News Break

Stink Bugs, The Menace Continues

According to a report from Fairfax City Patch, stink bugs are starting to make their seasonal migration from the outdoors to the inside of your home. While the insects are not considered to be a threat to the home, they are most certainly very annoying.  Fortunately however, they do not bite or transmit diseases.

Occupy What? Protest May Cause Traffic Delays

WTOP reports that Occupy Wall Street is planning another protest for 11:30am.  The organization is calling the event “Occupy K Street” in reference to a part of the city that is host to numerous lobbying organizations and is regularly derided by  populist groups.  According to the news agency, the planned protest could lead to further traffic problems in the area. 

At least the protestors decided to not to have their event at 8:00 AM.  If that happened I don’t think there would be enough Police to protect the protestors from the hordes of angry commuters that would be descending on them.

Side Note: For some reason the press never misses a chance to give the Occupy movement free advertising even though their numbers and organization have been significantly lacking of late. Aren’t there any other civic protests and demonstrations worth covering?

Three Charged In DC Robbery

According to Court records, a man who was assaulted last month in a Capitol Hill neighborhood known as ‘Eastern Market’ was struck with a BB gun and then thrown to the ground before he was robbed of his cellphone and credit card.

WTOP reports that according to the Court records, three people in total are being charged in the attack. After Police released surveillance footage from the incident, an unidentified tipster came forward with information that led to the three arrests.

Unfortunately the real robbers, our elected representatives, remain at large.

News Break

(To be consumed with a tasty beverage, preferably purchased from your local over priced coffee shop or corporate latte machine in your office lounge)

New Maryland Traffic Law To Address Black Outs

A few months ago the entire Washington DC Metro area was hit with a powerful storm that knocked out power for an extended period of time.  One by-product of the storm was chaos on the roads as many commuters simply did not know what to do when entering a traffic intersection with no power.

Well have no fear, for the Maryland legislature is taking action.  WTOP reports that on October 1, motorists will be fined $90 for failing to treat blacked out traffic lights as STOP signs.

My guess is that Virginia will follow up with a law of its own in the future. Got to keep those tax dollars rolling in somehow!

Vigil Planned For Slain Family

Update: Multiple News Outlets report that police have confirmed the incident as a murder suicide with the husband shooting his wife and children before shooting himself.

In what can only be described as a seriously messed up situation, a family of four was found dead in their Herndon home by Police on Tuesday, including two children. According to WTOP, a vigil for the family will be held at 7:30 PM at the Floris United Methodist Church.

While the Police have stated that there is no threat to the community, they have so far declined to rule the case as a murder suicide, although it certainly looks that way.

Fairfax News Break

School Overcrowding

According to an article in the Fairfax Times, Fairfax County public schools (FCPS) are estimated to have around 184,477 seats for about 181,510 enrolled students scattered across 196 schools.  Dean Tistadt,   the Chief Operating Officer for FCPS said that while the school system has been able to keep pace with a growing student population, this will become an increasingly difficult challenge in the years ahead.  Nevertheless, Tistadt mentioned that the County is looking at “creative” solutions to this issue including the possibility of operating the schools year round, which Tistadt claims could increase school capacity by 33%.

I’m sure the kids will love that…

Transportation Funding Shortage

The Fairfax Times also reported on County outreach efforts to educate citizens about a potentially massive transportation funding shortfall.  According to the Times, the County estimates that there will be a $300 million per year budget shortfall for transportation projects throughout the next decade.  County officials are planning to hold nine public meetings to educate residents about this problem.   County officials will also outline the policy options that may be pursued in the years ahead.  Namely, whether to pursue new sources of revenue or scale back on some of the transportation projects available. 

While road maintenance and construction is the responsibility of the state, no state funding for secondary road construction has been available since fiscal year 2010.  In contrast, the County spends around $280 million a year on local transportation projects.     

 

Car Tax Due October 5th!

What's the difference between this guy and the IRS?

A smart man once said that there are only two certain things in life, death, and taxes. Fortunately, the county can’t tell you when the first one is coming, but they can remind you when the deadline for the dreaded car tax is coming up!
 
October 5^th is the magic day to have your taxes paid so if you are still procrastinating, now may be a good time to get it done!

If you are totally clueless then here’s a link that might help you out.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/pay-car-taxes/

WEATHER ALERT

Now Which One Of These Would You Prefer?

The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather alert for Fairfax County until 7:00 PM.  According to the agency, this particular batch of severe weather has the potential to cause severe wind gusts and possible tornadoes.

Citizens are advised to stay tuned to local radio and television for updates. [And watch their commercials while you're at it!]

For those of you who actually have real jobs however, please disregard this announcement. You will probably be too busy with work, and too afraid of your boss to take a silly notion like self preservation seriously, even if a massive tornado is heading your way.

VA News Break

Mosque Vandalism

Update: (09/17) The FBI has joined the investigation into the vandalism at the mosque in Harrisonburg.

According to WTOP, two Virginia mosques were vandalized over the weekend in what may have been a reaction against violent anti-US protests in several predominately Muslim countries. On Friday, worshipers at a mosque in Harrisonburg discovered that part of their place of worship had been vandalized.  Police believe that the graffiti may be connected to a similar incident at a Christian school.

On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that the windows of some 30 cars surrounding a Falls Church mosque had been smashed.   However, according to the Fairfax County Police department, the damage did not appear to be connected to the mosque as cars in a wide ranging area had also suffered damage. 

VA Supreme Court Weighs In On Guns For Felons

The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled Friday that only the courts have the right to restore firearms rights to felons who have finished serving their time in prison.  While lower courts in Virginia had argued that a decision by the Virginia Governor to restore the political rights of convicted felons precluded them from deciding on whether their right to possess firearms could be restored.   The Supreme Court didn’t agree with that argument. So now the courts have to go back and decide on their own whether convicted felons can have guns.

Virginia Creates More Jobs Than Maryland

According to Stephen Fuller, the director of George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis, Virginia has been outperforming Maryland in job creation for over last thirty years.

“On a population base they're relatively equal, on a jobs base they're very unequal," Fuller was quoted as saying in a WTOP article.  Fuller backed up his claims with hard numbers, adding that while Virginia created 30,000 jobs last year, Maryland added a meager  1,500.

Fairfax Underground Shutdown

Update 09/09/2012: The site appears to be up and running again. In a post, the owner mentioned that the site has moved to a new server after a complaint was filed against the owner's former Internet Service Provider.

This Monday a popular forum for dissent and trouble makers was apparently shutdown. As of Wednesday, the website known as fairfaxunderground.com which hosts an extensive discussion forum, has been inaccessible to the public.  The website, which prided itself on its non-moderation, pro free speech policies, was a hot-bed for anti-establishment and politically incorrect voices in the community. 

While it is unknown exactly why the website has been unresponsive in the last few days, problems began to mount on the site when an individual going by the name of “Death Becomes Me” began indiscriminately blocking out threads on the forums.