November 2009 Archives
November 23, 2009
How many "long term" guests does 'Wolf Trap No-tell Motel' have? Comments (2)
Vienna Police Department Crime Reports:
Defrauding an Innkeeper
Wolftrap Hotel
Between November 1 and November 9
A long term guest of the hotel was past due on his room payments. The individual fled when asked about payment. This case is still being investigated.
What Part of Vienna? Comments (1)
NW? NE? SW? SE? Why is this detail omitted?
Vehicle-Tampering Incidents Prompt Warning
November 18, 2009Vienna police, reacting to a slew of vehicle-tampering cases this month, recently sent an automated telephone message to town residents warning them to lock their vehicles and report suspicious activities.
On Nov. 6 between midnight and approximately 7 a.m., more than 15 vehicles were unlawfully entered by unknown subjects, police said. Two of these vehicles were then stolen.
In all cases, no forced entry was apparent and police suspect that the vehicles’ doors were left unlocked. Some vehicles were parked in their driveways, while others were parked on the street. In some cases items of value were stolen.
The intruders may have found valet keys in the glove boxes of the two stolen vehicles, police said.
The suspect or suspects involved likely are committing crimes of opportunity, police said. The perpetrators walk around and try door handles on vehicles. If the doors open, the intruders enter and rummage through the vehicles.
Police remind residents to lock all vehicle doors and remove all valuables. If residents have newer vehicles with valet keys, those keys should be removed from the interior of the vehicle.
Residents should report any suspicious noises or activities outside their homes during the hours in question by calling Vienna police at (703) 255-6366. Residents also should call police if they see people wandering their neighborhoods at unusual hours, police said.
November 18, 2009
If FCPS Wants More Walkers, Build Sidewalks for Vienna! Comments (1)
Students may face an uphill climb To help cut busing costs, Fairfax officials suggest getting more kids to walk to schoolBy Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 18, 2009Almost everyone has a grandparent who claims to have walked two miles to school every morning. Uphill. In the snow. Etc.
In Fairfax County, it could soon be your 12-year-old trudging to school.
Hard times have a way of making old ideas seem new. With nothing but grim budgets ahead, some members of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors want the county's schools to save money on buses by encouraging more kids to walk to school, perhaps by moving back the boundaries for bus-riding eligibility.
It's an idea that has received more attention nationwide in recent years as a way to fight child obesity, reduce air pollution and ease traffic. It became especially popular when diesel fuel prices climbed to $4 a gallon a year ago, and it's popular now as governments struggle through the worst recession in generations.
The cost of putting a school bus on the street is approximately equal to keeping a teacher on staff, said Linda P. Farbry, director of transportation for Fairfax public schools.
It also doesn't hurt that the campaign -- especially the "Walking School Bus" that encourages parents to coordinate neighborhood routes, wear safety vests and share escort duty -- fits with the baby boomer habit of reviving childhood practices. An oft-quoted study found that in 1969, 41 percent of students walked or bicycled to school. By 2001, that figure had dropped to 13 percent.
Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee) has his own childhood memories.
"The schools do nothing to teach the benefits of walking and biking to school," McKay said. "Somehow we got away from that, because when I went through the schools, they had presentations by police and others talking about the importance of walking and biking to school."
McKay's suggestion that more kids walk also reflects the growing financial tensions between the School Board, which sets school policies and answers mostly to parents, and the Board of Supervisors, which controls school funding and answers mostly to taxpayers. McKay said that one of the biggest complaints he hears from constituents is about the number of half-full school buses they see.
But there are also plenty of reasons why bucking a 40-year trend of transporting kids to school is not going to be easy. Fairfax, which occupies 400 square miles, was built around the automobile.
Noreen C. McDonald, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill who studies children's transportation habits, said that walking has declined as distances to schools have increased, the percentage of working mothers has doubled and attitudes about safety have changed.
"People have some very strong fears about leaving their children unsupervised," McDonald said.
Susan Mosios, 47, a substitute teacher and jewelry designer who lives in Lorton, said she allows her 9-year-old son, Jacob, to walk to school, but only so far. "I'd like it to be like the old days, when people could walk. But I worry about the people who could take the child," she said outside Laurel Hill Elementary School.
Fairfax transportation officials said they understand the concern. "We're already having difficulty with parents who live inside these boundaries, saying it's already too far for a kindergartner to walk a mile," Farbry said. "And we don't dispute that."
Continue reading "If FCPS Wants More Walkers, Build Sidewalks for Vienna!" »
November 13, 2009
Over $40K for Laptops for Town Council? This is needed? Comments (8)
Vienna Council OK’s Purchase of Laptops for Its Members
by Brian Trompeter
November 11, 2009
The Vienna Town Council is moving ahead with plans to buy laptop computers for its members and upgrade audio-visual capabilities in the council’s chamber at Town Hall.
According to a report authored by town information-technology employees Craig Griffin and Brian Farrell, presented at the Town Council’s Nov. 9 work session, the town would need to purchase at least seven laptops - one for each council member - but 11 would provide one for everyone at the dais.
The town, like most Virginia jurisdictions, will face harrowing budget prospects next year. But the computer purchases would be financed not from the general fund but Public, Education and Government (PEG) funds paid by cable franchises within the town.
Two cable franchises now pay, in quarterly installments, about $110,000 per year in PEG funds, said Vienna Town Manager John Schoeberlein. The town’s PEG account balance stands at $343,000, he said.
The laptops and electrical improvements to the dais likely would cost about $16,000 and agenda-management software an additional $25,000, Schoeberlein said.
Laptop computers are highly portable and typically last from three to five years. However, they can be a nuisance to carry around and are more susceptible to theft and damage than desktop computers, the report read.
Council members are considering wireless capabilities for the computers, which would necessitate fewer modifications to the semicircular dais. However, holes might have to be cut into the dais’ angled surfaces anyway so the computers do not take up too much of Town Council members’ work space, said Griffin, the town’s information-technology administrator.
The council may wish to invest in docking stations for the laptops, which would cost $125 to $250 each, Griffin said. The stations would provide power directly instead of through the computers’ batteries and offer Internet access via wired connections, which tend to be faster, more secure and more reliable than wireless service, he said.
The town makes audio recordings of its meetings at Town Hall, with the exception of Town Council work sessions, using an aging tape-recorder system. Unlike many jurisdictions, the town does not record meetings on videotape or broadcast them via local cable services.
If the council so desires, PEG funds also could be spent on audio-visual upgrades in the council chamber, such as electronic overhead projects, digital video projectors for PowerPoint presentations and monitors that would allow the public to see better displays being shown to the council.
Vienna town meetings for many years have featured transparencies projected on side walls, using an old-fashioned overhead projector, and maps and plans on poster boards set on easels facing the council, not the audience.
Town information-technology employees now will come up with a laptop-computer purchase proposal to present to the council.
Council member George Lovelace presented data on laptop computers that could be bought for $475 each. Griffin cautioned that because the computers would be used in the public domain, they would need professional-level software and likely cost $800 to $1,000 apiece.
The town purchases many computers through Dell’s refurbishment program, which sells used-but-modern computers that have been wiped clean of previous data.
Refurbished computers, however, often are outfitted with disparate software packages. Town officials probably should buy new laptops to ensure that recipients’ computers have equal capabilities, Griffin said.
“I don’t want people to have laptop envy,” he said.
November 10, 2009
Another Day, Another Survey. Comments (1)
Does the Mayor and Town Council understand that a survey cannot actually fix a problem? We're not sure if they do.
Vienna Seeks Ways to Prevent Bike-Vehicle Crashes
by Brian Trompeter November 10, 2009Bicyclists plying sidewalks along heavily trafficked Maple Avenue are by far the likeliest to collide with vehicles, Vienna police officials told the Vienna Town Council at its Nov. 9 work session.
Police studied all bicycle crashes within the town limits during the last four years. Nearly all of those accidents involved collisions with vehicles.
There were seven bike accidents - including a cyclist fatality - in 2006, five crashes in 2007 and nine in 2008. Vienna police said they were concerned because in the first 10 months of 2009, there already have been 11 bike accidents.
Most of the collisions resulted from cars striking cyclists while motorists were trying to make right-hand turns. In many cases, drivers were turning right at a red light and their attention was focused on vehicular traffic coming from the left, police said.
Town police recently conducted a survey that asked Vienna residents to identify bicycle and pedestrian dangers and recommend solutions.
The survey received 104 responses, including some asking for a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over, or a tunnel under, Maple Avenue, said Master Police Officer William Murray.
The Town Council rejected the bridge idea in the mid-1990s and settled instead on a stoplight at the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.
Many survey respondents said the town’s signs and markings were sufficient for bicycle and pedestrian crossings and recommended town police enforce laws regarding the behavior of cyclists and pedestrians, as well as motorists.
Many respondents desired bicycle lanes on roadways, but town officials said this would be hard to accomplish along Maple Avenue.
Other residents suggested banning right turns on red along Maple Avenue. This would solve many of the bicycle crashes, but likely lead to sizable traffic backups, said Vienna Police Chief Robert Carlisle.
The 2006 fatality occurred at the non-signalized intersection of Maple Avenue and Mill Street.
Police this year unveiled “Eye to Eye,” a program originated in Portland, Ore., that recommends pedestrians and bicyclists make firm eye contact with drivers before proceeding across intersections.
Town police have highlighted the program in Vienna’s monthly newsletter and provided literature about Eye to Eye to two local bicycle shops. In an effort to reach more people, police may give presentations at local schools and reserve space on a banner across Maple Avenue near the W&OD Trail.
While bicycling on town sidewalks generally is allowed for young children and adults accompanying them, cyclists of all ages may ride on sidewalks in heavily congested traffic areas.
Legally, bicycles are considered vehicles when traveling on roads, but as pedestrians when on sidewalks, Carlisle said.
Council member Laurie Cole urged town police to call their programs “traffic-safety” efforts, instead of aiming them mostly at cyclists and pedestrians.
“It’s everybody’s responsibility,” she said.
November 09, 2009
"We're awesome! Let's pat ourselves on the back over and over again!" Comments (18)
Vienna politicians never get sick of self-congratulatory bullsh%t.
Town of Vienna Wins Certification as ‘Green’ Community
November 7, 2009
The Town of Vienna has earned “green certification” in the Virginia Municipal League’s 2009 Green Government Challenge, a friendly competition among local governments to encourage reduction of carbon emissions.
Awards were presented Oct. 20 at the league’s annual conference in Roanoke.
Vienna was one of seven local governments in the commonwealth awarded silver certification for achieving scores of between 125 and 149 out of a possible 200 “green points.”
In addition to the silver-certification award, Vienna received a $2,000 cash award from Moseley Architects and Trane, for achieving the second-highest green score in the under-15,000 population category.
The town’s efforts included the Vienna Green Expo, held last spring at the Vienna Community Center, where local organizations and businesses provided residents with information on energy efficiency, purchasing local organic products, creating green gardens and recycling options.
“Town employees have also implemented a number of on-the-job green programs, such as office-paper recycling, use of earth-friendly cleaning products and purchase of hybrid vehicles,” town officials said.
Employees Linnea Fechter, Cathy Salgado, Michael Miller and Matthew Randall make up the “Green Team,” which routinely reviews town policies and procedures and looks for ways to improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of town operations.
Founded in 1905, membership in the Virginia Municipal League includes all 39 cities, 156 towns and 11 counties in Virginia. Vienna Town Council member Michael Polychrones served as president of the organization in 2008-09.
November 04, 2009
Psst! We know where you can put some sidewalks ... Comments (4)
Vienna Council Defers Controversial Sidewalk Plan by Brian Trompeter November 4, 2009After hearing protests from several residents, the Vienna Town Council on Nov. 2 deferred plans to build a sidewalk along the south side of Courthouse Road, S.W., between Ware and Nutley streets.
Neighboring residents expressed concerns about privacy, crime, inconvenience and vehicle speeds on the road, and also questioned the project’s necessity, given that there already is a sidewalk across the street.
“What makes this a priority project, when other streets in town have no sidewalks?” said Nancy Jordan, whose property on Stephen Circle, S.W., would be affected by the construction.
Rohit Saran, another resident of Stephen Circle, said he worried that bicyclists and skateboarders using the new sidewalk might injure themselves on his fence, and sue him.
Mike Harris, who lives at 501 Ware St., S.W., said he was unhappy at the prospect of moving his 70-foot long hedge again, after a battle with town officials 12 years ago.
“I didn’t plan for someone to come in and dig it all up,” he said.
The proposed 5-foot-wide sidewalk is listed in the second-priority group of the Sidewalk Task Force’s suggested project. Town officials wanted to move ahead with the project because Courthouse Road serves as an access route to Meadow Lane Park, commercial areas and the Vienna/Fairfax GMU Metrorail station.
Pedestrians find it easier to walk on grass on the south side of the street rather than cross the road to use a 4-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side, town officials said.
The site now has a worn pedestrian path, five mature trees and overhead utility lines.
Vienna work crews had planned to wind the new sidewalk around one of the existing trees, but remove the rest because they had been mangled by repeated utility-company trimming, said Dennis Johnson, an engineer with the Vienna Public Works Department.
Twenty-five new trees would be planted along the street as part of the project, Johnson said.
The project would be built mostly in the road’s right-of-way and affect only the back yards of most properties it touches, he said.
Town officials offered to build temporary fences so residents with children or dogs could let them play in their yards during construction.
The council voted unanimously to defer action on the proposed sidewalk until town officials could study why the project received such high priority and examine other sidewalk projects that might be built instead.
“The citizens make a pretty compelling argument,” said Council member Michael Polychrones. “This money could probably be spent on other projects around town.”
But Vienna Mayor M. Jane Seeman said the Courthouse Road sidewalk is a worthwhile idea.
“If this project goes forward, I think people will be more pleased with the outcome than [they] are imagining it,” she said.
