Metro not silver bullet

This past week many news reports and papers told us that without Metro to Loudoun the sky would fall and Loudoun would say goodbye to billions of dollars and revert back to the stone age. What a bunch of hogwash. All these claims come from a report that Fuller admits was funded by rail station landowners. Does anyone else get a funny whiff of something here?

Stephen S. Fuller appears at first glance to be an objective university professor speaking out about Metro benefits, but the truth is—he’s a lobbyist that’s also related to rail investors.  He is a “Dwight Schar Faculty Chair” and Dwight Schar’s son-in-law is a Principal of Comstock Partners, highly invested in Dulles Rail Corridor projects. 

A little research on who Dr. Fuller also represents produced a list from his GMU bio webpage. His past and current positions include: NAIOP Distinguished Fellow from 2001 through 2008 (trade association for developers, owners and investors in industrial, office and related commercial real estate), CFO Advisory Group of the District of Columbia (DC wants to milk the Loudoun Cash Cow), Board of Directors of the Global Environment and Technology Foundation (globalist environmental lobbyists focused on “Sustainable Development” such as Moorefield Station and other Transit Oriented Development (TOD), Board of Directors of Tompkins Builders Inc. (specializing in high-end condominiums and massive government buildings), Economic advisor to Fairfax County, VA (Fairfax wants to milk the Loudoun Cash Cow), Board of Directors of the Fairfax County Convention and Visitors Authority (FCCVA wants their visitors to have rail access to the airport), Cardinal Bank Chief Economist (Cardinal Bank has financial ties to Comstock Properties).

It is clear that Dr. Fuller represents the pro-rail lobby, particularly those with investment interests and those with a globalist environmental agenda. A Republican Board of Supervisors elected on a platform of being limited-government conservatives shouldn’t listen to any of his advice.

Like many media propaganda outlets, liberal politicians and lobbyists, Dr. Fuller fails to cite any sources or documentation for his claims. He states that “All the forecasts for the County’s future economic growth include the provision of Metrorail service.” If so, his claim that removing Metro from the forecasts would decrease economic growth is - without evidence.

This is the biggest decision the Loudoun Board of Supervisors has ever faced; it deserves to be made with an honest assessment of all the facts.

D. Siecker

Purcellville

Standardize honors classes between schools

Did you know that Loudon County Public School (LCPS) system does not have a standardized curriculum for honors classes? Every parent in Loudon County that has a child in the public school system and every taxpayer should know that LCPS has pulled off one of the best bait and switch ploys ever when it comes to educating our kids.

Let me explain: when a middle school parent goes to makes the decision on what classes their child should take, they look at the Program of Studies Guide—the booklet that describes all classes offered. A typical entry looks like this:

Language Arts 6
Grade Level …………………………………………………………………………………………………100000
Honors ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..100200

(From the 2012 – 2013 Middle School Program of Studies)

Doesn’t this appear to be two separate classes?  In 11 of the 14 middle schools they are, but in Harper Park, Belmont Ridge and Blue Ridge Middle School, that is not the case. These schools have chosen to put both grade level and honors students in the same classroom. They call this “blended classes.” How can they do this if there is a separate curriculum for honors classes? Well, there isn’t a separate curriculum, so they can get away with it. This is the bait and switch ploy.

At present an honors history class at Simpson Middle School does not have the same requirements of the students, as the honors history classes at Blue Ridge Middle School. The Program of Studies Guide states “that the honors classes will require a greater commitment of time and effort outside of class” and every teacher gets to decide how to interpret this statement. Therefore, with approximately 246 middle school teachers teaching honors classes you could have 246 different ways that our students are fulfilling “the greater commitment of time and effort outside of class” in the honors program. What a fiasco.

Let’s compel the wealthiest county in the nation to standardize honors classes by implementing a set honors curriculum starting next school year. Call your principal, school board representative and the LCPS administration today and discuss this issue. Also go to http://www.petitionhosting.com/petitions/JSNTBCBRMS .

If our public school system is as good as all the awards and accolades they have received over the years would indicate (and all the taxpayers money we have given them), then let’s demand that they raise the educational expectations for allour students by implementing a set curriculum for the honors classes and stop blending. Or do we stand back, do nothing and let them continue to create an environment for mediocrity.

Teri Domanski

Middleburg

Shameful display by Delgaudio

Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio’s May 15 interview has a shameful and glaring omission, based on two conflicting facts. 

Fact 1: Delgaudio’s organization, Public Advocate of the United States is an anti-gay hate group. (This was determined by the Southern Poverty Law Center.) Fact 2: As a Loudoun Supervisor, Delgaudio took a public oath to serve every citizen equally. As the Leader of an anti-gay hate group, how can he possibly equally serve his GLBT constituents?  We must continually ask and demand an answer, which is central to his public service.

If he cannot equally serve everyone, he must step down from public office.

Lydia Rice

Sterling

Is GMU now the local source of Obama-Economics?

This is the headline of the week, “Loudoun County Could Lose Billions Without the Silver Line, Study Says”

Is something fishy going on here? Is GMU now the source of a local version of Obama-Economics, all redistributive fluff and no meat? When did GMU faculty start offering guaranteed winning lottery tickets payable sometime in the distant future to local municipal governments.

I am a resident of Loudoun County, I am furious, and I would like some answers please. As you may know Loudoun is under intense pressure to make a decision that involves huge amounts of money, sums that would cause state and federal branches to take pause. This is serious stuff. Enter stage right, compliments of the local rail station land owners, one of your own, the esteemed Dr. Stephen Fuller. Versions of this headline are everywhere and the pressure on Loudoun Supervisors to cash in on this promise is intense.

So I ask you people of the of GMU, the peers of Dr. Fuller, ‘Is this a bona fide study’ or a hack job?  Would you bank your economic future on this as Fuller is suggesting the taxpayers of Loudoun should do? Fuller himself says that question is a “No brainer.” Is it?

Here is some background. Loudoun has in hand a study from the Robert Charles Lesser Co. (RCLCO), a 210 page presentation, 400 pages of appendices. For some reason the RCLCO people made these statements that are difficult to reconcile with the Fuller claims,

“Nonetheless, RCLCO has not found any credible evidence to indicate that the extension of rail transit brings new development to an entire region.” RCLCO

The proponents of the Silver Line have failed to provide a clear and unambiguous picture of the cost to Loudoun County. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has been placed in an awkward position of being pro-business and supporting critical infrastructure while facing a muddled and inequitable role as a participant in the Metro system. Maybe someone from GMU could help Loudoun find out if Fuller is for real.

Fuller admitted developers made a $15,000 contribution for the research to George Mason University. Will someone at George Mason please help us before we decide on Metro? Will you look at this study and provide an expert opinion on whether this study and its results should overshadow our other forecasts. Or is this a bad idea that needs to be exposed and discredited before Fuller’s testimony has its intended affect?

David LaRock

Hamilton

Freight is not Loudoun’s future

The Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority and the Commonwealth Transportation Board have a plan to turn Dulles Airport and Loudoun County into one of the nation¹s major freight handling hubs. This would be a disaster for Loudoun and would destroy, probably forever, the wonderful and unique characteristics of this special place.

Loudoun, as many have said, has it all. Great suburban neighborhoods, top rated schools, proximity to Washington DC, an international airport, and nearby rural areas that provide recreation, beauty, historic sites and healthy local food. That¹s why Loudoun has had high growth, attracts skilled professionals, has low unemployment and is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation. This unique and irreproducible combination of great assets and great people could make Loudoun one of the high tech centers of the country.

Instead we are faced with a future of endless noisy truck traffic on wide six lane highways through our lovely neighborhoods, droning cargo flights over our heads, millions of square feet of featureless warehouses and distribution centers and, instead of high wage, high tech professionals, we will create hundreds of low wage non-professional jobs.
 
As a result, home prices will be driven down, professionals will be less attracted to move here and other locations will snatch the great new businesses we could have had. Our future will be far less bright.
 
It is clear why some of the special interests want to exploit Loudoun for their own benefit, but it is less clear why our own locally elected Board of Supervisors is embracing this dismal vision. Their plans to widen the roads leading to Dulles, and their own newsletters to their constituents indicate that they see freight handling as the future for Loudoun.

This seems to demonstrate either an appalling lack of vision, a failure to protect the values of their own constituents or too much influence being wielded by other special interests.

We need to tell our own elected officials that we do not share their vision of such an unattractive future for us, and we expect them to work to strengthen Loudoun¹s special competitive advantages, not destroy them.

Mitch Diamond

Round Hill

Will Loudoun get left behind? Don’t block protections for the shenandoah river Beltway Atheists accusations ring false Who’s goofy? Our neighbors are in love Make Loudoun a forward-moving county Thank you to Loudoun Chorale Bring Metro to Dulles and beyond The obesity epidemic Broadband for all