A fire at a warehouse in Sterling provided an opportunity for Restonians to have some lighthearted, catastrophe-related fun on Facebook, speculating as to the source of the smoke. But of course, if it was truly a sign that the RA had selected a new leader, the smoke would have been a pre-approved Pantone shade of "beechwood," or something similar, not that grody smouldering Ashburn particleboard hue, the end.
Good on Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Station 25 for having a little fun with the decades-in-the-making infrastructure rising in the background. We admit our own "humorous" "web logging" has been only slightly more expeditious than the entire saga of getting the W&OD trail bike bridge over Wiehle Avenue approved and built, but geez, guys, can't you keep your fire trucks and ambulances in your own lane?
We kid, we kid. What we're not kidding about is we still have months to go before our overcaffeinated cadre of cyclists can slap on the spandex and whip over the intersection with Wiehle without stopping.... as opposed to slapping on the spandex and whipping through the intersection with Wiehle without stopping, the end.
Lake Anne residents will be able to enjoy the tepid chills of lake-cooled air conditioning at least a bit longer. The Reston Association says that fewer than half of the eligible households -- far below the needed 2/3 supermajority -- voted in a fancy fun referendum to revoke the covenants prohibiting homes in RELAC's service area from installing individual air conditioning systems for their homes, at least not without a medical (cough cough) provision like the ones your Restonian's roommates may have used way back in college (School of Hard Knocks, '64).
But we digress! Give us some typo-riddled blockquote, BFFs at Reston Patch:
If the referendum had past [sic], residents in the affected clusters would've been able [sic] install individual cooling systems for their homes.
With RELAC's future in doubt after the company managing the jet-aged system announced it was ending service late last year, the RA had actually encouraged residents to vote to change the covenant to allow the sweet sweet sound of freedom AC units grinding away behind each home. With the covenants unchanged, the only way to install your own AC is to visit your "doctor" about your "allergies" -- a tactic which the former operators blamed for the shutdown in the first place.
Not satisfied to squash our schoolgirl dreams of spending an hour or six playing the penny slots before getting on the Metro in Reston, or to delay until next year the possibility of building a fun, floating 96-story casino in an abandoned car lot in Tysons, Fairfax's Emerald City, opponents are now urging county residents to help put a Hattori Hanzo sword to the proposal once and for all.
Give us some good five point palm exploding heart technique blockquote, BFFs at Coalition for a Planned Reston:
The casino bill will be on the agenda of the full Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, February 6. The Committee Chair will ask the full committee to vote to hold the bill over to the 2025 legislative session. Senator Boysko will offer an alternative proposal to kill the casino bill entirely.
It will help tremendously if there are many Fairfax County residents seated in the room to show support for her motion. This nonpartisan effort is open to all, whether you vote Independent, Republican, or Democrat. There is no better way to show our opposition than to show up in person on Tuesday. Senator Boysko will ask us all to stand to show our support for her motion.
There's a link to sign up to take a free bus to Richmond for Tuesday's hearing, so if you're into sitting in traffic on I-95, holding elected officials accountable to the will of the people, or just standing up when someone asks you to, have at it, the end.
Update: The bill wasn't killed, but it was coldpilled -- continued until the 2025 General Assembly session.
Senate Bill 675 authorizing a casino in Tysons is dead for this year and carried over to 2025, after a vote by the Senate Resource Subcommittee. I'm very happy that the subcommittee members listened to the community and the people elected to represent them. It is a big victory for everyone who cares about good government!
The postponement came despite apparent support for the proposal by Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-18), who chairs the Senate Finance & Appropriations resources subcommittee and quipped that she’s been called “the casino queen” during the meeting.
Sen. Dave Marsden (D-35), who patroned the bill that would make Fairfax County — specifically Tysons — eligible for a casino, previously told FFXnow that he was hopeful it would pass, noting that Lucas, who also chairs the overall finance committee, “likes [the] bill.”
Marsden says he’s “disappointed” by the outcome, noting that the vote still keeps the bill alive until 2025. “No one has any other ideas to give Fairfax County a brighter revenue future,” he told FFXnow.
ZOMG, throw in a couple of floormats and an extended warranty, because as the bill that would create a fun floating casino atop an abandoned car lot in the county's Emerald City wends its way through Virginia's General Assembly, it appears that Reston is really, probably, maybe officially out of consideration. At least the Reston Association is declaring victory in terms of getting the casino out of our backyards:
Senate Bill 675 was officially introduced by Senator David Marsden, and that as a direct result of our advocacy, he intends to exclude Reston as a possible location for a future casino. This is due significantly to the outreach from RA and its membership, and we thank Senator Marsden for meeting with us, listening to the concerns of our community and taking act on that addresses those concerns. We are confident that Senator Marsden will continue to work with us to ensure Reston is not an option in the bill.
This comes as our BFFs at Patch quantify just how much Comstock has donated to our legislature's casino backers: $51,000 to the Senate subcommittee which will determine the bill's fate. That's cheaper than trying to buy a seat on the county board of supervisors, but not when you consider the $637,000 casino backers have contributed to date.
This bit of news did Not Amuse our county supervisor, Walter Acorn, who writes:
There has been some excellent coverage in the local media including the Patch story this morning disclosing various attempts to grease the skids in Richmond. Such news reinforces my opposition to a casino along the Silver Line.
Meanwhile, we got this Hot Text on our cellular telephone:
When we were warned about people sliding into our DMs, as the kids might have said a few years ago, this is not what we had in mind! The link sends you to a petition site that lets you send a message to state and county lawmakers, all while you watch video of some sweeeeeeeeet gridlocked traffic crawl by in the background. Advocacy has never been more hypnotic!
Although last week, we saw an even more Northern Virginia reason for opposing the casino:
**National Security Threat: **
Fairfax County and surrounding areas have a high concentration of personnel employed by the intelligence community. Gambling debt is a key way that other countries could potentially compromise our national security.
Just keep your neighbor who says he works "for the government" away from the penny slots, the end.
Update: On Tuesday, a House subcommittee voted a 4-4 tie on the fun casino legislation, and the vote is going to the full committee on Wednesday. If you want to take a fun bus ride to Richmond, click here.
Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn weighs in:
I know of at least one group of concerned residents that are meeting at the Hartke Office Building parking lot, 11890 Sunrise Valley Drive, 11 a.m. tomorrow (Jan. 24) to bus and carpool to Richmond on this topic (for more information contact conniehartke@gmail.com). It should also be possible to testify remotely tomorrow, see the senate virtual participation policy. Follow the instructions, including signing up at least a half hour before the committee meeting begins – likely early afternoon.
If you cannot attend personally or virtually, emails are also an option. Here is a link to the committee which lists all members – click on each member to get their email address. Here’s my letter I sent Senator Marsden and committee members earlier this evening. If you care about this issue like I do, please make your voice heard!
Update to the Update: After a 10-4 vote Wednesday, the bill is going to the full Senate finance committee, which could kill it or advance it to the full senate. If the bill passes, Fairfax county residents would get their own vote in a referendum before the fun floating casino could be built.
“The eligible host locality described in subdivision A 6 shall be limited to a proposed site for a casino gaming establishment that is (i) located within one-quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, (ii) part of a coordinated mixed-use project development, (iii) outside of the Dulles airport flight path, (iv) within two miles of a major shopping destination containing not less than 1.5 million square feet of gross building area, and (v) outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway.”
On Wednesday, Marsden specified that the language actually only allows the casino on one particular parcel in Tysons, on the site of a "defunct auto dealership on Route 7 in Tysons,” he said.
So far, it has hired six lobbyists through its hospitality subsidiary and created “Building a Remarkable Virginia” PAC that has contributed more than $500,000 to Virginia state political candidates (including $109K to Marsden and Sen. Surovell, another local casino proponent). Virtually all the money is from Comstock executives or others closely associated with Comstock.
An interested developer said on background that a casino alone isn’t their vision. This developer, who asked to remain anonymous given the early stages and competitiveness of such a large project, envisions a casino paired with a large convention center, hotels, restaurants, office space and residences. Some Fairfax County officials have previously opined their desire to have a convention center and/or entertainment venue.
Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!