Dear Friends, Virginians, citizens of Fairfax:

Usually, my newsletters attempt to inform voters of the situation in Richmond.  But this week, the real action is in Fairfax.

As the whole world knows, our community has been paralyzed by an epic series of snow storms.  Last weekend's storm dumped three feet of snow on central Fairfax.  From Monday, our office been working around the clock to try and help communities and citizens stranded by the snow.  Now we are facing an additional foot or so.   For those of you caught in the storm and needing help immediately, here is the relevant contact info: 

Dominion Resources Power Outage Line 888.667.3000    See map of outages  
VDOT Automated Information Line- 703.383.8368   See update on snow removal

If you cannot get a response, please contact my Senate office directly at (804) 698-7534 or kathy@fairfaxsenator.com.  We are here to help you. 

On a side note, I spoke Monday on the Senate floor about the need for Virginians from around the state to bring resources to NoVA for snow removal.  Here's a quick summary.  Today my Senate colleague John Watkins (R-Powhatan) informed me that he had "taken my words to heart" and convinced his son to bring 18 trucks and plows from their family business up north.  Those trucks are now working for VDOT in Fairfax County to clear our roads.  Thank you to Senator Watkins.

In closing, this storm has been a great challenge and a reminder to us of the need for state services.  We can't handle a major event like this without a functional state highway department, which we have been starving for funds for years.  I can only hope that lesson is not lost on my colleagues when the snows have been finally cleared.

JCP Notes:  We were pleased to receive a great victory for Fairfax County this week when Governor McDonnell announced his decision to reverse the "LCI freeze."  Yes, we still need to enact that change in the Assembly budget.  However, his decision makes a huge difference.  I have been hammering the freeze it was announced on December 18th.  So it was great news -- and will be an additional $60 million for Fairfax County from the baseline budget.  That makes a huge difference.

We have rescheduled our "south of 66" Town Hall for Saturday, February 20th at Fairfax City Hall with Delegate Bulova.  We look forward to seeing you there, assuming no more blizzards.  In the meantime, please feel free to contact us at www.fairfaxsenator.com or 804-698-7534.

Let us know how we can represent you better.

Sincerely,

Chap Petersen