Loudoun Board Metro Rail Naysayer May Vote Yes, If Money Is Also Planned For Roads - WUSA
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (WUSA) Building metro rail past Dulles airport and into Loudoun county will bring huge economic gains to Loudoun County, Including some 40,000 jobs over 20 years, say economist Stephen Fuller who calls it's a "No brainer.".
But Loudoun Board member Ken Reid, Leesburg District Supervisor, doesn't buy it.
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of people, especially in the Ashburn area, who have stars in their eyes and they think it's going to improve their real estate values and bring all these great jobs and we're going to l have little Bethesda. But that's very speculative," said Reid.
Reid thinks ridership will be low, that the rail won't solve traffic congestion, and most Loudoun County residents won't use it. And, he dislikes being connected to Metro, and all of it's problems and costs.
"Their bus and train operators are paid an average of $66,000 a year and some of these folks are making six figures with overtime. That's more than we pay our teachers," said Reid.
If Loudoun opts out, Loudoun commuters could access other stations like the one to be built at Route 28. They would not want to park at the Metro Station to be built at Dulles because it costs $17 a day.
The Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority says there's no room to built another garage for commuters. Airports Authority CEO Jack Potter hopes Loudoun joins in.
"What they get is development around the station, convenience for the people who live in Loudoun to access the Metro to get to work and Washington and all the jobs there," said Potter.
There's still hope for Metro into Loudoun, even with naysayers like Ken Reid, if there's money for roads in the plan.
"If we can set aside a special fund that would include highway projects and our buses, then I could support that, maybe," said Reid.
That would involve a tax hike, which is never an easy task. Reid blames for former Loudoun Board for not securing a dedicated funding source like Fairfax County did with the business tax district along the Toll Road.
BJP chief gets an earful from RSS - deccanchronicle.com
RSS bigwigs reportedly gave BJP state president K.S. Eshwarappa an earful for his remarks that the BJP government rode to power in 2008 relying on money and caste power. The BJP chief had ignited a fresh controversy in the ruling party with loyalists of former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa—many of whom had shifted from the Congress and JD(S) to the BJP— expressing outrage over his remarks.
The BJP president had said that the Yeddyurappa government was formed by launching Operation Kamala with money and caste playing a prime role. With the BJP just having emerged from a severe crisis, RSS functionaries reportedly advised Eshwarappa to focus on balancing the interests of different groups instead of raking up controversies. Soon after the rebuke, Eshwarappa denied making the statement attributed to him.
Advocaat's two big calls - UEFA
Dick Advocaat said he has "a full squad to choose from" as Russia held their final training session before Friday's UEFA EURO 2012 game against the Czech Republic.
The 64-year-old gave very little away and also commented that the team "aren't feeling nervous" ahead of their opening game. There had been injury concerns about Igor Akinfeev, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Marat Izmailov, but all three seemed to move easily and without any noticeable problems.
The vast majority of the Russia team picks itself, but there are two positions that will give the Dutchman something to think over tonight. Perhaps the toughest is who will play in goal, with Akinfeev and Vyacheslav Malafeev two candidates who have both had to overcome adversity in recent times.
Fifteen months ago, Malafeev lost his wife in a car crash and was left to care for his two children alone. However, rather than let himself be overcome by grief, the FC Zenit St Petersburg keeper produced the form of his life and excelled for both the national team and his club in the UEFA Champions League.
Dick Advocaat addresses his squad during training on Thursday
The other quandary for Advocaat is who to play on the right-hand side of attack, with Alan Dzagoev, the incumbent, up against Izmailov. Dzagoev was Russia's joint top scorer in qualifying, but the 21-year-old only recently recovered from a broken bone in his foot and is now under pressure from a rejuvenated Izmailov. The Sporting Clube de Portugal winger is no stranger to injuries himself, though he has battled back to full fitness and was impressive in his country's warm-up games after six years in the international wilderness.
It's a nice headache for Advocaat to have going into the game with the Czech Republic and he has the luxury of knowing that whoever he chooses is likely to cause their opponents a number of problems.
Lauryn Hill charged over income tax returns - BBC News
Hip-hop star Lauryn Hill has been charged with willfully failing to file income tax returns in the US.
Authorities say the singer earned more than $1.6 million (£1.03m) during the three years that she failed to file returns.
US prosecutors said her main source of income during the period 2005 - 2007 was royalties from her music and films.
Hill, who has not yet commented on the charges, is scheduled to appear in court on 29 June.
According to court papers, the 37-year-old owns and operates four corporations - Creations Music, Boogie Tours, LH Productions 2001, and Studio 22.
Hill was the only female member of rap group The Fugees, whose album The Score achieved worldwide success in 1996.
Two years later, she released her debut solo album - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill - to wide critical acclaim. It remains her only studio album to date.
The singer also appeared alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
She has six children and now rarely makes public appearances.
Hughton hoping to keep hold of Holt - Football
Published: 07 Jun 2012 - 20:17:47
New Norwich manager Chris Hughton has made it his first mission to keep hold of wantaway captain Grant Holt.
The former Birmingham boss was appointed as Paul Lambert's replace at Carrow Road after agreeing a three-year contract with the Canaries. The 53-year-old takes charge of the club days after Holt had a transfer request rejected by the board, who are determined to retain their top goalscorer.
"He is a quality player, no doubt about that," Hughton said of the 31-year-old, who scored 17 goals in the top flight last term. "With his record - to score the goals he did last season - there wouldn't be any manager coming in who wouldn't want to keep a player of that quality."
Hughton added: "I've only just come through the door a few minutes ago so I have not had the opportunity to speak with him but that will be one of the priorities.
"He is contracted to this club. He won player of the season for the last three seasons so I absolutely would like him here."
Norwich chief executive David McNally was equally resolute about the club's stance in regards to Holt's future.
"We want him to stay," he said. "He is our captain and has been our top scorer for the last three years. He is not for sale and we would not encourage anyone to bid for him"
McNally also revealed that Hughton was the only candidate interviewed for the post vacated by Lambert's move to Aston Villa.
He said: "We looked at the UK and international market, and had a detailed look at who was available and who wasn't and we wanted to try to find the person who could take us forward. This is one of the best times in the club's history financially so we think the job is attractive to managers around the world.
"We thought it was key to have top-league experience, preferably in the Premier League and at the end of it all we looked at the names and Chris stood out as number one candidate. We recognised that unanimously.
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