Prince William Parkway being renamed

MoonHowler

From VDOT:

THREE MAJOR PARKWAYS NOW PRIMARY ROADS

New route numbers and funding for Fairfax County, Prince William, and Franconia-Springfield parkways
FAIRFAX—The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the transfer yesterday of the Fairfax County Parkway, Prince William Parkway and Franconia-Springfield Parkway to primary roads, making them eligible for new funding and maintenance priorities.
As primary roads, the routes can receive federal funding for paving, guardrail, bridge improvements and other projects. Federal funding typically covers 80 percent of the cost to maintain interstates and primary roads, with the remaining 20 percent from state funds.
The Fairfax County Parkway (Route 7100), which runs from Route 1 to Route 7, will be renamed Route 286. The 32-mile road carries between 22,000 and 75,000 vehicles per day.
The Franconia-Springfield Parkway (Route 7900), which runs from Beulah Road to the Fairfax County Parkway, will be renamed Route 289. The 4-mile road carries between 53,000 and 57,000 vehicles per day.
The Prince William Parkway (Route 3000), which runs from Route 1 to Route 234, will be renamed Route 294. The 16-mile road carries between 25,000 and 54,000 vehicles per day.

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Here you have it: tax increases for the upper 2%, Paycheck Fairness goes down in flames

MoonHowler

Politico:

 

Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that President Obama will not sign an extension.

“He will not. Could I be more clear?” Carney said. “He will not support an extension of the upper-income Bush tax cuts. He could not be more clear.”

Clinton suggested on Tuesday that the cuts on higher-income earners should be extended temporarily to allow the economy more time to heal. But Obama has repeatedly said he wants them to expire as scheduled at the end of this year.

“President Obama has been clear about his position and it has not changed:  We should not extend and he will not extend the tax cuts — the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of the American people,” Carney said Wednesday. “It’s bad policy.  It’s bad for the economy.”

I haven’t figured out why middle class republicans are protecting the upper 2% like it was their own money.   Someone is selling you a bill of goods.  Who is better able to take increase?  You or them?

On another note, while protecting the rich, it seems that the Republicans threw the American women under the bus:

President Obama railed against  a Tuesday Senate vote where the chamber failed to approve the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill designed to Read More

Transit of Venus, North Rim, Grand Canyon

MoonHowler
Photo by Roger Pittock of Salcott, England from North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Picture by Roger Pittock, Salcott, England

Roger and June set up shop on the terrace of the Lodge at the North Rim.  He used several filters whose names mean nothing to me.  It was 98 degrees the other day in Salt Lake City when they came through.  the temperature dropped to the 40’s the next day.

 

I thought this was a fabulous picture since I know the photographer.  The sizes are just amazing.

Roger and June are in Bryce Canyon know.  Bryce is known for its celestial photography shoots and star gazing.  There is just nothing like a Utah sky!

 

 

June 6, 1944: D-Day, 68 years later

MoonHowler

I don’t do D-Day very well these days.  I get horribly depressed.  Very few of those who served are left.  The WWII vets are dying off at about 1500 per day.  Many are in their 90’s. My own heroes of that era, my parents, are both dead.  My mother worked for the Dept of the Army and my father served in the  Army.  D-Day always  seems a little more poignant to me because it was my parents’ anniversary.  They had been married 2 years on D-Day.

 

The 68th anniversary of D-Day came quietly this year.  It sneaked up on me, to be perfectly honest.  Today is June 7.  It was wedged between events in Prince William County and a foiled plan to remove the governor of Wisconsin which dominated the news.   D-Day  marked the beginning of the end, the Allies broke through German fortifications and began the long trek towards Germany, liberating occupied countries as they advanced.   Many men never came home.  29,000 Americans lost their lives in the Normandy invasion which included the weeks immediately following  as they pushed towards the liberation of Europe.

Bedford, Virginia  holds the record for the most  servicemen lost from a town  on D-Day.  The National D-Day Memorial is located there.  This memorial has a hard time keeping its head above water because of the recession and because it is a privately run memorial.   The Memorial is subject to any glitch in the economy.

 American Cemetery in Normandy

Additional film footage   http://bcove.me/msfc2e1d