Welcome to the my Web site, v. XII. The blog is typically published Monday - Saturday. My primary topics tend to be the Nats, Penn State (esp. football), BeltwayLand, transportation, media, photos and more. The rest of the site gets updated as warranted and is noted on the blog.
Snowfall totals: Alexandria & Tysons Corner - William World News
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Snowfall totals: Alexandria & Tysons Corner
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- After missing the weekend snowstorm, I'm back with more snowfall measurements. In front of my condo, I measured 5 3/4 inches of wet fluffy snow. This includes accumulations from the weekend storm.
TYSONS CORNER, Va. -- At work, I measure 6 7/8 inches.
This snow is already melting and probably won't make it through tomorrow if even today, but don't get used to seeing the ground again. We're in for a doozy this weekend:
TYSONS CORNER, Va. -- This morning while going through Harris Teeter, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pepsi Throwback is available again. This time around, the red, white and blue packaging from the early 1980s is being used. I will be stocking up. While it doesn't have quite the bite of regular Pepsi, any chance to consume less high fructose corn syrup is a good one -- take that subsidized corn farmers!
According the Pepsi Throwback Web site, the "real sugar" cola is available December 28, 2009 through February 22, 2010.
The group, TysonsTunnel.org, has been pushing for an underground route through the area. It is teaming up with the environmental group, Sierra Club, to file the suit.
A national watchdog group is expected to join the suit.
Scott A. Monett, president of TysonsTunnel and the vice chair of the Sierra Club's Great Falls group, won't name the watchdog group, but does say it's a "good governance group."
Again, too little too late. While I would have preferred an underground Metro line through Tysons Corner for long term cost and aesthetic concerns, I can live with an above ground one. The mobilization for making sure the Silver Line was a tunnel came years too late. This suit, if it does not get thrown out, will just add years to the construction and millions to the cost.
Silver Spring seems to do just fine with the Red Line elevated through it, so I think Tysons will too. Crystal City gets by with having an airport and at-grade railroad adjacent to it as well and nobody seems to mind.
"To do it right, we ought to start it at the King Street station, go all the way up King Street through Alexandria, go through Bailey's Crossroads, pick up the light rail passengers at Columbia Pike so that you would tie into the light rail system that Arlington County is proposing, and then extend this system through Bailey's, through Seven Corners and connect it to the Metro system at Tysons Corner.
Sure, why not? I have a feeling this won't go anywhere, but if it had its own right-of-way like Moran wants, it would work. The thing is where is the money and oh yeah, some folks in Alexandria might not want it encroaching on their property along King Street.
Will Harris Teeter open a store in Seven Corner or Silver Springs too? - William World News
Friday, March 20, 2009
Will Harris Teeter open a store in Seven Corner or Silver Springs too?
TYSON'S CORNER, Va. -- The Harris Teeter in my work neighborhood doesn't quite know where they are located. I suppose this is just another argument for creating the Tysons, Va. mailing address.
How the Silver Line Metro is going to be built - William World News
Monday, March 16, 2009
How the Silver Line Metro is going to be built
Metrorail Heading In a New Direction - The Post Details of what the Silver Line construction through Tysons Corner is going to be like over the next several years. It won't be much fun, but the payoff is huge.
...the real action will start in a matter of days about 15 miles to the west, where demolition of roads and bridges and heavy construction of overhead piers will become an unwelcome fact of life during the next six years for commuters and residents of McLean, Tysons Corner, Vienna and beyond. The result, boosters say, will be worth it: a public transit system serving the region's primary international airport and Virginia's most prosperous jobs corridor.
Today's ceremony at the Transportation Department's headquarters near the Washington Navy Yard featured a roster of local, state and federal luminaries seeking to revel in -- and take credit for -- the project's success. Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and former senator John Warner (R-Va.) were among those attending.
Emphasis added by me. This is long overdue and much needed. The next few years in Tysons may not be fun to commute to and from but it is not like it is right now.
The second phase of the project from Whiele Ave. to Ashburn still has some hurdles to clear.
Project Web site: Dulles Metrorail Project I like the headline and the tone of this blog post which includes the backstory of the last year -- make sure you read it.
Are Fajita Wars the new Cola Wars? - William World News
Monday, February 23, 2009
Are Fajita Wars the new Cola Wars?
TYSON'S CORNER, Va. -- On a recent excusion to one of Tysons Corner's casual dining restaurants, On the Border, I learned that it is home to the FAJITA REVOLUTION. Apparently, they are revolutionizing the way I enjoy fajitas. I disagree as I had brisket tacos instead. That is not the point though, apparently fajitas are much more serious than I could have possibly imagined. You may recall that On the Border's neighbor, Chili's, told me I could control my own Fajita Destiny. Are fajitas the next conflict in foodstuff marketing, like the Cola Wars* of the late 1980s?
I wonder how much further marketers will take this trend. Will be seeing things like Fajita Century, Generation Fajita, or Fajita Reich?
*My Advertising 320 professor told the class a couple of times, in muted tones, that he was a "veteran of the Cola Wars."
Strange for positing that question, especially since On the Border and Chili's are owned by the same company.
# posted by Muha :
Monday, February 23, 2009 2:23:00 PM
So, it is a civil war?
# posted by WFY :
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8:18:00 AM
Post a CommentTysons gets a grocery store again - William World News
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tysons gets a grocery store again
TYSON'S CORNER, Va. -- When I was a kid there was a Giant Food in Tyson's Corner Center mall, but it closed over 20 years ago. Now, for the first time since they, the Tysons area has a grocery store. A new Harris Teeter opened on Park Run Drive near Westpark Drive. Tysons residents and workers no long have to drive to Vienna or McLean for groceries, a wonderful development.
Like all grocery stores in the DC area, clearly the new HT needs a nickname. Hubris Teeter? Anyone?
# posted by virtualredhead :
Friday, January 16, 2009 11:57:00 AM
We don't nickname grocery stores in the 'burbs since there is little difference between them. Why Hubris Teeter anyway?
# posted by WFY :
Saturday, January 17, 2009 4:34:00 PM
While I love the fact that the Corner now has its own grocery store, I'm shocked at the prices for Harris Teeter. "Manager, please. We need a price check". In comparison to the other suburban grocery stores McLean's Safeway and Giant; as well as Vienna's Safeway and Giant the prices in HT are about 20-30% more than the other stores mentioned. I understand they have the coupons in the flyer like, "save $10 on a $40 purchase", but what if I want to only pick up a couple things - like a pint of strawberries (which incidentally, cost my right arm)or milk (I thought I did buy the whole cow). So despite being overjoyed by not having to travel to down McLean or downtown Vienna to get some groceries, let's face it - the economy sucks and I can't afford to dish our the cash for the prices at HT. I really wanted to love this store. I hope things will change in the near future, especially with stores closing all over the Tyson's area. I honestly don't want to see HT become another victim of the bad economy.
# posted by Anonymous :
Monday, February 02, 2009 9:41:00 PM
In the D.C. area, Harris Teeter fancies itself as a higher-end grocery store than Giant or Safeway. The sales are just as good (i.e. Pepsi 12 packs are $1.99 this week) but the everyday stuff does cost more.
The Alexandria location that I use regularly is quite efficient though, I don't know if that is true of the Tysons one yet, not a big enough sample size.
# posted by WFY :
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 11:22:00 AMPost a Comment
Silver Line gets final USDOT approval - William World News
After a series of regulatory setbacks in 2008, rail to Dulles was revived last month when the Federal Transit Administration discarded long-standing skepticism about the project's cost and management and sent it on to Peters for final action. Yesterday's news marks what state, local and congressional boosters said is the government's irreversible approval of the project.
All that remains for a sixty day comment period in Congress and then presumably the project is officially underway. Planned completion of the first phase of the line, between Whiele Ave. in Reston and West Falls Church is 2013. It will be thirty years too late, but better late than ever.
The chase, which began on Interstate 270 South in Maryland and continued onto the Outer Loop of the Beltway and into Virginia, ended shortly before 4 p.m.
Jones eventually left the Outer Loop of the Beltway at Exit 46 and drove toward the Tysons Corner area.
The 18-wheeler smashed into trees and stopped on a sidewalk at the intersection of Westpark Drive and Park Run Drive in Tysons Corner.
Tractor-Trailer Leads Police on Chase Along I-270 - The Post I looked out the window and saw "airwolf" flying low parallel to the Capital Beltway and later found out it was this chase. Surprisingly, this did nothing to increase my commute time on the way home, even though the chase ended mere minutes before I left.
The Federal Transit Administration approved the extension, which now heads to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and the Office of Management and Budget for final sign-off. Approval from the FTA, where regulators had attacked the proposal as too expensive and poorly managed, is widely viewed as a critical moment for a project that local and state officials say is crucial to relieve traffic and spur economic growth at Tysons Corner and along the Dulles corridor.
Feds approve first phase of Dulles Rail project - WTOP This is great news for our region, this is a badly needed project. Hopefully Peters and OMB will sign off soon and the construction can really get going.
# posted by Paterno Lives! :
Thursday, December 04, 2008 9:51:00 AM
It will be elevated through Tysons Corner and in the median of the Dulles Toll/Access Road for the rest of the way, except at the airport I believe.
# posted by WFY :
Thursday, December 04, 2008 12:19:00 PM
Post a CommentFreddie Mac's pedestrian overpass - William World News
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Freddie Mac's pedestrian overpass
TYSON'S CORNER, Va. -- Is it just me or is the pedestrian overpass over Jones Branch Drive between Freddie Mac buildings not at all ostentatious? I figured I would mention it with Freddie being in the news so much this month.
TYSON'S CORNER, Va. -- A recent excusion to the Tyson's Chili's with co-workers revealed this unusual marketing campaign for fajitas.
I did not get the fajitas for three reasons:
Economical: When dining at Chili's, Friday's, Flingers, etc. I find the best way to handle the situation is order the least expensive tolerable food possible. Fajita's were something like $15 I think. I wound getting some sort of chicken fingers selection for something like $8. Think of it as damage control.
Gastronomical: I am not a big fan of fajitas and all those peppers don't work too well for me.
Semantic: I'm no Calvinist, but isn't destiny preordained? Fajita destiny is just a bit over the top, no?
Schrag on Silver Line reversal - William World News
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Schrag on Silver Line reversal
Recently, I reached out to George Mason University history professor Dr. Zachary Schrag for commentary on the Federal Transportation Administration's decision to continue funding the Dulles Corridor Metro line. He was kind enough to provide some commentary:
At this point, the history of the Silver Line has been marked by such tangles of planning, engineering, architecture, finance, and politics that it rivals in complexity the decision to build the original Metro system. I am not going to write a book on the subject, but I hope someone else takes up the challenge.
Schrag wrote The Great Society Subway about Metro. In it, he argued that building the Orange Line to Tysons in the first place might have made more sense.
The earthquake measured 1.8 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was 1 mile west southwest of Annandale (38.828°N, 77.234°W), the U.S. Geological Survey says.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck at 1:30 p.m.
In an advisory to federal agencies, FEMA's Operations says that the National Earthquake Information Center is reporting the D.C. area experienced rumblings equivalent to a magnitude 2 to 3 earthquake.
The rumblings rattled parts of Northern Virginia - including Vienna, Falls Church, Annandale and Baileys Crossroads - around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Its resurrection is a triumph of common sense over dogma and suggests that, contrary to the general impression of the state of governance in Washington, rational outcomes remain possible when grown-ups put their heads together. More specifically, it is a testament to the wisdom and perseverance of officials at Metro, which would operate the 23-mile extension; the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which would manage its construction; Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), who spearheaded the lobbying with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to reverse what had seemed like the feds' unequivocal rejection; and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).
Let us hope this cooperation continues on what may be a bumpy ride on the way to making this Metro line happen.
More details on Dulles Corridor Metro - William World News
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
More details on Dulles Corridor Metro
Dulles Rail Gets Federal Approval - The Post As expected (since this morning at least), USDOT announced today that it is now supporting the proposal to build the Silver Line along the Dulles Corridor.
In a letter to Kaine and in a 10 a.m. conference call with the governor and Virginia congressional leaders, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the $5 billion project had finally met the Federal Transit Administration's standards for cost efficiency, construction and expected ridership. The project will now move into the final design phase, a major step toward receiving $900 million in federal funding.
"As a result of the collaboration between federal and state officials, the project sponsor and other project stakeholders, the financial stability and oversight of the project has improved," Peters wrote to Kaine in a letter obtained by The Washington Post. "Cost reductions have been verified and mechanisms have been established to enhance inter-organizational cooperation, technical capacity and project management."
Good news, but this isn't fait accompli just yet:
Still, Peters went on, "much work remains" to make the project right. Today's approval comes with conditions that must be met if the project is to receive federal funding. Without that money, state and local officials have said that the project would die, ending the possibility of a long-sought rail connection between the nation's capital and its major international airport. Supporters say the line would ease congestion through Virginia's biggest jobs corridor and keep the economy humming with the transformation of suburban Tysons Corner into a thriving downtown.
Among the conditions, Peters said in her letter, is a sweeping demand that Virginia and the Metro system guarantee the capital investment necessary to maintain and operate Metro. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority recently identified $489 million in "urgent unfunded capital needs," Peters said.
Dulles Rail Set to Get Federal Approval - The Post Apparently, Virginia and the U.S. Department of Transportation has found a way to make the Dulles Corridor Metro project, tentatively called the Silver Line, meet the "Federal Transit Administration's standards for cost efficiency, construction and expected ridership." It appears U.S. DOT secretary Mary Peters overruled FTA. Good job, Peters that was the correct decision.
This is excellent news, I am glad that we can finally get started on a project that is long overdue.
Now, we get to see the tunnel vs. elevated argument start up again. I would love to see it underground, but I don't see that happening at this point.
snow, Alexandria, Virginia Tysons Corner
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# posted by
TMBC :
Wednesday, February 03, 2010 9:10:00 PM