Friday, November 9, 2012
Fairfax County Supervisor says group should look at long waiting times at some polling spots and recommend ways to improve.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova says she will recommend a commission to look ways to improve the county's efficiency on Election Day. Bulova says she was concerned about long lines, wait times and other voting issues. Voter turnout for the 2012 election in Fairfax County was 80.5 percent. In the last presidential election, the turnout was 78.7 percent (with 72,501 fewer registered voters than today), county officials said. Meanwhile, absentee voting in the county was down 2.7 percent from 2008. Lines and waits varied widely in Fairfax County. In Reston, reported waits varied from a minute to about 30 minutes at peak time in the morning. Bulova says she waited just 20 minutes at Villa precinct Tuesday morning at …
Friday, September 14, 2012
The chairman of the Board of Supervisors was part of a panel at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria on Thursday that included poverty experts.
Residents of Fairfax County who make minimum wage could work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and still couldn’t afford to live in a one bedroom apartment due to high housing prices, said the chairman of the county’s Board of Supervisors on Thursday. That may be why 50 percent of the county’s approximately 1,500 homeless people have jobs but live in the woods, shelters or cars, said Sharon Bulova, speaking at a panel on poverty held at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. Fairfax County has a population of 1.1 million with 60,000 people classified as living in poverty. “They don’t make enough money to keep a roof over their heads,” she said. “Housing is expensive.” She said the county works closely with its school system to ensure …
Friday, June 29, 2012
Environmental sustainability was a hot topic Wednesday night at the final meeting of the county's 'Evolution of Fairfax' series.
The future prosperity of Fairfax County lies in environmental consciousness, alternative energy and “transitional thinking,” said architect Doug Carter during Wednesday night’s final installment in the Evolution of Fairfax lecture series. “Collectively, we are messing up our planet,” said Doug Carter, a forward-thinking architect who has lived and worked in the area for 40 years. “I happen to think that global warming is real and a very imminent danger to all of us. We need to change the way we do things, and we need to generate new alternative energy sources.” Carter was one of three speakers who capped off a series of panel discussions that covered Fairfax County’s past, present and future. Fairfax County Board Chairman Sharon Bulova …
Thursday, June 28, 2012
County is working with health service providers to make it happen.
Sharon Bulova, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said Thursday she was personally "pleasantly surprised" by the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. "Now that there is some clarity as to what in the act actually is now going to be law, and is going to be implemented, we may move forward now," she said. "Fairfax County stands ready to make that happen." "We are poised to move forward with what we know now is going to be implemented in Fairfax County," she said. Bulova: Turned down for healthcare coverage Bulova said personal experience has made her a big believer in affordable healthcare for all. "When I was a young mother in my late 20s, I worked for a small private company and was covered by a …
Monday, May 21, 2012
You may think twice about telling your kid to stop doodling.
If you've ever wondered what Sharon Bulova, Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is scribbling under the microphone during those incredibly long public hearings, it turns out she's a lifelong doodler. In addition to her duties as a public official for 25 years, Bulova has run more than a few pens dry by making cartoon likenesses of her colleagues. The drawings tell a sort of truth — from a certain point of view. Once you see them, you'll never mistake the mustache of U.S. Rep Gerry Connolly (D-11) for another, or the familiar dome of Mount Vernon Supervisor Gerry Hyland. "Since becoming Chairman, I don't draw and doodle as much as I used to," Bulova said. "I used to doodle in public hearings and I'd draw caricatures of the …
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Long will succeed Anthony Griffin on April 25.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors appointed Edward Long Jr., a former deputy county executive and chief financial officer, to succeed County Executive Anthony Griffin effective April 25. Board Chairman Sharon Bulova made the announcement after the board’s closed session on Tuesday afternoon. The decision was made sooner than expected, as officials thought the county would need to appoint an acting executive while they completed their search. Long, 59, has more than 34 years of experience with the county, beginning his career in 1977 as a budget analyst. He became the director of the Department of Management and Budget in 1989. Long retired as deputy county executive and chief financial officer in May 2011, but he said he has chosen …
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Bulova says "We will continue to identify ways to address the affordability of rates on the Dulles Toll Road. "
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Last week, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) released new cost estimates for Phase II of Rail to Dulles. These new estimates are $1 billion lower than previous estimates and are consistent with what we have been working with during the past year. Fairfax County and other stakeholders came together over the past year to address rising cost estimates for Phase II. Working with our staff and project partners, Loudoun County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, we were able to bring the cost of Phase II down by $700 million. The savings were achieved in part by moving to an above ground station at the airport, a smaller rail yard, and purchasing fewer rail cars. I believe these important…
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Virginia, U.S. Department of Justice reach settlement that will shut four training centers and move most residents back into the community.
The Commonwealth of Virginia and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement on Thursday in a three-year case that found Virginia is needlessly housing some individuals with disabilities in institutions. Under the terms of the 10-year, $2 billion agreement, Virginia will close four of its five homes for the developmentally and intellectually disabled and instead provide services in local communities. The agreement would close the Northern Virginia Training Center in Fairfax by 2015. About 200 residents live at NVTC. Southeastern Virginia Training Center in Chesapeake, a 75-bed center, would remain open. "People with disabilities should be given the same opportunities to participate in community life as those without disabilities…
Friday, January 13, 2012
School board members, teachers cautiously optimistic about Superintendent Jack Dale's $2.4 billion budget proposal
Fairfax County School Board members and teachers are praising teacher raises, hires and other plans to address the system’s rising enrollment in Superintendent Jack Dale’s proposed $2.4 billion budget — but some officials say his request for an increase of 8.4 percent in county funds, which dictates much of the plan, is unrealistic. "Boy, 8 percent sounds like quite a jump," Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova said Friday. "We need to be sensitive to the affordability of taxes to our residents. … An 8 percent increase seems like a stretch." Steve Greenburg, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, acknowledged Dale's proposal was facing a tough fight. "I don't think it does any good to be anything but …
Friday, November 4, 2011
Candidates for Chairman of the Board of Supervisors respond to the fifth and sixth of six questions posed by Patch.
The four candidates running for chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors answered six questions by email for Patch. Following are the unedited responses to questions five and six. Incumbent Democrat Sharon Bulova (website, Facebook, Twitter) Independent Christopher DeCarlo (website, YouTube) Independent Will Radle (Facebook, YouTube) Republican Michael “Spike” Williams (website, Facebook) Question #5: The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority weekly reports in its newsletter the relocation of mega-firms into the county. Would you move to require contribution of private sector money to support the investment tax payers have made in the county's infrastructure? Explain. Sharon Bulova Fairfax County does not put tax or …
T Ailshire
11:16 am on Sunday, November 11, 2012
In previous years, I had been told no cell phones in the polling place, so I left mine in the car. What was different this year? I could have been more productive (though I did get an hour's worth of reading in). more ›