Entries in Living in LoCo for November 2007
So Long, LoCo Readers
Friday, December 7, I will publish my last entries for the Living in LoCo blog on LoudounExtra.com, and the column will then begin transitioning to a new set of writers. It has been an amazing adventure since we began the quest to capture "The Pulse of Loudoun" in a daily web column back in Februrary on washingtonpost.com. With just under 400 stories online and 40 newspaper columns that ran in the Sunday Extra of The Washington Post, we have gotten to know each other pretty well. Read full entry and discussion »
Joe Shares His Wish with Us
"I'm on a short string here," 85-year old Joseph Botto said while sitting next to his walker and a small, cheerful Christmas tree in his sunny condo in Lansdowne's Leisure World. His heart and kidneys are ailing, his vision is going, but he is eager to tell a story. Though it is not his story he wants you to hear, it is his grandson's. To get there, you first have to know something about Joe. Read full entry and discussion »
Don't Miss the Fun Downtown
It is amazing to me how many people who rarely (or never) do business in downtown Leesburg complain about the ticky-tacky strip malls and fast-food joints around the county -- saying they would prefer a quaint, town center in their own neighborhoods. Well, we have one that is not too far away from most of Loudoun's residential areas. It is downtown Leesburg, which is out with a new promotional campaign called "Meet Me Downtown." As part of the enticements, the town has free parking for the entire month of December that includes all public garages and meters. Read full entry and discussion »
The Grass Is Always Greener
Water and irrigation has become a hot topic among Broadlands HOA board members. According to the Loudoun County Sanitation Authority, we're still in a drought emergency which, as a reminder, prohibits watering of established residential lawns. Not that most of us are thinking about green grass this time of year, but Van Metre is watching and has proposed adding more irrigation lines to water common areas on Claiborne Parkway and Broadlands Boulevard -- which could cost residents an additional $60,000 a year. Read full entry and discussion »
Posted by Tammi Marcoullier at 12:01 p.m. on November 27, 2007
Potomac Falls "Slider" in the News
Keslie Tomlinson, a 26 year old from Potomac Falls, is an Olympic hopeful who competes in skeleton (cafeteria tray size sled, slider is stomach down, headfirst, races at high speeds down an ice track). Over Thanksgiving weekend she slid in the first Europa Cup of the season in Igls, Austria, placing fouth, the top U.S. spot. Read full entry and discussion »
Office Developer Wants More Space
The Loudoun County planning commssion was supposed to meet tonight at 6 p.m. to discuss a controversial item on the agenda that has since been removed. Ginny Rowen, Loudoun's planning department project manager for an office building in Lansdowne, said that the applicant has asked to postpone teh public hearing on the item. The developer had proposed changing the size of allowable office space in Lansdowne and is now faced with a small wave of opposition. Read full entry and discussion »
Posted by Tammi Marcoullier at 10:38 a.m. on November 26, 2007
Bridging the Great (Schools) Divide
It's that time of the year again... and I'm not talking about the holidays. It's Loudoun County Public Schools boundary planning, and the process is at a crucial juncture. Two new schools will open in fall 2008, Creighton's Corner Elementary in Brambleton and Steuart W. Weller Elementary near the One Loudoun subdivision. Eleven other elementary schools in the area will be affected by new boundaries. Read full entry and discussion »
The Good News
Sometimes, amid the chaos and dissention of divisive community issues and local politics, it is important to take stock of the positive -- the little things that move neighborhoods and groups and individuals to contribute their time and effort to the greater good. Following are a few things that have gone on in Loudoun recently that exemplify the good of our community. If you have something that you would like others to know about, please add it into the "comments" section below. Read full entry and discussion »
What's in Delgaudio's Storage Unit?
Sterling Board of Supervisor representative Eugene Delgaudio appears to be delinquent in paying for a storage unit, sparking an e-mail flurry among interested buyers, or gawkers, wondering what he's got in the box. Read full entry and discussion »
Where to Eat & Discounts, Too
Tired of eating at your old standbys? Need to find a place that serves more than bagels for breakfast? Ashburn Village residents Stacy and Mark O'Brien have launched a new local web site, http://www.wheretoeatinashburn.com, to help their neighbors find a quick and easy food options in this fast-growing community. Read full entry and discussion »
Neighbors Abuzz with Stabbing News
Before even the first county alert was delivered with news about the double stabbing in Broadlands Friday night, neighbors were talking. Was there a fight? Is it gangs... in Ashburn? The answers: yes and no. A helicopter flying in to pick up the wounded added another level of intrigue. Read full entry and discussion »
Posted by Tammi Marcoullier at 9:40 a.m. on November 16, 2007
Fans Fill Buses to Richmond
Congratulations to the Loudoun County Raiders, our AA Volleyball State Champions! After a hard-fought win in the semi-finals Friday, the Raiders defeated the Grafton Clippers from Yorktown, Va., in the state championship Saturday in Richmond. Check out the video highlights. Exciting clips that capture the game and the fans in full revelry. Read full entry and discussion »
New Lansdowne Board In, Day Care Still Out
The transition is complete. Residents voted at the annual meeting and elected the first resident-controlled board for Lansdowne on the Potomac Wednesday night. John Caron and Vivian Zoakos, highly regarded members of the community's Facilities and Grounds Committee, were elected with the two highest vote totals. Read full entry and discussion »
Virtual IDs Meet Reality
In Broadlands, the virtual world met reality as the neighborhood's online forum regulars came to mingle in person. Read full entry and discussion »
Posted by Tammi Marcoullier at 4:40 p.m. on November 14, 2007
$200K Grant for "After Dark"
For the past two Friday nights, local teenagers have been showing up at the Dulles Sportsplex in Sterling for a high-school open gym session sponsored by the non-profit Loudoun Youth Inc. Through word of mouth, the news spread that there was a safe, no-cost place for the teens to hang out from 9 p.m. to midnight, snacks and drinks included. Organizer Carol Kost said about 28 kids showed up the first night and there were 32 the second night, a good indication of the need for something to do. Read full entry and discussion »
Brambleton Complaints Net Verizon Help
At last night's Brambleton Community Association annual meeting, the hot topic was Verizon FiOS. Generally, people are frustrated with the service. They like the TV quality, but not the customer service problems and the hardware itself, and some are afraid that we're in some sort of scary OpenBand-like deal. Read full entry and discussion »
Speak Your Mind Tonight
Got a beef with the county government, development plans, or social issues? You can have it your way, or at least let leaders know how you want things done by speaking your mind at one of the upcoming public hearings with the Board of Supervisors. The Board is holding its regular monthly public hearing at 4 p.m. today, and has added an additional session for tomorrow, Wednesday, at 6:30 p.m. Read full entry and discussion »
A Moving Tribute to Veterans
Parents and grandparents who have served, or are serving, in the armed forces, were invited by Hillside Elementary students to today's Veterans Day celebration. The multi-purpose room was filled with red, white and blue-outfitted students, teachers, parents, veterans, and one newly-naturalized citizen. Read full entry and discussion »
Ashburn Teen Is Prince on Stage
Michael Bunting, a 15-year old from Ashburn, is a lead character in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of "Edward II." There is a feature article about him and his role as Prince Edward in today's KidsPost. Read full entry and discussion »
Mystery Sobriety Checkpoint Tonight
For the first time in months, residents aren't being told exactly where the checkpoint will be. Instead, Loudoun's party people will have to curb their drinking. Those who do drink and drive run the risk of coming across the cops who will be somewhere in "Eastern Loudoun." Read full entry and discussion »
Anklebiters & Eagles Host Bowl Series
The newly formed Dulles South Youth Sports (DSYS) football league hosted the Inaugural Bowl Series on Sunday, November 4th. Approximately 400 kids on 16 teams, along with four cheering squads, took part in the event which was funded by the DSYS league, with additional donations made by local businesses. All teams participated in a charity food drive benefitting Loudoun Interfaith Relief. Read full entry and discussion »
Loudoun's Old-Fashioned Vote Handling
The elections of 2007 are (thankfully, for some) over. Now that you have heard countless stories from the voters about why they voted the way they did and how the voting went, you get to hear the other side, specifically, a view of election day vote tallies and why it took so long to get results. Read full entry and discussion »
Developer Says "Grandfather Day Care"
Lansdowne developer Hobie Mitchel says he is attending tonight's Lansdowne on the Potomac homeowners association meeting to put it into the record that he and a previous board had given approval to five Lansdowne families to provide day care and that they should be allowed to operate despite new rules limiting home-based businesses. Some of the day care providers are being issued notices and fines, and there is mention of threats that the HOA will put liens against their homes if they do not close down their businesses. Read full entry and discussion »
Election Details & Voter Stories
Lets get straight to the results from Tuesday's Board of Supervisor and Sheriff's election. I'll bold the winners, then head down the page where you can read what voters had to say about what issues compelled them to vote yesterday. (Thanks to those who took the time to talk!) If you want to see exactly how your neighborhood voted, check out the interactive map which has fine details about how each candidate did in pockets of their districts. Read full entry and discussion »
Inside the Post-Election Parties
Hundreds of supporters, campaign workers, and hopeful candidates stood in the cold and wind late Tuesday afternoon and into the evening to catch rush-hour voters. By 7:05 p.m., most of them were awaiting results at "victory parties" in warm and friendly locations around the county. Broadlands correspondent Erica Garman, South Riding correspondent Val Cavalheri, and I hit a few post-election events Tuesday night to see how the candidates and their supporters fared as voting results came in. Erica covered the Democrats and O'Faolain's, Val went to Caputo's headquarters, and I joined the Republicans at The Steakhouse. Read full entry and discussion »
A Bad Night for Republicans
Steven J. Snow (Dulles) and Mike Firetti (Chairman seat), Republican candidates for the county Board of Supervisors, didn't officially concede losses, but their party at The Original Steakhouse in Broadlands quietly began to wind down around 9:45 and was over just after 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Read full entry and discussion »
Poll View: Voters Talk & Tally
Though turnout has reportedly been light at Freedom High School with about 200 voters, Broad Run High School had around 600 voters, and Little River Elementary had 726 voters come through by noon today. A voter in the Catoctin District said that he was about 300th in line when he went to the polls around 11 a.m. at Waterford Elementary School. Read full entry and discussion »
VOTE! It's Election Day
Good morning Loudoun! The pre-election battles have been raging for weeks and today is the day we find out where this county stands. Today's votes will determine what the majority of people think of the state of Loudoun politics and where we, as voters, determine it will go next. The smell of desperation in some races has been clear from recent mailings, robo-calls, accusatory photos, letters from company owners defending their relationships with candidates, the deluge of (illegally placed) campaign signs, finger pointing and huff-puff-puffing either in accusation or defense. Read full entry and discussion »
Disdain and Mistrust Rule Homeless Meeting
Depending on where you sat on the issue last night, the event at Ashburn Elementary School to discuss the Good Shepherd Alliance's Ashburn facility for the homeless was either a) a meeting, b) a debate, c) an all-out smack-down. By 6:15 p.m. the school parking lot was filled for the 6:30 p.m. meeting. More than 400 people packed the multi-purpose room to hear from government officials, resident groups, individual citizens and the GSA regarding plans for the organization's new facility on Ashburn Road. Read full entry and discussion »
Which Candidate Is Your Best Match?
A cool little "candidate selector" tool is up and running in our Election 2007 Guide. While simple in concept with multiple choice Q&A, you might be surprised at what you find in the end results. I fiddled around with it today just to see if the candidates I am interested in provided the kinds of answers I am looking for. Unless you know your candidate's exact rhetoric, you could find yourself thinking deep thoughts while reading these robust responses. Read full entry and discussion »
Redskins "Treat" for Lansdowne Kids
Today we introduce our new Lansdowne correspondent Dave Nemetz. You may know him from his previous work under the pseudonym "Rabble Rouser" on the Lansdowne and Out in the Open blog where his Herculean efforts brought sunshine to issues in the community, often with interesting results and comments. Today Nemetz brings us a tale of trick-or-treating in Lansdowne. Read full entry and discussion »
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