Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn
Eileen won a special election in the 41st District (Burke, VA) to fill the seat vacated by David Marsden.
Eileen arrived at the Capitol in Richmond approximately 12 hours after learning she won her House seat by 37 votes.
It was right down to business for Eileen who was voting on bills within minutes of taking her oath of office.
Filler-Corn said everyone was “very nice and very welcoming on her first day.” Filler-Corn also commented that she “was amazed how fast-paced everything moved.” Her whirlwind first day was witnessed by her husband Bob, her parents, mother-in-law and two children Jeremy (15) and Alana (13). Filler-Corn chuckled that her children were fascinated that their mom’s name had already been added to a clothes hanger in the Members Coat Room.
Filler-Corn is settling into her 7th Floor office in the General Assembly building. She won’t receive committee assignments until the 2011 session.
Be sure to drop Eileen an e-mail to congratulate her. She can be reached at:
DelEFiller-Corn@house.virginia.gov
-Del. Paula Miller
One Response to “Welcome to Eileen Filler-Corn”
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Dear Delegate Filler-corn;
We are first writing you to congratulate you on your election; second we got an email today that would a very serious problem with Virginia and other areas as well if the idea went through. It has to do with Metro transit services and Metro access. The way they are thinking about cutting in the service would hurt disabled people and people that are not by affecting them in being able to get to work, stores, appointments etc. Can you and the Virginia house of Delegates see what you can do in this matter. Here is a copy of some of the email about this depending on what space is allowed. We will try to make it to 4 of the 6 hearings but myself and Amy A. Myers have taken on other positions in DC, but we will try to do our part in getting this straightened out too.
!!ATTENTION – ATTENTION EVERYONE CONCERNED ABOUT MetroAccess, Metrobus, and Metrorail Service!!!
Proposed cutbacks could severely limit service and raise fares – Some could lose MetroAccess service or have to pay exorbitant fares. YOU must speak out at hearings to prevent thesse proposals from being approved!
Does your disability prevent you from driving? Do YOU, or someone you know, rely on Metrobus and/or Metrorail to get to work, shop for groceries, do other personal errands, visit family and friends, engage in leisure time activities and get around in the community? — Then you’ll want to know that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates Metrobus and Metrorail, is considering approving SIGNIFICANT CUTS in services and INCREASES IN FARES!
Do YOU, or someone you know , or care about, ride MetroAccess, the regional ADA paratransit service operated by WMATA, because you are unable to ride Metrobus or Metrorail? — Then YOU need to know that WMATA is proposing SEVERE CUTBACKS in MetroAccess service and SIGNFICANT FARE INCREASES!
Live in Loudoun? — These cuts can affect YOU if you travel to Fairfax, Arlington or the District! Loudoun residents are also eligible for MetroAccess, but these cuts will make it harder to cross the Fairfax border and get a MetroAccess ride because you may have to come further in or spend a lot more money!
IF THESE SERVICE CUTS and FARE INCREASES are to be PREVENTED, YOU must attend one of the six public hearings that the WMATA Board will be holding in March and April and TELL THEM HOW THESE PROPOSALS WILL HARM YOU and others in the disability commuinity!!
That’s why ECNV is sharing the following public notice about the hearings with YOU.
In 2003, WMATA proposed these same kinds of cutbacks in the MetroAccess service area and the days and times that one could ride the service. But, from its inception in 1994, WMATA and the disability community agreed that MetroAccess service should not be limited to the legal minimum under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Rather, MetroAccess was designed to service the entire WMATA service area without limits on locations to be served or days and times of service. The disability community came out to hearings in 2003, and, by speaking out, we were able to defeat those proposals and efforts to raise fares to twice the fixed route (bus and rail) fares.
Two hearings will be held in Northern Virginia –
· Monday, Marsh 22, 2010 at Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, and
· Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at the County Board Room at Arlington Courthouse Plaza
Both hearings are at 7:00 p.m. with an open house at 6:30 p.m.
More information on hearing locations and how to sign up to speak are included below in text from a WMATA press release. It also explains more about the proposed service cuts and fare increases.
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO COME TO ONE OF THESE HEARINGS — it really makes a difference! – OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS on the WMATA Board need to hear from YOU!! ECNV will be there, but first and foremost, YOU need to be there to be heard!!
WMATA Board of Directors Hold Hearings On Proposals To Cut Back Services and Increase Fares
For MetroAccess, Metrobus, and Metrorail
Metro will hold a series of six public hearings in March and April to get public input on a variety of options for how the transit agency should close a $189 million budget gap in fiscal year 2011.
The public is invited to provide input on a number of proposals to balance the budget, which include a combination of fare increases, Metrorail and Metrobus service reductions, changes to the MetroAccess fare structure and service area allowed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, departmental and staff reductions, additional contributions from the jurisdictions that fund Metro, and the use of capital funds to pay for preventive maintenance.
In addition to the General Manager’s proposed budget, Metro is including suggestions from the Riders’ Advisory Council, other rider groups and ATU Local 689 for the public’s consideration during the hearings. More detailed information about the proposals will be posted on Metro’s Web site, http://www.wmata.com, with the public hearing docket in mid-March.
All hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., with an open house conducted prior to each hearing at 6:30 p.m. The hearings will take place as follows:
Monday, March 22
Hearing No. 548
Oakton High School Lecture Hall
2900 Sutton Road
Vienna, VA
Wednesday, March 24
Hearing No. 549
St. Francis Xavier Church, Bailey Room
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC
Monday, March 29
Hearing No. 550
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
5120 Whitfield Chapel Road
Lanham, MD
Wednesday, March 31
Hearing No. 551
Arlington County Board Room, 3rd Floor
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA
Thursday, April 1
Hearing No. 552
All Souls Unitarian Church, Pierce Hall
1500 Harvard Street, NW
Washington, DC
Hearing No. 553
Thursday, April 1
Montgomery County Executive Office Building, Cafeteria
101 Monroe Street (entrance on Jefferson Street)
Rockville, MD
Proposals to balance the budget include the widest array of options possible to help the Board of Directors get the public input they need before they make a final decision on the budget in June. Not all of the options presented are necessary to balance the budget. Any proposed fare increases, service reductions and changes to MetroAccess service would start June 27, 2010.
Changes to MetroAccess service being considered for FY2011 include:
• Reduce the MetroAccess service area (within Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines) to reflect actual fixed-route bus and rail service areas reflecting the actual time, day and location;
• Charging a premium for service provided to locations beyond the ¾-mile corridor around fixed-route services. The premium for zones would be $4 extra for zone 1, $8 extra for zone 2, $12 extra for zone 3 and $16 extra for zone 4;
• Aligning the MetroAccess fare structure to the maximum allowed under the ADA definition, which is twice the equivalent of fixed-route fare; and
• Restricting the use of the Free Ride Program to only those MetroAccess certified persons with conditional eligibility.
Possible fare increases being considered for FY2011 include:
• Increasing the Metrorail peak period boarding charge from $1.65 to up to $2;
• Increasing the Metrorail maximum peak period fare from $4.50 to up to $5:45;
• Implementing a surcharge of up to 50 cents for “peak-of-the-peak” trips from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m. weekdays;
• Increasing the Metrorail off-peak boarding charge from $1.35 to up to $1.65;
• Increasing Metrorail and Metrobus passes so the price is consistent with boarding charges;
• Increasing the Metrobus boarding charge from $1.25 to up to $1.60 with SmarTrip® and from $1.35 to up to $1.70 with cash;
• Increasing the MetroAccess fare to up to twice the comparable fixed route fare;
• Increasing all daily parking rates by up to $1.15; and
• Increasing the bicycle locker yearly rental fee from $70 to up to $200.
Service reductions being considered for FY2011 include:
• Making seasonal adjustments to service to meet demand;
• Increasing intervals between trains and buses;
• Closing some station mezzanines and rail stations during periods of low ridership (such as weekends or late at night);
• Beginning rail service later in the mornings;
• Modifying late-night rail and bus service; and
• Eliminating some low-ridership bus routes or portions of routes.
Changes to MetroAccess service being considered for FY2011 include:
• Reduce the MetroAccess service area (within Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines) to reflect actual fixed-route bus and rail service areas reflecting the actual time, day and location;
• Charging a premium for service provided to locations beyond the ¾-mile corridor around fixed-route services. The premium for zones would be $4 extra for zone 1, $8 extra for zone 2, $12 extra for zone 3 and $16 extra for zone 4;
• Aligning the MetroAccess fare structure to the maximum allowed under the ADA definition, which is twice the equivalent of fixed-route fare; and
• Restricting the use of the Free Ride Program to only those MetroAccess certified persons with conditional eligibility.
To establish a witness list for the public hearings, individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to be heard at the hearings are asked to provide in writing their name, address, telephone number and organization affiliation, if any, to Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, requests to speak may be faxed to 202-962-1133 or e-mailed to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. Please submit only one speaker’s name per letter and reference the hearing number. Lists of individual speakers will not be accepted. Others present at the hearing may be heard after people who have registered have spoken. Public officials will be heard first and will be allowed five minutes each to make their presentations. All other speakers will be allowed two minutes each. Relinquishing of time by one speaker to another will not be permitted.
Written statements and exhibits may be sent to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, or e-mailed to public-hearingtestimony@wmata.com. Please reference the hearing number. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 6.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
Sincerely,
Raynette F. Anderson and Amy A. Myers.