Before we head off into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.

1. Metro Pushes Silver Line Expansion Deadline to September
2. Report: The ‘Uncivil War’ and the Battle for Reston’s Soul
3. Poll: Should FCPS Be Open Today?
4. New ‘Modern Gastropub’ to Replace American Tap Room in Reston Town Center
   
5. DEVELOPING: Suspicious Package Investigation at Spectrum Shopping Center

If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip.

Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.

Photo via Fairfax County

People across the U.S. are expected to hit record levels for traveling this holiday season.

According to AAA, 115.6 million people across the U.S. will travel between this Saturday and New Year’s Day — roughly 104 million will drive while around 7 million flying and 4 million taking trains, buses or cruise ships.

For the D.C. area, AAA forecasts the worst travel day will be Thursday (Dec. 26) between 4-6 p.m.

“For the 104.8 million Americans traveling by automobile, INRIX, in collaboration with AAA, predicts only marginal delays throughout the holiday week,” according to AAA.

Let us know if and how you plan to travel this holiday season.

This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.

In the oddities of the Virginia government calendar, the one-term limited governor spends the first two years of the term implementing a biennial budget proposed by the previous governor and passed by the General Assembly in the first two months of his term.

It is only after serving nearly two years that the governor has the opportunity to propose a budget reflecting the priorities on which he was elected. The governor then has two years to implement his budget before proposing a budget that will be implemented by his successor.

The complexities of changing the calendar are more than is likely to be undertaken at this time. Some like the system for it slows down the process of change for certainly the “Virginia Way” has never been to bring about any change too swiftly!

A fix that would take care of part of the snail pace of doing business in the Commonwealth would be to allow the governor to run for a successive term. I support such a change for it would allow the voters to decide if an individual should be granted a second term.

One area in which there is a need for haste in taking action is related to the environment and the role the state will take in reducing carbon emissions and responding to climate change and all of its ramifications.

Gov. Ralph Northam ran on a platform promising more protection for the environment. He and his staff worked busily on his new budget that was announced yesterday before this column was written. In the weeks leading up to his announcement, the governor held press conferences around the state on various parts of the budget including one on his environmental proposals.

The budget and legislative proposals he announced on environmental protection are the strongest ever proposed by a Virginia governor. He said of his proposals that “these significant investments in environmental protection, environmental justice, clean energy, and clean water will combat climate change and ensure we maintain our high quality of life here in Virginia.”

To reduce carbon pollution the governor recommends removing budget language added by the Republican legislature two years ago prohibiting Virginia from participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). He instead proposes legislation making Virginia a part of the regional effort to reduce carbon emissions by requiring the purchase of credits that through the marketplace will make fossil fuels more expensive than solar and wind sources of energy. The proposal is already being attacked as a “carbon tax.”

The governor’s proposals include $400 million for the Chesapeake Bay clean up that will keep that effort on track. Significant new investments in state agencies with environmental responsibilities will provide the staffing and resources for doing a more effective job in enforcing environmental regulations, improving public engagement, and ensuring environmental justice.

An investment of up to $40 million to upgrade the Portsmouth Marine Terminal will support the offshore wind supply chain and the development of offshore wind energy generating capacity to achieve 2,500 megawatts by 2026. Additional funding will also be provided for land conservation. This additional focus on the environment is sorely needed in Virginia.

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Public schools in Fairfax County are open today (Monday). But a lot of people on social media think they shouldn’t be.

With snow and icy rain last night and this morning, several counties, including Prince William and Loudoun, in the D.C. area have closed or delayed start times today for their public schools.

FCPS announced shortly before 5 a.m. on Twitter their schools would be open and start on time today. By 9 a.m. more than 4,000 tweets were using #closefcps and the hashtag was trending in the U.S. on Twitter.

As of 9 a.m. today, #closefcps is trending on Twitter with more than 4,000 tweets pic.twitter.com/72ivY045kT

— Catherine Douglas Moran (@c_douglasmoran) December 16, 2019

Reston Now spotted many memes, frustration about FCPS not closing and elation over the hashtag’s popularity among the #closefcps tweets.

Let us know what you think about FCPS staying open today.

Hat tip to Kalina Newman 

Before we head off into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.

1. American Tap Room in Reston Town Center May Close Later This Month
2. DEVELOPING: Family Evacuates Herndon Home After Fire
3. McDonald’s in Reston Expected to Reopen This Month
4. Market Celebrating German, Austrian Culture to Debut in Herndon
5. Op-Ed: Reston Association “Branding” or Conning?

If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip.

Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.

Photo by Ruben

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This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.

Taking down Confederate monuments is but one part of a continuing story in Virginia as the Commonwealth tries to come to grips with its racist history. The story is in no way a pretty one. Africans who were brought to the colony as enslaved people were kept in bondage with cruelty and repression. They were stripped of their names and given names that had no meaning to them. Slaves were for the most part not taught to read and their ability to congregate together was severely restricted. They were overlooked in the Declaration of Independence and considered only three-fifths of a person in the Constitution. When Virginia plantations no longer found their labor needed with the depletion of the soil in the state, slaves were sold into the deep South with their families being broken up. The Civil War brought emancipation, but repression of Black people continued with the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, lynching, and Jim Crow laws. It was not until the Civil Rights Act of 1965 that African Americans started to realize what equal protection of the laws really meant.

During this history the General Assembly of Virginia passed laws that make those of us interested in the state’s history hang our heads in shame at the racism they embodied. Earlier this year Governor Ralph Northam appointed The Commission to Examine Racial Equality in Virginia Law to take a look at the language and intent of legislative actions in The Acts of Assembly and the Code of Virginia. The interim report issued this past week was shocking to those of us who study this issue for its sheer volume as well as for the stark language it uncovered of racism in the laws. Take a look for yourself at Racial Inequity Report.

Passed as recently as 1956 was a law, part of Massive Resistance, that provided that “no child shall be required to enroll in or attend any school wherein both white and colored children are enrolled.” The Commission found that “Virginia policymakers engaged in deliberate and coordinated legislative strategies to deny equal educational opportunities to black students…” There are numerous examples of laws including the poll tax that were intended to keep black people from voting.

Though most of the laws identified by the Commission are outdated and have no legal effect, they remain in the law. The Interim Report states that “the Commission believes that such vestiges of Virginia’s segregationist past should no longer have official status.” Laws that have been found to be unconstitutional or otherwise been invalidated should be repealed to ensure that they “could not be revived with a change of law or interpretation by a different leadership or court.”

The Commission found that “white and nonwhite Virginians face starkly disparate outcomes in health, educational attainment, financial stability, and access to justice. Any assessment of their disparities must take into account Virginia’s haunting legacy of coordinated, intentional, and official acts of forced segregation and overt racism.” The past is for recording in history books and not in official laws of today. The General Assembly meeting in January must take the important step of wiping the slate clean!

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This is an op-ed submitted by Terry Maynard, co-chair of the Reston 20/20 committee. It does not reflect the opinions of Reston Now.

As reported by RestonNow, the Reston Association (RA) Board of Directors held a public information meeting on December 4 to provide a briefing on its “branding” initiative.  I, for one, wondered why our assessment fee-driven homeowners association (HOA) needed to have a brand or branding strategy given that we are a captive audience.  

Reviewing the video of the nearly two-hour meeting shows why:  RA doesn’t even know what “branding” is or, worse, it is intent on misrepresenting branding to its members.  

Branding is “the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design.”   Nothing presented to Restonians related to RA advertising or design.

Instead, what the Board and Restonians heard on December 4 was a list of expensive new program ideas.  In fact, the consultant laid out results for 24–yes, two dozen–new programs for the RA Board’s consideration using a flawed methodology.   Of course, the survey provided no context, financial estimates, or any other information. 

Among the proposals were:

• All-year weather-proof indoor swimming pools.  We already have such a pool at the Reston Community Center (RCC) which we Restonians (RA and non-RA, residential and commercial) pay for through our special tax district.  There are also indoor pools at local health clubs, including the YMCA.
• A performing arts center.   At the community level, we already have the theater at RCC, and the county should be taking on the responsibility of a major performing arts center to serve the region–a more than $100 million effort.  
• Gym-fitness center and a wellness center.  There are nearly a dozen private facilities in Reston already, and the county plans to build a large Hunter Mill District recreation center in Town Center North at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.  Basically all of these facilities have fitness and wellness programs, and much more.
• Airport and concert shuttle bus service.  These services are provided by vendors and there is no justification for RA competing with the private sector.
• Concerts, festivals, community clubs, etc.  All of these kinds of activities are provided by RCC (and some by RA) and need not duplicated (and paid for twice) by RA members.  

Hank Lynch, RA’s CEO, pitched these ideas saying, “I’ve been instructed to keep assessments low and you look for ways to generate some revenue.”  Well, some of these half-baked ideas might generate revenue, but they will also generate costs–millions of dollars in many cases.   

As RA data indicates, costs are critical.   In a special presentation to the Board in 2015, RA’s Larry Butler showed that the budgeted net overall direct recreation facility and programming cost in five key programs recovered about half their costs, adding $1,589,059 to RA members’ fees in 2016.  

Along the same line, a Reston 20/20 analysis of RA’s recent budgets indicates that RA will lose $1.5 million (52% recovery rate) this year and its newly approved budgeted indicates losses of $1.7 million in 2020 and $1.8 million in 2021 (both a 50% recovery rate) over these same five program areas.   

And the above analyses only consider operating and maintenance costs, not capital costs.  Capital costs for indoor recreation facilities or a performing arts center could add millions–even tens of millions–to these costs.  (A 2013 RCC consultant study put the cost of a new Reston recreation center at $37-$49 million depending on amenities, for example.)   We simply cannot forget the reckless lesson of RA’s $2.65 million Tetra acquisition cost this quickly.

With RA recovering only about half of the operating cost of its various programs, it would be highly unlikely to generate a net positive revenue stream from any substantial new programs or facilities.  

The bottom line is RA did not provide a “branding” presentation last week.  It simply displayed its “wish list.” There was no effort to identify initiatives that would lower or contain RA assessments.  

Restonians are smart enough to tell the difference between a legitimate proposal and a con job.  This was a con job. Reject it–and let your RA Board know what you think.

Before we head off into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.

1. DEVELOPING: Fire Breaks Out at South Lakes Shopping Center
2. UPDATED: After Police Pursuit, Man Arrested in Felony Hit and Run Incident
3. After Fire, Cafesano’s Cafe in South Lakes Village Center Closes Until Further Notice
4. New Indian Vegetarian Restaurant Opens in Herndon
5. Town of Herndon Moves Forward on Free WiFi, Charging Station in Downtown Herndon

If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip.

Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.

Photo by Jay Westcott

Have thoughts about Reston Now’s coverage of Reston, Herndon and Great Falls? Want to share your opinions about local issues?

Reston Now welcomes letters to the editors and op-eds of specific interest to the Reston, Herndon and Great Falls community.

The key difference is that an op-ed can be an opinion piece about a local issue, while a letter to the editor responds directly to a Reston Now story.

Please email it to [email protected]. You are also welcome to contact us with your idea for feedback before submitting it.

While there is no word limit, we suggest under 1,000 words. Contributions may be edited for length, content and style/grammar.

Reston Now does not publish op-eds relating to a specific candidate running for political office — either from the candidate’s team or opponents.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted op-eds and letters to the editor already.

This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.

After intensive lobbying by some local governments and private investors during the 2019 session, the General Assembly passed a bill requesting the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission (JLARC) on which I serve to conduct a review of the impact if resort-style casinos were to be built in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond. These locations represent a pattern only of local governments that are interested and /or private investors who want to invest there. The JLARC staff along with assistance of private consultants who specialize in gambling operations reported to the Commission last week. A copy of the report is available at jlarc.virginia.gov/landing- 2019-gaming.

Gambling has long been prohibited in Virginia, with the exception of the lottery, charitable gaming such as bingo, and wagering on horse races. Virginians currently wager over $1 billion annually on these forms of gaming, generating about $600 million in revenue for various purposes, primarily K-12 education. Nearby states permit more forms of gambling than Virginia does, including casino gaming, sports wagering, and online casino gaming.

According to estimates from The Innovation Group, a national gaming consultant who assisted JLARC staff with the study, resort-style casinos could be built and sustained in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond. These estimates assume an initial $200 million to $300 million capital investment and an annual gaming revenue state tax rate of 27 percent (the national median). Casinos in these five locations are projected to generate about $970 million annually in net gaming revenue and approximately $260 million in gaming tax revenue for the state. For comparison, the Virginia Lottery generates over $600 million annually after prizes are paid out. About one-third of total casino revenue is projected to be generated by out-of-state visitors.

The projected median wage of $33,000 for casino employees would be below the median wage in the five localities. Not all casino jobs would represent a net gain of employment for the localities, and nearly half of the jobs would be low-skill and low-wage. Casino gambling would reduce the revenues in existing forms of gambling such as the Lottery that generates money for the schools.

According to the study, the prevalence of problem gambling in Virginia has not been measured, but evidence from national studies and states with a broad array of gaming options suggests that an estimated 5 to 10 percent of adults may experience gambling problems. The introduction of casinos would make more people at risk of experiencing problems as gambling opportunities increase.

The negative impacts of gambling are not limited to problem gamblers. The report indicates that research consistently shows adverse effects on others, most often a spouse or partner, but also the parents and children of problem gamblers, as well as other family members and close friends. The negative effects of problem gambling can be severe in a small portion of cases and include financial instability and mental health and relationship problems.

I am skeptical of introducing additional gambling opportunities in the Commonwealth. From what I have been able to learn, the modest revenues are not worth the risks involved. Is there something I am missing?

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With Cyber Monday behind us, Giving Tuesday is in full swing. During this charitable day of giving, we would love to know how and if you plan to take part.

The movement was created in 2012 to encourage people to give back to their communities after a weekend of consumerism.

Let us know how you plan to participate in the poll below.

Photo via Kat Yukawa/Unsplash

Nearly half of all adults the United States say they’re trying to trim widening waistlines, but it’s unclear if that happens during annual Thanksgiving feasts.

On Thanksgiving, roughly 45 million turkeys will be consumed this year, according to the National Turkey Foundation.

Do you plan to embrace gluttony during your Thanksgiving meal or will you try to cut back this year? Let us know in the poll below.

Photo via Unplash

Before we head off into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on Reston Now in recent days.

1. With Conceptual Proposal, Reston Town Center North Redevelopment Renamed Cameron Green
2. County Looks to Sell Land to Comstock Near Wiehle-Reston East
3. Third Phase of Halley Rise Development Moves Forward
4. Paddywax Candle Bar Opening Next Week in Reston Town Center
5. Metro to Sell Naming Rights to Innovation Center Metro Station

If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip.

Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.

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Since 2013, Reston Now has been reporting news about the Reston and Herndon areas. Recently, we started providing additional coverage of Great Falls.

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