October 2008 Archives
October 29, 2008
Thank You, Fairfax Public Access. Comments (1)
Maud and Jane will not allow Vienna to have a cable channel so a big thank you to Fairfax Public Access for airing the Halloween Parade.
This will be the 6th consecutive year that Fairfax Public Access will be filming and airing the parade on Channel 10 in Fairfax County, and as always we're really looking forward to it! Source: http://www.viennahalloweenparade.org/
October 28, 2008
Vienna Should Take a Cue from Fairfax County. Comments (4)
When a Vienna election season has competition, the incumbents (Maud, Jane, Laurie, George & gang) send the rumor mill into overdrive. It is not a proper Vienna election if a challenger does not have his or her reputation and good character properly sullied.
Election Office Sets Up 'Myth-Busters' Web Page
SunGazette.net; Monday, October 27, 2008
The Fairfax County government’s election official has set up a “Rumor Busters” Web page to address some of the misinformation that has been spreading about the 2008 general election.
The site can be found at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/election2008.htm.
Among the rumors that have been circulating, and the election office’s response:
* “A rumor has been circulating that Fairfax County has been tossing military ballots.” This rumor is false, election officials say.
* “A rumor has been circulating about Virginia’s absentee voting process. Claims have been made that all absentee voters will not be allowed to cast absentee ballots in local or state elections and will only be able to vote in the presidential race.” This rumor is false, election officials say.
* “A rumor has been circulating about Virginia’s absentee ballots not being counted if one candidate is winning the election by a large margin.” This rumor is false, election officials say.
* “Rumors have been circulating that individuals can register and vote in two different localities, essentially voting twice.” This rumor is false, election officials say.
* “A rumor has been circulating about voting equipment in Virginia giving voters an option to vote a straight-party ticket.” This rumor is false.
October 20, 2008
So, You Think You Can Be On Town Council? Comments (5)
From the Town's website:
Elections are held the first Tuesday in May each year for three Council seats, with the office of Mayor appearing on the ballot in even-numbered years. Town elections are held at the Vienna Community Center. Persons interested in running for a seat on the Town Council may pick up forms in the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall. For information on town elections, call 703-255-6303. For information on county, state and national elections, call the General Registrar at 703-222-0776. http://www.viennava.gov/Town_Government/Town_Council.htm
October 18, 2008
Dead Down Town Comments (40)
Down Town Vienna is dead.
It is not on life support, it is dead. The traffic on Maple Avenue is worse than the Capital Beltway. The selection of stores seems to be a constant stream of fly by night mattress stores, massage joints and nail salons. Those are all surrounded by our core businesses of fast food, gas stations and banks. Beyond the selection of stores, the appearance of commercial buildings on Maple Avenue is by and large disgusting. And now with an economic downturn many of Vienna's commercial buildings stand empty. Unfortunately, the blue hairs who vote in Vienna, the ones here for 50 years loyal to Mother Maud and The Seeman, don't know whether they are coming or going. So perhaps it is no surprise that a down town removed from life support is supported and promoted by voters and politicians who are likewise on life support (or ready to be removed too).
Turn the oxygen off, it ain't working any more.
October 17, 2008
Have You Seen Our Mayor Lately? Comments (5)
If Vienna had a cable channel, then citizens would have very easy access to our Mayor and other public officials. Instead, we are left with inane quotes in Trompeter articles and random ribbon cuttings:
HistoricVienna.com supposes the Mayor likes it this way. If people knew what she was actually doing (or not doing), they might be rather embarrassed.
October 13, 2008
THIS SH&T IS RIDICULOUS. Comments (20)
Man Stabbed at Vienna Restaurant
POSTED: 4:50 pm EDT October 12, 2008
VIENNA, Va. -- A man was arrested and charged after another man was stabbed at a Vienna restaurant, police said.
Officers found a man with cuts to his hand and wrist when they arrived at El Punto Restaurant on Cedar Lane Saturday night, police said. He was taken to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Police found 26-year-old Alexis Lopez-Canacas, who has no fixed address, not far from the restaurant. He has been charged with malicious wounding.
October 02, 2008
Vienna Park Apartments: All Are Welcome (No Questions Asked). Comments (7)
Foreign-born populations shrinking, except in Fairfax
By Jason Jacks
Source: Fairfax County Times
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 2008
Two Northern Virginia counties that took highly publicized stances against illegal immigration saw their number of foreign-born residents decline last year, while one of their neighbors saw its immigrant population go up.
In 2007, the immigrant population dropped about 1 percent in Loudoun County and 6 percent in Prince William County, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2007, which was released Sept. 23.
However, in Fairfax County, where leaders have been less willing to place restrictions on illegal immigration, the foreign-born population went up 7 percent last year. In addition, Fairfax saw its number of residents who are not U.S. citizens – which includes legal immigrants -- increase 8 percent, while Prince William's noncitizen population dropped 4 percent and Loudoun's remained relatively unchanged.
"This perfectly corresponds to what these counties are doing," said Prince William's Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart (R-at large). "The illegal aliens simply move from the jurisdictions that are cracking down on illegal immigration to those that have declared themselves as sanctuary counties, such as Fairfax."
Grabbing most the headlines has been Prince William and the aggressive stance its leaders have taken against illegal immigration. However, some Loudoun leaders were just as vocal in 2007 about making the county less hospitable to people in the country illegally.
Both counties have officers who have received federal training in identifying illegal immigrants and starting the deportation process. Both also have passed measures that punish businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants. Prince William also denies public services to illegal immigrants, something that was proposed in Loudoun but failed.
Aside from stepping up their enforcement of illegal boarding houses, leaders in Fairfax have been less inclined to propose such extreme measures.
"I can just tell you Fairfax County is not going to go the route of some of our neighbors," Fairfax's Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly (D-at large) told the Washington Post last year on illegal immigration. "We're not going to demagogue."
Connolly did not respond to a request by the Times-Mirror for comment.
Tim Freilich is legal director with the Legal Aid Justice Center, which advocates for Virginia's immigrant community. He said the shaky economy and the housing mess are other possible reasons for the cross-county migration. However, the main factor, he said, is certainly the actions of Fairfax's neighbors.
"The anti-immigration measures have definitely had an impact on the desirability of Prince William and Loudoun as places for immigrants to raise their families," he said, before adding, "I think Fairfax is more inclusive, and I think Prince William is not welcoming."
In Loudoun, Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York (I-at large) recently expressed a willingness to re-examine how the county addresses illegal immigration. He said he may turn to Loudoun's neighbor to the south for guidance.
"I promise you sir," responding to a speaker at a Sept. 23 community meeting on crime and quality of life issues in Sterling Park, "I will look at what Prince William is doing."
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
NE Vienna Traffic Problems in the News. Comments (4)
Old Courthouse Road Residents Debate Calming Measures
by BRIAN TROMPETER
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Vienna resident Morgan Hanzlik remembers the day one of her children accidently let a basketball roll onto Old Courthouse Road.She and her son were preparing to retrieve the ball when a silver minivan zoomed by and flattened it.
The driver “never hit the brakes,” Hanzlik said. “She didn't even see [the ball]. It was totally a learning lesson for our family.”
Northeast Vienna residents, upset by vehicle accidents and speeding in their cut-through neighborhoods, pressed local officials on Sept. 30 for traffic-calming measures on Old Courthouse and Creek Crossing roads.
Cris Janoski, a committee leader with Citizens for Traffic Calming on Old Courthouse Road, said the community is united in its desire to make that street and Creek Crossing Road safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
The neighborhood has seen much population turnover in recent years, its older residents being replaced by families with children, she said.
Traffic on Old Courthouse Road has gone up about fourfold since Edson Leigh Tennyson conducted a traffic study in Vienna in the mid-1990s, Janoski said. The street has had 13 accidents since August 2007, including two in the town of Vienna, she said.
Continue reading "NE Vienna Traffic Problems in the News." »
October 01, 2008
Rumor Mill Alert: New Gym Coming to Town? Comments (3)
HistoricVienna.com has been alerted to a rumor circulating that a gym is going in where the old C.L. Barnes was located.
Anyone?
