F.C. City Attorney Set To Leave in October
Carol McKoskrie, who has served the City of Falls Church as its City attorney since August 2014, announced that she will be leaving her position in October, City Manager Wyatt Shields reported this Monday.
McKoskrie led the City through a number of complicated legal situations during her tenure, including the 66 signatures required recently to consummate the deal on the 10-acre West End development project.
Sen. Warner Hails Biden Signing Vets’ Toxins Relief Act
Virginia U.S. Senator Mark Warner yesterday hailed the passage and President Biden’s signature on the monumental veterans’ toxic relief act Wednesday, the biggest bill supporting relief for veterans in 35 years.
Warner issued the following statement: “I write today with great news. The President has just signed into law the bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. The PACT Act is named after Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who died in 2020 from exposure to toxins during his military service. By expanding access to important health care resources and making investments at the VA to help provide that care, this law promises to meet critical needs within our veteran community.
“Without getting too far into the nuts and bolts, the law specifically provides for the expansion of VA health care to 3.5 million combat veterans, adds burn pit and toxic-exposure related conditions to the VA’s list of service presumptions, strengthens federal research on toxic exposure, and allocates funds to build-out 31 new major medical facilities – including one right here in Virginia – that will help us to more consistently provide veterans with the timely and quality care that they deserve.
“What we are doing here is simple: taking care of those who have taken care of this nation. We must continue working to ensure that our service members are backed by a country that is ready, willing, and able to properly support them when they are done with their service. That’s why I’m proud to have cosponsored legislation that expanded VA coverage to veterans exposed to herbicide and voted to expand the list of medical conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure and championed legislation that expanded veterans’ access to mental health services.”
N. Va. Elected Leaders Confab Set for Aug. 25
The Northern Virginia Elected Leaders Summit hosted by the Arlington Virginia Chamber of Commerce is slated for August 25. It “offers the region’s business leaders the opportunity to hear from our local elected leaders about the economic climate in the region, initiatives they have completed or are undertaking to foster economic growth, and thoughts on how each jurisdiction can work together to improve our regional economy,” according to the Chamber.
Scheduled speakers include Katie Cristol, chair, Arlington County Board, Margaret Franklin, Vice Chair, Prince William County Board of Supervisors, Jeff McKay, chair, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Phyllis Randall, chair, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and Justin Wilson, Mayor, City of Alexandria.
State Senator Petersen Says Most of F.C. “Door-Knocked”
In his newsletter, State Sen. Chap Peterson, who now represents the City of Falls Church, reported that he’s now door-knocked most of Falls Church, which he says is “a key part of the ‘new’ State Senate 37th District.”
He reported that “at the end of August, I’m traveling to the Republic of Korea to visit the George Mason University campus in Incheon, first authorized by my SB 712 in 2010. George Mason has positioned itself as a leader in international studies and this exciting new campus is key to its 21st century growth. As the Chair of the Korean campus Advisory Board, I will be meeting with the ROK Ministry of Education to expand our school’s scope and mission. Looking forward to my first trip outside the U.S. in many years.”
Va. Corporation Commission Adds Risk to Offshore Wind Project
Rejecting an agreement that its own staff reached with Dominion Energy Virginia, the State Corporation Commission has imposed at least some level of financial risk on the utility’s shareholders should its $10 billion offshore wind project fail to match the company’s promised performance, according to the Jefferson Journal.
“Lest you think that means the ratepayers can relax, the final order issued August 5 once again highlights all the things that could go wrong with the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), scheduled to be fully operational by 2027. The regulators also wash their hands of any responsibility and record for posterity that the Virginia General Assembly made them approve this,” the Journal reports.
“The project, which still faces federal reviews, but which is beloved of the Biden Administration, calls for 176 turbines and three substations to be constructed 27 miles off Virginia Beach. Generated electricity will then come ashore, and 17 miles of major transmission upgrades will be built to feed it into the grid. The nameplate value is almost 2,600 megawatts but that is misleading, as the company is only promising a 42% capacity factor – less than 1,100 megawatt of average output over time,” the Journal reports.
