LAKE RIDGE, Va. — Democrats in Prince William County have a new rallying place.

Campaign staffers for President Barack Obama on Saturday greeted about 100 supporters for the opening of Obama’s latest reelection campaign office, at Tacketts Mill in Lake Ridge.

The new office is one of 10 campaign bureaus in Virginia. In addition to the office in Lake Ridge, campaign officials also opened offices in Loudoun County and in Virginia Beach over the weekend.

The office will primarily be used for campaign activities such as making phone calls, and rallying and training volunteers who will go door-to-door canvassing for votes.

Obama in 2008 won Virginia with 52 percent of the vote. In Prince William County, voters chose Obama over John McCain giving the president 57 percent of the vote.

MANASSAS, Va. -- On Wednesday, March 28 the Prince William Chamber of Commerce hosted the Prince William Valor Awards at Foxchase Manor in Manassas. Now in its 26th year, the Awards serve as an opportunity for the business community to honor the public safety professionals who do so much to protect lives and property throughout the Prince William region.

Brian Van de Graaf, ABC 7/WJLA TV & News Channel 8 narrated the inspiring stories of the award recipients. Attendees took home a commemorative program telling the inspiring stories of the Valor Award recipients.

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WOODBRIDGE, Va. – After a full month of discussion, the Virginia General Assembly met in special session at the Virginia state capitol on Tuesday to continue work on the two-year, $85 billion Virginia biennial budget that runs from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014. The budget, contained in House Bill (HB) 1301, passed the Senate of Virginia on Monday by a vote of 35-4, with Senate amendments attached. The bill was then considered on Tuesday by the Virginia House of Delegates, which rejected the Senate amendments by a vote of 23-69.

The move was expected by both houses as a parliamentary mechanism to refer HB 1301 to a joint House-Senate Conference Committee, where differences would be ironed out through a process of negotiated compromise. After the conference committee reports a compromise bill to the House and Senate, each body will take final action that will produce an agreed-upon budget that will go to Gov. Bob McDonnell for signature.

After the House of Delegates recessed late Tuesday afternoon, Del. Richard L. Anderson (R-Prince William), stated that “I am pleased that the budget process is now out of ‘neutral’ and into full ‘drive.’ Our first priority as a legislature is to pass a biennial budget in the even-numbered years of the General Assembly to meet the needs of Virginia’s families, followed by mid-course corrections in the form of amendments in the odd-numbered years. Virginia has historically passed its budget in a timely and bi-partisan fashion, so I was especially disappointed that the Senate moved us beyond the regular legislative session and into a special session for budget discussions. Now that we are again headed in a positive direction, I hope that we can conclude our work in forthright fashion.”

Del. Anderson went on to say that he is concerned that “the delay caused by Senate inaction on the budget has stymied development of local budgets by our counties, cities, and towns, all of which depend on timely approval of Virginia’s biennial budget in order to complete their own local budget planning. I support fast-track approval of the Virginia budget so that Prince William County and other localities can complete their own budget planning cycles.”

Although officials cannot accurately forecast how long the budget conference process will take, it is generally believed that an additional 10 days or two weeks will be needed for final action by the House and Senate. Anderson stated that “in the end, we’ll get it done. We always do. That’s the Virginia way.”

Del. Rich Anderson retired from the U.S. Air Force as a colonel in 2009 and was elected that same year to represent the 51st House District, which stretches across the county from Occoquan in the east to Nokesville in the west. He is in his second term and serves as a deputy house whip. He also chairs the Virginia Commission on Civics Education and the General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus. He sits on four standing House committees as a member of the House Finance Committee, House Transportation Committee, House General Laws Committee, and House Science and Technology Committee.

-Press release

By Brian Hill
Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia teachers and firefighters are urging Gov. Bob McDonnell to veto legislation overhauling the retirement plan for the state’s public employees.

They said the General Assembly acted hastily on the last day of its regular session when it approved bills to reduce the benefits that employees would receive under the Virginia Retirement System. The VRS legislation was crafted by a conference committee and was passed on split votes in the House and Senate.

“The General Assembly voted without a clear understanding of the ways that the conference report would cut into the pay and erode the retirement security of our employees,” said Kitty Boitnott, president of the Virginia Education Association, which represents the state’s teachers.

Teachers say they are spending their own money on classroom supplies as local school budgets have been cut in recent years.

“The General Assembly has responded by failing, since 2008, to fund a pay raise for teachers and rushing to pass a flawed pension bill that takes money right out of teachers’ pockets,” Boitnott said.

The VRS changes are contained in two identical measures approved by the assembly on March 10: House Bill 1130, sponsored by House Speaker William J. Howell of Fredericksburg; and Senate Bill 498, proposed by a fellow Republican, Sen. John Watkins of Midlothian.

The bills would create a hybrid retirement program containing a defined contribution and a defined benefit component. State and local government employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2014, would be required to participate in the hybrid program.

The legislation also would adjust the existing defined benefit plan for nonvested employees. It would lower the retirement benefit multiplier from 1.7 to 1.65, basing average final compensation on 60 months of service. The bills also would cap the cost-of-living adjustment at 3 percent.

Advocates for public employees held a press conference Thursday to express their concerns about the legislation. They urged McDonnell to reject the bills.

The conference committee report on SB 498 was approved by votes of 35-5 in the Senate and 58-35 in the House. The conference committee report on HB 1130 passed 34-6 in the Senate and 60-34 in the House.

Lawmakers adopted the legislation in hopes of plugging a projected $24 billion gap in the VRS. But public employees said the state should shore up the retirement system without penalizing workers and retirees.

“The challenges facing VRS are quite simply to fund the system, in both good times and tough times,” said Michael Mohler, president of Virginia Professional Firefighters.

“That’s what we as families do. That’s what the Commonwealth of Virginia must do.”

Mohler contended that some legislators’ hidden agenda is to eliminate the VRS entirely.

“The fact is, those in the assembly calling for further cuts to VRS are not interested in fixing the pension system; they want to kill it all together,” Mohler said.

“They want to give our retirement plans to Wall Street, who will make billions and trillions on the fees that they will be able to charge each and every one of us individually, so that they can bleed us to death with those fees.”

Besides overhauling the retirement plan, the General Assembly passed legislation requiring local government employees and school board employers to pay a 5 percent employee contribution to the VRS. Under this legislation – SB 497 and HB 1129 – local governments and school divisions would have to raise their workers’ salaries to offset the higher contributions.

At the news conference, government workers urged McDonnell to sign that legislation.

“We call on the governor to protect the salary offset contained in SB 497, which would at least reduce the severe impact of pension changes on hard-working teachers,” Boitnott said.

Raises are critical to attracting high-quality instructors, teachers said.

“Virginia’s average teacher salary is over $7,000 below the national average,” said Bea Morris, legislative chairperson of the Virginia Retired Teachers Association. “To further reduce salaries will demoralize teachers even more and make it that much harder to attract the best and brightest teachers to Virginia’s classrooms.”

LAKE RIDGE, Va. — One person was shot at a home near Lake Ridge on Saturday night and flown to an area hospital for treatment, police said. Sources said the victim is a male.

About 9 p.m., the victim was flown by helicopter from Merchant’s Plaza at the corner of Prince William Parkway and Old Bridge Road in Lake Ridge– the site of a Safeway grocery store and Capital One Bank.

As onlookers peered on, rescue crews pulled the victim from the back of an ambulance and placed him on another stretcher to be loaded onto a helicopter, which landed between the bank and a McDonalds restaurant.

Police also surrounded a nearby CVS Pharmacy parking lot, congregating around what appeared to be a collection of plastic bags lying on the sidewalk outside the store. Police confirmed the shooting did not take place at the pharmacy.

We’ll have more on this once it’s made available.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — While final plans are not yet in place for High Occupancy Toll lanes on Interstate 95, transportation officials will begin preliminary work on the project next week.

Drivers will notice the work taking place on the highway shoulders on I-95 between Springfield and Dumfries, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The proposed toll lanes, if approved, will be a public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation and private construction firm Fluor-Transurban. Taxpayers are expected to foot $97 million while the private firm is expected to fund $843 million.

In December, officials said construction could begin as early as this spring. But no formal announcement has been made. According to vamegaprojects.com, the work scheduled next week is utility work.

Once known as HOT lanes, the project has apparently been rebranded 95 Express Lanes to match its counterpart toll lanes on the Capital Beltway, the 495 Express Lanes which are scheduled to open late this year.

Work schedule:

I-95 north from Exit 150, Joplin Rd. (Route 619) to Springfield Interchange – Mobile right shoulder closures Monday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon for utility work.

I-95 north from Exit 150, Joplin Rd. (Route 619) to Springfield Interchange – Mobile single lane closures Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon for utility work.

I-95 south from the Springfield Interchange to Exit 150, Joplin Rd. (Route 619) – Mobile right shoulder closures Monday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. for utility work.

I-95 south from the Springfield Interchange to Exit 150, Joplin Rd. (Route 619) – Mobile single lane closures Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. for utility work.

I-95 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes from Springfield Interchange to Dumfries Rd. (Route 234) – Mobile alternating shoulder closures Monday through Thursday from 7 am. to 7 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m. to noon.

STAFFORD, Va. -- A teenager was arrested after a racial slur was found painted at a church earlier this month.

Stafford authorities on Friday announced the arrest of a 16-year-old male charged in vandalizing the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church at 135 Chapel Green Road. Sheriff’s deputies found a racial slur spray painted on a back wall of the church on March 4 and then put out a call for leads in the case.

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By Uriah Kiser

NORTH STAFFORD, Va. -- In his short time on Stafford’s Board of County Supervisors, Ty Schieber has already seen a fair amount of controversy.

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five members of the Underground Gangster Crips (UGC) set based in Fairfax County, Va., have been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution business that recruited high school girls and threatened them with violence if they attempted to leave. Including the charges unsealed today, 11 members of area gangs have been charged with underage sex trafficking since 2011 as part of a number of ongoing investigations.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, Attorney General of Virginia, Colonel David Rohrer, Fairfax County Chief of Police, and Ronald T. Hosko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after the charges were unsealed.

“The sex trafficking of young girls in an unconscionable crime involving unspeakable trauma. These gang members are alleged to have lured many area high school girls in the vile world of prostitution, and used violence and threats to keep them working as indentured sex slaves,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Through aggressive efforts by the Fairfax County Police Department and the FBI – and in partnership with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force – we’re working together to fight this reprehensible form of exploitation. This is the 16th human trafficking case charged in the last year in this district.”

“This situation is every parent’s worst nightmare. It also demonstrates that human trafficking can happen anywhere, and that it is a very real danger here in Virginia,” said Attorney General Cuccinelli. “By working together with U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride and our law enforcement partners, we will send a swift and strong message that this criminal behavior will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

“Like many, particularly those of us who are parents of young women, I am angered and saddened by the facts of this case,” said Chief Rohrer. “Prostitution and trafficking are not “victimless” crimes; we cannot, and shall not, tolerate these acts, and we will continue to investigate and pursue those who harm others, especially our children.”

“Trafficking in humans, especially for the purpose of underage prostitution, is among the most insidious of crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Hosko. “Together with our partner agencies, and with the assistance of the community, the FBI will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to track down those who exploit our children and engage in human trafficking.”

According to a criminal complaint affidavit, the prostitution business is led by Justin Strom, aka “Jae” or “J-Dirt,” 26, of Lorton, Va., who is a leader of the UGC within Fairfax County.
Strom and other UGC associates are accused of recruiting teen girls to work for them as prostitutes. They would allegedly contact teens at school or through Facebook, DateHookUp.com, and other online social networking sites and entice the girls to use their good looks to earn money through prostitution. In addition, members of the conspiracy would approach girls at bus or rail stops and attempt to recruit them into joining their prostitution business. Once a girl expressed interest, Strom is alleged to have relied on women within his organization to transition the victim into earning money for the conspirators by having sex with multiple clients.
Since this investigation began in November 2011, at least 10 high school girls between the ages of 16 and 18 have been identified as potential victims, many of whom were allegedly provided with illegal drugs and alcohol and were required to submit to sex with members of the conspiracy as a “try out” or an “initiation” before they worked as prostitutes.

The affidavit alleges that Strom and members of the conspiracy advertised their victims through online sites including Craigslist.org and Backpage.com. Strom allegedly provided “in-call” service to clients, allowing clients to use his home to have sex with victims. In addition, many victims were prostituted by walking door-to-door soliciting clients in apartment buildings or townhouse complexes, with Strom and others waiting within a car nearby. They were instructed to find apartments with multiple males inside to minimize walking in the open and to maximize profit.

In addition, many victims were allegedly threatened with violence if they failed to perform as directed, including one victim who was allegedly held at knife point and raped by Strom and later forced to have sex with 14 men she didn’t know. Strom received approximately $1,000 from the men.

Strom and three conspirators were charged with conspiring to transport a juvenile to engage in a commercial sex act, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, if convicted. The conspirators charged include:

Michael Tavon Jefferies, aka “Loc,” 21, of Woodbridge, Va., who allegedly handled the money for the business, served as a bodyguard and driver, and is also alleged to have carried a firearm while conducting business for the enterprise.

Donyel Dove, aka “Bleek,” 27, of Alexandria, Va., who allegedly acted as a bodyguard and driver for the girls when they prostituted for the enterprise.

Henock Ghile, aka “Knocks,” 23, of Springfield, Va., who allegedly transported girls to appointments with clients.

Jefferies was arrested the evening of March 27, 2012, and Strom and Ghile were arrested early the following morning on March 28, 2012. Dove was previously arrested on March 24, 2012, in separate charges by authorities in Warren County and is currently in state custody.

In addition to the charges unsealed today, the court unsealed charges against Christopher Sylvia, 22, of Springfield, Va., who was arrested on March 8, 2012, for his role as a driver in this sex trafficking conspiracy.

This case was investigated by the Fairfax County Police Department and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force. Special Assistant United States Attorney Marc Birnbaum from the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Assistant United States Attorney Inayat Delawala are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies – along with nongovernmental organizations – dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes.

The Fairfax County Police Department has set up a telephone number for use by anyone with information about cases in Fairfax County. That number is: 703-246-4006. You will be prompted to leave your contact information for investigators.

Criminal complaints are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

-Press release 

By Pia Talwar
Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. – Gov. Bob McDonnell’s goal to install America’s first offshore wind energy turbine got a jolt of momentum this week from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve construction of a 479-foot-tall, five-megawatt wind turbine generator in the lower Chesapeake Bay, three miles off the Eastern Shore town of Cape Charles.

Construction of the prototype turbine is scheduled to be completed in late 2013 – before offshore wind energy projects on the drawing boards in other parts of the country.

Official says the prototype turbine would last at least 20 years and the submarine cable system more than 100 years.

The project is part of McDonnell’s strategy to pursue an “all of the above” approach to energy development, including fossil fuels, nuclear power and renewable energy. The Republican governor says he wants Virginia to be the energy capital of the East Coast.

The wind turbine requires approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and review by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The proposal was submitted by Gamesa Energy USA. The company is partnering with Huntington Ingalls Industries, which operates Newport News Shipbuilding, to develop and test offshore technologies.

“This is an important next step in developing all of Virginia’s domestic energy resources to help power our nation’s economy and puts Virginia at the forefront of clean energy technology development,” McDonnell said Tuesday.

“This step forward holds tremendous potential for jobs and for economic development here in the future. Virginia’s unique and efficient permitting process adopted for small energy projects like this one was a critical factor in Gamesa’s choice of Virginia as the location for this U.S. wind energy operation.”

Gamesa officials hope the project will demonstrate the company’s offshore wind turbine generator technology, called G11X. The firm is seeking to perfect the technology for worldwide commercial market deployment by 2015.

Although the project is just one turbine, an added benefit of the prototype will be the production of up to five megawatts of electricity to the Virginia transmission grid for public use.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission enthusiastically approved the project, which includes:

• The installation of a steel foundation and tower with a maximum blade tip height of 479 feet above mean sea level

• Stone riprap scour protection around the foundation base

• Installation of 15,219 linear feet of submerged power cable buried at least six feet below the seabed

The turbine will stand in about 53 feet of water. The cable will connect it to the Cape Charles electrical grid through the Bay Coastal Railroad property in Cape Charles Harbor.

“This wind turbine prototype will bring jobs, jobs and more jobs, and it positions Virginia to be a leader in clean energy technology,” said Doug Domenech, Virginia’s secretary of natural resources.

Jack Travelstead, acting commission of the Marine Resources Commission, agreed.

“This is an exciting project,” Travelstead said. “This will bring jobs, energy, important new scientific information and enhanced fishing opportunities for recreational anglers.” Officials say the structure likely will attract fish looking for shade and shelter.

In its review, the Marine Resources Commission concluded that the project will not impact commercial or recreational marine activities. Marine biologists say noise from the turbine should not be an environmental problem; that section of the bay already gets a lot of traffic from freighters and small boats.

The commission didn’t receive any objections from the public. However, Virginia Democrats used McDonnell’s announcement about the renewable energy project to tweak the Republicans.

State Democratic Chairman Brian Moran said it was McDonnell’s gubernatorial predecessor, Tim Kaine, who originated the “all of the above” energy strategy. Kaine is now running for the U.S. Senate against another former governor, Republican George Allen.

Allen has said that wind and other alternative energy projects are expensive and untried and that the nation should focus on conventional fuels such as oil, coal and nuclear energy.

“Gov. McDonnell’s continued advancement of offshore wind energy is further proof of how extreme George Allen’s energy agenda is,” Moran said.

Allen did not respond to that charge. But on Wednesday, he attacked Kaine after the Obama administration proposed allowing energy companies to begin seismic testing to find oil and natural reserves off Virginia and other states along the Atlantic. This is a step toward awarding leases to drill in several years.

Allen said Kaine “took steps to try to delay Virginia’s lease sale when he was governor, and it’s disappointing that President Obama is continuing that policy.” Allen said Democrats should “allow Virginians to access our oil and natural gas off our coast today – not six years from now.”