Friday, November 23, 2012
A deal was reached to sell the water company to Fairfax Water, pending a public vote in November 2013.
For months the city has tried to sell Falls Church Water and Tuesday, a deal was reached to sell it to Fairfax Water. The deal still needs a majority of the city’s resident’s support on a November 2013 referendum. Tuesday, the city agreed to sell the water company to Fairfax Water for $40 million, $4 million less than the original minimum bid. Selling the company to Fairfax Water would see rates drop for current Falls Church Water customers. According to a graph on the Fairfax Water website, their customers pay $60.19 per 24,000 gallons over a three-month period. Falls Church Water customers, according to the same chart, are paying $86.55 for the same services. If the deal goes through, Falls Church Water’s boundary with Fairfax County …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Rep. Paul Ryan, Vice President Joe Biden spar in fiery debate, talking economy, abortion, Iran and religion in Thursday night debate.
Vice President Joe Biden and Republican VP candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin faced off Thursday night in a heated debate that covered foreign wars, tax reform, healthcare, abortion, and their shared faith in the Catholic Church. During the debate, broadcast live from Centre College in Danville, Ky., Biden flexed his experience with foreign policy when answering questions about ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nuclear arms in Iran and whether to send troops to Syria. “The last thing America needs is to get in a ground war in the Middle East,” Biden said. Ryan called the Obama administration’s foreign policy “chaotic,” criticizing the lack of security present during the September attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, …
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
It's not realistic, but it's sure fun to think about.
Even those who don't regularly play the Virginia Lottery have a tough time ignoring a chance to win $320 million dollars. That's what the experts predict the jackpot will reach before Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, according to the Powerball website. The Associated Press reports that Virginia Lottery expects to sell 1.1 million tickets before the winning numbers are announced. "If someone’s ticket matches all six numbers, they could either take the full amount in 30 annual payments or a one-time cash option of about $203.3 million before taxes," the AP reports. The odds of actually winning aren't even worth quoting. What we'd like to know is how you'd spend the winnings. Would you buy a Range Rover? Take your family to Tahiti? Hand …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
What do you think of the court's ruling?
A federal appeals court in Boston ruled Thursday that the Defense of Marriage Act — which defines marriage as between one man and one woman — is unconstitutional because it denies benefits to same-sex couples that heterosexual couples receive. The justices stayed the ruling pending an anticipated decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on this case or a similar case. The ruling applies to four New England states and Puerto Rico, which are covered by the circuit court’s jurisdiction, Bloomberg reported. According to the Huffington Post: "The court didn't rule on the law's more politically combustible provision, which said states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it's legal. It also wasn'…
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
NASA is looking to trade in shuttles for an Apollo-like space exploration vehicle with a $38 billion price tag.
With Discovery safely on the ground at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center and retired after 28-years, the question is: What will NASA do next? According to NASA, they are designing and building a new space vehicle that will have the capabilities to send people into space to explore the solar system. The goal is to develop a vehicle that will one day land humans on Mars, according to NASA. The new space exploration vehicle, “Orion,” will be able to carry astronauts into space for 21-day missions, according to NASA. The new space vehicle would cost about $38 billion and only fly twice within the next 10-years, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2011. The L.A. Times also reported the multi-billion dollar price tag would also pay for a new …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Hundreds protest both sides Tuesday outside the Supreme Court.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday to protest for and against President Obama’s health care reform. The high court is hearing arguments for the second of the three-day hearing. The case, according to the Washington Post, largely rests on the constitutionality of a provision that originated deep in Republican circles. "As Americans we all deserve affordable health care," said Allan Jordan, of Piscataway, N.J., outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday. "Health care is too high, and not everyone has the funds to pay for it. That's not right." The justices started zeroing in on whether Congress had the power to require most people in the U.S. to buy medical insurance, according to Reuters. The wire service also …
Monday, March 5, 2012
Tell us: Were riot police, SWAT teams necessary for safety around Richmond or was it an overreaction?
At Monday's Virginia Senate session, Sens. Janet Howell (D-32nd) and Chap Petersen (D-34th) denounced the use of riot police, SWAT teams carrying automatic weapons, police dogs and helicopters in response to what they called peaceful protests in Capitol Square. Protest groups have gathered several times at the square this session in the wake of legislation aimed at limiting abortion rights. On Saturday, 31 protesters were arrested — mostly for trespassing or unlawful assembly — on the state capitol steps following a women's rights rally. Prior to some of the arrests, protesters were monitored by a fully armored police SWAT team carrying automatic weapons, riot police, and police dogs, the senators said. "They were chanting, 'Tell me what …
Friday, March 2, 2012
As gasoline approaches $4 per gallon, some commuters may consider alternative ways to get to work.
Living in the vicinity of a major city has a lot of perks, but a bumper-to-bumper commute isn't one of them. According to data released by the U.S. Census, it takes Fairfax County residents an average 31.3 minutes to get to work. In Arlington County, it's not much better — 26.5 minutes. Montgomery County residents have some of the longest commutes in the metro region, clocking in at 33.2 minutes. If you think moving into the city might help, think again. It takes D.C. dwellers an average of 29.3 minutes to reach the office. And for many people, this commuting time adds up to gallons and gallons of gas at the pump each week. That's why watching gas prices approach $4 per gallon is so painful. The Associated Press reported on Thursday that …
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Supreme Court will hear arguments this fall that could change the way colleges and universities use affirmative action to accept students.
Several competitive colleges and universities in Virginia use affirmative action to help diversify their campuses. But that practice could change if the Supreme Court chooses to overturn the decades-old policy. Last week, the court announced it will hear the controversial Fisher v. University of Texas case in its upcoming fall session. The case's plaintiff Abigail Noel Fisher says she was "unconstitutionally denied admission to the school because she is white," according to The Huffington Post. In a Patch article, University of Virginia law professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin says data from California suggests campuses could become less diverse if affirmative action is overturned. On the other hand, demographer Qian Tsai says the general …
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., calls on Metro board to remove ad.
A movie advertisement in the Clarendon Metro station telling President Barack Obama to "go to hell" has raised eyebrows in Northern Virginia. The ad, for a movie called "Sick & Sicker," which is critical of the president's health care reform initiative, states, "Barack Obama wants politicians and bureaucrats to control America's entire medical system." It adds: "Go to hell Barack." U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., called on the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority, or WMATA, to remove the ad. “This advertisement is inappropriate, disrespectful of the President, and should be removed immediately,” Moran stated in a news release. “The families with children and thousands of tourists who take Metro everyday should not be subjected to such …
John Strother
9:38 am on Saturday, December 15, 2012
One is Gordon Road, the other is Gordons Road. They are not the same road. Cross the border as in going into another country? Must be if you mean Falls Church is a separate country than the rest of Virginia. The county and city line isn't a border. Gordons Road in Fairfax County was declare that it wasn't ever accepted by the Fairfax County in the early 1980's. Thus, it should had been returned … more ›