Poor Jim Plowman, has to go out of the county to find supporters

Invitation to Jim Plowman's fundraiser in Fairfax last night

While Jennifer Wexton was holding a well-attended fundraiser at a local Loudoun business, Jim Plowman had to leave the county to get to his fundraiser, at the law offices of Phillips, Beckwith, Hall, & Chase.

Wait a minute....Beckwith? Beckwith? Why does that name sound so familiar? Because Beckwith was the attorney for a defendant that got a sweetheart deal from Plowman's office.

Friends of Jim Plowman

Sean Mabry robbed women at knifepoint in three separate offenses in Loudoun in September, 2010. Once he was caught, he admitted that he sought out women victims because he thought they would be easier to rob.

Mabry hired an attorney whose firm was a donor to Plowman’s campaign and in March, 2011, the Commonwealth agreed that Mabry would plead guilty to two of the robberies, and would not be charged for any other robberies he committed in Loudoun.

The Commonwealth not only to the specific sentence, and that the sentences could be served concurrently with one another, they also agreed that the sentence for the Loudoun charges would be concurrent to the sentence Mabry would serve for two additional robberies he had committed in Fairfax County! (See Mabry Facts and Plea Agreement)

Mabry’s counsel’s law firm followed up with an additional campaign donation to Plowman in June, 2011.

The Commonwealth’s volume discount allowed the defendant to commit numerous armed robberies throughout Northern Virginia, targeting those he believed to be the most vulnerable victims, for NO ADDITIONAL PENALTY. (See Mabry Facts and Plea Agreement).

Beckwith's signature on Mabry's plea agreement

It's time for Loudoun to have a Commonwealth's Attorney that doesn't give sweetheart deals to the clients of donors. It's time to bring honesty and integrity back to the office of Commonwealth's Attorney.

It's time to vote for Jennifer Wexton.

The adventures of an Obama 2012 bumper magnet

I've got one, as seen in this picture:

and my husband had a matching one, up until Saturday night, when we were parked in the lot at Clyde's (excellent smoked duck, but I don't recommend the Smurf cupcake). When we returned to the car, the magnet was gone.

I'm pretty sure I know who took it, and think it was pretty petty. But no matter, we have more! BTW, person who took it, if you had asked? We would have given you one.

I couldn't BELIEVE how much the traffic was honking on the way into work this morning

Families of geese, right at the entrance to where I work.

Wardrobe

One side-effect of being a canvasser is you get t-shirts. Lots and lots of t-shirts.

I've got t-shirts from my husband's two campaigns (I like this one better than the one in my banner)


I've got a Poisson one, a Herring one, an Obama (no Warner or Feder, but I have their buttons). Let's see, I've got an LCDC one, and an FCDC one. Political t-shirts? I've got 'em. I've got buttons too. I chose to stick with buttons for Barnett, 'cause I'm not a big fan of wearing orange.


I wore three different political t-shirts the weekend I spent with my sister. None of them for candidates that people in Vermont could have voted for. No, I lie. I wore my Obama tee up there. Got a few compliments.

I've also got t-shirts for donating blood, for walking in the Relay for Life, for working at Murder Ink, for graduating from GMU, and for sending my son to the kindergarten he went to.

But my favorite t-shirt is this plain red one with the silky neck band.

Information on the RPA and the RPA Screening Area (from my post at Loudoun Progress)

It's clear from last night's Monday's Public Hearing on the RPA, and from the mail traffic I've been getting, that there's been a lack of clarity on the RPA and especially on the RPA Screening Area.

FACT: If you are in the RPA Screening Area and the PROJECT (deck, swingset, patio, vegetable garden) you want to complete is LESS THAN 2500 square feet in area, then you are cool.
You don't have to ask permission beyond what the county (or your HOA) already requires or do water testing or anything.

FACT: This means that the only folks who have to worry about whether they are in the RPA Screening Area, are landowners with Huge Tracts of Land that are looking to subdivide or build homes or large shopping areas. In which case, the $3400 fee for doing the testing is a small percentage of the price and is a cost of doing business.

QUESTION: So, who has a vested interest in sending out panicky emails to homeowners in Broadlands, Brambleton, Sterling, and other well-built-out areas of the county where the average size of a project is 240 square feet? Couldn't be builders and realtors? Could it?

FACT: The bulk of Eugene Delgaudio's campaign money comes from realtors and builders

FACT: Donny Ferguson, who wrote that Western Traditions blog post, is a former Eugene Delgaudio aide.


Here is a picture of a map overlaid with the RPA:



And here is a picture of the same map overlaid with the RPA Screening Area:



How do you find out if you are either area?

1. GO HERE: http://gisinter1.loudoun.gov/weblogis/agree.htm.


2. Click on Yes, and then click on the tab marked "Search".


3. Enter your address (it works best if you enter as little as possible - house number and first part of your street name).


4. Click Submit. Then click Map It on the linked list the site gives you.


5. Now click on the Map Layers tab in the new window.


6. Click on the drop-down box under "Layer Groups" and select "Environmental".


7. Now select the select "Draft RPA Screening Tool" and scroll down to click apply. If there is no beige on your site, you're not in that area.


8. Now, unselect that option and select "Draft Chesapeake Bay Area" and scroll down to click "apply" to see if you are in the RPA.
   If your site doesn't have any green in it? You're good.

If there is any brown on your site and you are doing a project that disturbs less than 2500 sq ft, this document says that you are okay.

If you are within the green area, then you'll need permission to do your project.

From the vault

Here's a post from December 2007 titled, "Sometimes it's Good to Swear in Front of Your Kid"

MS swore today in front of MM. And I was proud of him.