Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The Virginia lawmaker introduced the measure on Earth Day, saying the fee would reduce littering and encourage use of reusable bags.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) on Monday introduced a measure that would impose a 5-cent fee on plastic and paper bags at grocery and retail stores in the commonwealth. The fees would go toward supporting the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Trash Reduction Act of 2013 is modeled after a policy implemented in 2009 in Washington, DC. Montgomery County, Md., also has a similar policy. The number of single-use plastic bags in DC dropped from the 2009 monthly average of 22.5 million to just 3 million per month by the end of 2010, according to a news release from the lawmaker's office. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Program provides matching grants to states and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Sequestration has impacted them, and more redevelopment options are needed.
The Bureau of Land Management's long-awaited decision on the Environmental Assessment for the aging stables at its The Stables At the Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area has been scrapped. The decision to seek alternative development options was revealed to the public Monday morning at the office of Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland, who hosted U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th), BLM executives, barn manager Allison Mills and barn supporters. "We've looked at the coming fiscal reality and determined that those three options in the EA (Environmental Assessment) are not enough," said BLM spokesman Bob Gillcash. "Hopefully we are no longer contained to option A, B or C. We're really looking for D, E, F and G, maybe H. We want …
Monday, April 1, 2013
Barn manager Allison Mills' business is going to stay.
The horse boarding program at the Meadowood Special Recreation Area will survive for at least another year. Barn manager Allison Mills signed a one-year lease for the Bureau of Land Management's Stables At Meadowood last Friday and is no longer tied down to her previous contract, which limited the number of horses allowed on the property to 15, as the Bureau makes its long-awaited final determination on future barn renovations. Mills was down to 15 horses at the barn, and has a waiting list of 34 horses. It will take several months to introduce the animals to their new home. "BLM has made every extraordinary effort to accommodate the community desire and the needs of the on-site businesses at the barn," said Mills to Patch. "And it's …
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Northern Virginia Democrat released this statement following the passage of the Republican Fiscal Year 2014 Budget resolution.
Northern Virginia Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th) said that the recently passed Republican budget in the U.S. House of Representatives will cost the country two million jobs and "more than $5 trillion in tax cuts and giveaways to the wealthiest Americans." “The budget proposed by the Republican majority today is an ideological document that lays out a path to prosperity for only the wealthiest Americans, while undermining our recovery and long term economic strength through deep cuts to investments in our infrastructure, education and research," said Moran in a statement. Read: Reps. Moran and Connolly: Congress is "Dysfunctional" The budget was passed on a 221-207 party-line vote, and would turn Medicaid into a voucher system and eliminate …
Friday, March 1, 2013
The March 1 deadline for sequestration is here.
Northern Virginia Congressmen Gerry Connolly (D-11th) and Jim Moran (D-8th) said Congress is "dysfunctional", as the midnight deadline on sequestration steadily approached. "It's a dysfunctional Congress," said Moran, who spoke with Patch at a ribbon-cutting Friday in Lorton. "I think it ill-serves the people of the United States today. It's very frustrating, very disappointing. It's an institution that is not serving its functions." Connolly does not expect a last-minute compromise on $1.2 trillion in debt reduction, and the U.S. military will be forced to cut $46 billion and domestic defense spending will be cut by $85 billion this year alone. "It is the consequence of a dysfunctional Congress," he said. "It's the consequence of …
It officially opens Monday. Public is invited to an open house Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Inova HealthPlex in Lorton will open Monday, and dignitaries assembled on Friday for a ribbon-cutting. The $26 million facility has a 24/7 emergency room, operating rooms, radiology and laboratory services, 24 patient-care bays and 16 in-patient waiting rooms. "This is a big deal," said U.S. Congressman Jim Moran (D-8th) at the event. "Every single one of us is going to have our life affected at one point by the quality of the healthcare that's available to us." The 16-bed Lorton Healthplex, which is located just off the Lorton Road exit off Interstate 95, is part of the Inova Mount Vernon hospital, and patients who need to stay the night will be transferred via ambulance to Mount Vernon. It will be the second Healthplex in Fairfax …
What will it mean for the businesses at the barn?
The Bureau of Land Management has extended the wait on its decision on the Environmental Assessment of the stables at the Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area in Lorton until the effects are known of the federal sequester on the Department of the Interior's budget. The Interior's Bureau of Land Management owns the barn, and the funds set aside for barn repair are being reviewed. "Are those funds set aside or do they remain intact and inviolate for moving them for some other purpose?" said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland to Patch. "I hold my breath, because a good part of that money has been put in by people who have boarded their horses there." Are you following us on Facebook and Twitter? You Should. Virginia …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
What will it mean for the Northern Virginia economy?
Sequestration — $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts to defense and civilian programs over the next decade — will likely happen, and it will mean thousands of layoffs, program eliminations and near-certain economic devastation for Northern Virginia, said Virginia Congressmen Jim Moran (D-8th) and Gerry Connolly (D-11th) on Saturday at a town hall meeting in Mount Vernon. "You need to be aware that this is probably going to happen," said Moran, who spoke at an annual meeting conducted by Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland. "It's a democracy and things will ultimately play themselves out, but things are not going well right now (in Congress)." Congress averted the fiscal cliff crisis at the beginning of the year, and …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Activist who released Patrick Moran video would not cooperate with investigation, according to police.
Patrick Moran, the congressman's son who was caught on tape seemingly giving advice on how to skirt voter identification laws, will not face any criminal charges, the Arlington County Police Department announced Thursday. Authorities have concluded their three-month investigation into election offense allegations against Moran, son of U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, a Democrat who represents parts of Northern Virginia. The allegations stemmed from a video released in late October by conservative activist James O'Keefe, whose methods and productions have been called into question in the past. The younger Moran resigned from his father's reelection campaign within hours of the video's release. Moran, 23, lives in South Arlington. Patrick Moran and his …
Friday, January 11, 2013
Officials from Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties met in Arlington to discuss six potential sites Thursday.
Local, state and Congressional leaders met Thursday in Arlington to discuss six potential sites for a new FBI headquarters and to present a unified front in their commitment to landing the new federal complex somewhere in Northern Virginia. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, who called the meeting, said leaders from Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties had a "singular focus" in bringing the FBI headquarters to the Old Dominion. "We're all committed to finding a home for the FBI in the commonwealth of Virginia," Moran said during a news conference following the meeting. "We are all going to promote Virginia as the best place for this relocation." Arlington's role was simply as host. It has not put forth any potential sites …
T Ailshire
5:22 pm on Sunday, April 28, 2013
First - if it's a tax, it should be a tax on everyone. No exemptions; no subsidies. ALL or nothing. What is a good way? Pick them up. Don't just let it blow by you in the parking lot or on the street -- do YOUR part. And yes, I do use cloth bags. more ›