| Council
Endorsement Wrong |
| The Herndon Town Council was wrong in endorsing the referendum
that, if passed Nov. 5, would increase the Northern Virginia
sales tax to 5 percent from 4.5 percent to fund transportation
projects. |
| It is not a question of the stand the majority of the council
took, but the fact that the council did not speak with one
voice and that it chose to enter the political arena. |
| Vice Mayor Carol A. Bruce voted "no," saying, "Anyone who
believes this money is going to solve our transportation problems
is not dealing with reality." |
| Dennis D. Husch voted "present," which represents a "no"
vote. "I firmly and strongly recommend that this item be tabled,"
Husch said. "Don't force us to take sides on a political endeavor." |
| Husch said he objects to the measure because he remains
skeptical that the money will increase revenue but rather
decrease the state's portion, arguing rather for a larger
allotment of state funds. He also said it reduces state legislators'
accountability. |
| Herndon Mayor Richard C. Thoesen said, "The thrust of the
matter is there are no easy answers and there are no right
answers," he said. |
| If it is true, as the mayor claims, that there are no right
answers, then why did the council vote to endorse the sales
tax increase? |
| The rest of the council voted "yes," with the exception
of Harlon Reece who was in Richmond representing the council
at the Virginia Municipal League conference. |
| The problem with the endorsement was two fold. First, it
was not unanimous, and second, it was partisan, regardless
what the "yes" voters said. The council, by the very law that
it helped pass, must be a non-political body. Members cannot
campaign on a party ticket. |
| But the council's endorsement of the sales tax increase
was, in reality, a political move. It is no secret that Democrats
and middle-of-road Republicans are in favor of the increase,
and conservative Republicans (America's new third party),
are against it. |
| Regardless of the council's unusual endorsement of the referendum,
we remain convinced that the approval of the sales tax increase
is the right thing to do. However, the council should have
remembered that partisanship, at least on the Herndon Town
Council, is against Virginia law. |
| |
| The
Skateboarding Fiasco |
| The heated arguments over the skateboard park in Reston
boil down to many basic differences. |
| Residents of West Market don't want it because it's in their
back yard. No matter what they claim, to them it's a NIMBY
issue. |
| They are not against the skate park, just against it being
built at the nearby YMCA site. They would like to see it built
at Lake Fairfax Park. Or anywhere else. |
| Some say the overhead power lines at the YMCA would give
teenagers brain damage, or worse than that, acne. I remember
when there was the argument that overhead power lines on farmers'
fields turned cow's milk sour. |
| And there are those who think Lake Fairfax is too dangerous,
out of the way and hard to get to, and would be underused.
|
| Some don't want their tax money going to a structure that
would be used mostly by boys and actually would be used by
people who LIVE OUTSIDE OF RESTON. Oh, my gosh, what a travesty. |
| Others think teens and pre-teens have enough to do, like
art classes at the Reston Community Center, nature trails,
youth clubs, chess, the Y, football, soccer and basketball.
There's another sport in Reston, skateboarding, and to some
it's more fun than nature walks. |
| Yet others want to give the $2.5 million in Reston Community
Center surplus funds to Reston area schools instead of building
a skate park. |
| That means, of course, giving money to some schools that
are in Herndon, where many Reston students attend. Now that
would be REALLY popular. |
| And then there are the BANANAs: "Build Absolutely Nothing
Anywhere Near Anything." It seems that stand is popular these
days. |
| And just maybe, at least when it comes to the skate park,
that may be the best answer. |
| |
| Cricket
Mania |
| This just in: A Herndon firm has relaunched its Web site,
cricmania.com, which is a "portal" for the sport of cricket. |
| You know cricket: It's the sport that few understand and
a match can last a week or more. It's the rage in England
and India where people actually do understand it. |
| Cricmania.com said this week that it has redesigned its
site to be easier to use, with faster speed and a number of
new features. The site covers all international cricket matches
via a live scorecard system. |
| And for a while there I thought I had no way of finding
out who won that Manchester match against Bombay. |
| |
| Risk
Takers |
| The Virginia lottery pot rises to $22 million and the promoters
say, "Take a chance." The reality of winning the Virginia
Lottery is about 7.2 million to one, a poor chance to say
the least. |
| Thousands plunk down their dollar bills-or more-to try to
overcome those odds and win the jackpot. Meanwhile, lottery
promoters are saying things like, "If you don't spend a dollar,
your chances are zero." |
| Now comes the word from David Ropeik, director of risk communications
at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis and author of books
on risk, that "... your risk of being killed by a sniper in
the Washington area is infinitesimally low-about one in 517,422
(as of Friday)." He was quoted in this weekend's Washington
Post. |
| If 517,422 is "infinitesimally low," just how low is 7.2
million to one? |
| Don't worry about being shot by a sniper, seems to be the
word. |
| So on the one hand we have state lottery officials saying
to spend that dollar on the lottery at odds of 7.2 million
to one, and on the other we have risk experts saying that
your chances of getting shot dead by a sniper is 517,422 to
one. |
| I think those odds should be reversed. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
