Dear Editor, Delegate David Ramadan (R-87) maintains he wasn't required to officially disclose a recent the trip, but the Virginia code appears to state otherwise. "A key point of the code pertaining to financial disclosures states 'gift' means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance or other item having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts of transportation, local travel, lodgings and meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred.” I am writing in response…

Dear Editor, I read the five-page letter sent by Delegate Barbara Comstock to her constituents at taxpayer expense. Her carefully worded claims, upon closer study, reveal a politician who does not represent the priorities of her district even as she tries to take credit for the accomplishment of others. On transportation, education and economic development, she actually voted against many of the bills touted in her letter! Take education. The 2013 Budget Bill does, in fact, provide matching state funds for increasing teacher pay. However, Delegate Comstock voted against the Budget Bill! …

Dear Editor: For a very long time Loudoun residents who wished to speak before the Board of Supervisors during public comment sessions of hearings or meetings, were limited to 3 and sometimes 5 minutes. It depended of course on whether a small or large number had signed up to speak, or whether meetings were running late. Time was when those representing organizations such as HOAs, non-profits or other organizations were granted a full 5 minutes to speak and sometimes longer, because they were representing large numbers of residents. But no longer. Board Chairman York, citing ‘time constraints…

This week, Governor Bob McDonnell signed into legislation HB 1933, which is the Lyme Testing Disease Awareness Act that was introduced by our Loudoun Delegates Barbara Comstock (Chief Patron) and David Ramadan (Chief Co-Patron). I appreciate our Loudoun Representatives in Virginia’s General Assembly getting behind this important issue and highlighting some of the shortcomings with the existing testing methods in order to raise public awareness. Shortcomings with the test method producing false negatives have put patients at risk of missing the short window of an early diagnosis. Early …

The board of supervisors just banned roadside fundraising that has consistently raised almost $1 million each year for research into a cure for muscular dystrophy, a medical problem that attacks mostly children. I was part of a bipartisan majority on the prior board that rejected such a ban, continuing to allow our county firefighters and medical technicians to run their “Fill the Boot” campaigns every year. None of us liked the fact that, to keep the campaign going, we also had to allow less noble panhandlers on the same streets. But, we allowed them all, in the name of doing the most …

The passing of the Lyme Disease Testing Awareness Act by Governor McDonnell this week really hit home for me. Because I didn’t see a tick or have the bulls-eye rash, my Lyme disease diagnosis was not an easy one. I had to go to three different medical practices before some took my symptoms and suspicions of Lyme disease seriously. The first doctor ordered an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test which came back negative. The next two tests I had done were called the Western Blot, which is considered a very sensitive testing method. My test results showed only 2 bands and the Center …

Expanding our company from two employees here in Virginia to a global operation with 180 associates reflects the American Dream for our shareholders and for our employees. This is the same dream that my immigrant grandfather realized, having built a successful wholesale business within a generation of coming to this country as a child. The ability to start and to grow a business and to participate in growing our nation’s economy lies at the heart of the American enterprise. However, failure to address our unsustainable national debt hinders future opportunities. Our inaction jeopardizes the …

Letter to the editor, The escalating cost of living combined with the loss of higher paying jobs has put many people in our area in a financial dilemma. Lower wage jobs appear to be a larger share of our community’s total employment. The surge in population and rising cost of housing in our community have added stress on resources and make it much harder for lower wage earners to make ends meet. Those with modest income struggle to pay for housing, groceries, childcare, health care and education, among other essentials.  Imagine the difficulty of choosing whether your family eats or has …

Eugene Delgaudio and his lawyer are trying to blame the victim for the effects of his own misconduct. Their allegation that Donna Mateer distributed the documents supporting her complaints, "to dozens of political activists she hoped would support her," is utterly false. Ms. Mateer did everything in her power to resolve the issue quietly and without political implications. First, she approached the county Human Resources department and Chairman York. The HR department stated it was powerless to help staff aides. Mr. York asked her for documenation, which Ms. Mateer provided to him. After that…

As a publicly declared candidate for Sterling Supervisor, I have been made aware that some individuals or groups may be considering circulating a petition to ask the Circuit Court to remove the current Sterling Supervisor, Eugene Delgaudio, from the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. In my opinion, circulating such a petition at this point in time would be premature, and a bad idea for the following reasons:  1. Mr. Delgaudio is currently under criminal investigation by a special prosecutor. Asking for his removal now could risk interfering with that investigation. Under Virginia law, …

Hello,  My name is John LaRock. I am 11 years old, and live near Leesburg where my parents home-school me and my brothers and sisters. I love sports. My friend Jay (who is also home-schooled) and I play lots of football. We both would love to play in college and even in the pros someday. That may sound pretty far off but Jay’s dad, James Thrash, played in the NFL and Jay would like to follow in his footsteps. Home-schooling is not for everybody. It takes a huge commitment of time, patience and other resources. (Thanks Mom and Dad).  Public schooling is not for everybody either, and yet those …

Congrats, your child is in a Priority School. Is that Good or Bad? When my children come home with their report cards every quarter, my wife and I take time to sit them down and review their grades. While the conversation with each child takes 15-20 minutes, it does not take long to figure out how they did. An "A" in a class is very good...a "D" would not be so good. Unfortunately, understanding the overall performance of their school is not so easy. Here in Virginia, we rate our public schools using words like "Priority School, Fully Accredited, Accreditation with Warning, Non-Accredited." …

On Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, Gov. Robert McDonnell delivered the Annual State of the State Address to the combined houses of the Virginia General Assembly. In his address Governor McDonnell surprised many people both in the chamber and listening at home when he made a full-throated appeal to restore the voting rights of non-violent felons upon completion of their sentences and legal obligations. In making the case for restoration of felons rights (the legal term being re-enfranchisement) Gov. McDonnell made the following statement: “As a nation that believes in redemption and second chances, …

Let’s say that an application were to be filed with the appropriate county authorities to build a 10,000-person sports stadium and entertainment complex at the Reston Town Center. What do you think might happen? Would the local residences and businesses there welcome the sporting arena to their neighborhood with open arms, or would they be so outraged at the idea that they would organize to have the plan defeated? The question isn’t so far-fetched. The owners of One Loudoun have stated that their project was being modeled similarly to the Reston Town Center wherein proposed retail tenants …

To the editor: When I bought in the Potomac Green development five years ago I was excited to learn that in time One Loudoun would bring development to the area that would include business, residential development and entertainment. In part my decision to buy in Potomac Green was that I knew that in time the One Loudoun expansion would add to the property value of its neighbors.  I am now even more excited about the proposed construction of a baseball/soccer facility that will be the home of the Loudoun Hounds and an NASL soccer team.  I served as the Public Address announcer for DC’s Major …

Dear Editor: It’s January and with January brings the most common concern of high school seniors; that’s college acceptance! Are you in? Are you out? Where are you going? How will we pay? This is all high school seniors are thinking about right now, as I was right there with them last year applying to Virginia colleges. With many of my high school classmates having their eyes set on William & Mary as their first choice, I did a little research and found out how fortunate I was to have gotten into William & Mary. William & Mary provides 32 percent of our college spots to out-of-state students…

Although Eugene Delgaudio presently retains the title of Sterling Supervisor, he is the Sterling Supervisor in name only. He is currently under investigation by a Commonwealth's Attorney for violating board policy, as well as campaign finance violations. He also now has been stripped of all of his committee assignments on the Loudoun Board of Supervisors, a measure Delgaudio himself even voted for – obviously, he is not able to defend his own actions, even to his own colleagues. The reason that I am running for Sterling Supervisor is because I think the Sterling District has been poorly …

Dear Editor,  Del. David Ramadan (R-87) has announced that he is making a formal complaint against the proposed Dulles Greenway toll increase. Del. Ramadan is barking up the wrong tree if he is genuinely interested in securing relief from oppressive tolls … and he knows it. Responding to a Greenway toll increase request, Del. Ramadan demanded Greenway rates comply with Virginia code. FACT … Recently, the Greenway – the privately operated road west of Dulles International Airport – requested a 3.54 percent increase in the toll rate, or $0.14, which they are allowed by law. This 3.54 percent is…

December 14’s massacre of 20 children and 6 adults in Sandy Hook Elementary, a Connecticut-based elementary school by a deranged 20-year old has left not only our entire country shaken, but our entire world. What would possess a young man to take such horrific action? As a parent, my blood ran cold when the news first broke. These families that lost loved ones will never be “OK.” For the rest of their lives, they will feel pain and loss every day. Nothing will ever fill the void that has been left. Every day will be filled in some capacity with sadness and grief. I actually searched for some …

Dear Santa, While I haven’t written to you in many years (decades … yikes!), I find that this year I have a need for a very special Christmas gift that I hope you can bring me. Please try to convince OpenBand to drop its absurd multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and two of its distinguished members, as well as one citizen it has chosen to single out for airing her grievances, and instead, use the money it has set aside for this lawsuit to: Provide consistent high quality cable television service to its subscribers without the repeated problems of TV …