Shameful

By: Lowell
Published On: 1/24/2008 12:32:34 PM

This is truly shameful and needs to be brought to people's attention immediately. The very companies that are competing for work on the Metro to Dulles project are being encouraged by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce to advocate for a sole-source, sweetheart deal on said project. That's bad enough, but the "locally preferred alternative" they're talking about here explicitly means NO TUNNEL, not even the CONSIDERATION of a tunnel.  And no competitive bidding either.

Whoops, I almost forgot the "disclaimer" at the bottom of this alert:

Advocacy Update is a service provided to members of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. Please circulate Advocacy Update or any of its contents within your company. If you wish to be added or removed from the Advocacy Update mailing list, or if you have questions regarding any of the information contained, please contact Robby Demeria at 703.752.7544 .

Yes, quite a service it is.  I wonder how much the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce's members pay for that service.

Anyway, how do you help stop this craziness on a multi-billion-dollar project that could adversely impact life in Northern Virginia for generations to come?  Here is one idea.  Here is another.  For some excellent talking points from the Fairfax Times, click here.  Thanks.

P.S.  I love how they ask people to call the White House and beg Bush to overrule his Transportation Secretary.  Hilarious.

Comments



Typo (Eric - 1/24/2008 1:04:53 PM)
in their blurb about "policy soup" - it should read ...only blog dedicated to the collusion of Northern Virginia Business and politics.

And whatever happened to "Fairfax Tomorrow", my favorite phony front for the FCCC?  Don't they have any begging to do?

Anyway, as you say, shame on them.  And shame on everyone who buys into the get even richer quick scam that a handful of business and land owners are pulling on NOVA.



DC Area Transportation (GeorgetownStudent - 1/24/2008 1:14:53 PM)
As much as we want transportation projects to be done perfectly it is a fact that sometimes we need to compromise. For example, 95 is routed around the eastern half of the beltway (which is completely illogical) because of way too much NIMBY behavior. I actually used to live in Tysons before moving on campus and I don't see why its such a big deal for people to walk 5 steps up some steps to get to the tracks or walk under a bridge to get around the area. The fact of the matter is if this project gets delayed or canceled because of people being picky it may be another decade before they start construction again or in the case of I-395, never completed.


Fairfax County's relationship with the Chamber (Hiker Joe - 1/24/2008 2:52:58 PM)
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (EDA)lists the Fairfax Chamber as a "Partner."  The EDA receives nearly $7 million annually from the County.

And Fairfax Board Chairman Gerry Connolly is on the Chamber's Board of Directors representing SAIC, who have a rail station in the proposed plan on their doorstep.

So in some ways, the County is actually supporting this initiative by the Chamber.



That's really, really, really (Lowell - 1/24/2008 5:37:27 PM)
not good government.


done deal? (Veritas - 1/24/2008 5:29:35 PM)
well now after Tim Kaine's meeting I hear Metro to Dulles isnt such a done deal.