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Media/News Links (NOTE: To find older items that are no longer accessible in newspaper archives, use a search engine such as Google and click on the link for a copy in the cache.)

2005 News Clips are listed below. Click here to read the 2002-2004 News Clips.

Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults Agree Environmental Standards Cannot Be Too High and Continuing Improvements Must Be Made Regardless of Cost
Harris Poll; October 13 2005
Three in four U.S. adults (74%) agree that "protecting the environment is so important that requirements and standards cannot be too high, and continuing environmental improvements must be made regardless of cost." In addition, a plurality of adults (47%) agree that "there is too little government regulation and involvement in the area of environmental protection." These attitudes are significantly more pro-environment than in 2000, the last time Harris Interactive examined these issues. These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 1,217 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive® between August 9 and 16, 2005. It is important to note that this survey was conducted prior to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, events which have placed some additional focus on environmental issues.

Alliance wants to save farm
Jaclyn Pitts, Potomac News; October 20, 2005
Spanning about 300 acres southeast of Nokesville, Merrimac Farm portrays what many may think nature is supposed to be about -- pure appreciation.
But the farm's future could bring development of 30 homes, and the Prince William Conservation Alliance, in conjunction with Quantico Marine Corps base, is working to save the farm.Kim Hosen, executive director of the PWCA and Prince William County planning commissioner, said the group is working with Quantico in efforts to open the land as a public environmental education center.

Of Marxists and RPAs
Martin Jeter, Letters, Washington Post; October 23 2005
I hate to interrupt all the rhetoric flying around regarding the Resource Protection Area (RPA) issue and bore everyone with facts, but I just don't think childish name-calling is helpful to a rational discussion. Regarding a recent letter to the editor citing "Marxist environmentalists" [Extra, Oct. 16], it looks like the spirit of Joe McCarthy lives on!

Protecting Our Water
Kevin Parker, Letters, Washington Post; October 23 2005
Mr. Robert T. Molleur is the one who "doesn't get it" [Extra, Oct. 16]. Property owners have a responsibility not to harm others or degrade our common resources. Private property rights are not absolute. You cannot legally pour oil on your lawn and contaminate the water or have a mosquito breeding ground in your back yard. You cannot prosecute the rain for trespassing or charge it with theft when it moves a little dirt to your neighbor's yard.

Wellington Glen decision deferred
Jaclyn Pitts, Potomac News; October 21, 2005
…. Robert Joiner, a resident of Independence Townhomes in Manassas , said his property directly abuts part of the site and expressed concern involving a perennial stream that runs behind his property. He said it's normally a gentle stream, but with rains it becomes a “raging rapid” that has caused severe erosion to its banks. “I feel the added water [from the new development] would be disastrous to my property, as well as my neighbor's,” he said. “I just don't understand how this plan has been approved by the staff of the Planning Office.”

Commission denies rezoning request
Jaclyn Pitts; Potomac News; October 7, 2005
A little more than four acres of land in Woodbridge caused substantial debate among members of the Prince William County Planning Commission on Wednesday evening.
Members of the Planning Commission denied a rezoning application for the 4.37-acre Dawson Property, citing several environmental and storm water management issues.

Board Gets Outline of Woodbridge Redevelopment Plan
Lila de Tantillo, Washington Post, October 20, 2005
The latest residential development issue in Prince William County doesn't concern building houses on agricultural land but instead is focused on north Woodbridge , and a key 164 acres that would be the gateway into the redeveloped area and into the county. …. Planning officials have held three meetings with north Woodbridge property owners to discuss the redevelopment, and another is planned for Nov. 9. Thomas said she hopes the supervisors will take action to begin pursuing one of the two procedures for redevelopment at their Nov. 22 meeting. [For more information about the November 9 community meeting, email staff Planner Pat Thomas or Woodbridge District Supervisor Barg .]

A Boom In Town Centers; Many Are Planned; Reston's Is a Model
Heather Greenfield, Associated Press, October 20, 2005
It started on the drawing board two decades ago as an office park. Today it features townhouses and condos. And somewhere along the line, Reston Town Center became a national model as an attractive suburban place to live, work and play.That model is about to be replicated across Northern Virginia.Town centers are planned in Lorton near the Virginia Railway Express station and at Dulles Station near Route 28 and the Dulles Toll Road. Others are planned in Leesburg and Gainesville and near Potomac Mills. A mixed-use waterfront development that includes a conference center and nearly 4,000 homes has been proposed in eastern Prince William County .

County lags behind in serving homeless
Keith Walker, Potomac News, October 12, 2005
The number of homeless people in the county has hovered around 500 over the last several years. …. Fran Becker, executive director of the Partner's Homeless Shelter in Alexandria , presented the study to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday. It showed there are 15,439 homeless in the metropolitan area, as of the last count in January. While the number of homeless has declined in the county, the percentage being housed is smaller by far than other jurisdictions, Becker said

Va. Agency May Help Fund Spriggs, Linton Hall Roads; County Could Be Model For Innovative Financing
Nikita Stewart , Washington Post, October 16, 2005
Prince William County could be the first jurisdiction in Virginia to finance a road project by selling bonds through the Virginia Resources Authority , a quasi-government agency that lends local governments money for construction. On July 1, the General Assembly gave the authority, also known as the VRA, the power to lend money for roads. The VRA previously was limited to selling bonds for projects and programs, such as water, sewer, public safety and airports.

Prince William Parkway's Last Section Opens
RSS Feeds From ABC 7, October 19, 2005
The last section of the Prince William Parkway is complete, connecting Route One in Woodbridge to Interstate 66 in Manassas . Lawmakers say the cost of the final section, slightly less than a mile, was about $12 million.

City Council oks tansit projects
Tory Parrish, Manassas Journal Messenger: October 19, 2005
Transportation improvement was a recurring theme in Manassas this week.In addition to approving the design of projects to add a fifth lane on Centreville Road and to widen Wellington Road from two to four lanes, the Manassas City Council heard a presentation about the Virginia Railway Express Gainesville-Haymarket extension plan on Monday. About 30,000 cars travel Centreville Road between Sudley Road and Liberia Avenue daily, according to Public Works Director Michael Moon.

Virginia Rail seeks business back-up for extension
Joe Coombs , Washington Business Journal; September 23 2005
Businesses in Prince William County are being asked to open their wallets and help pay for an 11-mile extension of Virginia Rail Express service, a project expected to cost $150 million to $281 million. …. Meanwhile, others -- such as Nissan Pavilion operator Clear Channel Entertainment and tenants at the county's massive Innovation business park -- already are being asked for private donations to help pay for preliminary engineering and environmental studies, says Mark Roeber, a spokesman for VRE VRE officials also will apply to the state's Department of Rail and Public Transportation in October for at least $5 million to pay for preliminary studies. Once the project is moving forward, the Fairfax division of Brookfield Homes has already agreed to foot the bill for an entire station east of Gainesville and near the Nissan Pavilion. Brookfield is planning a 1,500-acre development called Brentswood in an area near the proposed train station.

Openness on state highway jobs urged
Edie Gross, Fredericksburg Free Lance Star; October 20 2005
Road projects submitted under the state's Public-Private Transportation Act will undergo a slightly different review process in the future, one that may be a tad more open to the public. …. Virginians have complained in the past that the process doesn't allow for a lot of public comment. Though residents can send e-mails and letters throughout the process, they've been allowed to speak during only one HOT-lanes meeting. The altered law doesn't really change that.

Haymarket seeks input on developmen t
Jacklyn Pitts, Potomac News; October 10, 2005
During last week's Haymarket Town Council meeting, Councilman John Cole presented questions about future town development, and now the council is looking to get residents involved. With efforts spearheaded by six-year resident and newly appointed member of the town's Planning Commission Joe Minor, council members are looking to host an official town meeting where residents can voice their opinions about development.

Developers Pouring Cash Into Va. Campaigns
Michael Shear, Washington Post; October 23 2005
Virginia's developers, home builders and real estate agents have more than doubled their campaign contributions from four years ago, a sign that their businesses are flying high and that tensions over growth and sprawl are rising. …. By the end of September, real estate developers had given this year's statewide candidates $3.4 million, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project . By contrast, developers gave $1.4 million to the statewide candidates in the 2001 elections.

Enrollment less than expected
Amanda Stewart, Potomac News; October 10, 2005
Enrollment in Prince William County Public Schools fell short of projections this year, for the first time since 1998.School officials projected an enrollment of 69,021 students for the current school year. As of Sept. 30, the schools were 787 students below that projection, at 68,234 students.

Plenty of Seats Remain Available At Some Schools Inside Beltway
Nick Anderson , Washington Post, October 20, 2005
Many parents and educators lament school crowding. Few complain about campuses that are underused. But, in Prince George 's County, new enrollment data show that many public schools are well below their official student capacity. A Washington Post analysis of the school system's enrollment shows that 96 elementary, middle and high schools have fewer students than the state says they can handle. Fifty are less than 90 percent filled.

Dulles South Plan Changes On Hold; Rt. 50 Task Force Proposals Advance
Leesburg Today, October 21, 2005
"Yet again, the priority order for projects in the county planning department were shuffled Tuesday when the board of supervisors voted to temporarily freeze work on a controversial comprehensive plan amendment that would add nearly 24,000 homes to the Dulles South area, ordering staff instead to focus on proposals developed by a task force for the Rt. 50 corridor from the Fairfax line to Rt. 15..."

Metro Postpones Vienna Land Sale
Washington Post, October 21, 2005
"Metro's board of directors voted yesterday to hold a public hearing on the sale of land it owns to the developers of a controversial project at the Vienna Metro station, prompting Rep. Thomas M. Davis III to withdraw his threat to withhold federal transit funding. Before the $1.5 billion spending bill for Metro passed a House committee yesterday, Davis (R-Va.) softened language that would have prevented the agency from selling or leasing 3.75 acres it owns at the Vienna station. Developer Pulte Homes had been negotiating with Metro to buy the land, saying it would be a critical link between the station and its 56-acre MetroWest project, where 13 residential, retail and office towers would rise in a transit-oriented development that Fairfax officials are pushing..."

Focus on Fairfax: Washington Post Blog
Topic – The Nov. 1 Hearing on Metro Land Sale Near Vienna Metro
OK, let's start this morning with the story about the Metro Board delaying a vote on the sale of land near the Vienna Metro station. Connolly and Davis both are claiming victory …

Large Numbers Of 'Snakehead' Fish Appear In Potomac River Tributary
Mike Baron, Post Chronicle; October 14, 2005
A predatory non-native species of fish known as the Northern Snakehead, discovered 3 years ago in waters east of the Chesapeake Bay, were caught in large quantities on a small feeder creek of the Potomac River earlier in the week. The numbers were significant enough to convince some biologists that the species is not going any where, and to echo concerns over what the voracious fish will inevitably do to the natural balance of the water's ecosystem. Snakeheads, hundreds of them, were reportedly slithering among the minnows, rising up through the concrete blocks that dam Dogue Creek near Fort Belvoir , Va. "They're in there by the thousands. You could see them literally coming up along the banks," said Mark Hammond, an avid bass fisherman, according to published reports. "We would throw one in the cooler, two others would jump out and we'd have to chase them through the woods."

State offers plan to eradicate zebra mussels
Jaclyn Pitts; Potomac News; October 18, 2005
It's been three years since a diver discovered the state's first infestation of zebra mussels in Millbrook Quarry near Haymarket. Now, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is prepared to rid the quarry of the non-native, densely populated species. The department prepared a draft environmental assessment for public review and comment through Oct. 28 on zebra mussel eradication and will hold a public information meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Fairfax Water Board room, 8570 Executive Park Ave., Fairfax .

Learn more about the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries proposal
Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries; Millbrook Quarry Zebra Mussel Eradication

States take on feds over environment; Some 27 states are involved in a dozen initiatives or lawsuits.
Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor; October 6, 2005
"There's a clear lack of leadership and effective environmental protection at the federal level, so many states - rather than just throw up their hands - have decided they have to take the initiative on a regional level or individual state level," says Judith Enck, policy adviser to Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general for the state of New York . He and other attorneys general this year spearheaded a nine-state pact to cap power plant emissions to help curb global warming.

A leadership deficit
Editorial, Baltimore Sun; October 19, 2005
How's this for an unlikely scenario? In notoriously tax-averse Anne Arundel County , citizens are clamoring for a new fee on property owners to restore eroded and polluted waterways. Elected officials, though, are wary. A grass-roots movement of environmental and civic groups is working to build support for creation of a dedicated fund that would be used to redesign the county's antiquated storm water management system and rescue the properties, waterways and wildlife being destroyed by unchecked runoff. Their proposal is based on a county study of options for financing an estimated $400 million backlog in restoration work required on Anne Arundel's 1,239 miles of freshwater rivers and streams.

Developer settles wetlands complaint; A Newport News site will revert to natural state; fine will be paid
Andrew Petkofsky, Richmond Times Dispatch; September 30, 2005
A developer has agreed to re-establish 26 acres of wetlands in Newport News and pay a $250,000 fine to settle legal disputes with the federal and state governments. Newdunn Associates LLP of Norfolk, the developer, and two of its contractors who filled in the wetlands near Interstate 64 in 2001 without obtaining federal and state permits, will allow the land to revert to its natural state under a settlement announced yesterday. Federal and state officials hailed the agreement as an affirmation of the Clean Water Act and the government's ability to enforce regulations that protect the environment.

Newport News to move forward on reservoir; With permits in hand, the city hopes to begin building the $230-million reservoir in King William County by 2011.
Fred Carroll, Daily Press; October 12, 2005
Back in 1993, Newport News expected to build a reservoir in King William County for about $130 million. On Tuesday, the City Council got a new cost estimate - $230 million. …. Officials can move ahead with construction because in July they got a long-sought permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, which almost derailed the project in 1999. Over the next 18 months, officials expect to buy about 6,500 acres and to decide how to finance the project. Construction could begin in 2011. …. State and federal regulatory agencies added requirements to reduce environmental damage, such as restoring 2 acres of wetlands for every acre destroyed and researching the spawning cycle of the American shad, a bony fish protected by a fishing ban in Virginia . Planners initially expected to fill the reservoir by about now, and the delay means labor and construction materials will cost more. Council members have yet to decide how to pay for the project.

Court Takes Up Landmark Wetlands Case
Gina Holland, Associated Press; October 11, 2005
The Supreme Court set the stage Tuesday for what could be a landmark ruling on government authority to regulate wetlands and control pollution, giving new Chief Justice John Roberts his first chance to limit federal regulation of property rights. The justices agreed to take up claims that regulators have gone too far by restricting development of property that is miles away from any river or waterway. …. The outcome could have implications for government authority in regulating construction in obviously environmentally sensitive areas, like Hurricane Katrina-decimated parts of Louisiana and Mississippi , and even land that is not adjacent to water.

How to Fix America's Crumbling Infrastructure
By Julie Taraska, Metropolis Magazine; August 9, 2005
Like most Americans, you probably don't think about our nation's infrastructure--the public works that serve as the backbone of our country--until something goes wrong: you find yourself snarled in a traffic jam, or hear a report about a possible contaminate in the water supply, or become frustrated at your plane's two-hour delay. But waiting until one of these works fails is a critical mistake, says the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) . The group, which notes that a sound infrastructure not only helps the economy, but also is a quality-of-life issue, recently judged the country on 15 infrastructure categories ranging from aviation, drinking water, and hazardous waste to rail, schools, and security. The resulting “ 2005 Report Card for America's Infrastructure " awards the U.S. an overall grade of “D”: a step below the cumulative D+ received in 2001, the last time the ASCE issued the report. The document also offers an analysis of each of the 15 areas, as well as breakdowns of infrastructure quality in each of the 50 states .

Report Card for America's Infrastructure: Virginia
American Society of Civil Engineers , 2005

Satellite Image: Hurricane Katrina Erodes the U.S. Gulf Coast
NASA Earth Observatory; October 3, 2005
Hurricane Katrina's strong winds, storm surge, and battering waves scoured the islands, leaving them reduced or gone altogether. These images of the islands were taken by the Landsat 5 satellite. The top image, taken on September 16, 2005 , shows the Mississippi and Alabama coast line, including the line of islands that bore the brunt of Katrina's fury. The lower images show the northern section of the Chandeleur Islands at full resolution. In the 11 months that passed between October 15, 2004 , when the right image was taken, and September 16, 2005 , when the left image was taken, the islands have wasted away.

System Failures Seen in Levees; Investigators looking into the breaches in New Orleans find problems in design, construction and maintenance of the flood-control barriers
Ralph Vartabedian and Stephen Braun, L.A. Times; October 22 2005
The massive failures of levees in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, which flooded the city and caused hundreds of deaths, resulted from flaws at almost every level in the conception, design, construction and maintenance of the region's flood-control system, according to the preliminary findings of investigators. The Army Corps of Engineers, local levee boards in Louisiana and other agencies failed to grasp warning signs over the last decade that the levees were not as strong as expected, reflecting a cultural mind-set that did not pay enough attention to public safety, according to Robert Bea, an engineering professor at UC Berkeley who is part of a National Science Foundation investigating team.

Safety Places a Distant Second in Race to Repopulate New Orleans
Michelle Chen, New Standard News; October 18, 2005
The new New Orleans is a post-apocalyptic frontier town. Residents trickle in to scavenge among the ruins or begin scraping layers of mold from waterlogged homes. Workers pile sodden chunks of houses into putrid mounds on the street, feeding an estimated 50 million cubic yards of hurricane debris. Amid warnings that the city is reassembling itself in the deepening shadow of toxic contamination, local officials are undaunted. Backed by reassurances from state and federal environmental authorities, Mayor Ray Nagin is beckoning people to come back, clean up, go on with life and get back to business.

Rating System Asks: Where You At? New standards reward developers who build in the right places
Carolyn Kelly, Great Lakes Bulletin News Service; October 20 2005
A new system will soon begin rating development proposals by how they help communities become more walkable, transit-friendly, and affordable. Several Smart Growth organizations that teamed up last year to compose new standards for developing what they consider to be great neighborhoods are looking for a few more good ideas. The team recently published its first draft of the standards, which it calls Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND). The standards provide a system for rating a proposed development's environmental impact and Smart Growth characteristics, including walkability, access to public transportation, and zoning that allows residential, business, and retail activity within the same area.

City [of Manassas] endorses tri-county parkway plan
Tory N. Parrish; Potomac News; September 28, 2005
That plan, however, would not receive funding from the Federal Highway Administration because of the environmental impact to Bull Run Regional Park and wetlands, said Kenneth Wilkinson, VDOT project manager. The Fairfax County Park Authority and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority have already expressed opposition to the comprehensive plan alignment. "These are quick fixes. They deal with symptoms, not sources," said Kim Hosen, executive director of the Prince William Conservation Alliance, who said better regional planning was needed to resolve transportation issues.

Battlefield officials consider tree-clearing
Jaclyn Pitts; Potomac News; September 28, 2005
Manassas National Battlefield Park wants to continue to follow its mission of preserving historic landscapes of the battles of Manassas . And the latest efforts to preserve landscapes could mean clearing 140 acres of timber between Brawner Farm and Deep Cut in the park.

Manassas National Battlefield Park Brawher Restoration EA [Environmental Assessment]
The purpose of this assessment is to implement an action approved in the Park's General Management Plan; the clearing of approximately 140 acres of timber between Brawner Farm and Deep Cut in Manassas National Battlefield Park. This document is available for public review and comment through October 28, 2005 . Click here to read the environmental assessment .      Submit comments (Click on name for email): Robert Sutton, Superintendent; Ray Brown, Cultural Resources Manager and Bryan Gorsira, Natural Resource Program Manager. Manassas National Battlefield Park, 12521 Lee Highway, Manassas, VA 20109, 703.754.1861

Supervisors to hear Park Authority report
Keith Walker; Potomac News; October 3, 2005
The supervisors will learn Tuesday that a study of the Upper Occoquan Watershed shows that Prince William streams and waterways are not as clean as they could be. Many of the streams that flow into the watershed are "impaired," or contain too many bacteria or not enough bethnics. Bethnics are macro-invertebrates that live near the bottom of a stream. A bethnic impairment means the water body is not sustaining as complex an ecosystem as it should. The invertebrates are food for other life in the streams, so bethnic impairment means a body of water cannot produce enough food for a good diversity of life. Drinking water from the Occoquan Reservoir, which shows bacterial impairment, is treated with disinfectants that kill virtually all of the bacteria, so it is safe to drink.

Promised spending, tax cuts would leave $78 million hole in county budget
Tara Slate Donaldson; Gainesville Times; September 30, 2005
County residents can't have everything they want and lower taxes too. That was the gist of the message last week when the county's budget staff sat down to discuss finances with the Board of County Supervisors. Assistant County Executive Melissa Peacor and Finance Director Chris Martino walked supervisors through a list of existing standards that the county is supposed to be meeting. They added to that the cost of improvements that the supervisors had requested. Then they factored in the cost of further cuts to the real estate tax. The equation results in a $78 million hole in the budget next year, followed by an $86 million hole the year after that. The gap only increases as the years go by, which means, Peacor said, supervisors need to make some decisions about what it is they really want.

Web Site Lists Political Donors
Pamela Stallsmith; Potomac News; October 1, 2005
Want to find out who is Jerry W. Kilgore's biggest benefactor in Richmond ? Interested in knowing the name of Timothy M. Kaine's largest donor in Henrico County ? Then point your browser to www.vpap.org , the Web site of the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks money in state politics.

Chesapeake's 'dead zones' set a record
Tom Pelton; Baltimore Sun; October 4, 2005
"Dead zones" in the Chesapeake Bay - areas with so little oxygen that fish can't live - grew to cover a record portion of the estuary last summer, according to a federally funded monitoring program. An average of 5 percent of the bay was classified as "anoxic" during the summer months, meaning the water had almost no dissolved oxygen, researchers from the Chesapeake Bay Program reported yesterday. The lack of oxygen suffocates oysters and drives fish and crabs in search of water where they can breathe. The dead zones are the result of farm fertilizer and other pollution, which breed algae and oxygen-devouring bacteria. An August of stultifying heat and little wind aggravated the problem.

Residents: Protect Fairfax streams
Christy Goodman; Washington Examiner; September 30, 2005
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a housing development on the Wedderburn property in the Providence District, which includes a stream that was recently declassified as a protected area. "This reveals a very serious flaw in our county Chesapeake Bay Ordinance and it needs to be addressed forthwith because there are other such cases that are coming up," said Frank Crandall, a Dranesville representative on the Fairfax Environmental Quality Council. In Crandall's McLean neighborhood, Scotts Run is in the process of being declassified, similar to the stream on the Wedderburn property, because water flow could not be seen. Crandall said there are several streams in Fairfax that appear to be "bone-dry" but still flow in deeper beds.

Metro pulls out all the stops
Rebecca Durvin; www.timescommunity.com ; September 28, 2005
Steven Taubenkibel, public affairs specialist for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said that, even before post-Katrina gas prices, more riders have been using the system. He noted that, over the last four years, WMATA has seen a 2.3 percent increase in ridership, especially during the evening rush hour between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. He said that evening rush hour ridership has increased 5.7 percent.

Second Dulles rail tax district emerges
Dominic Bonaiuto and Kali Schumitz; www.timescommunity.com ; September 28, 2005
Petitions to create a second special tax district to support the further expansion of Metrorail into the Dulles corridor are being circulated among commercial property owners around Reston and Herndon. It would be a companion district to the one created last year by business property owners between Tysons Corner and Reston to support the first of two planned phases for Metro's expansion out to Dulles International Airport Loudoun County . The special tax districts are expected to cover Fairfax County 's 25-percent share of local construction costs. Loudoun will help pay its share.

Shaken by a Looming Boom: Would Growth Alter the Takoma Park Area? If So, for Better or Worse?
Phuong Ly; Washington Post; September 29, 2005
Local myth has it that opening a chain store is against the law in Takoma Park . Development skipped over the downtown of this quirky enclave for so long that many residents had accepted the myth as fact. Now, more restaurants and shops are planned not only for the downtown but also for the adjoining commercial area of the Takoma neighborhood in the District. The construction boom in the historically connected communities is sparking a debate over growth and its impact on the area's character.

[Editorial] On Track: Mass transit and business make obvious partners (Free Registration Required)
Washington Business Journal; September 23, 2005
Herndon biotech Mediatech is bringing 200 jobs to the Innovation park in 2007, and President Jim DeOlden thinks those new workers would embrace mass transit: "I know a lot of employees here who, if they had access to rapid transit, they'd use it," he tells Staff Reporter Joe Coombs. It remains to be seen how much he and other business leaders in Prince William County feel about an 11-mile extension of Virginia Rail Express service from Manassas to Haymarket. We'll know soon enough, as VRE is asking them to kick in and help pay for the tracks, a project expected to cost $150 million to $281 million.

PEC, Residents Raise Foxcroft Road Traffic Concerns
Dan Telvock; Leesburg Today; October 3, 2005
Environmental Council organized a small protest Monday along Foxcroft Road near Middleburg, attacking development proposals they say will affect the scenic twisting road and historic sites in the area.
Fifteen people representing four different organizations attended the event, held on a pull-off beside Foxcroft Road , hours before the planning commission opens its public hearing on the Dulles Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Small green signs stating, “Don't Supersize Middleburg” and “No More Traffic On Foxcroft Road,” dotted

[Fauquier] Planners discuss 'proffers' increase
The Fauquier Citizens; September 22, 2005
Should developers pay Fauquier more to offset the effects of new growth on public services? If so, how much? The county planning commission will discuss those and related issues in a work session at 2 p.m. Warren Green Building 's second-floor conference room. Virginia law allows local government to accept cash, land and road improvements when a developer seeks greater residential density through rezonings. Planners call the contributions "proffers." The planning commission will consider recommending an increase in the suggested, developer cash donation per dwelling. Fauquier expects developers to donate $14,854 per home site approved through rezonings. The staff has recommended that amount increase to $18,329 per dwelling.

Drought takes toll on area farms: Eight counties tagged disaster areas
Christy Goodman; Washington Examiner; September 29, 2005
Prince William County is one of eight Virginia counties that has been deemed agricultural disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to this year's drought. Low-interest federal loans are offered to farmers in affected counties who can prove at least 30 percent of their crops have been destroyed. Of Prince William County 's 222,615 acres, 37,881 acres are used for active farming, according to a county spokeswoman. Prince William County Supervisor Willy [sic] Covington III, R-Manassas, who owns a 200-acre farm, said large farms where the crops provide a family's sole income will be affected.

Bonds pitched as way to clean up bay: N.Va. delegate also proposes creating agency to draw up cleanup plan, track progress
Rex Springston; Richmond Times-Dispatch; September 30, 2005
"I'd bet Virginians would be excited about buying bay bonds," the retired Army colonel said after the meeting. "Then they can participate, get involved, beyond slapping a sticker on their bumper." Lingamfelter also proposed creating a Chesapeake Bay authority, or agency, that would develop a cleanup plan and prepare an annual progress report, among other duties. The staff would include a director, finance director and marine scientist.

Developer settles wetlands complaint: A Newport News site will revert to natural state; fine will be paid
Andrew Petkofsky; Richmond Times-Dispatch; September 30, 2005
Newdunn Associates LLP of Norfolk, the developer, and two of its contractors who filled in the wetlands near Interstate 64 in 2001 without obtaining federal and state permits, will allow the land to revert to its natural state under a settlement announced yesterday. Federal and state officials hailed the agreement as an affirmation of the Clean Water Act and the government's ability to enforce regulations that protect the environment.

Plant a Shrub; Grow a Habitat
Gary Pendleton; Bay Weekly; September 29, 205
Fall is for planting, so that makes late summer the time to plan. By the time you read this it might be too late to put in lettuce, kale, radishes and carrots for a fall salad garden, but you still have time to purchase and transplant a nice native shrub. What does that have to do with a picture of a butterfly on a flower? The flower is cardinal flower, a beautiful and brilliant native that is related to tobacco. It is easy to grow in a home garden, and it is blooming now in sunny wetlands, where it attracts not just butterflies but hummingbirds, too.

Road-Block Stalls Tri-County Parkway Plans
Tara Slate Donaldson; Gainesville Times; September 23, 2005
Prince William County commuters hit a major roadblock in the proposed Tri-County Parkway last week when a planner reported that federal officials may block efforts to build the only route that would relieve traffic on Route 28.
VDOT study manager Ken Wilkinson was delivering a routine presentation on the parkway plans during last Tuesday's Board of County Supervisors meeting when he dropped a bombshell: two different federal groups may veto the route preferred by citizens and all three local governments.

Tri-County Parkway Proposal Doomed: Corps Cites Route's Impact on Wetlands
Nikita Stewart; Washington Post; September 15, 2005
After four years of study and $4 million, the favored route for a tri-county parkway -- a proposed highway that would connect Prince William, Loudoun and Fairfax counties -- is unlikely to get the federal funding or the approval it needs to be built as it is currently proposed, said Ken Wilkinson, project manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation study. Wilkinson said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers looks for roadways that cause the least disturbance to the environment, and that the route favored by 40 percent of the public -- as determined through e-mails, letters and surveys -- is not the best of four proposals.

Supervisors consider Battlefield Bypass
Tara Slate Donaldson; Gainesville Times; September 23, 2005
Public opinion on the bypass falls into three categories, he said. The largest group said they prefer that no action be taken. They said they'd rather the roads stay open and the bypass not be built at all. The second largest group is the "Fix Alternative G" camp, made up of residents who want to see a modified version of a southern route around the battlefield. The third group of responders said they prefer the northern route, Alternative D, which was chosen by planners. Officials have previously identified that group as being made up primarily of Fairfax County residents. There is also a fourth contingent. A number of special-interest groups, such as the Coalition for Smarter Growth, support closing the battlefield roads but have a different idea for a bypass. Rather than construct a new road, they'd prefer to see improvements made to Interstate 66, to allow traffic from U.S. 29 to use the interstate instead.

Candidates Discuss Hot Lanes
Keither Walker; September 21, 2005
Earnie Porta, the Democratic nominee for the 51st District of the Virginia House of Delegates, reiterated Tuesday that he opposes High Occupancy Toll lanes. His opponent, Delegate Michele McQuigg, R-Woodbridge, hasn't yet staked out a position. "I like to hear all sides of an issue before I make up my mind on something," McQuigg said.

VRE: Raise Funds Now
Keith Walker; Potomac News; September 22, 2005
A Virginia Railway Express extension to Gainesville and on to Haymarket might be as far off as seven years, but it's not too soon to start raising money to build it, railway officials said. "I would not ask for [state matching] funds for this extension unless you and the VRE commission approved, or made a positive decision, to pursue that extension," VRE chief executive officer Dale Zehner told the Prince William Board of County Supervisors .

Supervisors apply for grant to preserve land
Keith Walker; Potomac News; September 23, 2005
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted Tuesday to apply for a grant of up to $4.5 million from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation Grant Program.
The county would have to match the funds if the grant is approved. The money would be used to buy Williams Ordinary in Dumfries and purchase additional acreage at the Manassas Battlefield Park , Bristoe Battlefield and the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre.

[Manassas City] Council Hears Rezoning Concerns
Tory Parrish; Potomac News; September 21, 2005
Views on traffic impact from a proposed commercial development vary. Residents of the south Grant Avenue Hastings Drive to Wellington Road -- say their neighborhood will sustain a huge increase in traffic congestion, but the developer says otherwise. So, Manassas City Councilman Robert J. Oliver has asked the city's staff to do its own traffic analysis. He made the request following a public hearing Monday that drew vocal neighborhood residents who have been opposed to the project -- citing traffic, safety and aesthetic concerns.

Fairfax Maps Tourist Gems
Lisa Rein; Washington Post; September 27, 2005
The issue has galvanized many residents frustrated by the rapid pace of development on the county's remaining buildable land. Opponents, who lobbied to scale back the project, said the developers would jam too many houses onto the wooded property and provide an insufficient buffer to the adjacent bike trail. And they were angry at the county's decision to reclassify a stream on the property to allow development around it.

Traffic is Top Concern at Fort Belvoir
Dominic Bonaiuto; Fairfax Times; September 21, 2005
The commander of Fort Belvoir and other local leaders discussed strategies for improving the already congested flow of traffic in southern Fairfax with thousands of new jobs heading to the base. As part of the Defense Department's Base Realignment and Closure actions, Fort Belvoir would grow by as many as 19,000 jobs, both military and civilian, during the next four years. That nearly doubles the number of jobs on base right now.

Editorial: Cutting Corners Can Have Catastrophic Impact
Tim Horn; Gainesville Times; September 17, 2005
After Richmond American wrongly cut down trees at Saratoga Hunt, the county, in lieu of filing a lawsuit, made promises they would ensure all the i's were dotted and t's crossed in terms of government development oversight and ensuring permits. That and a settlement from Richmond American were supposed to be enough to prevent a reoccurrence of the problem However, after Richmond American cut down more trees, why weren't more serious sanctions taken? Now KSI's development at South Market has again come on the radar screen. What sanctions has the county taken against KSI for failing to have all their permits in order?

Tree Replacement Pledged at Goat Farm
Dominic Bonaiuto; Fairfax Times ; September 21, 2005
A builder is proposing to “significantly increase” the number and size of trees he will plant on seven acres near Vienna known as the Goat Farm to compensate for cutting down trees that were expected to be saved. During last week's initial public hearing on the controversial case, neighbors and county planning commissioners scolded the developer for violating tree save requirements and pledged to hold him and other builders more accountable in the future. “Once the mature trees are gone, it doesn't matter how many saplings you plant. You can't replace the mature trees everybody likes,” said commissioner Laurie Frost Wilson (at-large). Commissioners deferred decision on the case until Oct. 6.

The Chesapeake: Two Decades of Bay Reporting, And Bay's Future Appears Bleak
Lawrence Latane III; Richmond Times Dispatch; September 25, 2005
Readers of my stories sometimes call or e-mail me with their thoughts about the state of the Bay. They are frustrated, impatient, and sometimes outraged that pollution still spoils the estuary. They are constant reminders that the clean-up effort is 20 years old and counting, but the Bay's future is by no means assured.

Farmers feeling pinch in Chesapeake Bay watershed
Bob Stuart; The News Virginian; September 26, 2005
Weyers Cave cattle farmer Kevin Craun knows the Shenandoah Valley portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed is threatened like never before by development. “We're losing farmland more and more. All the land is turning into residential and commercial,'' he said. It would be better for the health of the watershed, Craun said, to keep farms than to “have houses stacked on top of each other.

Decline in farmland acreage harming state waterways, report says
Mary Ellen Slayter; www.gazette.net ; September 22, 2005
The precarious financial position of the region's farmers, who are under pressure to sell their land to developers and often unable to afford environmentally friendly practices, threatens the health of Maryland 's waterways, according to a report released Tuesday by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Conservation groups push to fund runoff repair work
E.B. Furgurson II; The Capital; September 25, 2005
Watermen, conservationists and community groups are nudging a proposal to pay for repairs to damaged waterways to the forefront of the county's agenda. Most recently, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation went before the council on Sept. 19 to propose the creation of a storm-water utility, that could cost roughly $60 annually for the average homeowner, to fix watersheds scoured by runoff and erosion.

Editorial: Bay pollution: More to do
Daily Progress; September 27, 2005
With farm runoff identified as a big source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay , farmers and watermen - who should have much in common - instead have been cast on opposite sides of the issue. So have farmers and environmentalists often been on opposite sides.
Recently, they have been striving to work together.

Supervisors Get [Battlefield Bypass] Study Results
Keith Walker; Potomac News; September 14, 2005
Alternative D, the preferred alternative of the Federal Highway Administration, would start just east of the park on U.S. 29 and transect an eight-acre section of the park that is adjacent to Fairfax County near Poplar Ford Trail. It would continue along the Fairfax County line and skirt the battlefield near Catharpin Run to Va. 234 and turn south to skirt the west end of the battlefield and meet I-66.  Supervisor Corey A. Stewart, R-Occoquan, noticed that most of the alternatives added an average of an additional six minutes to a trip around the battlefield.  "Why would we do that?" Stewart asked Van Dop.  Van Dop said "Congress in its wisdom" decided to close the roads to protect the park.

Auto shop in HiMart approved
Jaclyn Pitts; Potomac News; September 9, 2005
The Prince William County Planning Commission approved a special use permit Wednesday night for Paik Auto Service to use six existing service bays in the HiMart building, located on the southwest corner of Jefferson Davis Highway and Gordon Boulevard.  Pat Thomas, of the county planning office, represented applicant Joon Park at the meeting and emphasized the facility would not require any additional construction or new parking spaces at the center.

Pumped Up About Life in Far Suburbs:  Long Commutes in SUVs Taken in Stride by Some
Stephan McCrummen; Washington Post; September 11, 2995
The price of regular gasoline hovered around $3 last week along Route 29 near the entrance to Piedmont -- one of the farthest-flung subdivisions in the region, where two-hour commutes are the trade-off for 4,000- to 7,000-square-foot houses, and where every other driveway, it seems, has at least one sport-utility vehicle.  In many ways, residents of western Prince William County, on the edges of suburbia, would seem likely to be among the most concerned about the recent spike in gasoline prices, given the hours they spend driving, the cavernous houses they heat and their preference for gas-gulping Durangos and Land Cruisers.  Although some homeowners were given pause last week, an informal survey of a handful of residents in Piedmont -- a development near Haymarket -- found that most were as committed as ever to the large-house, long-commute lifestyle that continues to proliferate.

GMU Hopes Biotech Grant Helps Build Image:  Lab Seen as Chance To Expand Campus
Nikita Stewart; Washington Post; September 11, 2005
George Mason University's receipt of a $25 million grant last week to build a lab on its Prince William campus signals the school's increased stature in scientific research and boosts the county's profile as a center of biotechnology, university and county officials said.

Editorial:  Being a Good Neighbor
Kim Hosen; Gainesville Times; September 9, 2005
Not long ago I looked out my front window and was surprised to see my neighbor outside cutting my grass. When I thanked him, he replied it was no bother, he just kept on going after his yard was cut.  Good neighbors are important in our day-to-day lives. They are also important on a larger scale, as Virginia Beach recently discovered when the BRAC commission threatened to close the Oceana military base. Development around the Oceana base was the point of contention. For years, Virginia Beach officials approved new homes and shops near Oceana, despite safety concerns and over the Navy's objections.

[Fauquier] WSA responds to Chesapeake Bay regulations
Cheryl K. Chumley; Fauquier Times-Democrat; September 13, 2005
Looking ahead to 2010, Fauquier County 's Water and Sanitation Authority finds potentially bad news on the horizon for customers: rising rates due to tightening Chesapeake Bay cleanup regulations. Asked to qualify that level of impact, Durrett said, "noticeable."  The year 2010 is when states across the entire watershed area of the Chesapeake Bay -- from Virginia and the District of Columbia to Maryland and Pennsylvania -- will be pressed to comply with additional nutrient level guidelines, he said.  These guidelines will further limit the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous allowed into the bay.  "The watershed's worst problem is nutrient pollution, which is caused by the overabundance of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorous," the official Chesapeake Bay program site reports.  An overabundance of nitrogen and phosphorous is an upset to the ecosystem, Durrett explained.  "It can create algae and that reduces the amount of oxygen," he said. "It can kill (fish), cause problems with their reproduction."

River land provides corridor for wildlife
Rusty Dennen; Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star; September 11, 2005
Fredericksburg is sitting on a real-estate treasure that may be unique in America: nearly 5,000 acres of undeveloped riverfront land. Few rivers in Virginia look anything like the Rappahannock upstream of the city, with its vast expanse of emerald green. In contrast, much of the Potomac, James and York river shores are dotted with houses, manicured lawns and docks. Whether the Rappahannock will follow suit may be decided within the next few months as City Council considers protecting the land with a permanent conservation easement.

Some states moving to link up natural areas
Rusy Dennen; Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star; September 11, 2005
Across much of the Fredericksburg area, land protected from sprawl--parks, military bases, conservation easements--stands out like green oases in a sea of rooftops.  For example, Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline, four Civil War battlefields, Caledon Natural Area in King George and Crow's Nest in Stafford offer food and shelter for wildlife in a landscape where natural areas are fast disappearing.  What if those green areas were connected to other nearby green space, greatly expanding the range of wildlife?  Florida, California and Maryland are among states creating "wildlife corridors" as a key component of their land-protection efforts.

Va. high court hears reservoir case:  Environmental groups want the court to revoke a permit for the proposed King William Reservoir.
Fred Carroll and Matt Sabo; Daily Press; September 15, 2005
Environmental groups asked the Virginia Supreme Court to revoke a permit issued by the State Water Control Board in 1997. The permit allows Newport News to withdraw water from the Mattaponi River to flood a 1,500-acre valley in King William County .

Purchase of Bird Refuge Is at Issue in Campaigns
Michelle Boorstein; Washington Post; September 11, 2005
Stafford County's political leadership could undergo a major shift this fall, when four of seven seats on the Board of Supervisors will be up for election. The election in November will come as Stafford -- the second-fastest growing county in the Washington region -- struggles with growth and prepares to rewrite its development master plan. Among the key issues is what should be done about Crow's Nest, a 4,000-acre heron rookery on Potomac Creek that is one of the largest privately owned undeveloped tracts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Shrinking habitat Wildlife losing out to suburban growth
Rusty Dennen; Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star; September 11, 2005
IT'S A SCENARIO familiar to anyone living in the Fredericksburg area:
Forests, fields and farmland are purchased by developers. The big timber comes off, then the bulldozers and graders show up. Not long after, houses, roads, schools and shopping centers follow.  For the most part, the developments are planned to avoid harming sensitive wetlands, and to provide parks and green space for people.  But wildlife--deer, songbirds, wood ducks, rabbits, squirrels, beavers, turkeys and a host of other animals--are an afterthought, left to fend for themselves.  Sprawl, according to biologists and state game officials, is taking a toll on wildlife populations. According to a recent report by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, more than 900 species, including the peregrine falcon and loggerhead turtle, are on the decline because of habitat loss and pollution.

Upping the ante:  County mulls squeezing developers for more cash in rezonings
Don Del Rosso; Fauquier Citizen; September 8, 2005\
New homes demand more public services.  More school seats, more parks and recreation activities, more libraries and so on. Indeed, more than 700 homes probably will be built in Fauquier this year, Community Development Director Rick Carr estimated.  Thus, county government's cost of doing business has steadily soared in recent years. To help offset the cost of new growth, Fauquier gets cash contributions - as well as land for schools, libraries, parks and fire and rescue stations - from developers seeking additional home sites through rezonings.

Pollution Findings Prompt Groups to Clean Streams [Login Required]
Val Van Meter; Winchester Star; September 12, 2005
In a recent test, this unnamed tributary of Willow Brook had a count of more than 3,500 colonies of coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters of water. "One hundred twenty-six colonies per 100 milliliters is considered impaired," by state and federal standards, said Christopher Bates, who heads the Willow Brook-Crooked Run Watershed Initiative.
This citizens' group is aiming at nothing less than turning this rectangle of southeast Frederick County into a model of stream cleanup.   

Replacing Parts of Lawn With Gardens Can Help Preserve the Chesapeake Bay
Joel M. Lerner; Washington Post; September 10, 2005
"Lawns are up to 90 percent impervious," Lathan said. "Most people don't realize that." Impervious spaces -- not just lawns, but buildings, driveways, parking lots, streets and highways -- fail to catch and hold rainwater. Instead, the water simply runs off, carrying with it any contaminants or pollutants (gasoline, fertilizer, pesticides) and filling storm sewers or swelling streams, which in turn pour potentially deadly water down through watersheds and into bodies of water such as the Chesapeake Bay... Water should slowly percolate into the ground, becoming cleaned and purified, then replenish the aquifer, the water-holding layer that is the source of well water. Water that runs off never gets to the aquifer, and it never gets cleaned of chemicals that can lead to reduced oxygen in bodies of water, such as the Chesapeake Bay, endangering fish, crabs and other forms of life…Volunteers also help at the gardens. A recent project has been removing asphalt from swales designed to funnel runoff from the school's parking lots into a nearby stream. Now we know there are better ways to handle runoff than building drainage culverts. The swales will be turned into "rain gardens," planted areas where water will not run off, but will be absorbed into the soil.

Editorial:  When Good Highways Go Bad
Bob Burke; Bacon's Rebellion; September 12, 2005
There was a justification for Route 288 -- a decade ago. Today, Richmond's newest highway stands as a monument to bureaucratic inertia and the power of special interests. 

In Depth:  Residential Real Estate
Joe Coombs; Washington Business Journal; September 5, 2005
Arlington County is ramping up its efforts to retain affordable housing lost in the current wave of condominium conversion projects. The county ( www.arlingtonva.us ) has set aside $150,000 for the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development to pay for a consultant and a "housing specialist" who would work with developers of conversion projects. The goal is to convince builders to keep some affordable units available after an apartment building is converted to condominiums, says Ken Aughenbaugh, the county's director of housing.

Letter to the Editor:  DEQ comes through in taking tough stand with lake erosion case
Roanoke Times; September 10, 2005
A big "hats off" to the Department of Environmental Quality for addressing Grand Harbour's violations and environmental damage to Smith Mountain Lake.
A fine of $7,564 was imposed on the developer, and he was required to pay for the dredging to remove approximately 10 dump-truck loads of sediment from the lake in front of our property.  Erosion control is a big issue, and it can be enforced. We all see that development is going to continue to move forward, but hopefully without such negative impacts to the lake's environment and the existing residents.

Snyder To Pay $37,000 For Trees:  Settlement Covers Unapproved Cutting
Tim Craig; Washington Post; September 8, 2005
Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder will pay Montgomery County $37,000 as part of a settlement for his removal of 130 mature trees from his Potomac riverfront estate, according to an agreement announced late yesterday.  The money will be placed in a fund used to protect forestland in other parts of the county. Snyder also is required to post a $45,000 bond with the county to guarantee that he replants 55,000 square feet of land near the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that he deforested last fall without county permission.

Environmentalists Condemn Snyder's Tree Deal:  Advocacy Groups Find Law Too Weak To Deter Wealthy
Tim Craig; Washington Post; September 9, 2005
One day after the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission announced that it had reached a settlement with Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder and his wife, Tanya, over removal of 130 mature trees from his Potomac riverfront estate, environmental leaders said serious flaws exist in county efforts to protect slowly dwindling forests.

Tree-cutting in critical area nets fine from [South] county
E.B. Furgurson III; The Capitol; September 11, 2005
The county has issued a stop-work order and two $1,000 citations after a 5,000-square-foot section of trees was cut in the critical area along a marsh in Churchton. An inspector visited the property at 5640 Gunner Run Road on Aug. 20 after receiving a tip on the county environmental hotline.  A $1,000 civil citation was issued to each of the two property owners of record, Philip Garofolo and Heather Kinney, neither of whom could be reached for comment. Both fines were paid on Aug. 24.  Betty Dixon, county land-use and environmental coordinator, said the owners would have to plant three trees for every one that was cut down.  Mr. Garofolo should have worked on a clearing plan with the county for the 18,000-square-foot property, she said.

Area Treatment Plants Strained By Regulations [Login Required]
Laura Withers; Winchester Star; September 10, 2005
New federal regulations to clean up the Chesapeake Bay could mean a slowdown in industrial development for Winchester and Frederick County if local lawmakers do not curb residential growth. That was the harsh realization that members of the Winchester-Frederick County Economic Development Commission came to Friday morning after hearing a presentation about the local impact of a six-state agreement to diminish pollution of bay tributaries.

Oxygen's in short supply for fish in troubled waters
Tom Pelton; Baltimore Sun; September 11, 2005
ON THE Chesapeake Bay - Motoring through lifeless waters, charter boat captain Richie Gaines suddenly ran into a patch boiling with hundreds of silver-bellied rockfish, packed together so tightly they were leaping out of the water.  Tails thrashed. Seagulls shrieked and dove at the feast near the mouth of the Chester River. Gaines unholstered his fly rod, plucking out 27 fish in just a few minutes, reeling in another with nearly every cast. He might have been delighted - but instead he found the thicket of fish disturbing. This summer has been one of the worst in the Chesapeake Bay 's history for low-oxygen "dead zones," which force fish to flee into the few remaining areas where they can breathe.

Sewage Plant Turns Nose Up at Helping Bay
Nikita Stewart; Washington Post; September 3, 2005
The proposed state regulations, which follow guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency, are part of a massive effort, estimated to cost $10 billion, to save the Chesapeake. Chuck Epes, a spokesman for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Virginia, said the Upper Occoquan sewage treatment plant should stop fighting the changes. "They question the science. They question the timing. They question everything. And they are alone in that," Epes said. "There are several square miles of Gatorade green water [in the Chesapeake] that is so full of algae that it looks like green oatmeal floating in it." An underlying problem, he said, may be the other green: money. "We are very much aware that localities and ratepayers will be saddled with the bill," Epes said.

Editorial: The Dead Zone
Potomac News; August 28, 2005
Americans - whether from Pennsylvania, Maryland or Virginia - are to blame, but they can also help work toward a solution. A recent survey conducted by scientists from Maryland and Virginia concluded that 41 percent of the Chesapeake Bay cannot sustain life due to an oxygen-depleted "dead zone." This low-oxygen band of water drifts south from Maryland each summer and this year has reached the waters off Deltaville at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. Never before has this dead zone encroached this far south. It starts at depths of 20-feet below the surface and often forces fish and other aquatic life toward the surface in search of oxygen.

Housing market slowing, except in Prince William
Heather Greenfield; Associated Press/Potomac News; September 6, 2005
Buyers, sellers and real estate agents in northern Virginia will be watching home sales after Labor Day to determine if the real estate bubble in their own backyard has finally burst. Home sales in Fairfax County dropped 7.7 percent in July compared to last year. In Arlington, they tumbled nearly 19 percent, due to a sharp decline in condo sales. Loudoun County fell 12.3 percent. "It's something we've been waiting for. It's just a natural market balance. We thought it was coming last year,'' said Amy Ritsko-Warren, spokeswoman for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. Prince William County sales show the only increase - 3.2 percent this July compared to last.

Reservoir proposal moves forward Interior Department won't review plan for the project sought by Newport News
Lawrence Latane III; Richmond Times Dispatch; September 3, 2005
Thursday's decision represented a victory for Newport News, which says it needs the 1,500-acre reservoir to meet projected water demand through 2040 in the Newport News and Peninsula region. The Fish and Wildlife Service, which sought the review last month, was concerned the city could not replace the forested streamside wildlife habitat lost to the reservoir. It also complained that the need for the reservoir had not been demonstrated. The reservoir would destroy more than 400 acres of marsh, streams and swampland on Cohoke Mill Creek, making it the biggest single loss of wetlands in Virginia since they received federal protection in 1972.

Southern Fairfax to compete with Tysons, Reston for offices
Dominic Bonaiuto; Fairfax Times; August 31, 2005
Shuffling tens of thousands of military-related jobs to Fort Belvoir in southern Fairfax County is bringing the Richmond Highway out from under the shadow of the county's larger, more well-known office corridors in Tysons Corner and Reston. "A series of major local, regional and national players have suddenly gotten religion about the areas around Fort Belvoir and understandably so," said Antonio Calabrese, a partner in the real estate division of Cooley Godward. "This is a seismic shift in the office- and government-oriented market."

MAP: Washington Area's [BRAC] Gaines and Losses
Washington Post; August 29, 2005  

Gas Prices Drive Up Commuting Costs – Unless You Take the VRE
Katie Teller; Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star; September 5, 2005
Rick Hood is feeling the effects of soaring gas prices. Hood owns ABS Vans, a van-pool company that serves Fredericksburg-area commuters. With prices higher and summer ending, he expects more commuters to use his van service and quit driving.

2 Power Plants in Md. Are Cited As Being Among Worst Polluters
Washington Post/Associated Press; September 4, 2005
Two Maryland power plants were listed among top polluters in a report issued last spring by a Washington-based environmental group.The Chalk Point power plant just north of the Charles County line in Prince George's County was listed as the fourth-worst power plant in the nation for nitrogen air pollution, which is washed into the Chesapeake Bay and causes low-oxygen "dead zones" that suffocate marine life, according to the report by Environmental Integrity Project. In addition, the Morgantown generating plant on the Potomac River in Charles County was cited as one of the 20 worst power plants for sulfur dioxide pollution, which causes acid rain and soot.

Fee hike for builders proposed
Dana Nichols; The Record; September 6, 2005
The San Joaquin County agency charged with preserving habitat for endangered bugs, birds, plants and other species is proposing a 73 percent hike in the basic per-acre fee it charges when builders put homes or businesses on habitat. The fee for converting an acre of farmland to rooftops, for example, would rise from $1,819 to $3,145. Other types of land have larger or smaller fees depending on how hard it is to replace the habitat that is destroyed. Officials close to the matter say they expect to win the necessary approval from the county's seven city councils and the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors.

Orange braces for fight
Robin Knepper; Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star; September 5, 2005
Planning commissioners have finished their work on Orange County's comprehensive plan, and residents will be able to voice their opinions on the effort next month. The comp plan, which is the county's blueprint for growth and land use, is expected to foster contentious debate. Factions that formed during and after community meetings last spring are poised to rally support for their arguments. On one side are those who want no growth or very limited growth. To promote the latter position, the Piedmont Environmental Council has organized a lobbying group that includes the Farm Bureau, the Civil War Preservation Trust, Friends of Barboursville, Orange County Concerned Citizens, the Dolly Madison Garden Club and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Plan for Growth Elicits Opposing Views of Preservation
Fredrick Kunkel; Washington Post; August 28, 2005
In 1972, when he was a lad in an Orioles baseball cap smiling for a camera, the Old National Pike highway pictured behind him carried a mere 1,450 vehicles a day through the middle of town. By 2002, the same road, also known as Route 144, carried 6,300 vehicles a day. Today, 10,000 travel the highway daily. With the Frederick County government considering a plan that would boost development and transform more farmland into housing in the area, the number of vehicles traveling through the town (population: 427) could reach 16,000 a day.

'You Guys Are Close'; Commissioners Commend Centex, But Deny Application
Molly Novotny; Leesburg Today; September 6, 2005
Although Leesburg Planning commissioners said they were "pained" to do it, they voted 7-0 to deny Centex Homes' rezoning request to build 1,006 homes and 334,000 square feet of retail and office space on 324 acres in southern Leesburg. Prefacing their votes with commendable statements recognizing Centex' progress on expediting the construction of Battlefield Parkway, providing a larger school site and dedicating the town park sooner, commissioners also admonished the applicant for hand-delivering a new set of proffers to them the night before their meeting.

Centex shrinks mixed-use plan for Bealeton project
Fauquier Citizen; September 6, 2005
Dallas-based Centex Homes first wanted comprehensive plan and rezoning approval for 650 homes at the northwest quadrant of Routes 17 and 28. On Aug. 18, Centex filed a revised concept with the community development department for 373 homes. During a public hearing in February, the county planning commission and residents objected to the project's scale. The planners recommended denial of the comprehensive plan amendment request because they believed the proposal bore no resemblance to Fauquier's vision for the site.

Rain Gardens Are Becoming More Popular (Subscription Required)
Laura Withers; The Winchester Star; August 29, 2005
After rain hits the hot pavement of the parking lot next to Winchester's War Memorial Building in Jim Barnett Park, it quickly flows down to a patch of grass and shrubs put there especially to collect the storm runoff. As the water enters the nutrient-laden soil housing many types of vegetation, impurities and pollutants are filtered out, leaving the end product safe to enter area waterways. The system is called a rain garden, and more of them are popping up around Winchester. A rain garden is just one of the many tactics regional gardeners and landscapers use to diminish pollutants entering streams and creeks leading to the Chesapeake Bay.  

In Charles, Ehrlich Promotes Cover Crops Program
Joshua Partlow; Washington Post; August 28, 2005
Down a dusty dirt road past a field of soybeans, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) came to Charles County on Friday to discuss crops and the water they can't live without. Ehrlich warned state legislators, county commissioners and other local officials against "inappropriate development in the outer suburbs" and talked about how farmers, by planting crops that soak up nitrogen and phosphorous, can play an important role in cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. Farmers "live with the importance of water," Ehrlich said.

“Big Chicken” Poops on Chesapeake Bay: Dead zones caused by nitrogen pollution continue to steal vital habitat from stripers and other gamefish.
Florida Sportsman; September 2, 2005
Water quality monitoring data collected on a research cruise August 8 through 11 by Old Dominion University and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program show a large increase of anoxic--oxygen-less--water in the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay since the end of July. The cruise recorded the fourth largest volume of anoxic water in the Bay's main stem in the last 20 years. As has become typical in summer, the lowest dissolved oxygen levels occur in the deeper waters of the Bay (generally from 30 feet down), while upper parts of the Bay's water column retain enough oxygen to support resident fish and shellfish, though those upper waters may be uncomfortably warm and stressful for species like rockfish (stripers) and gray trout (weakfish).

Construction spill muddies Spring Creek, may kill fish
Mike Joseph; Centre Daily Times; September 1, 2005
About 250,000 gallons of muddy construction site runoff flowed untreated into Spring Creek headwaters Wednesday, six days after an environmental regulator told a contractor to install equipment that the regulator said would have prevented the event.

DEQ fines business, landowner
Rusy Denner; Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star; September 1, 2005
Ridner, who lives at 205 Nomini Bay Drive, ran into trouble with the state after clearing and grading land without first obtaining the proper permits.The county reported the unauthorized work, involving an unnamed tributary near his house, to the DEQ in February. An inspection found that all the vegetation, including wetlands, bordering the tributary had been cleared and excavated and the area graded, with drain pipes installed. Fill dirt had been placed over the pipes to bring the land to a level grade.

Somerset County Septic Hauler Jailed for Water Pollution
WBOC 16; August 29, 2005
The former owner of a waste hauling company will spend a year in jail after a conviction for illegally dumping grease and sewage in Somerset County.
Paul Adkins was the owner and operator of American Septic Care, which cleans out septic tanks as well as restaurant grease traps. The company was paid to haul waste to licensed disposal facilities. But witnesses say on March 31, Adkins and a helper discharged a large amount of waste into Manokin Run- leaving a brown, greasy residue on vegetation along the creek bank.

Frederick County, city end water talks
Associated Press, Baltimore Sun; Sept 4 2005
Frederick County and city officials have ended negotiations over how a 15-mile water line from the Potomac River will be used. The county will still build the line, and the city will still get water -- but not as much as it wanted. …. Mike Marschner, county director of utilities and solid waste management, said the 2000 agreement grants the city 2 million gallons per day when water becomes available and up to 4 million gallons per day by 2010. …. The city had wanted up to 8 million gallons per day.

Wildlife disappearing from Virginia
Rex Springston; News & Messenger; August 18, 2005
More than 900 species of animals in Virginia are dropping in numbers or are otherwise imperiled, according to a draft report from the state's wildlife agency. The animals range from ones long known to be in trouble, including the peregrine falcon and loggerhead sea turtle, to others that are considered common but declining, such as the whippoorwill, eastern box turtle and northern bobwhite quail. “There are lots of species showing declines. That tells us something is wrong,” said David Whitehurst, director of wildlife diversity for the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The first-of-its-kind report lists 925 species that are declining in numbers, are already at dangerously low numbers or facing other threats. The reasons for the declines, the report said, include habitat destruction; fragmentation of habitats, as when new roads make less land available for deep-forest animals; and water pollution that hurts fish and other aquatic animals.

Editorial: Diminished wildlife, a diminished Virginia
Roanoke Times; August 21, 2005
According a draft report from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 925 species of wildlife are declining in number or jeopardized by human activity in the state. Natural factors such as weather variations may contribute in some cases, but the blame mostly falls to people: People plowing under wild habitat for housing developments and shopping malls. People demanding idyllic but grossly inefficient home sites far from established population centers, services and infrastructure. People polluting the soil, air and water and reluctant to pay for their cleanup. People overfishing and overharvesting.

Survey: County Roads, Growth Need Work
Tara Slate Donaldson; Gainesville Times; August 19, 2005
Citizens said they were the least satisfied with ease of travel around Northern Virginia, coordination of development and roads, getting around in Prince William County, planning and land use, and efforts to preserve open space.

Red-hot real estate market cools
Amanda Stewart; Potomac News; August 22, 2005
According to the a Prince William Association of Realtors report, a house for sale in the area stayed on the market an average of 22 days in July. That's up from July 2004 when houses stayed on the market for an average of only 16 days.

An area's qualities can make buyer willing
Jim Watkins , Washington Times; August 19 2005
Quality of life? It's in the eye of the beholder. Consider Cynthia Taeuber. Tired of a commute that kept getting longer year after year -- despite the fact that she continued to live in the same house in College Park and work in Suitland -- Ms. Taeuber moved to rural Maryland . "I take the train into Baltimore to work," says Ms. Taeuber, "and I can sit on my deck observing the flow of the Susquehanna River . This has certainly improved the quality of my life, except for when I need to go shopping or see a doctor. At least at this stage of life, you can see my priorities," Ms. Taeuber says. In contrast, along the banks of the Occoquan River in Virginia 's Prince William County , priorities seem to focus on the quality of schools, safe neighborhoods, big yards, community churches and recreation, says Woodbridge-based Weichert Realtor Wendy Singer.

Editorial: Your Piece of the Planet
Jake Hosen; Gainesville Times; August 19, 2005
Prince William is at a crossroads. Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe's statement at the Aug. 12 Potomac Watershed Forum was apt: Prince William County is making decisions now that Fairfax County was making years ago. We can use this knowledge to repeat our neighbors' success and avoid their failures, creating a comprehensive vision for Prince William. Transportation choices are at the core of any plan for the future; they will decide what this county will look like many years from now. For hundreds of years communities and cities have been planned, whether intentionally or not, in concert with the realities of transportation.

Conservation Alliance Plans Community Roundtables
Gainesville Times; August 19, 2005
The Prince William Conservation Alliance has planned a new series of Green Plate Breakfasts, which are roundtable groups where citizens can discuss local issues with experts. The monthly events will be held at the Old Country Buffet restaurants in Woodbridge and in Manassas . Green Plate Breakfasts are held on Saturdays, begin at 8:30 a.m. and are open to the public. The events are free but participants buy their own breakfast. "How You Can Protect Your Local Waterway" is the topic of the Sept. 17 breakfast, which will be held at the Woodbridge Old Country Buffet, 2942 Prince William Parkway . The talk will be led by Ned Foster, a founding member of the Friends of Little Rocky Run, and will focus on the degradation of local waterways and how residents can form community groups to protect or restore creeks and streams in their neighborhoods.

The Importance of Protecting Riparian Areas along Smaller Brooks and Streams
Russell Cohen, Mass. Dept. of Fisheries
It is equally, if not more, important from a scientific perspective to preserve corridors of natural vegetation along the smaller brooks and streams as it is to maintain them along the larger rivers. The water quality and quantity in mainstem rivers is largely determined by what they receive from their many smaller tributaries.

Virginia Wetlands Report: Annual Summary of Permitted Tidal Impacts - 2004
Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Spring 2005

Editorial: Easement Progress
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star , August 20 2005
LOVE IS ETERNAL, a wit said, as long as it lasts. Regional cooperation is much like that. With cooing pledges, Fredericksburg-area politicians vow their fidelity to the notion, which usually survives exactly as long as it takes for the pettiest parochial interest to raise its piddling head. But now, embodied in a river easement proposed by some members of the Fredericksburg City Council, regional cooperation has a chance to really last eternally--by law. A council majority believes that the best way to protect 4,232 acres of unspoiled city-owned land along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers is to convey it forever, in the form of a conservation easement, to one or more nonprofit groups. However, a lame-duck council that last year tried to create the buffer got ahead of itself, riling five riverfront counties--Spotsylvania, Stafford, Orange, Culpeper, and Fauquier--whose transportation and other plans could be hampered by an impassable easement. The counties wanted conversation and concessions.

Rain Gardens Save the Bay and the Basement
Jeanne Huber; Washington Post; August 18, 2005
Q: Last week, you recommended diverting water from gutters to a rain garden. What is a rain garden, and how do I build one? AA rain garden is a way to turn a problem -- excess storm water -- into an amenity. Instead of dumping your gutter water into a storm drain or letting it empty next to your foundation, where it can make your basement or crawl space damp, you funnel the water to a low spot on your lot. There, plants soak up some of the water and the rest mostly percolates slowly into the ground. If you do it right, you'll get lovely, low-maintenance landscaping that attracts birds and butterflies.

Commission puts unprecedented limit on the harvest of menhaden
Scott Harper; Virginia Pilot; August 18, 2005
Environmentalists and sports fishermen applauded a decision Wednesday to impose a strict, first-ever cap on the harvest of an important little fish in the Chesapeake Bay , the menhaden. The Move by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission came in dramatic fashion after months of debate and protest over the silver, oily, leaf-size species, which filters algae and improves water quality in the Bay and is a key foodstuff for prized game fish such as striped bass and bluefish.

Menhaden Killed in Fishing Run , MDE Officials Say
Ben Penserga; Daily Times; August 19, 2005
Hundreds of menhaden recently found dead in the Chesapeake Bay were likely killed during a commercial fishing run in Virginia waters, Maryland environmental officials said Thursday. About 600 to 1,500 menhaden were found floating a few miles from Smith Island , said Richard McIntyre, spokesman for the Maryland Department of Environment. The fish had already been dead about three to four days when MDE officials went out to investigate Wednesday. McIntyre said MDE officials believe the fish died earlier in the week after they were caught by commercial fishermen in the nearby Virginia waters through a technique in which two boats travel in a circle and drag a wide net between them.

Two Cultures Come Together: Bay Watermen Visit With Valley Farmers To Talk Water Quality, Farming Practices
Jeff Casale; Daily News Record; August 22, 2005
"We've got about 67 cows," says Kenny Will, dressed in overalls, knee-high boots and dirtied cap. "We start about 5 a.m. and get them done within an hour or so." But on this day, Kenny and his son Jeremy have some extra help. Eric Marshall and Wes Bradshaw, of Smith Island , Md. , are learning what it's like on the farmer's end of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Marshall and Bradshaw are boat captains for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Growing up on Smith Island , which is near the middle of the bay, about a 20-minute boat ride from Tangier Island , the two have seen the struggle watermen have had over the past few decades. High nutrient loads and sediment pollution have killed off underwater grasses and taken its toll on the blue crab population. In the past, environmentalists, media and politicians have blamed agriculture runoff as the primary culprit of the bay's decline.

A wetlands education
Joel Baird; News Leader; August 20, 2005
Last month Zadrozny joined a group of students and scientists on a field trip to the Chesapeake Bay . The recent fish kills in the tributaries of the Shenandoah River intensified her appreciation for identifying and stopping pollution in the upper reaches of the watershed. "You have to love the bay in order to help the bay," she said. "I want to help."

Toxic Algae Takes Over College Lake
Shannon Brennan; The News & Advance; August 16, 2005
College Lake has not been sporting its usual fudge-colored brown in recent days - it has been covered in blue-green algae. “It's a pretty nasty species of algae,” said Tom Shahady, environmental studies professor at Lynchburg College . “This is a toxic species.” Even when the green bloom disappears from the surface - as it did Monday - the algae is still there, he said. Microcystis, the scientific name of this algae, can kill fish, and can even kill cattle if it gets into a farm pond, Shahady said. “This one definitely responds to lots of nutrients and warm weather,” he said.

River cleanup outlook raises concerns: Tioga fears costs, economic impact
Debbie Swartz; Press & Sun-Bulletin; August 19, 2005
A plan to clean up the water that flows into the Chesapeake Bay has some Tioga County officials concerned about increased costs for sewage treatment and lost economic development opportunities. The Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy, agreed to by Gov. George E. Pataki in June 2000, seeks to reduce the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment in several bodies of water, including the Susquehanna River . The pollutants get into the river through industry, acid rain, automobile exhaust, wastewater treatment plants, private septic systems and runoff from urban, suburban and agricultural land.

Sewer Groups Will Keep Tabs on Nutrients
Chris Birk; The Times-Tribune; August 22, 2005
Lackawanna County 's four sewer authorities are among 190 sewage and industrial facilities tapped to monitor their nutrient discharges as part of the state's Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy. The wide-ranging water quality program aims to reduce amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous in the commonwealth's waterways, many of which drain to the bay. The state, charged with eliminating about 40 percent of those compounds from the watershed by 2010, will soon require sewer authorities and other agencies to cut their nutrient loads.

Project aims to drill into impact crater on Eastern Shore
Diane Tennant; Virginia Pilot; August 22, 2005
An international project involving 13 countries will drill more than a mile deep into an ancient impact crater on the Eastern Shore , looking for clues to prehistoric climate, modern-day water problems and the beginnings of life on Earth and Mars. In three weeks, the first samples of rock and sediment should start coming out of a hole on a farm just north of Cape Charles . From them, scientists hope to learn about Earth's climate history, what really happens when an asteroid or comet collides with a planet, how life survives in the presence of tsunamis, massive fires and shock and, of more local concern, why groundwater in Hampton Roads is so salty.

Joint Panel Examines Annexation Options
Molly Novotny; Leesburg Today; August 19, 2005
To ensure Leesburg has enough land for its future economic growth, members of the town council and planning commission Monday night discussed incorporating a large swath of land along the town's southeastern border. The discussions are in the preliminary stages—it's just the second time the subcommittees of both bodies have met together—but the three council members and three planning commissioners easily agreed the town had to look southeast for future office development.

Survey shows support for VRE, Metro funding
Valerie Walker; Gainesville Times; August 12, 2005
The study, dated July 28, confirmed what Prince William residents have been saying in town hall and Board of County Supervisors meetings for years. "Two-thirds of residents are frustrated with the trips they take," the survey stated in its conclusions. "Of those, almost nine in 10 cited traffic as the reason." Other possible sources of frustration included aggressive drivers, poorly timed lights, accidents and construction, although those options received only token responses. What was more surprising is that half of all respondents in the region (even people who don't normally use Metro, VRE, or buses) said that public transportation is their top priority. Only a little more than one quarter said they'd rather see road improvements. In Prince William, 49 percent cited public transportation as their major priority and 32 percent cited roads and highways.The survey also found that people are willing to pay more to fund both road and public transit improvements.

Survey shows transit tops commuter priority list
Dominic Bonaiuto; Times Community Papers; August 9, 2005
Proponents of investing more in transportation say they have new ammunition in the ongoing battle for the hearts and wallets of the region's commuters and their elected decision-makers. A new survey conducted earlier this spring by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority shows that 85 percent of respondents are willing to pay for a greater investment in bus and rail projects. Respondents also favored expanding transit by a 2-to-1 margin over making highway improvements, particularly in the Capital Beltway and Dulles corridors where more than 70 percent ranked Metrorail expansion as their highest priority.

Long-Delayed Sudley Park Might Be Finished Next Year
Nikita Stewart; Washington Post; August 14, 2005
Sudley Park, the controversial park off Route 234 in Sudley Springs, could be completed by the fall of 2006…The park, which will feature 11 playing fields, has been the subject of political infighting, an investigation into allegations of conflicts of interest, an audit and accusations that contaminated dirt was hauled onto the site. The troubles began in 1999, when the county bought land for the park from a campaign contributor to Edgar S. Wilbourn III, the supervisor representing Gainesville at the time. Later, Wilbourn was investigated in conflict of interest allegations after his employer, excavation firm Anderson Co., began building the fields in 2002 without a contract.

Nissan Pavilion Inches Closer to Traffic Relief
Aymar Jean; Washington Post; August 14, 2005
Road widening began in April, after the county settled problems acquiring land and relocating utilities, said Prince William transportation chief Thomas Blaser. The project should cost slightly more than $5 million, about 12 percent of the $42.7 million road bond budget for 1998, when planning began.

No surplus funds for Bull Run Mountain or Gainesville rescue
Tara Slate Donaldson; Gainesville Times; August 12, 2005
Bull Run Mountains residents hoping for road improvements lost out last week in their bid to get part of the county's budget surplus. So did Gainesville residents looking for extra emergency personnel. During the last meeting before its summer break, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors traditionally votes to spend its budget surplus from the previous year. Supervisor John Stirrup, R-Gainesville, had planned to ask that some of the surplus be used for road improvements on Bull Run Mountain and that more of the surplus be spent to hire a crew to staff the heavy rescue unit in Gainesville . But he ran into problems before he even had a chance to make his request. That's because this year, all of the $20 million budget surplus had already been spent or had already been promised for other projects.

Your Piece of the Planet: Resource meeting was a good start
Kim Hosen; Gainesville Times; August 12, 2005
Nearly 200 people attended the Aug. 1 public meeting on Virginia 's Chesapeake Bay regulations hosted by Prince William government. The regulations focus on preserving a 100-foot wide buffer strip, called a resource preservation area, along waterways that flow year-round. These waterfront buffers are our last and best defense against pollution. Everyone's support, from home owners to developers, is needed to ensure that resource preservation areas are conserved to protect our drinking water supply and the Chesapeake Bay .

KSI pitches new Springfield skyline
Joe Coombs , Washington Business Journal; August 14 2005
KSI Services has a high-rise vision for the juncture of interstates 95 and 395, and the Vienna-based developer hopes Fairfax County shares the view. KSI wants to tear down the Springfield Tower office building and several other commercial properties, then replace them with a trio of 23-story residential buildings, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 40,000 square feet of office space and a 10-story, full-service hotel.

NoVa housing prices climb, sales slow
Jeff Calbaugh; Washington Business Journal; August 12, 2005
While the prices rise, the sales slow. The group's report shows sales of single-family homes, condominiums and co-ops totaled 3,058 in July, down 11.8 percent from the sales a year ago. There were 4,843 active residential listings in Northern Virginia at the end of July, up more than 22 percent from inventory that time last year.

Housing Market Update: It's Changing
Maragaret Morton and Dusty Smith; Leesburg Today; August 12, 2005
In a survey conducted by Leesburg Today in May, some local Realtors hinted at a possible softening in the Loudoun residential market, but few saw any change to the then-blistering sales pace, when values were appreciating anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent annually. Four months later, the story is a bit different, with most stating that there are definite signs of a slowdown and that the market is undergoing a correction—a healthy one. Most reported an across-the-board slowing, a build up of inventories and a shift in power from the seller-dominated market of the past few years back to the buyer—a move that is not lost on today's home purchasers who are quick to see the benefits of such leverage.

Despite $1.5 Billion Incentive, Rivalries Hinder Metro Plan; U.S. Transit Aid Requires Area Unity on New Funding Source
Michael Laris , Washington Post; August 13 2005
In reality, said Dorn C. McGrath, a professor emeritus of regional planning and geography at George Washington University , "it pretty much is each jurisdiction for itself." "The record is not one to be proud of," he said, citing traffic tie-ups, scattered construction patterns and damaging algae blooms in the Chesapeake Bay fed by pollution. "It takes real political leadership to get something like this going," McGrath said. "No technician will tell you how to do that. Political leadership that favors -- or believes in -- planning is not popular."

New price tag for Dulles rail is $1.8 Billion
Jerry Schanke; Times Community Papers; August 10, 2005
A new cost estimate for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project (DCM), slated for submission to the Federal Transit Administration August 15, is $1.8 billion. That figure is $300 million more than the $1.5 billion estimated in 2004, but $600 million lower than the highest of a number of estimates in June 2005. Project officials released the new cost estimate today (August 10) crediting a series of cost-cutting measures, including $100 million in redesigned elevated support structures. But the lion's share of the cost savings-nearly $200 million-will come from a shorter tunnel through Tysons Corner.

Park Authorities Stand United
Bonnie Hobbs; Centre View Connection; August 11, 2005
Under blazing 90-degree heat, Friday morning in Bull Run Regional Park , Bill Dickinson and Hal Strickland stood shoulder to shoulder and firmly denounced the Tri-County Parkway alignment that would decimate a large area of that very park. Chairmen of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) and the Fairfax County Park Authority, respectively, they announced a joint resolution passed by both their boards opposing this alignment that's on the [ Fairfax ] county's Comprehensive Plan. "These are normally nonpolitical bodies," said county Park Authority spokesman Judy Pedersen. "But when it came to this alignment, these boards felt obligated to speak out about the impact it would have on living things, as well as the risks it poses to historical and cultural resources, wetlands and the county's water supply."

Park panels blast Tri-County Parkway route at Bull Run
Jerry Schanke; Gainesville Times; August 12, 2005
There are three north-south routes under consideration to link Manassas with the Dulles corridor, but it is the one that would bisect Bull Run Regional Park that has two appointed park authority boards stepping into what could eventually become a multicounty political fray. That most easterly route would begin at the intersection of Route 28 and the Route 234 Bypass in Manassas and run northeast through the city and Bull Run Regional Park. From there the road would pass through the northeastern side of the Bull Run battlefield, turn north to South Riding and on toward Dulles International Airport . The two park agencies stopped short of endorsing either of the two alternative, more westerly routes, basing their opposition to the route through Bull Run Park on what they see as unacceptable, negative environmental impacts.

Redskins Owner Tried to Buy Permission to Cut Down Trees
Tim Craig; Washington Post; August 10, 2005
Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder offered to pay the National Park Service $25,000 nearly four years ago in exchange for permission to remove trees behind his Potomac estate, according to Interior Department documents released this week. Park Service officials denied the offer, explaining that cutting down trees in an environmentally protected area was not up for financial negotiation, the documents show.

Reservoir-plan approval challenged: Fish and wildlife official restates agency's concerns over Newport News project
Lawrence Latana III; Richmond Times Dispatch; August 13, 2005
An acting regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took steps yesterday to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from immediately giving Newport News a permit to build a controversial reservoir. In a letter to the corps, James G. Geiger restates the service's concern that the 1,500-acre reservoir in King William County carries "unacceptable impacts on aquatic resources of national importance." He says he is recommending that the fate of the project be taken out of the corps' hands and placed before an assistant secretary of the Army.

BZA Finishes Landowners' Feud
Fauquier Times-Democrat, August 09, 2005
It had all the makings of daytime television drama -- a battle between wealthy landowners with undercurrents of perceived betrayal, profit-motive and control. But unlike traditional soap operas that drag plots on endlessly, this cliff-hanger reached its end Thursday, with a ruling from Fauquier County Board of Zoning Appeals members upholding the zoning administrator's interpretation of code. What resulted is that Chuck Rice of Superior Construction does indeed hold potential for 13 development rights on his 715 acres of Marshall DistrictNorth Wales landowner Michael Prentiss' claims that the property only carried six. The decision follows months of effort on the part of Prentiss -- a Texas resident, according to BZA files, who also owns 145 acres locally and is a listed member of Piedmont Environmental Council's Board of Directors for Fauquier -- to limit Rice's development rights to six.

Citizens Still Oppose Meadowbrook
Loudoun Times Mirror, August 10, 2005
Citizens of Leesburg stood firm before the Planning Commission in their opposition to the proposed Meadowbrook development at an Aug. 4 public hearing. The hearing gave citizens an opportunity to voice their opinions on developer Centex Homes' third installment of the Meadowbrook plan. If built, the neotraditional community would consist of 1,006 homes, changing current R-1 zoning of one house per acre to Planned Residential Community Zoning of three houses per acre. Meadowbrook would include a mixed-use center for office and retail space.

Group: More builders in violation of law
Johnathan Marino; The Washington Examiner; August 14, 2005
Citizens angered by developers' abuses of construction laws have launched a city-by-city investigation of builders as Montgomery County 's government scrambles to mount a probe of its own. One member of the Montgomery County Civic Federation said he has been told of as many as 10 other projects that violate county law in ways similar to the Clarksburg Town Center . "I have no confidence this planning process is being run right," said Jim Humphrey, the federation's planning and land use chief.

92% of Virginia Voters Back Assembly Funding to Clean Up State Waters: Also, more than 3/4 of the state's voters support ongoing funding to clean the Bay and improve water quality statewide
Chesapeake Bay Foundation; July 20, 2005
An overwhelming majority of Virginia voters -- 92 percent -- support the Virginia General Assembly's $50 million investment in protecting state rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay, a statewide survey has found.The survey, conducted jointly by Democratic and Republican polling firms in April for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), also found that more than three-quarters of the electorate back additional spending by the legislature each year on an ongoing basis to clean up Virginia's waterways.

Hampton University awarded grant to study gridlock
Washington Examiner; August 14, 2005
Hampton University will receive up to $3.2 million in federal funding to study regional and national transportation issues. The grant, which came from a $286 billion transportation bill signed by President Bush, will go to the university's new Eastern Seaboard Intermodal Transportation Center . The center, which opened this year with a much smaller federal grant, plans to train students for careers in transportation management and consulting.

Make Them Stop Driving
Ari Cetron; Fairfax Connection; August 11, 2005
If everything works just perfectly, the MetroWest development at the Vienna/Fairfax Metro Station will be able to reduce the amount of traffic it generates by enough to comply with the county's comprehensive plan. The plan change which allows the development (planned for up to 2,250 residences, 100,000 square feet of retail space and 300,000 square feet of office space), was approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in December 2004. As part of the change, the developer, Pulte Homes, had to show that it could reduce the amount of traffic, expressed in “trips,” by 47 percent for the residential component and 25 percent for the office component. If the trip reductions were not possible, then the size of the development would need to be reduced by a corresponding amount. The reductions only need to come from the peak hour of weekdays.

Culpeper Traffic Threatens To Overwhelm Warrenton Roads
Fauquier Citizen , August 11, 2005
Traffic on Route 211 west of Warrenton will triple in the next two decades, according to a new study. Most of the increase will result from intense development at Clevenger's Corner, a busy crossroads just across the Rappannock River in Culpeper County . With a recent rezoning for mixed-use development and a planned wastewater treatment plant, Clevenger's Corner, eight miles west of Warrenton, will grow to an estimated 1,500 homes by 2018. Traffic engineer C. Richard Keller's study projects the effects of that development and other land use changes in the area. Released in April, Mr. Keller's report anticipates extraordinary challenges for the Town of Warrenton

Some Summer Air is Cleaner, EPA Says
Juliet Eilperin; Washington Post; August 19, 2005
New federal pollution controls have improved the summer air breathed by 100 million Americans, according to a study released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency. Under rules that took effect last year, 21 eastern state