Fall 2007 Newsletter


Upcoming Events


Fall 2007 Newsletter

September, 2007

 
 
A lot has happened since my last newsletter in May. We have a new member of the City Council. Justin Wilson was elected in a special election in July. I encourage everybody to reach out to Justin. He is a smart and approachable person with a lot of ideas. He will be an asset on the Council. 
 
Even with the excitement of Justin joining the Council, I am going to miss Vice Mayor Macdonald. His unique perspectives and passion for Alexandria’s history and environmental stewardship has helped our  City. I wish Andrew well, and I look forward to working with him in the future.
 
In July, I joined one of my consulting clients as a full time employee. For those that don’t know, the Alexandria City Council is set up to be a part-time job. For the last few years I have been consulting for a variety of technology and media companies. This past spring I had the opportunity to join one of them full time. It was a hard decision given the responsibilities of family and the Council, but ultimately my employer’s willingness to work with and understand my Council life made this a worthwhile change. So, in addition to Council, I am now a Vice President for Corporate Development with RevolutionHealth.com.
 
In other personal news, my wife’s second book comes out this month and she has been getting a lot of attention for it (http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/331536.html). I know this fall is going to be busy with Lisa’s book tour, my new job, our oldest in kindergarten and the many exciting things happening in our community.
 
To close, I want to share my deepest sympathies for Senator Ticer and her family. Jack Ticer passed away last week. He made enormous contributions to our community and will be greatly missed by all of us.
 
Rob Krupicka
 
(I do not want to spam anyone. If you would like to be removed from the list, simply send a message to newsletter@krupicka.com with “Remove” in subject line. Or, if you or others want to be added to the list, send a message to the same address with “Add Krupicka List” in the subject line.)
 
Volunteering in our Community with the AVB
 
I am happy to serve as this year’s Honorary Chair of An Evening in the Heart of Alexandria, a long tradition and the major fundraising event for the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau, will be held this year at historic Gadsby’s Tavern on October 17 from 6 to 9 p.m.  This promises to be the perfect setting to enjoy good food and drink, great company, and a showcase of one-of-a-kind and must-have items from local artists, businesses, restaurants and sports teams. Long-time AVB supporter Kerry Donley will lend his special flair as auctioneer extraordinaire for the live auction. And, of course, the evening wouldn’t be complete without honoring the volunteers that are the heart and soul of the city’s social service, health, and arts communities. AVB will present awards to two volunteers who have typified the spirit of service and civic involvement that AVB supports.

 

 

 

 

 The proceeds from last year’s Silent Auction helped AVB to make great strides, including:

-     expanding their Volunteer Clearinghouse;

-     launching a new dynamic and accessible Web site:  www.AlexandriaVolunteerBureau.org;

-     linkingwith the 1-800-VOLUNTEER national volunteer database, which allows volunteers to interact online and find opportunities suited to their individual skills;

-     developing new ways to involve youth in service to Alexandria;

-     improving the Alternative Community Service court referral program; and

-     establishing a system of recruiting and managing emergency volunteers.

 

I hope you will join me and many other AVB supporters on October 17.

 
Governor Kaine’s Pre-K Initiative: A Sophisticated Plan to Improve Education in VA
 
I spent a lot of my time during the last 14 months working on the Governor’s Start Strong Council. We looked comprehensively at pre-k programs around the country to come up with recommendations for how Virginia could expand access to pre-school. Contrary to some recent press reports about the Governor’s plan for pre-k, he is not scaling back his goal of expanding access to pre-k. The only thing that has changed is that the Governor’s proposal is a sophisticated blending of private and public and for profit programs rather than a one-size-fits-all government only effort. To my mind, that is a good thing. When the Governor’s plan is fully realized, over 75% of Virginia Children will have access to a quality pre-k experience and will have a better chance of showing up for school ready to learn. That is better than almost every state in the Country.
 
Virginia is not alone in seeing pre-k as an important part of our long-term competitiveness. We are far from being the first state to talk about expanding pre-k in a big way. Conservative states like Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida, and North Carolina have been leading the expansion into Pre-K for many years because they see it as an important investment in the future of their states, the success of their children and as one of the best ways to improve school results and to lower long-term social costs. Countries like China are investing heavily in pre-k because they see it as critical to building a competitive workforce.   This Virginia Pilot story does a great job of looking at other states: http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm
 
 As we work in Alexandria to improve our schools and to meet the increasingly stringent standards of No Child Left Behind, expanding access to pre-k has to be one of our key strategies. Economists, including the Federal Reserve, believe it a good investment, creating positive economic returns of anywhere from $7 to $13 per dollar invested. And by helping children prepare for school, we make it easier for school resources to help every child. 
 
The Governor’s goal is to improve the number of children that pass the third grade reading test. Passing that test is a strong predictor of a child’s long term success in school. Quality pre-k is an important part of that. Kids need to hit the ground running at kindergarten, not spend the year trying to catch-up.
 
Start Strong Initiative Overview:
 
News from around the State:
 
 
 
Community Pathways Update: Safe Routes to School
 
As a continuation to the Community Pathways Pedestrian and Bicycle policy adopted by the Council, the City recently received a large grant from the State of Virginia to make it easier and safer for children to walk to school. The $517,000 grant is meant to help encourage bike-riding and walking to School. This is a continuation of the Community Pathways policy first put forward by me and Councilman Smedberg. City Staff worked hard to win this state grant and it will go a long way to help improve the connections between our neighborhoods and our schools.
 
 
Or
 
Transportation Master Plan: Draft for Your Comments
 
The City’s Ad Hoc Transportation Task Force has released a draft of the transportation master plan update and would appreciate receiving your comments and feedback on this draft document.  The draft plan for public comment is available on the web at:

http://alexandriava.gov/tes/policy_and_program/

Comments on the draft plan can be e-mailed to the task force at:
transtaskforce@alexandriava.gov

or mailed to:
Transportation Task Force
c/o Transportation and Environmental Services
City of Alexandria
301 King Street, Room 4100
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

This fall, the task force will hold a series of public meetings to receive additional feedback from the community.  Be on the lookout for future announcements of these meetings.

The task force thanks you in advance for your comments and encourages you to share this announcement with others who may be interested in commenting on this draft plan.

Tom Culpepper, Deputy Director
Transportation & Environmental Services
City of Alexandria, Virginia
703.838.4966  Phone
 
Mentoring Can Change a Child’s Life

Both youth and adult members of our community have expressed their desire to see more mentors in our area. Mentoring is a research based best practice in preventing crime, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, poor school performance, and gang involvement. The Alexandria Mentoring Partnership is a collaborative of 15 mentor programs, volunteers and staff working together to recruit, train and support adults so that every child in need or want of a mentor can be offered one.  Right now, there is a shortage of at least 200 adults. No prior experience is necessary: the mentoring partnership will train you.  

I'm interested: what do I do?

Please go to www.alexandriava.gov/mentoring to peruse information about mentoring; including specific program information.  Should you find a program that is interesting, feel free to contact that specific Program Coordinator directly to begin the process.  Please also feel very welcomed to contact Mike Mackey, City of Alexandria Gang Prevention & Intervention Coordinator/Coordinator of Mentoring Partnership, at mentoring@alexandriava.gov or 703-838-4180, x 242.  Mike will answer questions you may have and will work to make the process friendly, supportive and seamless.

Please help.  Please tell others of our need. Mentor a child. Change two lives.
 
Movie Festival Added to Fall Festival of the Arts
 
An International Film Festival has been added to this year’s month long festival of the arts. The new Alexandria International Film Festival will compliment the arts programs already held in September and October starting with the Festival of the Arts on September 8 and ending with Art on the Avenue on October 6. The Film Festival will be held September 27-30 at the U.S. PTO Auditorium. In addition to international films, there will be a youth component with the theme “Alexandria: My Hometown.”  Students from Mt. Vernon Elementary and Samuel W. Tucker elementary will produce films for the competition. Films will be juried and prizes awarded. Winning films will be shown as "openers" to each feature. Films will be nominated by a Film Selection Committee comprised of volunteers from the Alexandria community and representative of local cultural interests.
 
 
Alexandria Schools Commit to Clean Energy
 
Alexandria City Public Schools has shown a commitment to clean energy by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). RECs prevent the emission of 241,450 pounds of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, the equivalent environmental benefit of planting 91 acres of trees or removing 24 cars from the road for a year. About 10 percent of the electricity used by ACPS will now be generated by wind farms.
 
Dominion Virginia Power will continue to supply the energy for ACPS. Under Dominion’s Energy Choice plan, customers may choose the company that generates their electricity while Dominion Virginia Power continues to provide the delivery (distribution). ACPS has chosen to have 10 percent of its energy supplied by 3 Phases Energy Services, which supports over 55 different wind farms across the United States.
 
“We are setting an example for our students and the community by doing the right thing,” said Superintendent Rebecca Perry. “We teach the students to be responsible stewards of the environment. It’s important for ACPS to do the same.”
 
For more information about Renewable Energy Certificates, visit the 3 Phases Web site at http://www.3phases.com/products/recs/recs.php .
 
Mark Your Calendars: Global Warming, Community Planning and Environmental Policy Conversations
 
Tuesday, September 25, 7 p.m. at the Lyceum (201 S Washington St, Alexandria)
 
“Global Warming, Energy and Conservation”
 
Part of the Lyceum Science Series, this program will feature Kurt Zwally, manager of Global Warming Solutions with the National Wildlife Federation, addressing relationships between climate change and energy use and conservation in society.
 
Co-sponsors of the series include the Alexandria Lyceum, Capital Region Earth Force, Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, and REI. To RSVP and for more info, please call 703/528-5406, or email potomac@nvrpa.org. 
           
Sunday, Sept. 30, 2 p.m. at Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington)
 
“A Community Conservation Conversation” (Community Panel Discussion)
 
Conservation – the wise use of resources resulting in the reduction of our society’s consumption of energy and resources – is on the minds of many. It is increasingly acknowledged that conservation is necessary to address global warming and other problems. The key to a better and less consumptive economy is opening up the floodgates of conversation on this very important topic.            This “Community Conservation Conversation” features a panel discussion, the “Green Living Challenge,” developed by Arlingtonians for A Clean Environment, Arlington County’s Fresh Aire Program and other conservation initiatives.
 
Fall 2007 
September 26, 2007
Asset-based development: Capturing Community Strength and Opportunity in Urban Markets
Ryan Gerety, Associate Director, Research, Social Compact
Carolina Valencia, PhD, Associate Director, Research, Social Compact
October 24, 2007
Local Government Land Use Autonomy: Myths and Realities about Building the New Metropolis
Jesse Richardson, Associate Professor, Virginia Tech
November 28, 2007
The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream.
Chris Leinberger, The Brookings Institution, University Of Michigan Real Estate Program and Arcadia Land Co.
Upcoming Lectures: Spring 2008 
January 30, 2008
Suzanne Morse, President of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change
February 27, 2008
TBA
March 26, 2008
Immigration and American Cities: Opportunities and Challenges
Richard Martinez, University of Minnesota
April 9, 2008
1808-1908-2008: National Planning for America
Robert Fishman, University of Michigan
April 16, 2008
TBA
 For more information, please contact:
Heike Mayer
Assistant Professor
Phone: (703) 706-8122
 
(I do not want to spam anyone. If you would like to be removed from the list, simply send a message to newsletter@krupicka.com with “Remove” in subject line. Or, if you or others want to be added to the list, send a message to the same address with “Add Krupicka List” in the subject line.)
 
Paid for and authorized by Friends of Krupicka and Rob Krupicka

Paid for and Authorized by Friends of Rob Krupicka and Rob Krupicka