Author: press-release

PRESS RELEASE: Opportunity Virginia––

Dear Friend,

Monday, I presented my biennial budget for FY 2013 and FY 2014 to the Joint Money Committees of the General Assembly. The budget is focused on getting more Virginians back to work by investing in core functions of government like transportation and education, and reforming our state government to make it more efficient, effective, and user-friendly to taxpayers – all while not raising taxes. The budget contains new revenue, but it is new revenue that is generated the right way, not through raising taxes, but rather through growing our economy and getting more Virginians back to work.

It’s the same formula we’ve followed since taking office in January of 2010: We have made state government live within its means, and balanced two consecutive budgets by reducing state spending to 2007 levels and not raising taxes. We have turned $6 billion in budget shortfalls into nearly $1 billion in surpluses. We have made historic investments in the Commonwealth’s transportation and higher education systems, and we have not raised taxes on the hardworking Virginians who invest in and grow our economy, and create more good-paying, private sector jobs.

This formula is working, and so are more Virginians.

Yesterday we learned that Virginia’s unemployment rate has dropped from 6.4% to 6.2% – the third-lowest unemployment rate east of the Mississippi, and the lowest in the Southeast by a large margin. And today, I was very pleased to make the single largest jobs announcement in Virginia since 2004: Amazon.com – one of the world’s largest online retailers – is investing $135 million to open two fulfillment centers in Virginia, creating over 1,350 new, good-paying jobs in the process! This is a big win for the greater Richmond area and the Commonwealth as a whole.

VIDEO: Watch my interview on Fox Business Network about the 2013-14 budget!

Read more about our major Amazon.com jobs announcement!

While we have made some great progress over the last two years, there is still a lot of work left to do. Over 250,000 Virginians still can’t find work. That is heartbreaking and that is unacceptable.

That is why our proposed budget continues making the same tough choices and setting the same priorities as our previous fiscal proposals. We will not raise taxes. We know that is not the way you create jobs and grow an economy.

Virginia citizens and businesses live on budgets and make tough decisions every day. Richmond must continue to do so as well. Our budget helps solve big problems. We are stabilizing our pension system, improving our transportation infrastructure, making our public education system more innovative, providing the tools our teachers, parents and students need and deserve, and increasing access to and the affordability of our higher education system. And we are saving state dollars for our Rainy Day Fund and other areas to give the Commonwealth liquidity as we continue to navigate this uncertain economy. This is not a status quo period in Virginia history, and this is not a status quo budget. I believe we need a better government, not a bigger one. It’s what our hardworking taxpayers deserve.

Our formula of responsible, conservative budgeting is working, and we are going to continue to follow it to help our private sector continue to create more jobs and ensure this continues to be a “Commonwealth of Opportunity” for all of our citizens for the next two years and beyond.

I wish you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and a happy Hanukkah, and thank you very much for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Bob McDonnell
Governor of Virginia

PRESS RELEASE: UVA Athletics–– Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage announced Tuesday (Dec. 20) that Bryan Fetzer, the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Harvard the past two years, has been named the Cavaliers’ director of track and field/cross country.

"It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome Bryan Fetzer to the University of Virginia as our director of track & field/cross country,” Littlepage said. “He has a successful and comprehensive background recruiting, coaching and developing championship student-athletes and teams across six sports.

“He understands clearly what is needed in order to lead championship programs in track and field and cross country. With his leadership and the completion of Phase I of our new track and field facility, we are positioning our program to attract the most outstanding prospective student-athletes and further develop the overall quality of our programs.”

Fetzer, who has had stops in the SEC and the Pac-12, helped the Crimson bring in the number-five ranked men’s track and field recruiting class in 2011 according to Track and Field News. At Harvard, Fetzer coached the sprinters, the vertical jumpers and the multi-event athletes.

"I am blessed and humbled to become the director of track & field/cross country at the University of Virginia,” Fetzer said. “I would like to thank Craig Littlepage and the Virginia athletic department for having the confidence to provide me with this incredible opportunity. I can think of no better combination in regards to academic excellence and athletic tradition than what we have at the University of Virginia.

“I am thrilled to have the chance to work with the current student-athletes. I feel we have something special here. We will be a team in every sense of the word. My expectations for the program will be very high, the goals will be lofty and to some they might seem unattainable but I want the team, university and community to know that there is nothing that we cannot accomplish together."

Prior to his time at Harvard, Fetzer spent three years as an assistant coach at Mississippi State, and helped guide the Bulldogs’ men’s program to back-to-back 17th-place finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Under his tutelage, Bulldog student-athletes earned seven All-America honors and Marrissa Harris won the 2008 SEC title and a bronze medal at the NACAC U23 Championships in the heptathlon

Before his time in Starkville, Miss., Fetzer spent three years as an assistant at California and helped the Golden Bear women earn their highest NCAA finishes in 2007, an eighth-place showing at the outdoor meet and 15th during the indoor season. His student-athletes broke 11 school records in the sprints and hurdles.

In 2003-04 Fetzer served as an assistant women’s cross country and track and field coach at Ball State and in one year, guided three athletes to Mid-American Conference crowns and five to NCAA Championship appearances.

From 1999-2003, Fetzer was the first director of track and field/cross country at Gardner-Webb and led the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ transition from Division II to Division I. Fetzer coached six NCAA national champions along with 12 All-Americans, including the 2000 IAAF world leader in the 55m, Julia O’Neal. The Runnin’ Bulldogs’ women’s team produced a pair of top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships in their only year at Division II and finished as the Atlantic Sun Conference runner-up in the school’s first year in Division I

Fetzer began his career at Ranger College in Ranger, Texas, as a track and field and football coach. During his tenure, the women’s program became a national junior college power, placing second during the 1999 indoor and outdoor seasons and finishing no lower than 11th at the NJCAA Championships during his four years. Ranger student-athletes captured eight NJCAA National Championships and secured 65 All-America honors.

In addition to his work with collegiate student-athletes, Fetzer has consulted and worked on speed and power development and strength training with several professional athletes in the NFL, MLB, Arena Football League, WNBA and WUSA. Fetzer has also served on several national staffs for various countries for the World Junior Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the NACAC Under-23 Championships and the World University Games. He also served as the secretary for the US Women’s Coaches Association from 1999-2005.

Fetzer earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Canisius College, where he was a four-year letterman and senior captain for the football team. He holds a master’s degree in physical education from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.
 

PRESS RELEASE: Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office–– The Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team have already contributed approximately 600 man hours searching for James Alvin Shifflett. The search team will be out again Saturday. They will establish a command center at Broadus Wood Elementary School, located at 185 Buck Mountain Rroad , at 8am Saturday.

The 69-year-old disappeared from his home in the 4100 block of Earlysville Road the night of Wednesday, Dec. 7. His red and white Ford F-150 was found abandoned on a bridge over the Rivanna Reservoir a few miles from his home. The headlights were on and the keys removed. Police were notified of the abandoned vehicle at 8:06 pm.

Previous searches around the South Fork of the Rivanna River and reservoir have been unsuccessful.

"Due an investigative lead, there is a 350-acre farm the police would like for us to search on Saturday," said Albemarle County Sheriff Chip Harding. However he said, “ It is still most probably he is in the reservoir or downstream in the Rivanna River”.

While authorities are not disclosing the location of the farm at this time, they do say Shifflett worked there. The search team will set up a command post at Broadus Wood Elementary School before combing the farm with searchers and cadaver dogs.

"We have the largest volunteer reserve division in Virginia," Sheriff Harding commented. "We have 50 reservists that are trained in search and rescue, then we have another 50-60 citizens that are not sworn deputies that have been trained in search and rescue. They will be out there assisting, too."

Shifflett is described as a white male with brown eyes and gray hair. He is approximately 5’2" tall and weighs around 148 pounds. Anyone who say his truck or knows any anything about his disappearance or whereabouts is asked to call the Albemarle County Police Department at 434-296-5807 or Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.

PRESS RELEASE: Virginia Department of Transportation–– The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced that nine firms have provided responsive Submittals of Qualifications in the first step of the agency’s Request for Proposals for the Route 29/Charlottesville Bypass project. VDOT is seeking proposals to build the new road using its Design-Build project development process.

Each responsive firm will be allowed to submit a proposal for the project. Those proposals will consist of a letter of submittal, attachments to the letter, and the company’s price proposal. The bids are due on April 17, 2012.

The firms qualified for the project are:

American Infrastructure / Kimley-Horn; Glen Allen, Va.

CH2MHILL; Richmond, Va.

Charlottesville Bypass Constructors (Shirley-English) / Dewberry; Lorton, Va.

CK Constructors (Corman-Kiewit) / Jansen and Spaans; Annapolis Junction, Md.

Granite-Wagman / Gannett Fleming; Tarrytown, N.Y.

Lane / RK&K; Chantilly, Va.

Skanska-Branch / JMT; Virginia Beach, Va.

United Infrastructure / T.Y. Lin; North Charleston, S.C.

Zachry / TranSystems; San Antonio, Texas

The Charlottesville Bypass project will build a new 6.2-mile, four-lane, limited-access roadway stretching from Route 29 just north of the South Fork Rivanna River to the Route 29/250 Bypass in Albemarle County. The project includes interchanges at both termini to move traffic between Route 29 north and Route 29/250 west of Charlottesville.

Information about the RFP can be found at: http://www.virginiadot.org/business/request-for-proposals.asp. Additional information about the Route 29/Charlottesville Bypass project can also be found on VDOT’s web site, http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/culpeper/rt._29_bypass.asp.

PRESS RELEASE: The Virginia Film Festival–– The Virginia Film Festival has received a $20,000 grant from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to fund its education and outreach programs.

The Virginia Film Festival is presented by the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

“I’d like to thank The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its support of our education and outreach efforts,” said Virginia Film Festival Director Jody Kielbasa.
“From the first day I arrived in Charlottesville three years ago, I have made community outreach and education a major priority. I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished under the direction of our Community Outreach and Education Coordinator Jane Freeman, and look forward to continuing to expand our programs and to share the magic of film with more people than ever before.”

Other highlights of The Virginia Film Festival’s Community and Education Outreach programming include:

• Middle and High School Film Screening

Each year VFF hosts a free screening of a socially-relevant, curriculum-related film for local students and educators. This past November more than 900 were treated to the powerful documentary The Loving Story –chronicling an interracial couple’s fight to preserve their love in the face of Virginia’s racial purity laws. Past films have also included Freedom Riders, the tale of the brave Civil Rights activists who risked arrest and much more to expose racial inequality by riding buses through the heart of the segregated South.

• Family Day

The VFF’s annual Family Day event, presented on the Saturday of the festival weekend, is highlighted by a special family screening at The Paramount Theater and also includes a variety of family-friendly events ranging from interactive film-related activities to a street fair on the Downtown Mall featuring live performances by various community groups.

• Social Service Partnerships

The Festival regularly works with local organizations to use film to highlight important issues in the community. Past partners have included The ARC of the Piedmont, The Virginia Institute of Autism, The Foothills Child Advocacy Center and others.

• Light House Studio Film Screenings

Each year, the Festival hosts a special screening that showcases the work of the talented teenagers from this acclaimed not-for-profit, independent media education center.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.
For more information on the Virginia Film Festival and its Community and Education Programs, visit www.virginiafilmfestival.org.
 

PRESS RELEASE: Rivanna Trails Foundation––

Monthly Work Party, December 10–– RTF’s monthly work parties have recently been all about making, and remaking, connections on the Rivanna Trail loop – such as realigning the section north of Hydraulic and opening an entirely new link between Stribling and Sunset Avenues. This month’s work party is no exception, as we begin restoration of the trail segment that has been closed by construction of the Meadowcreek Parkway. The Parkway brings with it a paved multi-use trail that connects Melbourne Road to Rio Road, but we plan to reopen the original trail that runs along Meadow Creek from the Park Street bridge at Melbourne Road to the railroad culvert (although the crossing through the culvert remains closed at this time).

We will meet this Saturday, 12/10, at the RTF Tool Shed at 2030 Morton Drive at 8:45 to gather tools, then drive to Melbourne Road. From there, we’ll hike the new multi-use path to the creek, and work our way south along the original trail routing. Contact Robert LeHeup for more information.

Teddy Bear Hike – January 14

Dress yourself and your favorite stuffed friend or toy WARMLY for a fun-filled winter hike on the Rivanna Trail. Discover how our City forests help real animals stay warm in the winter. For kids of all ages and their families or caregivers. Event held rain or shine (or snow!).

Gather in Riverview Park for an 11:00 AM start time. For more information or to volunteer to help, please contact Diana Foster, dfoster@newventure.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Virginia Sports Media–– Virginia freshman midfielder Morgan Brian (St. Simons Island, Ga.) was one of 15 players named as semifinalists for the 2011 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in college soccer. Brian is the only freshman to be named a semifinalist this season. 

Brian, the 2011 ACC Freshman of the Year, had 11 goals and eight assists during her rookie season. An All-ACC first team selection, seven of her goals came against conference foes, including all three of her game-winning goals. 

It marks the fifth consecutive year that Virginia has had a player named a Hermann Trophy semifinalist.

Head coaches of NCAA Division I programs with current membership in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) will vote to determine the 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient. Three finalists for the award will be announced on Friday, Dec. 9. They will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for a news conference on Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, where the winner will be announced. A dinner and form presentation of the award will follow the news conference that evening.

For more on what makes Morgan Brian special, read Eric Angevine’s profile from earlier this season here.

PRESS RELEASE: Project Gait-Way–– After six meetings and nearly a year of community involvement, Charlottesville’s Belmont Bridge re-design is complete. Or is it?

This October, during a tense presentation in Charlottesville City Council Chambers, community members picked apart the schematics created by MMM Design. MMM, who oversaw the re-bricking of the downtown mall, was hired by the City for roughly $1 million to engineer the bridge project. Some community members question whether the efforts so far have produced the design quality expected for the fee.

Stairways were characterized as impractical "Escher" labyrinths. Aesthetics like faux gas lamps and brick described as out of tune with the times. Overall the audience was underwhelmed by the design’s lack of scope and vision – and by the design team’s failure to have incorporated community input. At a meeting a week later, A BAR member called MMM’s design not a bridge, but a "raised road." And one important question remains unanswered: So what happens now?

Community members aren’t waiting for results. They hope to get the results themselves, even if it means finding a new design team. The solution: Project Gait-Way – an unsanctioned $1,000 design competition for the Belmont Bridge to create "an iconic, pedestrian-centric, bike & auto friendly gateway bringing Charlottesville into the next era of world-class cities and communities."

Call it creative protest. Community members felt it necessary to step up, where dialog with the MMM design team seems to have deteriorated – much like the bridge itself. Built in 1960, the Belmont bridge is allegedly near the end of its useful life.

According to MMM’s assessment, the bridge’s reinforcing steel has reached its "corrosive threshold." This rusting is causing the concrete in the bridge deck, sidewalks and piers to lose its bond with the reinforcing steel. The rate of deterioration is accelerating. Hence the closing of the eastern sidewalk. The City is starting the design process before future closure of the bridge becomes necessary. While the bridge still stands, just where the redesign is going is now up in the air.

The competition, soliciting entries from all comers, begins November 29, 2011. Deadline for entries: January 16, 2012. Submissions will be displayed January 18 – 22, 2012 at The Bridge PAI. Judging will be comprised of public vote and a jury of local stakeholders – competing for Jury Award ($1,000), Public Award (prize TBD) and Best Urban Planning Award (prize TBD). The winners will be announced 8pm January 22, 2012.

"This isn’t just a bridge," says Project Gait-Way coordinator Brian Wimer. "It’s an opportunity." Charlottesville will be spending roughly $14.5 million on this new piece of city infrastructure. Wimer asks, "Can we do better than another VDOT asphalt bandaid?" On January 22, the residents of Charlottesville will weigh in on the answer.

For more information, contact Brian Wimer: brian@amoebafilms.tv

Send designs to Project Gait-Way:
The Bridge PAI, 209 Monticello Rd, Charlottesville, Va. 22902.
 

PRESS RELEASE: VDOT–– Tree trimming on Route 29 (Seminole Trail) in Albemarle County will occur over the next two weeks, causing minor delays for the traveling public.

Beginning today at noon, a contractor for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will be performing tree trimming work on Route 29 northbound, between Route 643 (Polo Grounds Road) and the Greene County line. The work will continue throughout the week, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, with left and right lane closures.

Once Route 29 north is complete, the contractor will begin trimming trees along the Route 29/250 Bypass, northbound and southbound, from Route 654 (Barracks Road) to Interstate 64. Left and right lane closures will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Motorists should be alert for mobile work zones and equipment and workers near the travel lanes. Weather permitting, the work will finish by December 9.

Real-time road conditions and weather forecasts are available on VDOT’s traffic and travel Web site, www.511Virginia.org. The site also has live traffic camera images for many major highways, including Interstate 64, I-66 and Routes 29 and 250 in Central Virginia. Motorists can call 511 from any telephone in Virginia for road and traffic conditions on all major highways in the state. Call 1-800-FOR-ROAD (367-7623) 24 hours a day to report highway-related problems or request information about Virginia’s highways.

PRESS RELEASE: Office of the Press Secretary, The White House––

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Well, it is wonderful to see all of you here today. Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome to the White House.

Tomorrow is one of the best days of the year to be an American. It’s a day to count our blessings, spend time with the ones we love, and enjoy some good food and some great company. But it’s also one of the worst days of the year to be a turkey. (Laughter.) They don’t have it so good.

The rare exception, of course, are the two birds who’ve joined me today. Now, is Peace here, or just Liberty? Just Liberty is here, but Peace is back here somewhere. Some of you may know that recently I’ve been taking a series of executive actions that don’t require Congressional approval. (Laughter.) Well, here’s another one. We can’t wait to pardon these turkeys. (Laughter.) Literally. Otherwise they’d end up next to the mashed potatoes and stuffing.

I want to thank Richard Huisinga, the Chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and his wonderful family for donating this year’s turkey from his farm in Willmar, Minnesota. The turkey’s name is Liberty — there he is — and along with his understudy named Peace, he has the distinction of being the luckiest bird on the face of the Earth. Right now, he’s also probably one of the most confused. (Laughter.)

Liberty was chosen from a flock of about 30 other contestants for the honor of being here today. And for the first time in history, these two turkeys were raised by four students from nearby Willmar High School.

Now, I’m told that in order to prepare Liberty and Peace for their big day, the students exposed them to loud noises and flash bulbs so that they’d be ready to face the White House press corps. This is actually true. They also received the most important part of their media training, which involves learning how to gobble without really saying anything. (Laughter.)

So Liberty is ready for his turn in the spotlight. And after he finishes a round of cable hits and a few Sunday shows, he’s going to retire to a life of leisure at Mount Vernon — the same place where George Washington spent his golden years.

And later today, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will also be taking two unnamed turkeys, who weren’t so lucky, to a local food bank here in D.C. that helps those in need. And I want to thank the folks at Jaindl’s Turkey Farm in Orefield, Pennsylvania, for donating these dressed birds for the third year in a row.

A great writer once called Thanksgiving the “one day that is ours … the one day that is purely American.”

When we gather around our tables tomorrow to share the fruits of our blessings, let’s remember what that means. Let’s be grateful for what we have. Let’s be mindful of those who have less. Let’s appreciate those who hold a special place in our lives, and make sure that they know it. And let’s think about those who can’t spend the holiday with their loved ones –- especially the members of our military serving overseas. I’d like to thank all our men and women in uniform and their families for their incredible service and devotion.

And that’s what being an American is all about. Even when times are tough, we look out for each other. We lift each other up. And we remind ourselves just how lucky we are here, together, in the greatest country on Earth.

So from our family to yours, I want to wish everybody a wonderful and happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

And now, since Liberty and Peace have been so patient, it is my privilege to grant them the official pardon. And I’m going to — I’ve got to give them a little symbol. (Laughter.)

(The turkeys are pardoned.)

THE PRESIDENT: All right, you are hereby pardoned. (Laughter.) Give them a round of applause. (Applause.)

END 10:45 A.M. EST