Join the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and project contractor partners at the July 10 Construction Update Meeting to hear about progress and upcoming work on the I-66 Inside the Beltway Eastbound Widening project.
Construction is underway on I-66 Eastbound to:
An Arlington, Virginia, resident was cited by police after Transportation Security Administration officers detected a loaded handgun in the man’s carry-on bag at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Sunday, July 7. It was the 11th gun that TSA officers have detected at the airport so far this year.
In 2018, TSA officers at DCA caught 16 firearms during the entire year and with 11 already detected so far this year, it puts the number on a disturbing record-setting pace. Disturbing because TSA would prefer to see the trend go in the opposite direction with fewer travelers bringing their guns to checkpoints.
Arlington, Virginia, July 3, 2019–The Arlington Community Foundation awarded new college scholarships totaling more than $540,000 to 72 students who will attend college next year. An additional 105 scholarships totaling $281,000 were renewed for returning college students, for a total of 177 recipients. The new scholarship awards range from $1,000 to $10,000. More than 45 scholarships funds support these student awards, each with their own unique criteria.
This year was the first year of award for the Christopher M. Cooper Memorial Scholarship. Arlington Little League (ALL) established this new scholarship in memory of their beloved coach, Christopher M. Cooper, who passed away unexpectedly in 2014. Known affectionately as Coach Coop, Chris began his coaching career with ALL in 1997 and served the League in different capacities, including as Vice President of the Board of Directors. ALL raised funds for five years to create the Christopher M. Cooper Memorial Scholarship as a way of continuing Coop’s legacy of support for diamond field sports participants.
RICHMOND–Governor Ralph Northam today announced his legislative agenda for the July 9 special session of the General Assembly. The special session is intended to address the gun violence emergency in Virginia.
“We continue to lose too many lives to senseless and preventable acts of gun violence, but we have the power to make meaningful change,” said Governor Northam. “Now is the time to act–Virginians deserve votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers. I urge the members of the General Assembly to engage in a thorough, meaningful discussion about these proposed bills and to allow every member to cast their votes on the floor.”
July 3, 2019 — Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an internationally recognized expert on Iran and Middle Eastern politics, has been appointed director of Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.
Boroujerdi comes to Virginia Tech from Syracuse University, where he has been a faculty member in the Department of Political Science since 1992. He currently serves as a professor of political science and the O’Hanley Faculty Scholar at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Boroujerdi will join Virginia Tech on Aug. 10, 2019, and will be primarily based at the Virginia Tech Research Center in Arlington.
NORFOLK–Governor Northam today signed Executive Order Thirty-Five, which establishes goals and programs aimed at expanding opportunities for Virginia’s small-, women-, minority- (SWaM) and service disabled veteran-owned businesses. Governor Northam has directed the executive branch agencies and institutions that have statutory authority over procurement to achieve a target of procuring 42 percent of discretionary spending from certified small businesses. The Executive Order also maintains a set-aside for certified micro businesses, which have fewer than 25 employees and no more than $3 million in average annual revenue over a three-year period.
“Small businesses are a vital economic engine for Virginia, making up 97 percent of all businesses, but we know there is work to do to ensure they have equal opportunity to grow and succeed in our Commonwealth,” said Governor Northam. “With this Executive Order, we are strengthening our commitment to expanding small business participation in state contracting and achieving equity for our women- and minority-owned businesses.”
RICHMOND – With the Fourth of July falling on a Thursday this year, many Virginians are planning ahead for a long holiday weekend. Virginia State Police is encouraging everyone to also think ahead for their celebratory travel plans. Last week, state police joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving and local law enforcement to launch a series of new Public Service Announcements (PSA) to remind motorists that drunk driving kills: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCffVSEnfXOSmv5hEqUYDNfg.
“Virginia may have experienced fewer alcohol-related crashes in 2018, but those fewer crashes proved more dangerous and deadlier,” said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent. “Last year in Virginia, alcohol-related fatalities increased by 12.1% in comparison to 2017. Thirty more people died and 45 more people were injured in traffic crashes due to alcohol on Virginia’s highways in 2018. That translates to 278 deaths and 4,475 injuries because of someone’s reckless decision to drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
WASHINGTON, D. C. (Tuesday, July 2, 2019) –An old and shopworn truism, perhaps coined in the world of sports, goes “records are meant to be broken.” As proof, the United States of America is celebrating its 243rd birthday, with record-breaking travel volumes and record-making traffic congestion levels, INRIX and AAA project. Before you go, factor in the worst days to travel and the worst times to avoid, as 48.9 million Americans, including 1.2 million Washington area residents, travel 50 miles or more during the long 4th of July Holiday weekend. For motorists caught up in the mix, the agony of it all multiplies starting, tomorrow, July 3, and it grows exponentially on Sunday, July 7, across the urban agglomeration that is the Washington metro area.
Travelers heading out Friday, July 5, and Saturday, July 6, are also in for a shock.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) are working together to further honor the heroes of September 11th, 2001.
In a bipartisan resolution, Senators Toomey and Warner highlight the significance of the September 11th National Memorial Trail (NMT) – a 1,300 mile network of roads and paths that connect the Pentagon Memorial (Arlington, Va.), the Flight 93 National Memorial (Shanksville, Pa.), the National September 11th Memorial and Museum (New York City, N.Y.), and the 9/11 Memorial Garden of Reflection (Yardley, Pa.). The NMT also passes through parts of Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.
Arlington, VA – At today’s WMATA Board of Directors meeting, WMATA Commonwealth of Virginia Representative Paul Smedberg was elected chairman of the Board. Smedberg, who was appointed by the Governor of Virginia last year, has served on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission since 2006 and was NVTC Chairman in 2014 and 2018. Smedberg also served on Alexandria City Council from 2003 to 2018. In 2016 he joined the WMATA board as an Alternate Director representing the City of Alexandria and became a Principal Director representing the Commonwealth of Virginia in January of this year. Smedberg has also served as chairman and a member of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Operations Board.
Following his election as WMATA Board Chair, Smedberg said, “It’s truly an honor to have been elected to this position” and he promised to “improve transparency, accountability and fairness to all parties.”
RICHMOND – Several new Virginia highway safety laws take effect July 1, 2019. In an effort to increase the safety of those working alongside highways, the General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting drivers from holding a handheld personal communication device while driving a vehicle in a highway work zone. Violation of the law is punishable by a fine of $250.
“Close calls, injury, and death are a daily risk to every highway maintenance employee,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “In work zones alone, in 2018 there were 2,523 crashes, 1,256 injuries – some of them life changing – and nine fatalities. It is imperative that we protect those whose ‘office’ is the highway.”
