August 2006 Archives
August 27, 2006
Town Green Ground Breaking Comments (2)
The Town Green ground breaking was announced in the most recent Vienna Newsletter with this blurb:
"The Town Green, located on Maple Avenue between Mill Street, N.E., and the W&OD Regional Trail, will provide a green space along Vienna's busy commercial corridor where people can relax, eat lunch, and enjoy outdoor activities with a view of historic Church Street, the Freeman House, and the old railroad station and caboose. The Town Green will feature a plaza with fountain, trees and benches; an amphitheater with sloped lawn for concerts and special events; restroom facilities; and an abundance of landscaped areas for visual enjoyment. Completion of the Town Green is scheduled for May 2007."
What exactly on Church Street is historic? Is anything on Church Street listed with any state or national historic register? We challenge the President of Historic Vienna Inc., Laine Hyde, and Maud to lay their historic documentation on the table.
We do give Hyde and Robinson political credit. They both understand full well that "people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it."
August 23, 2006
New Movie About Vienna Underway Comments (5)
We were recently contacted by a group of UVA and VCU film students. Self-described as "disaffected 20 year-old residents making a feature length film about the Town they grew up in." Any help or insight they need, they are going to get it from us. Michael Moore, Super Size Me, etc. the world has seen what can be done on a limited budget.
More to come on their project soon.
August 22, 2006
Fear Mongering Comments (10)
A comment came into another post on the site today. It said in part:
So, as long as no one is studying, planning, and actually improving our local transportation network, it is absolutely ridiculous to propose higher density redevelopment in our existing neighborhoods. The current-trend infill development and the buildups now targeting Tysons Corner and the Metro train stations are going to bury us alive with traffic congestion... We don't need to be converting single-family residential lots and the odd Seven-Eleven or two into higher density multi-tenant projects just so a handful of people can make more money, retire, and move away. They may say now 'if it's not 22180, we won't go', and sincerely mean it... but Vienna is between a rock and a hard place... if the Town does not hold the line against higher density redevelopment within its borders, we will all be going to live some place more tolerable.
Who in Vienna is proposing condos in the middle of residential neighborhoods? This is fear mongering. The only legitimate place for condos is in the commercial area of Vienna. And unless we want a business area of only 1-story banks, gas stations and nail salons, we better find a way to get a mixed used development going that has people actually living, working and walking in Vienna's commercial areas.
Of course, we all know there is an old 7-11 in Town set for "something", but how can that be extrapolated to the whole Town? That piece of property is zoned commercial and from what we have heard the residents don't want condos in the middle of single family homes. It would not make sense. Commercial area condos down town, however, are a whole other issue.
August 21, 2006
Maud Robinson Uses Her "No Condos" Platform to Control Race and Class in Vienna Comments (1)
Smile Maud, That's the Camera You Wanted to Ban
Vienna has no condos in its commercial section. It has several decades-old apartment complexes, but not one new condo has been built in Vienna. There is one reason for this: Maud Robinson does not want them. She has used her control in Vienna for over thirty years to achieve this end. First her husband as Mayor led the anti-condo campaign, now the 85-year-old Robinson leads the charge from her Council seat. Argue with those statements? We are sure a few cranks will try and "spin" away from the obvious truth.
The end result of Robinson's anti-condo effort?
1. She has single handedly forced seniors out of Vienna.
2. She has single handedly forced young people out of Vienna.
3. She has single handedly forced minorities out of Vienna.
Let's face it; Robinson has used her power over Vienna's zoning to legislate race and class in Vienna. Average hard working people don't have Robinson's wealth. Doesn't Robinson know any young people? There are plenty of young people who would love a condo in Vienna instead of being stuck everyday in 66W traffic headed toward Haymarket. Some condos in downtown commercial Vienna are a must.
August 19, 2006
Bob Dart Lobbies for Green Hedges School in Vienna Comments (2)
On the heels of Green Hedges School losing in front of the Planning Commission last week, comes Bob Dart's feedback about our post regarding his wife's politics:
"As a journalist, I have never been involved in politics, local or otherwise, but I do have a commitment to the truth. What has been written here about my wife, Sherry Dart, not the truth. The truth is that she has taught the first grade at Green Hedges for more than 20 years and has always been devoted to the school and dedicated to its students. Before we moved to Vienna, she taught at public schools in Florida and Georgia for another decade. I guess it depends on your perspective but I don't think many people enter the teaching profession because it is a "cash cow."
His wife is intimately involved in trying to ram a school expansion into a residential neighborhood to pad her pocket. His wife also is an ardent supporter of the Town of Vienna's crooked historical politics. On top of that, Bob voluntarily put his house into the Town's flimsy historical marker program. That action was as political as it gets in Vienna. Is that the kind of truth you search for Bob?
And now, Bob is jumping up and down declaring he has no political involvement in anything. Your carefully crafted "unbiased journalist" label just went poof didn't it Bob? For his sanctimonious malarkey, Bob is awarded our "Weenie of the Month". We wish Bob well as he continues his search for that elusive truth...excuse us while we puke.
August 15, 2006
Laine Hyde Needs a Bath of Truth Comments (2)
Just like the Town Council and their idiotic attempt to ban the videotaping of Town meetings, Town busy body Laine Hyde is following a similar path. In her zeal to shut down the message here on this web site (a message that her attorney has already declared to violate Hyde's 'social standing') and on other sites that parody the Town government, Hyde is attempting to make a case of copyright infringement to have the truth censored. Bring it on Laine!
Laine Hyde 'Watching the Camera" at Recent ARB Meeting
August 14, 2006
Time to Do More with Less Comments (0)
Susan Stich thought readers would find this letter to the editor from Ron Corso (PDF) worth reading.
August 11, 2006
Green Hedges School in Vienna Denied Comments (0)
The Green Hedges School's ambitious expansion was denied by the Planning Commission Wednesday night. The proposed new super-structure would have overwhelmed the neighborhood. Additionally, Green Hedges was proposing an entirely buried gym for kids - an underground death bunker if you will. The thoughts of a firetrap for kids must have terrified some Commission members. It is not over yet though. The Board of Zoning Appeals only considers the Planning Commission recommendation - they have the final call. Stay tuned.
August 07, 2006
Statistics Abuse from the Maud Machine Comments (6)
How Can We Spin the News Today?
A comment was posted tonight by someone called 'Math person':
Another comparison to Fairfax County to go along with Matthew Stich's: If you take the police department budget in the latest Town newsletter ($5.1M) and divide it by the approximately 15000 residents of Vienna, you get $340 in police spending per resident. Then take the combined police and sheriff spending in the FY07 budget for Fairfax County ($201M), divide it by the estimated 2006 county population (1.059M), and you get $190 per person. Given those numbers, it's pretty hard to argue that the Town government is underfunding the police.
'Math person' are you trying to say that the Vienna Police force is not competent? Those hard working men and women are quality people! Additionally, your misuse of statistics is transparent. Obviously, Maple/123 is a HUGE artery of traffic handling far more than Vienna residents. You did not add those tens of thousands of people into your calculations...which is not surprising. Our police are under funded and understaffed for the total volume of people they must handle - which far exceeds the base population of Vienna.
August 04, 2006
Jerry Schanke: Incompetent? Comments (7)
Does anyone see a problem with this graphic from an article written by Jerry Schanke of the Vienna Times?
There have been 4 bank robberies in Vienna this year alone, not 1!
Fairfax County has a population of 1,000,000 people and has had 25 bank robberies in 2006 so far. Vienna has a population of 15,000 people and has had 4 bank robberies in 2006 so far. Nah, nothing wrong there...it's all our imagination right Maud. But at least you have your Town Green now. Always money to spend on that.
August 01, 2006
Solatube Space Pods Approved in Historic District Comments (4)
Beam me up, Maud!
Tonight the Windover Heights Board of Review approved the addition of 16 "Solatube" skylight pods to the roof of the historic district's Japanese tea house. You can watch the presentation here of the historically accurate Solatubes in action. These will be especially useful homing beacons when E.T. returns to the historic district in 2057.
In all seriousness, no one can actually prove one way or the other whether houses in Vienna were covered in dozens of 'Solatubes' 100 years ago or not. Who knows. These pod tubes are, however, as historically accurate as anything else approved, right Mulder?
