Sunday, December 16, 2012
Democratic hopeful for governor of Virginia discusses job growth and infrastructure needs.
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) toured the Reston Station construction site Thursday to hear what the next Governor can do to help promote infrastructure development and economic growth. Reston Station is being developed through a public-private partnership between Comstock Partners and Fairfax County. It will be the site of the 2,300 commuter parking garage spaces and the mixed-use development planned at the Wiehle-East Silver Line Metro stop. “We need successful infrastructure projects in Virginia because they create jobs when we build them and add tremendous value for communities and neighborhoods that will now be served by transit,” McAuliffe said. “We must continue to find mainstream solutions to improve our …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Container Store will open in bookstore space as Spectrum gets ready for new look and expansion.
Reston's Barnes & Noble will close its doors in February 2013. The lease for the longtime tenant at The Spectrum shopping center was not renewed. Lerner Enterprises, which owns the shopping center, says The Container Store will take over the 25,000-foot space in the fall of 2013. Barnes & Noble has shuttered many brick-and-mortar stores nationwide over the last two years as more people turn to iPad and e-reader books. As of now, there is no plan to open another location nearby. David Deason, Vice President of Development at Barnes & Noble, said the company wanted to stay in Reston and was willing to pay more to do so. “We tried extremely hard to come to an agreement with the property owner to extend the lease at our Reston location, but …
Friday, November 30, 2012
Turnaround on Maryland end could cost Metro an additional $4.5 million year.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Revenue necessary if Silver Line Phase 2 is going to be built, Airports Authority says.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board voted Wednesday to raise fees on the Dulles Toll Road through 2014, but held off on raising rates for 2015. As expected, starting Jan. 1, 2013, drivers will pay 25 cents more at the main toll plaza and at on/off ramps for a total of $2.75. In 2014, the rates will rise to $3.50. But the board put off approving an increase for 2015, in hopes of securing alternative sources of funding. In deciding not to set 2015 toll rates, the board noted that the potential for low cost financing afforded by a TIFIA loan, combined with the potential for additional financial assistance from the Commonwealth and possibly other sources, along with the potential for a competitively priced Phase 2 Silver Line…
Board expected to raise Dulles Toll Road fees in vote Wednesday.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Silver Line Phase 1 is 82 percent complete.
Workers installed a section of the pedestrian bridge at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station late Friday night. Metro's Silver Line Phase 1 is now 82 percent complete, officials say.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
MWAA board member will no longer battle spending ouster and will resign instead.
- GOVERNMENT
- Karen Goff
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday that the Commonwealth and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority have reached a settlement with Dennis Martire, the former MWAA Board Member who was was fighting his removal from the group for questionable spending. “Today, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and former board member Dennis Martire reached agreement on the terms of a settlement that put to an end the months of unnecessary and costly litigation between the parties regarding my decision to remove Martire for cause as a board member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority," McDonnell said in a statement. "The full MWAA board considered and approved the terms of the …
Friday, September 14, 2012
"It was a rotten formula at the start whose stench only gets worse with each passing year and the skyrocketing tolls that come with it."
- OPINION
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Friday, September 14, 2012
With another increasingly expensive round of toll fee hikes in the offing for users of the Dulles Toll Road, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), AAA Mid-Atlantic wants to reiterate clearly and loudly its opposition. We understand that someone has to pay for the $6 billion cost of the construction of the Silver Line, but the overriding question in our mind is just who that should be. At last check, local motorists, via their tolls, are being forced to shoulder nearly 60% of the costs of this project. The Commonwealth of Virginia, until pushed hard by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, had no cash in the pot—it sole contribution was to be the tolls paid by motorists. Now, after LaHood’s arm …
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Airports Authority collecting public opinion, but will it be enough to control rising Dulles Toll Road rates?
Citizens came to South Lakes High School in Reston Wednesday night to talk about tolls and there were plenty of people there from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) there to listen. Wednesday night's event was the second of three public meetings organized by the group that oversees the Dulles Toll Road and the construction of the Metrorail's Silver Line. But will public opinion be enough to slow the rise in toll road rates? Under the toll rate proposal, the combined main plaza and ramp tolls, currently $2.25 for 2-axle vehicles, would increase to $2.75 in 2013, $3.50 in 2014 and $4.50 in 2015 in order to help fund the construction of the Silver Line Phase 2. Advocacy group Reston2020 predicts tolls for area motorists …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Board member says governor is wrong for trying to cut him from 13-member board.
It has cost the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority $75,000 to cover legal fees of a former board member who is fighting his ouster, The Washington Post reports. Dennis Martire, a Democratic appointee to the 13-member board, says his removal from the group that is charged with constructing Metrorail's Silver Line is politically motivated. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has argued that Martire damaged his credibility with questionable expenses, including spending nearly $9,200 to travel business class to Europe. Martire, an official with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, was appointed to the board by the previous governor, Tim Kaine (D). Martire has clashed with McDonnell over several issues, including a labor-…
Dave Webster
8:27 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
I expect to see photo ops during an election but this one seemed to be more of a non-event than usual. Roadblocks are a violation of our freedom from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed by the 4th Amendment to the United States Consitution and Article 1, Section 10 of the Virginia State Constitution. Therefore, roadblocks must operate under certain restrictions in order to pass … more ›