Kaine discusses transit, energy

By Uriah A. Kiser

Published: April 17, 2008

FALLS CHURCH — Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine came to Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church on Saturday and announced that he will call the General Assembly back in session to discuss transportation funding.

The meeting was the latest in a series of town-hall events held across the state that began on March 10.

Kaine said the recent decisions to repeal the abusive driver fees and regional transportation tax districts created to pay for road improvements, will remove nearly $650 million from the the table.

“It’s the state’s responsibility to fund transportation. It’s irresponsible to take a statewide problem and make the locals take all of the hard votes about the way we are going to fix this thing,” said Kaine.

The event drew many Tyson’s Tunnel supporters, who believe the state should require the Tyson’s Corner segment of the proposed Metro rail extension to Dulles Airport to run underground. The group admits that Metro’s budget shortfalls directly impact whether or not the tunnel will ever become a reality.

“If Metro is sick it needs to be healed before we’re likely to get anywhere, and that is what the [Federal Transportation Administration] is saying: ‘Why would we underwrite the major expansion of a project if the organization that is to run it is sick?’ and nobody is really talking about that. It’s kind of the elephant in the room right now,” said Scott Monett with Tyson’s Tunnel.org.

The governor said that he is big supporter of transit initiatives throughout the state, but acknowledged that Virginia has the third largest state-maintained road system in the nation. Funding all road and transit improvements will be difficult without a dedicated source of funding, according to Kaine.

Kaine did not provide a date as to when the General Assembly would reconvene in Richmond.

People wanting cleaner energy also made their voices heard Saturday as they voiced their concerns about a proposed coal burning power plant in southwest Virgina. Residents cited solar power and wind energy as cleaner alternatives to the proposed plant.

Kaine said that “we as a state and a Commonweatlth” are not going to have a no-coal state anytime in the near future.

Residents worry about increased levels of pollution and mercury in the air, according to Kaine. Mountain Top Removal, a coal mining technique that flattens mountaintops using dynamite, is removing prime space that could be used for windmills.

“It’s not like the state is forcing this power plant on the people of Wise County,” said Kaine. “I have spoken to many of them there and there are a majority of people who want the plant for job creation, and then there is a smaller minority of people who don’t want the plant. Mountain Top Removal is not happening in a great degree in Virginia right now, but it is something Virginia will contemplate.”

The State Corporation Commission and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality are still in the process of reviewing whether a proposed plant meets legal and environmental standards.

The governor also discussed highlights from the regular General Assembly session, including making it easier for soldiers serving overseas to vote electronically in state elections, reducing the number of payday loans a person can have at any given time to one and closing a loophole in a law that allowed rape charges to be dropped if the victim agrees to marry the defendant.