at station locations necessary to support a Metro Line extension – that will need to change if we want a Yellow Line Extension.
Additionally, WMATA has a $6 billion maintenance backlog that is their present capital priority. Plus, they also are looking at ridership impacts to the core of the system which will reach maximum capacity by 2025-2030without any expansion. WMATA is considering express trains, double tracks in the downtown core and/or above-ground street cars. They are also looking at facilitating cross-county traffic by circumferential rail so that mass transit from Anacostia to Mount Vernon to Tyson’s Corner would be more feasible.
Most importantly, WMATA made clear that a Yellow Line extension must be a local government priority before it will happen. We are not the only part of the Fairfax County who wants to extend Metro lines. Orange and Blue Line extensions would benefit other parts of Fairfax and Prince William Counties and they are already starting to organize with the support of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.
Moving forward, whoever is the most organized, has laid the most planning groundwork, has the most business and community support, and has the funding in place will get their line first. I am hopeful that our federal assets will put some federal funding on the table and move us up the list as compared with other extensions. However, a Yellow Line extension must be the number one priority for Fairfax County if it is going to happen before the Orange and Blue Lines.
The widening of U.S. 1 and extension of the Yellow Line is the most important way for us to bring revitalization, jobs, new retail, revitalized housing, and congestion relief to our area. Moving forward, I hope to be a leading advocate to make this possible along with Senator Puller along with Supervisors Hyland, McKay and Bulova.
If you have any questions, please send me email at scottsurovell@gmail.com. It is an honor to serve as your delegate.
