Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Maria Wasowski, Nate Macek and Derek Hyra appointed to influential board.
Donna Fossum, a member of the Alexandria Planning Commission for more than two decades, was voted off the prestigious board on Tuesday night. Three new Planning Commission members were appointed by City Council—Maria Wasowski, Nate Macek and Derek Hyra. Longtime commissioners Larry Robinson and Jessie Jennings stepped off the influential body, which makes recommendations to council on special use permits, requests for vacations or encroachments of public right-of-ways, rezonings, master plan amendments and other requests. Members also represent the Planning Commission on other city boards. “I didn’t get a single vote after 23 years on the Planning Commission,” Fossum told Patch. “I didn’t get a thank you. I have no idea of why. … Don’t …
Sunday, June 10, 2012
The Mount Vernon Chapter of The Sierra Club explains its choices for Alexandria City Council.
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Sunday, June 10, 2012
Dear Editor: In her recent letter to the Patch editor, Kathleen Burns criticizes the Sierra Club’s endorsements for Alexandria City Council in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Ms. Burns’s objections center on the positions of the endorsed candidates – Donna Fossum, Sean Holihan, Tim Lovain, Del Pepper, Paul Smedberg and Justin Wilson – on development issues, particularly the Beauregard Small Area Plan, in which Ms. Burns has an active interest. The Sierra Club’s endorsements are based on the totality of candidates’ records on the environment. In addition, we evaluate candidates’ campaign viability, as required by Club guidelines. The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club reviewed the evaluations of local Club volunteers and approved the …
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Alexandria City Council candidates Del Pepper, Paul Smedberg, Donna Fossum, Sean Holihan, Tim Lovain and Justin Wilson all receive nods from the Mount Vernon Group of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club.
The Mount Vernon Group of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club announced its endorsement of six candidates for Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Alexandria City Council. Incumbent Del Pepper picked up a nod from the group for her “strong environmental record working with the Sierra Club on local issues,” according to a press release sent out Wednesday. Incumbent Paul Smedberg also picked up an endorsement based on the answers to completed questionnaires and interviews with the executive committee of the Mount Vernon Group, as did candidates Donna Fossum, Sean Holihan, Tim Lovain and Justin Wilson. The questionnaire considered candidates’ views on the group’s environmental priorities for Alexandria, such as promoting walking, bicycling …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
The 14 candidates debate for the last time before the June 12 primary.
Alexandria’s 14 Democratic candidates squared off once again shoulder-to-shoulder at the final Alexandria Democratic Committee debate before the June 12 primary. Candidates expressed concern with challenges faced by many jurisdictions in Northern Virginia—education, fiscal responsibility, transportation and traffic, density and development, infrastructure and affordable housing, among other topics. Sorenson Institute Executive Director Bob Gibson moderated the panel at George Washington Middle School before a packed house that spilled over into the auditorium’s balcony. Some of the questions were generated through a partnership with ACTion Alexandria, where participants could submit questions online in advance. Most candidates when asked …
Monday, June 4, 2012
Resident Lynn Hampton shows her support for local PAC Securing Alexandria's Future and encourages Alexandrians to vote June 12.
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Monday, June 4, 2012
To the editor, With the Alexandria Democratic Primary on the immediate horizon, it is important that we all think about our great City. Alexandria is well run. We have great city services. Our infrastructure is maintained. Our garbage pickup is amazing. Our schools do well and in a tough demographic population. Congrats T.C. Williams on your latest accomplishments. We have a low crime rate, we have excellent fire and EMS services. Public health is provided to all that need services. Yes, these are what it takes to have a great City. With this requirement, I encourage every Democrat to think about what is good in Alexandria as you vote Tuesday, June 12, and to vote for six candidates who see the broad needs of government. Securing …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Impressed with her work on the Beauregard planning process, West End resident Mike McCaffree endorses Alexandria City Council candidate Donna Fossum.
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012
To the editor, I endorse Donna Fossum and encourage you to vote for her in the June Democratic primary and subsequently in the November general elections for the Alexandria City Council. My acquaintance with Donna is chiefly related to the Beauregard Corridor Redevelopment Planning and the Beauregard Small Area Plan (BSAP). She was the chair of the Beauregard Corridor Stakeholders Group that precipitated the city and the five major developers to coalesce and coordinate their redevelopment plans into the comprehensive BSAP that was recently approved without objection by the Alexandria City Council. Donna’s effectiveness in her civic involvement stems from, but is not limited to, more than two decades as a member of the Alexandria Planning …
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Alexandrian Carolyn Boyd says she's supporting City Council candidate Fossum because Fossum supports small business.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
To the Editor: I want to give a warm thank you to Donna Fossum who quickly stepped in to help Frizzles, a salon business in the Carlyle area, resolve a three-year parking problem. As the Patent and Trademark Office garages are normally closed on weekends, Frizzle’s customers on these busy days have a hard time finding available parking spaces. I’ve been a customer of Frizzle’s since they opened and know that business owners Sami Marina and Alexandra Khalaf have been frustrated trying to convey their plight to various city officials and even tried to appeal to the local Chamber of Commerce with no results or feedback. Several weeks ago, Sami and Alexandra attended a public hearing on planning issues and met Donna who is on the Planning …
Alexandria City Council candidate Victoria Menjivar responds to a letter written by fellow Democrat Donna Fossum on issues of affordable housing and the Beauregard Small Area Plan.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Dear Editor, Concerning Donna Fossum's letter to the editor; I too am a candidate for City Council and I am running to offer an alternative to the logic that says the main thing the city can do is trade density for a few units of affordable housing. Yes, our powers are limited but city government can: Re-establish the "Penny Fund'' for affordable housing. At a cost of about $50 per household, we can generate over $3 million dollars that can go toward affordable housing. This is at least a start. Require a "displacement" analysis prior to any project is approved. We should know the impact of our decisions and take them into full consideration. Play hard ball and vote down projects that require special use permits. If developers are offering…
Friday, May 25, 2012
Alexandria City Council candidate Donna Fossum (D) writes of the importance of dedicated affordable housing that is part of the Beauregard Small Area Plan.
To the editor, The vanishing amount of affordable housing in Alexandria has been a frequent topic of discussion in the city in recent weeks. It is a complex topic that has people confusing “market-rate” affordable housing with “dedicated” affordable housing, which differ significantly. The cost of “market-rate” affordable housing is determined exclusively by the whims of the rental market, while “dedicated” affordable housing is housing the true cost of which is “bought down” (i.e., subsidized) by developers as part of the development packages negotiated with the city or directly by the city using money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In the past several years, Alexandria has become such a desirable place to live that rents in our …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Alexandria City Council candidate Donna Fossum (D) says the city has first-rate emergency responders working in a second-rate system.
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012
When someone in Alexandria has an emergency and calls 911, they expect help to arrive quickly. In parts of Alexandria, help may not arrive for 15 or 20 minutes, however, when it may be too late to really matter. While Alexandria has first-rate emergency responders, these responders are operating in a second-rate emergency response system. Many of our fire stations are very old and a challenge to use and maintain. Many of our fire engines, ladder trucks and ambulances are of a vintage that replacement parts to fix them are hard to find. Fortunately, two new medic units were purchased last year, a new ladder truck is arriving this fall, and four new fire engines will be arriving early next year, but more are needed. The fire stations that …
Gina Baum
7:47 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Do you actually think Fossum didn't get a heads up? No doubt she did. There are some people who just don't understand grace and dignity. The appropriate response of a true leader deserving of such an influential powerful seat in the City might be..."I am grateful to have served the community in this capacity for as long as I did and thank all those who put their trust in me." Instead she gives … more ›