Sunday, April 14, 2013
"No officer, I was just typing directions into my GPS…"
Texting while driving is dangerous, but some people do it anyway. This year, Virginia's General Assembly passed a measure that increased the fine to $125 (it was $20) for the first infraction and $250 for the second. But Virginia legislators did not pass a hands-free measure like they have in the District, and as such enforcing the law could prove difficult. The problem: Using cell phones to dial a number or setting the phone GPS is legal. “Distracted driving is a big problem, but it’s bigger than just phone use,” said Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, to the Washington Post. “Even if a law were successful in stopping phone use and texting, it wouldn’t eliminate distracted driving.” Northern Virginia Del. Scott …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The governor's amended transportation bill should eliminate the fee on hybrid cars, according to some Northern Virginia Legislators.
Governor Bob McDonnell announced Tuesday that he was making a number of amendments to his massive transportation bill, including lowering the fee for hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles, but some legislators aren’t happy. Among other changes, McDonnell has proposed lowering the annual fee for alternative fuel vehicles from $100 to $64. “Virginia’s economy depends upon a safe, reliable, efficient transportation system spanning all areas of the Commonwealth,” McDonnell said in a statement. “This is why I have substantially agreed to the provisions in the compromise bill that passed our legislature.” But Northern Virginia Delegates Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) and Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) argue the tax should be eliminated from the bill …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Local lawmakers will deliver a petition Monday morning to repeal the hybrid tax.
Del. Scott Surovell (D-44th) and Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30th District) will deliver a petition to Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell in Richmond Monday morning from residents who want to repeal the hybrid vehicle tax. The Virginia General Assembly recently passed HB2313, which includes a $100 tax on hybrid vehicles. In late February, Surovell and Ebbin started an online petition against the hybrid tax. The petition garnered slightly less than 7,000 signatures as of Sunday afternoon, according to a Facebook update from Surovell. "The $100 hybrid tax punishes virtuous behavior, bears zero relationship to reduced road taxes paid, and disincentives energy independence," Del. Surovell said in a column published on Patch in Februrary. • Interested in …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Jail time no longer a maximum penalty under proposed law.
Jail time is no longer on the table as a maximum penalty as state lawmakers look to tighten Virginia's texting-while-driving law. The Old Dominion is in line to increase the fines for such offenses, though, and to give law enforcement the power to stop drivers solely for texting. House Bill 1907, which passed this week on a 92-4 vote and was supported by Del. Rob Krupicka, increases the fine upon conviction to $250 — up from $20 — for the first texting-while-driving offense and $500 for each subsequent conviction. The bill makes texting while driving an aggravating circumstance to reckless driving, and so anyone convicted such would face a mandatory minimum $500 penalty if they were texting while they were driving recklessly. Further, …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Northern Virginia lawmakers will likely introduce or reintroduce gun bills at 2013 legislative session. Is this the year some of them will pass?
In the wake of Friday's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Virginia Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, says she will reintroduce a bill that would close the commonwealth's gun show loophole, which allows people to buy firearms at gun shows without a background check. "It's tragic," Howell says about the shooting that killed 20 schoolchildren and six adults. "I don't know whether I'm more angry or sad over it. I have introduced this bill in the past, and so have other people, but I'm hopeful there will be a better chance of passage this year." Closing the gun show loophole is among several gun bills in Virginia that repeatedly have been introduced and died in committee or are otherwise defeated. There are already …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Del. Scott Surovell paid tribute to Addie in his 'The Dixie Pig' blog named after a favorite restaurant of his grandmother's.
Hayfield Farms resident and entrepreneur Adelaide 'Addie' Arthur died on Thursday, March 22, 2012. She was 73. Addie's family was the owner and operator of many businesses, opening the Dixie Pig BBQ restaurants, according to the Legacy obituary in The Washington Post. "People from all across the country have raved about the Dixie Pig, including weatherman Willard Scott," the Legacy obituary reads. "The restaurant was also featured on an episode of CSI." According to The Washington Post, the first Dixie Pig opened in 1924 on Powhatan Street in Alexandria. Now it's Vaso's Kitchen, but the old Dixie Pig signage still sits atop the restaurant. The second Dixie Pig location opened on Route 1 in 1946. Although the location at Beacon Hill Road …
38.77271
-77.08114
Rite Aid
6711 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA
/articles/adelaide-addie-arthur-dixie-pig-owner-dies-at-73
1254778
/locations/6672149
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Transportation is popular discussion topic
Transportation and transit issues took center stage Saturday morning at a Mount Vernon town hall hosted by state lawmakers from Northern Virginia. State Sens. Toddy Puller (36th District) and Adam Ebbin (30th District), as well as Del. Scott Surovell (44th District), all Democrats, spoke before constituents during a two-hour event at the Mount Vernon Government Center. Puller said Route 1 north of Highway 235 will be widened, but the timetable is up in the air. “You will see the funding for that, I do believe, but I don’t know whether it will be in my lifetime,” she said. Puller noted that many Fort Belvoir employees are driving to the base from the south, also causing traffic back-ups toward Prince William County. Surovell noted that …
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Proposals by area legislators include hike in gas tax, campaign sign clutter, giving localities right to ban smoking in parks.
Northern Virginia lawmakers will make their case for hiking gas taxes, banning smoking in parks, cutting the clutter of campaign signs and dozens of other proposals beginning at 12 Noon Wednesday, the official start of the 2012 legislative session of the General Assembly in Richmond. The three proposals are just a sampling of what lawmakers will consider during the 60-day session in the state capital. Lawmakers' first order of business may be to determine who is in charge in the Senate. Evenly divided by party, it's uncertain whether Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling can step in and serve as a tie-breaker on some votes. At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Gov. Bob McDonnell will deliver his State of the Commonwealth address. A budget shortfall …
37.53806
-77.43475
1000 Bank St, Richmond, VA
Virginia State Capitol
/articles/general-assembly-2012-area-lawmakers-head-to-richmond-for-60-day-legislative-session
/locations/6164671
T Ailshire
8:30 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
Obviously, you've operated under two assumptions I believe are flawed. First, I have personally observed police officers - not "glancing" at their laptops, but head turned toward it and 6-10 seconds when AT BEST they had peripheral eyes on the road. I have been the vehicle immediately behind said officers on more than one occasion. It follows if I have observed it on more than one occasion this … more ›