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Commonwealth begins march to encourage college educations
BY ANITA KUMAR
richmond — A state higher education commission will rec- ommend Friday that Virginia’s colleges and universities open year-round, offer new public-pri- vate loans and limit the time required to attain a degree as the panel tries to increase the num- ber of students graduating from the state’s public and private schools. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s handpicked commission will un- veil almost three dozen recom- mendations designed to award 100,000 newassociateandbache- lor’s degrees over the next 15 years as it looks to bring the number of Virginians with col- lege degrees up from 42 percent to 55 percent, according to ad- ministration officials. Each community college, pub-
lic or private college and universi- ty will evaluate how it can meet those goals, with the state provid- ing financial rewards for each school, according to Secretary of Education Gerard Robinson. Recommendations include
promoting community college enrollment before four-year col- lege study, reducing schools’ reli- ance on tuition and fees and creating a rainy-day fund to avoid sudden surges in tuition and fees. McDonnell (R) is expected an-
nounce the amount of money he will ask the General Assembly to invest in higher education for fiscal 2012 atFriday’s commission meeting at Virginia Common-
JAY PAUL/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
The College of William andMary is among the Virginia schools that will examine a state panel’s recommendations. Each community college, public or private college and university will evaluate how it can meet the goals, with the state providing financial rewards for each school.
wealthUniversity. In October, he said the amount
would be between $30 million and $100 million, adding that Virginia must make a financial downpaymentonthe goal in2011, despite the state’s difficult budget outlook. “I’m committed to making a
downpayment on the 15-year march to 100,000 new degrees,” he said. “That will put Virginia truly on a path, not just to being
the most educated state, but the most educated in the areas that will create the jobs of the 21st century.” McDonnell will announce the
rest of hisamendmentsDec. 17 for the budget for fiscal 2012. The Governor’s Commission
on Higher Education Reform, In- novation and Investment is charged with trying to increase the number of in-state students enrolling in colleges, preparing
students for fields such as sci- ence, technology, engineering, math and health care, and pre- venting significant and unexpect- ed tuition increases. Other recommendations in-
clude creating a state income tax credit to promote private invest- ment in research and develop- ment. Although the commission wants to increase accessibility and affordability for students, it will not recommend specific tu-
ition or attendance numbers to the schools. The commission is headed by
Tom Farrell, president and chief executive of Dominion Resources and former rector of theUniversi- ty of Virginia. Members include presidents of several Virginia col- leges and universities, legislators and business and education poli- cy experts. A final report will be released in fall 2011.
kumaranita@washpost.com
EPA to evaluate five plans to clean up Chesapeake
But conservation groups say proposals are underfunded
BY DARRYL FEARS The Environmental Protection
Agencywill takeamonthtoevalu- ate plans fromfour states and the District that show how they’ll ag- gressively reduce pollution that flows into theChesapeakeBay. Conservation groups such as
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Sierra Club didn’t need nearly that much time. They pol- ishedthemoff just threedaysafter theywere filed, and their verdicts are in. The groups said Thursday that
the plans are a big improvement on drafts the states provided to the EPA several months ago, but theydon’tpushhardenoughtodo what’s needed to bring the bay back to good health, and states haven’t committed the money to accomplish their goals. The foundation and the Sierra
Club pored over the plans of Vir- ginia,WestVirginia,Pennsylvania and Delaware, and the District,
which filed on timeMonday. Maryland and New York have
yet
tofile.Maryland“plans tohave it done by the end of this week,” a spokeswoman said. New York didn’t saywhen its planwas com- ing. The states were required to
showindetailwhat theywilldo to aggressively reduce wastewater runoff in the next 15 years. The EPA will decide on the adequacy of theWatershedImplementation Plans byDec. 31. The Chesapeake Bay Founda-
tion had few nice things to say about Virginia’s plan. It liked that state employees spent part of Thanksgiving working on it, and that the state committed to six millionpounds ofnitrogenreduc- tion into the JamesRiver. But what about phosphorus
runoff fromfarms?Howthe state will actually reduce themore seri- ous problem of farm runoff is anybody’s guess, said Ann Jen- nings, the foundation’s executive director inVirginia. The state will require farms to
implement “resource manage- ment plans” to lower pollution, but failed to saywhat should be in those plans, “and requires them only if adequate funding is avail-
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mended that the troublesome equipment and old rail cars be permanently removed as soon as possible. The NTSB has no statu- tory power to enforce its recom- mendations, which it makes without regard to cost. It will cost an estimated $60.5
million to replace all 1,730 Gen- eral Railway Signal Co. track circuits, according toMetro. The replacement of the cir-
cuits is also necessary to allow Metro trains to return to auto- matic operation. Operators have run trains manually since the June 2009 crash. The board’s Finance and Ad-
Trustee Sale Notices 840 Trustees Sale -DC
5301 WISCONSINAVE.NW,#750 WASH.DC 202-364-0306
WWW.ALEXCOOPER.COM
SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEES' SALE OF Real Property located at 3922 14th St.,NW,Washington,DC 20011 under deed of trust recorded on Feb. 19, 1993 Instrument #9300011966 in the Land Records, DC,and in accordance with Public Law 90-566 notice filed on Nov.5,2010 and at the request of the party secured thereby,the undersigned
Sub.Trustees will offer for sale by public auction within the offices of Alex Cooper Aucts., Inc.,5301 Wisconsin Ave.,N.W., #750, Wash., D.C.,202-364-0306, on December 7, 2010 at 10:40AM the land and premises situate in the District of Columbia, and designated as and being Lot 8, Square 2693,as more particularly described in said deed of trust.
TERMS OF SALE: Adeposit of $10,000 will be required at time of sale,incash, certified check, or other form as the
Sub.Trustees may
determine.All other terms of sale to be announced at sale. Settlement within 30 days,otherwise
Sub.Trustees reserve the right to forfeit deposit, readvertise,and sell the property at the risk of the defaulting
purchaser.Should the
Sub.Trustees be unable to convey title,the
Sub.Trustees and purchaser(s) agree that the purchaser(s)’ sole remedy in law or equity shall be limited to the refund of the deposit. Upon refund of the deposit, the sale shall be void and of no effect.
Mark H. Wittstadt, GerardWm.Wittstadt, Jr.
Sub.Trustees Nov.26, 29, Dec.1,3,6
840 Trustees Sale -DC Go easy!
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ministration Committee gave preliminary approval to award a contract to the firm Ansaldo to engineer, make and install 372 track circuits throughout the Red Line. Ansaldo, formerly
able,” Jennings said. Theplanpraisedthe governor’s
commitment of $36 million to water quality improvement as a “gesture of good faith” to the EPA. But the statewas obligated to put upthatmoney—10percentofany state budget surplus goes to im- proving water quality, said J.R. Tolbert, assistant director of the SierraClub’sVirginiachapter. “It’s not a show of good faith,” he said. “The governor is just following the law.” The EPA has threatened to rec-
ommend sanctions against the states if their plans are inade-
quate.The sanctions include redi- recting federal funds for other stateprojects towaterqualitypro- grams andopposing statepermits to developers. Anthony Moore, Virginia’s as-
sistant secretary of state for Ches- apeake Bay Restoration, took the criticism in stride. “I think from the foundation that’s about the bestwe’re going to get. “This is a very expensive plan
estimated to cost over $7 billion. We need the federal government to help fund this plan,” Moore said. The District’s plan to upgrade its wastewater treatment plan to
reduce pollution in storm water drewpraisefromDougSiglin, fed- eral affairs director for the foun- dation. “I have great confidence that they’re serious and that they’re about to do it,” he said. But there’s a problem, Siglin
said. The city assumes that the federal government will cover its share of sewage fees, and help fund the costs of the plan. Con- gress has refused to pay the fee, defining it as a tax that the federal government doesn’t have to hon- or.
Pennsylvania’s planwould hire
workerswhowould showfarmers howtolimit runoff, somethingthe foundation likes. But they didn’t commit enough funding for their plan, saidMatt Ehrhart, Pennsyl- vania director of the foundation. ThomasAu, the state conserva-
tion chair for the Sierra Club, said the plan also doesn’t commit enough resources to limiting wastewater runoff from Marcel- lus shale drilling into the Susque- hannaRiver. “I think the county stormwater
plan has been underfunded for years,”Au said. John Hanger, director of Penn-
sylvania’s Department of Envi- ronmental Protection, said the
plancommits$15millionayear to cleaning the bay. “We have stron- ger rules than we’ve ever had,” Hanger said. “I’d fall out of my chair if theChesapeakeBay Foun- dation had nothing but praise.” The state wants to focus its
resources on the source of more than 80 percent of its bay pollu- tion — agriculture, Hanger said. “Storm water is just 6 percent of the problem,” he said. “We could spend all our resources on storm water and get very little in terms of total pollution reduction.” Beth McGee, the foundation’s
seniorwaterquality scientist, said WestVirginia andDelaware share the sameproblem—backingtheir planswithmoney. Delaware “did a good job of
identifying gaps and where the money needs to go,” McGee said. “But theycouldn’t saywherefund- ingwould come from.” West Virginia determined its
levelofwastewater runoff,but the statedidnot sayhowmuchmoney it would cost to lower it. McGee said itwas hard to trust the state’s conclusion that it had enough re- sources to pay for thework. “We could take them at their
word, I guess,” she said.
fearsd@washpost.com
Panel approves funds for safety work metro from B1
Union Switch and Signal, has installed hundreds of track cir- cuits on the Red Line that have not shown the malfunction that
Replacing the track circuits will put Metro trains back on automatic op- eration. They’ve been run man- ually since the Red Line crash.
the GRS circuits have. Metro staff recommended
granting a sole-source contract to Ansaldo as the quickestway to
replace the Red Line track cir- cuits and estimated that the work on this first phase of the track circuit replacement pro- gramwould take a year. Other NTSB-recommended
changes that Metro will begin implementing this fiscal year include replacing the 1000-series rail cars, the oldest in Metro’s fleet, installing event recorders on the 1000- and 4000-series cars, replacing power cables, and conducting a comprehensive analysis of the safety of the automatic train-control system. Metro’s 1000-series cars date
to the system’s beginnings in 1976 and have become a safety liability: The striking train in the Red Line crash was part of that series and was compressed to a third of its length. Sarles has called their replacement his “top safety priority.”
tysona@washpost.com
Rhee to advise Fla. governor-elect on schools rhee from B1
ties will be, beyond advising the governor-elect on innovations, cost-saving opportunities, suc- cess stories fromother states and other potential education im- provements. It also did not say whether she willmove to Florida to help Scott, or how long her duties will last. Rhee was listed ahead of 17 others on Scott’s education tran-
sition team. “I amhappy to be of service to
Governor Elect Scott and the state of Florida,” Rhee said in a statement. “When it comes to improving our schools for our children, I will work with Demo- crats, Republicans, Indepen- dents and people who have gen- eral interest in making schools great for our children.” Scott was elected last month to succeed Gov. Charlie Crist (I),
who had quit the Republican Party to make an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate. Florida, with one of the na-
tion’s most closely watched school systems, won a $700 mil- lion Race to the Top grant from the Obama administration to improve education. Crist vetoed a bill this year that would have expanded teachermerit pay.
andersonn@washpost.com
EZ SU
KLMNO Va. panel to offer degree-boosting proposals
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2010 LOCAL DIGEST THEDISTRICT
Reporter pleads guilty in pot case A CBS Radio News correspon-
dent pleaded guilty to misde- meanor possession of marijuana last week and was sentenced to probation, drug testing and a small fine, according to court documents and the U.S. attor- ney’s office. HowardArenstein, 60, reached
an agreement with prosecutors and entered a guilty plea to a possession chargeNov. 23. Arenstein and his wife, Israeli
newspaper journalist Orly Katz, 57, were arrested by D.C. police Oct. 1 after authorities received an anonymous tip that the couple were growing marijuana plants in the back yard of their George- town area home, in the 3500 block of T StreetNW. The couple were initially
charged with possession with in- tent to distribute marijuana. About two weeks ago,
D.C.Magis- trate Judge Kimberley
S.Knowles dismissed drug possession charg- es against the couple after a government witness did notshow up at a hearing. Arenstein has been ordered by
Judge Harold Cushenberry to serve 90 days of probation, pay a $50fine to the crime victim’s fund andto be tested for drugs, author- ities and documents said. The case against Katz has not moved forward so far, prosecutors said. —Clarence Williams and Keith L. Alexander
MARYLAND
Officer pleads not guilty to trafficking A Prince George’s County po-
lice officer charged in a cocaine- trafficking conspiracy pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court.
Sinisa Simic, 25, who joined
the force in 2007, allegedly trans- ported cocaine from Virginia into Maryland. Prosecutors have said in court that he planned to “badge” his way out of trouble if he was stopped by law enforce- ment officers. Authorities have said they
learned of the cocaine conspiracy while investigating a scheme to transport black-market ciga- rettes and alcohol. Two other police officers have been charged in that scheme, which authorities say was uncovered during a sweeping corruption probe in Prince George’s.
—Maria Glod VIRGINIA
Report looks into Fairfax road takeover A takeover of roads from Vir-
ginia by Fairfax County, the re- gion’s most populous locality, would improve the area’s heavily trafficked roads and allow gov- ernment to be more responsive to commuters, but it is unclear how the county would pay for it, a report released Tuesday said. One alternative would involve
Fairfax taking responsibility for all highways and secondary roads in the county of 1.1 million. The year-long, 100-page report, pre- pared by the Fairfax County De- partment of Transportation, has been highly anticipated asFairfax struggles with dwindling state money for road projects and maintenance. “There is no financial advan-
tage of us taking over the system,” Fairfax County Executive Antho- ny H. Griffin said. “We would have more control, but we would have to pay for it.” But elected officials said it was
less likely that Fairfax would fully take over maintenance of its road systemor convert itself to a city in order to do so, citing the in- creased cost. “I don’t think we’re there yet. It
would result in higher fees, high- er costs for residents,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon S. Bulova (D) said.
—Derek Kravitz
Wilson Bridge work to narrow inner loop This weekend, the Woodrow
Wilson Bridge project plans to narrow the Capital Beltway’s in- ner loop from the Route 1 exit to just after Telegraph Road. At 9 p.m. Friday, one of the two
through lanes and one of the two local lanes in the area will be closed, leaving one through and one local lane open. Also, the inner loop exit for Telegraph Road South and the Telegraph Road South ramp to the inner loop will close. Worth noting: The ramp from
Telegraph Road North to the in- ner loop is set to close Friday night and remain closed for two weeks to allow work on an inter- change bridge.
—Robert Thomson
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