All results / Stories / John Lovaas, Reston Impact Producer/Host
Reston Column: Budget, Spending Out of Control at RA?
Commentary – Independent Progressive
We have known for months now that the Tetra/Lake House debacle was certain to put upward pressure on the Reston Association budget. Assessments would surely rise if there wasn’t belt tightening at RA.
Commentary: Super Tuesday is Coming: Farewell Barack, Welcome Donald?
Independent Progressive
Have you heard? The United States will elect a new President this year.
Opinion: Independent Progressive: Vote YES on Virginia Constitutional Amendment
As one looks out over the public policy landscape in the midst of a seemingly out-of-control pandemic, it is easy to feel powerless and distressed at the direction of the country’s drift.
Happy Birthday, Reston and R.E.S.
Independent Progressive
Reston is a special place. It is the product of a remarkable vision which has been largely realized despite obstacles, even opposition. Robert E. Simon, Jr. inherited well from his New York developer father. He owned Carnegie Hall and sold it. With the proceeds, he bought 6,750 acres of land in Fairfax County. While arranging financing for his planned community, he was turned down by a large corporation which was and still is a household name.
Commentary: Police Push-back on Commission Recommendations
The Fairfax County Commission on Police Practices submitted its unanimous report to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS) over eight months ago.
Short Subject: RA Survey, Lake Anne Progress?
It turns out ours was one of 3,000 or so households included in Reston Association’s community survey. In fact, we got not one, but two in the mail. It is not what I expected. The survey was billed as feedback on RA performance to “help . . . its Board of Directors set benchmarks for tracking the quality of services provided to residents.” Sounds like a good idea. In fact, the lengthy survey asks for little direct info on RA or its performance. Only one in five questions are directly or partly relevant to association services—35 out of 158 questions. And, these are not probing questions likely to ID RA services which are excellent, problematic or in between.
Opinion: Independent Progressive: Highlights and Lows in Reston’s First Half of 2020 Covid
Here we are in July, half way through 2020. Is it my imagination or have these six months been longer than most years?
South Lakes Seniors Make Reston Proud
On June 6, I had occasion to go to South Lakes High School, the Alma Mater of our three children, to witness the 2013 South Lakes Seniors Awards Ceremony.
Column: Looking Ahead to the 2015 Elections in Fairfax County
When we go to the polls in November, the ballot will include not only our state legislators, but also the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (Chairman and 9 district supervisors) and School Board (12 reps-9 district members and 3 at-large).
Column: Trading a Pontoon Boat for a River Boat
Once we had closed the Reston Farmers Market regular season and assisted in organizing the extended Fall Farmers Market at Lake Anne, co-Market Master Fran and I decided a change of scenery was in order. We traded in our pontoon boat on Lake Anne for a river boat cruising up the Danube with old friends.
Column: Virginia Assembly—From Bad to Worse
Last year, our legislators exemplified the ethically-challenged behavior so commonplace in Richmond. Several turned up in France sipping fine wines claiming to be studying uranium mining, all expenses paid by a corporation seeking Assembly approval to mine uranium and make billions.
Independent Progressive: Midterm Elections — Malaise of 2014
Midterm Elections — Malaise of 2014
Obviously, Nov. 4, 2014 is a day this Progressive would like to forget. I am still trying to sort it all out to figure out why millions of people voted against their own self-interest, why Democrats failed to articulate their core principles, and why so many Americans (especially those who are the butts of conservative greed-driven policy jokes) refuse to examine public policy choices or participate in elections.
Column: Cautious Optimism for Reston RELAC
Well, we are about to get our wish. According to the Joint Petition filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), AQUA Virginia, the accidental corporate owner of the antiquated Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning (RELAC), is going away. AQUA finally found someone to take it off their hands.
Column: Lake Anne in the Crosshairs
This seems like our hottest and driest July in living memory. That is a deadly combination around normally idyllic Lake Anne.
Rail in Reston, Great While It Worked
Independent Progressive
Remember that thrill in Reston in July 2014 when the Silver Line station at Wiehle Avenue finally opened?
Column: Gov. McAuliffe—Please, Not the Richmond Way
Let’s hope that this rare potential hero figure in a leadership role isn’t expanding health care mainly for insurance industry profit and vetoing ethics legislation only to kill sorely needed reform just so that he can somehow fit in down there by doing things “the Richmond way”!