PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Alexandria, VA Alexandria Permit #482 Gazette Packet Attention Postmaster: Time-sensitive material. Address Service Requested To: 1604 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314 25 Cents Vol. CCXXIV, No. 46 Serving Alexandria for over 200 years • A Connection Newspaper November 13, 2008 Surviving the Downturn Elected leaders and business community struggles with sluggish economy. By Michael Lee Pope Gazette Packet /Gazette Packet he conventional wisdom in Alexandria is that the city is relatively insulated from the current economic Tdownturn, although city leaders are taking proactive measures to insulate the business climate and tax base. Louise Krafft This week, Mayor Bill Euille announced a new program to en- courage city residents to “Buy Alexandria” by supporting local businesses. If the effort could persuade 50 percent of city resi- Photo by Photo dents to spend $50 a week, Euille said, the city government’s tax Nigel and Lori Morris with Mayor Bill Euille at the Alexandria Chamber of Com- base could expand to cover the current budget shortfall. merce annual Business Awards dinner. Nigel Morris was presented with the Busi- “We are all going to have to hold hands and share the pain ness Lead of the Year of Award. For more see Page 38 together,” said Euille. “This won’t be easy, but we are going to get through this.” The election of Barack Obama last week has created a new hope for many in Alexandria — and not “We’ve never had a Gubernatorial Primary Launches just the hundreds of campaign volunteers who knocked on doors situation like this.” only seven months away. can called strangers on the tele- — Vice Mayor Del Pepper Now that the presidential The first candidate on the field was Sen. Creigh phone. The business community is election has concluded, Deeds (D-25), the conservative Democrat from ru- excited about the prospects of an- ral Bath County who announced his candidacy for other stimulus package that Obama supported on the campaign race for the Governor’s governor back in December 2007. Because his cam- trail, and elected officials are optimistic that the Obama admin- paign for governor was already a matter of public istration will be more willing to spend money on infrastructure Mansion goes public. record, Deeds has spent the last year announcing projects and mass transit than the Bush administration. Even endorsements such as the ones he received in June though American forces may soon begin withdrawing from Iraq, from the Fairfax Coalition of Police and a slew of his By Michael Lee Pope Senate colleagues, including Arlington Sen. Mary See Surviving, Page 37 Gazette Packet Margaret Whipple (D-31). Meanwhile, Del. Brian Moran (D-46) has been working behind the scenes or more a year, the politics of Election to line up endorsements he has been planning to roll F2009 have been quietly orchestrated be- out after the presidential election. This week, he plans by Photo hind the scenes in behind-the-scenes to start announcing his supporters with an event in conversations and agreements. Now — finally Loudoun County that will include a handful of elected — the presidential election has passed and the officials in a key area of the commonwealth. Michael Lee Pope gubernatorial campaign is set to burst into the “I’m enthusiastically supporting Brian to be public consciousness. Following Barack Virginia’s next governor,” said Loudoun Board of Su- Obama’s victory in Virginia, the campaign to pervisors Vice Chairwoman Susan Buckley in a writ- succeed Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine has moved ten endorsement. “As delegate for the 45th District into full swing this week with series of events and as House Democratic Caucus chair, Brian has a in which three candidates vying for the Demo- record of success in all areas that matter most to Vir- /Gazette Packet cratic nomination have come out of the gate at ginians and improve our quality of life: education, full speed — sprinting toward a primary that’s transportation, environment, health care, economic development and technology, just to name a few.” “I don’t like carpetbaggers, and I think But Deeds and Moran may not be the Terry McAuliffe is a carpetbagger.” only candidates involved in the race. This week, Terry McAuliffe — a former Washington Business Journal bureau chief Kent Hoover — Tom Raycroft, said that the local contracting industry will remain a member of the Alexandria Democratic Committee See Race, Page 4 strong despite the expected withdraw from Iraq. www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ November 13-19, 2008 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ November 13-19, 2008 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Editor Mary Anne Weber Council Notebook Schools 703-917-6431 or [email protected] An Incremental Victory In the low-grade legal war between city officials and Norfolk Southern Railroad, victory must be measured incrementally — in the slow and steady movement of legal proceedings and court filings. Such was the case this week with a decision by the Surface Transportation Board, the regulatory agency that oversees rail- road operations created in 1995 as the successor to the Interstate Commerce Commission. On Nov. 6, the three-member panel is- sued a declaratory order process that the city government re- quested back in June. “This is good news,” said Councilman Ludwig Gaines. “It means the board is going to hear what we have to say about the land-use issue.” The declaratory order was requested after City Council mem- bers learned in May that the railroad company had been loading thousands of gallons of highly flammable chemicals from rail cars to tanker trucks with little or no safety precautions. After seven weeks of operation less than 1,000 from the city’s largest elemen- tary school, the railroad finally installed the proper fire fighting equipment. But city officials were furious that Norfolk Southern was claim- ing immunity from the city’s regulator authority even though a contractor known as RSI Logistics actually operated the facility, so they filed a declaratory order challenging the contractor’s abil- ity to use the railroad’s immunity to escape oversight from the city government. But don’t hold your breath. The board’s decision to issue a declaratory order process is not a decision in either side’s favor, just an acknowledgement that the Photo by Michael Lee Pope/Gazette Packet panel had jurisdiction over the matter. And that took five months. Third-year teacher Kerri Buonamico teaches a special education class at John Adams “This is not like the Eastern District of Virginia where things go Elementary School last spring. down the track at a high rate of speed,” said City Attorney Ignacio Pessoa, referencing the federal court known as the “Rocket Docket” because of its swiftness in issuing legal rulings. A System with Disabilities Euille In Transition? George W. Bush signed his landmark educa- Every new presidential administration is besieged by people School officials take tion reform, known as No Child Left Behind, offering advice about people who might fill important roles in the problems have become much more trans- Washington. Such is the case with the transition now taking place corrective measures parent. Yet a recent audit by state officials across the river, where the transition team for President-elect shows that Alexandria schools are not meet- Barack Obama is deciding who will fill important federal posi- to address deficiencies ing the needs of its special-needs population tions. One name that is being thrown around for a potential posi- — a part of the system that has become in- tion overseeing small-business development in the Department of in special education. creasingly critical as the number of autistic Commerce is Mayor Bill Euille, who was an early supporter of children has increased a staggering 92 percent the Obama campaign. By Michael Lee Pope in Alexandria over the last five years. School “The rumor mill has it that my name is coming up,” Euille ac- Gazette Packet officials are now knowledged, adding that he has not sent a resume or fielded a trying to demon- telephone call from the transition team. “As much as I love being strate to bureau- mayor this city, it would be hard to say no to a president.” or School Board member Ronnie Campbell, “We are seeing a crats in Richmond If he joins the administration, Euille would work with Seminary the memory of her first involvement with that the system is categorical failure Hill resident and Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs, who is Fthe school system was a painful reminder addressing the ar- the husband of prominent land-use attorney Mary Catherine of the obstacles she would face as a parent eas where auditors across the board, Gibbs. of a public-school student with Down Syndrome. One day about 15 years ago, she decided to go to a meet- found the division ing of the John Adams Parent-Teacher Association to be out of com- and this is not a Year of Incumbency when her special-needs daughter was in preschool pliance. casual paperwork Fatigued by constant electioneering? Get over it. at the West End school. An agenda item that night “We are seeing a The Democratic caucus for the next City Council election is less struck her as a common-sense purchase for the or- categorical failure problem.” across the board, than two months away, although it could prove to be a snoozer. ganization: a specially designed chair for a student — Paul Wilson, a member who couldn’t sit upright. But the PTA did not agree and this is not a All of the current incumbent council members are expected to of the Special Education stand for re-election this year, posing a serious challenge to any to the purchase.