INSTEAD OF BREAKING out the butterbeer before rushing to that midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," why not play a rousing game of quidditch?
The generation that grew up reading J.K. Rowling's books has adapted the boy wizard's favorite sport — which involves zipping around on broomsticks and hunting down the elusive golden snitch — for the laws of gravity.
"I think one of the best descriptions of quidditch is three sports going on at once" — dodgeball, soccer and rugby, says Matt Drake, 20, who founded the quidditch club at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst last year.
Continue Reading "Potter Around the Field: Playing Quidditch" »
"I READ THAT as a lawyer, asking us to break a contract we have with someone else. That action would occasion a delay in this project and expose somebody to legal liability."
— Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, speaking to reporters on Thursday on efforts by some lawmakers to have the commonwealth solicit new bids for the proposed Dulles Metrorail extension, now that the Federal Transit Administration has indicated that the project is unlikely to get $900 million in federal funding it needs to move forward.» "Kaine Vows to Fight Efforts to Re-Solicit Bids for Project" [WaPo]As The Post's Tim Craig reports, Republican Del. Joe May of Loudoun County inserted a provision into the 2008-2010 budget that would force the Virginia Department of Transportation to rebid the rail extension, a move that Kaine vows to fight.
Image courtesy of Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET isn't the only thing that's been slumping — local governments are feeling a fiscal pinch, too. In Fairfax County, Virginia's most populous jurisdiction, the budget is so tight that that the county's executive, Anthony Griffin, is proposing that new transportation funding be used to close a budget gap. It's a call that's drawing criticism from lawmakers and business leaders.
As The Post's Amy Gardner and Bill Turque reports:
Facing declining home values and tax receipts and a $152 million shortfall, Griffin proposed diverting about $30 million in transportation funds generated by landmark General Assembly legislation last year to pay for such expenses as existing Fairfax Connector bus routes and the transportation department's 93-person payroll.Republican Del. David Albo slammed Griffin's proposal on the floor of the House of Delegates in Richmond on Tuesday, saying the plan "scams all the business owners in Fairfax County who agreed to belly up to the bar and help pay for transportation."
» "Fairfax Bid to Divert New Transit Funds Sparks Uproar" [WaPo]
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING WILL REMAIN one of the biggest issues facing Virginia officials in the coming years, but for the moment, the topic is off the state legislature's plate.
On Monday, a House of Delegates committee killed a proposal to raise the commonwealth's gas tax a nickel a gallon over the next five years, which, as The Post's Sandhya Somashekhar and Tim Craig report, essentially halts any efforts to generate new transportation funding this year.
On Monday, the General Assembly entered the final two-week stretch of its 60-day legislative session.
» "Tax-Relief, Transportation Proposals Essentially Killed This Year" [WaPo]
File photo by Margaret Thomas/The Washington Post
DURING LAST WEEK'S POTOMAC PRIMARY, countless commuters were stuck in epic traffic jams because of icy precipitation. Many missed their chance to vote, especially those in Virginia who were stuck on or near the icy Springfield Interchange.
In Maryland, a decision was made to lengthen the voting span by 90 minutes on account of the bad weather conditions, but Virginia voters didn't get such an extension.
A guest writer at the Virginia politics blog Not Larry Sabato was stuck for three hours in traffic that Tuesday evening, and missed out on voting. Wrote Greg Galligan:
The closing of 395 South at the [Springfield Interchange] for three hours was by definition an extraordinary event that required an extension of the polling hours. I call on our elected leaders in Richmond to investigate this incident and create a better system for dealing with massive shocks to our transportation system in Northern Virginia.
Continue Reading "Kaine: Rules to Extend Poll Hours Need Changes" »
FOR THE FOURTH YEAR in a row, attempts to ban smoking in public places have met with defeat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
The move is seen as a defeat for Gov. Tim Kaine, who had pushed for a smoking ban to be a priority during the 60-day legislative session, The Post's Anita Kumar reports.
According to Kumar, quashing the effort required snuffing out a dozen bits of legislation:
A subcommittee of the House General Laws Committee considered four bills that the Senate had passed, including one favored by Kaine that would have prohibited smoking in restaurants and bars. ...Last week, the same subcommittee killed eight similar proposals from House members. Thursday's action means all the anti-smoking bills introduced in the 60-day legislative session are dead.
» "Hopes for Public Smoking Ban Are Snuffed Out" [WaPo]
ALTHOUGH A PROPOSED BAN on smoking at indoor public places passed Virginia's Democratic-controlled Senate, similar legislation in the Republican-helmed House of Delegates was killed by the General Laws subcommittee on Thursday, the AP reports.
While the move was not unexpected, it does signal that the Senate legislation will likely meet a similar fate when it makes it way to the House.
» "Committee Snuffs Out Proposed Smoking Ban in Va." [AP via WTOP]
» EARLIER: "Va. Senate OKs Indoor Smoking Ban" [Free Ride/Express]
VIRGINIA STATE SENATORS today approved legislation that would ban smoking at most indoor public places and would "allow local governments to adopt even stricter regulations," The Post's Sandhya Somashekhar reports.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, D-Arlington County, passed on a 23-to-15 vote, including yes votes from some Republicans, who are the minority party in the chamber.
The bill is anticipated to face stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates.
» "Va. Senate Approves Public Smoking Ban" [WaPo]
Photo by Carol Guzy/The Washington Post
THE PROPOSED METRORAIL EXTENSION to Dulles Airport is in such serious jeopardy that officials in Virginia are "willing to look at anything, big or small, to meet federal approval, including project management, financing and oversight," The Post's Amy Gardner reported on Saturday.
Last month, the Federal Transit Administration informed Virginia lawmakers and transportation officials that it was unlikely to give the long-planned 23-mile rail link to the airport via Tysons Corner the $900 million in federal funds it needs to move forward.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine urged cooperation in a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FTA:
We want to fully understand your concerns and then look creatively at how to resolve them to allow the project to continue forward. If we need to make additional adjustments — small or large — to proceed forward into final design, we are ready to explore those with you.Will Kaine's "conciliatory tone," as Gardner described it, save the rail project?
» "U.S. Input Sought to Save Rail to Dulles" [WaPo]
IN RICHMOND, the Virginia Senate on Wednesday approved legislation that would do away with the commonwealth's unpopular abusive driver fees in addition to passing a bill that would allow the sale of traditional sangria.
As The Post's Tim Craig reports, lawmakers unanimously approved a measure that would repeal administrative fees of $750 to $3,000 that the state assesses on top judicial fines for a variety of serious driving offenses. A similar bill has passed the House of Delegates. The Senate measure also calls for the commonwealth to refund the assessed fees. "But to be eligible, people would have to go to the court where they were convicted and fill out a form requesting that a judge clear their name," Craig reports.
The Senate bill was held up this week after lawmakers discovered a 130-year-old state Supreme Court ruling that prevents the commonwealth from ordering local courts to stop the collection of fees or fines already assessed, necessitating bill sponsors to mandate refunds instead. The House of Delegates is expected to approve the Senate measure. Gov. Tim Kaine, who has expressed a desire to do away with the fees, is also expected to sign the bill.
Continue Reading "Va. Senate OKs Repeal of Driver Fees, Sangria Ban" »
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