Alexandria Gazette Packet 25 Cents Vol
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Alexandria Gazette Packet 25 Cents Vol. CCXXVI, No. 26 Serving Alexandria for over 200 years • A Connection Newspaper July 1, 2010 Job Hunters on the Prowl ‘Farm Team’ Hundreds attend Moran’s government job fair. forum to tell off the cop in public. Substitute What do you do? By Grace Powell Judging is full of lightning-speed Gazette Packet judges academy judgments, often with tremendous assembles consequences. That’s why Alexan- ary Boudreau dria General District Court Chief Mrecently left candidates for Judge Becky Moore created the her job as an Substitute Judges Academy, invit- ESOL teacher in Denver. future seats on ing top lawyers from across the “I moved here because the commonwealth to the city court- economy was so bad,” she the bench. house on King Street. Described by said. one speaker as the “farm team” of Yet after attending the By Michael Lee Pope candidates for future seats on the Federal Government job Gazette Packet bench, participants swapped hor- fair sponsored by U.S. Photo by Photo ror stories from the courtroom, Rep. Jim Moran on Mon- magine the scenario. You are learned about new laws that go day, she noticed there sitting as a substitute judge into effect July 1 and sung Happy were thousands of others and a prosecutor slams a Birthday to the undisputed legal in the same boat. Grace Powell I code book down while mak- dean of Alexandria, Judge Daniel “Unemployment is ing a dramatic point in a drunk- Fairfax O’Flaherty. twice what it traditionally driving case. Do you fine her? “Substitute judges with judicial is,” Moran said. The job What if some guy is hot under the education are better prepared to fair, located at T.C. Will- collar about a traffic ticket and serve well in court,” said Moore, /Gazette Packet iams High School, served wants to use the courtroom as a See Farm Team, Page 4 as an effort to recruit more individuals into gov- ernment jobs. According to Moran, Al- Creating Human exandria has a 4.5 percent unemployment rate, Ar- Monday’s job fair at T.C. Williams High School brought lington has a 4 percent federal agencies and job-seekers together. rate and Fairfax County’s Services Trifecta unemployment rate is 4.7 percent. Greater Washington area including Evvert Jack- Representatives from 30 federal son, from D.C., who arrived with his 9-year-old City officials plan consolidation of “I keep government agencies attended the daughter. Jackson has been searching for a job telling fair including: the Bureau of Cen- since January. “You get down a little,” he said. He three departments to improve service. sus, Jail Bureau, IRS, department admitted it was nice to see individuals making an By Michael Lee Pope of State and Commerce and the Se- effort to provide jobs. of two. Does she need legal assis- them Gazette Packet cret Service. Christopher Marsh, from Alexandria, also attended tance for a domestic violence law- not to Kim Bauhs, assistant director of the job fair, he was laid off three weeks ago. suit from the Office on Women or Recruitment and Diversity at Job hunting is especially tough for Marsh since hen people walk into food stamps from the Department give USAJobs, served as key note he has Aspberger Syndrome, a condition that Wthe door of city govern- of Human Services? speaker. Bauhs said USAJobs makes social interaction difficult. ment seeking help, di- Navigating through the maze of up.” strives to make the application pro- Marsh studied sociology in college to under- recting them to the right agency bureaucracy can be treacherous, — Kim cess for federal jobs “more com- stand people better. “Average people don’t have isn’t always a no-brainer. Take the and there’s the potential that some mon sense than convoluted.” to gain a master’s to learn how to interact with at-risk child. Does he need money people might need treatment or Bauhs, to enroll in an after-school pro- services that they don’t get. That’s USAJobs By Nov. 1, changes will be made people,” Marsh smiled. to the USAJOBS application pro- After attending the job fair he said, “I got four gram from the Department of Hu- why City Manager Jim Hartmann cess. Individuals in the auditorium names, handed out three resumes and made one man Services or substance-abuse is leading an effort to combine clapped after hearing that by November they friend.” treatment from the Department of three city departments into one will no longer have to fill out the time-con- While Boudreau said she left the event inspired, Mental Health, Mental Retarda- new super-department. A name tion and Substance Abuse? has yet to be determined, but the suming KSA essay, personal statement por- Alexandria resident, Natalie, who did not want to See Consolidation, Page 10 tion, when applying for a government job. give her last name, left frustrated. “I just never Then there’s the single mother Bauhs also explained the USAJOBS know how to sell myself,” she said. website and answered individual questions. Natalie said looking for a job has always been 22314 VA Alexandria, Boudreau said she appreciated the patience difficult since she is an introvert. “If you don’t have St., King 1604 To: ted Address Service Reques Service Address of Bauhs and the agencies represented. “If whatever it is they’re [the employers] looking for, material. you’re not a government employee, you don’t they’re like ‘sorry, next person.’” Time-sensitive know the intricacies, the language and what Natalie said she will keep looking for a job until Postmaster: the numbers mean,” she said. she finds the one that is best for her. Attention Permit #482 Permit “I keep telling them not to give up,” Bauhs said. VA Alexandria, PAID JOB SEARCHERS came from all over the “Just don’t give up.” Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ July 1-7, 2010 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ July 1-7, 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Council Notebook News Foreclosures On the Rise Photo by Photo Alexandria’s not out of the woods yet. Ripples of the greatest economic crisis in a generation continue to reverberate through City Hall, and financial reports indicate foreclosures are once again on the rise. The number of foreclosures peaked in late 2008, when Sandy Levitz Lunner global markets teetered on the brink of disaster. Since that time, a new administration in Washington pumped trillions of dollars into the economy and increased regulation has created a tighter grip on irresponsible lending. Here in Alexandria, the number of monthly foreclosures went from more than 40 to less than 20 within the first half of 2009. But since last summer, the trend has reversed itself. According to /Gazette Packet the most recent data available, the city is now experiencing about 30 foreclosures each month. Vice Mayor Kerry Donley says the upswing is a combination of high unemployment and a long- Kaari Vasquez and her dreaded second wave of adjustable-rate mortgages. husband Lee Vasquez, who “The bad news is that we’re still double where we should be,” was not able to attend the said Donley, who has a day job as executive vice president at event, were recognized as Virginia Commerce Bank. “The good news is that we had a low Alexandria’s Foster Parents foreclosure rate to begin with.” of the Year. Also recognized In a recent report outlining the state of the city’s economy, bud- Mayor Bill Euille, Advisory Committee Members were Ginger Long and get officials expressed optimism that a recovery is starting to be- Suzanne Kratzok, Court Squires and Callie MacKenzie. Miguel Rodriguez. come visible. Sales tax collections are up compared to last year, and the average hotel room rate has increased compared to last year. But foreclosures are up for the second straight month. “Nobody wants a foreclosure, not the bank, not the lender and ‘Fostering The Future’ Sets Sail not the homeowner,” said Councilman Frank Fannon, branch manager of the Duke Street SunTrust Mortgage. “The problem is 7th Annual Event Benefits that many people just quit and never even bother calling their banker to see what can be arranged.” Fund for Alexandria’s Child Half a Million By Sandy Levitz Lunner Since city officials launched a campaign against railroad giant Gazette Packet Norfolk Southern two years ago, taxpayers have shelled out about $475,000 to lawyers from an outside law firm that have been upporters and guests cruised the Potomac representing the city in number of venues. while dancing, dining, bidding and trying First up was the Surface Transportation Board, where attor- Sto catch a cool sea breeze aboard the neys from Kaplan, Kirsh & Rockwell tried to persuade federal paddleboat Cherry Blossom — all to help regulators to allow the local government to exercise its zoning raise funds for Alexandria children in foster care or authority over a hazardous materials facility owned by the rail- at risk of being placed in foster care. road. Strike one. The Fund for Alexandria’s Child, a targeted pro- Then the outside counsel presented the city’s case in the Eastern gram of the Department of Human Services in the District of Virginia, where Judge James Cacheris rejected Division of Social Services, was created as a way for Alexandria’s argument that it had a right to regulate when and members of the community to help provide special how often hazardous materials could use city streets. After that, services. The Fund allows children to participate in City Council members approved an appeal to the Fourth Circuit of programs that enrich their lives, such as Boy or Girl Virginia in Richmond.