June 6, 2023
Neighbors,
Congratulations to all of our graduating students! I enjoyed celebrating with the Class of 2023 by attending the graduations for the Pulley Career Center, West Springfield High School, and South County High School. I am inspired by our students’ determination and successes, and I wish them the very best!
But while we celebrate these students, we should also acknowledge the tragic shooting that occurred this week after Huguenot High School’s graduation in Richmond. Shawn Jackson, who had just walked across the stage to accept his diploma, and his step-father, Renzo Smith, were killed in the shooting, and others were injured.
June 2 was National Gun Violence Awareness Day, a day when we honor victims and survivors of gun violence and spread awareness about the gun violence epidemic. The Gun Violence Archive reports that Shawn and Renzo’s murders were one of at least 279 mass shootings this year in the United States. According to his aunt, Shawn “had a smile that could light up a whole room,” loved music and wanted to become a music producer, and loved his family. Graduation is supposed to be a time of joy. Instead, for Huguenot High School’s Class of 2023, it is rendered tragic by gun violence. I hope you will join me in holding Shawn and Renzo’s family in your thoughts.
In this newsletter, I’ve included information about the following:
Voting in the Primary Election
Community Updates
US HHS Secretary Becerra Community Roundtable
Purple Star School Resolutions
Commemorating South County Middle School Teacher Cindy Downing
Newington Forest Elementary School 40th Anniversary Celebration
Gun Safety Event with Vice President Harris
Clean the Bay Day
Mount Vernon-Springfield Chamber Meeting
Legislative Updates
Learning Exchange with Nepal
Air Board’s Actions on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Transportation Updates
Free VRE on Fridays
VPRA Town Halls on Franconia Area Rail Projects
Reduced Metro Fares for Low-Income Riders
As always, let me know if you have questions or need assistance by calling my office at (804) 698-1042 or emailing me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov.
Best, Kathy
Kathy KL Tran
Delegate
Voting in the Primary Elections
The June 20 primary election day is coming up! Early voting is now open. You can vote at the following times and locations until June 17. For more details, click here.
Fairfax County Government Center, Conference Rooms 2 and 3
12000 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax, VA 22035
Weekdays: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Two Saturdays (June 10, June 17): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Mt. Vernon Governmental Center
2511 Parkers Lane Alexandria, 22306
Weekdays: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Two Saturdays (June 10, June 17): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
North County Governmental Center
1801 Cameron Glen Drive Reston, 20190
Weekdays: 1 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Two Saturdays (June 10, June 17): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
From June 10-17, the following locations in and near our district will be open weekdays from 1-7pm and Saturdays from 9am-5pm. For more information and to see other locations in Fairfax County, click here.
Burke Centre Library
5935 Freds Oak Road, Burke 22015
Franconia Governmental Center
6121 Franconia Rd, Alexandria 22310
Lorton Community Center
9520 Richmond Highway, Lorton 22079
West Springfield Governmental Center
6140 Rolling Road, Springfield 22152
As a reminder, The primary elections will be held under new district lines as part of our decennial redistricting. You can see which new House of Delegates and state Senate districts you reside in onthe General Assembly’s website. Just input your address, click “find now,” and then “**NEW IN 2024.” Sample ballots for the primary elections are available; you can look for the sample ballot for your polling location at this link.
Community Updates
US HHS Secretary Becerra Community Roundtable
I was honored to join United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra; Congressman Don Beyer; members of the White House Initiative on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders; Boat People SOS; Hepatitis B Initiative of Washington DC; the Hamkae Center; and Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington for a discussion about how we can expand health care for Asian American and Pacific Island Virginians. Thank you to Neighborhood Health for hosting us!
Purple Star School Resolutions
It was wonderful to close out Military Appreciation Month by congratulating more of our local public schools for being recognized as Purple Star Schools! I presented resolutions to Cardinal Forest Elementary School, Washington Mills Elementary School, and Washington Irving Middle School to commend them for going above and beyond to make sure military-connected students and families in our community are supported.
Commemorating South County Middle School Teacher Cindy Downing
Congratulations to Cindy Downing, a history and social studies teacher at South County Middle School, for being the Fairfax County Public Schools South County Pyramid Outstanding Secondary Teacher in 2023! Ms. Downing is unwavering in her commitment to excellence. For example, she has established a peer tutoring program, developed service learning projects, and created multiple international partnerships to help further her students’ education. I enjoyed visiting her class to give her a commendation and to thank her for everything she does for the Stallions.
Newington Forest Elementary School 40th Anniversary Celebration
Happy 40th Anniversary to Newington Forest Elementary School! It was wonderful to celebrate such a special milestone with the Newington Forest community recently. Go Knights!
Gun Safety Event with Vice President Harris
I joined constituents to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on National Gun Violence Awareness Day. As the Vice President said, the right to live without fear of gun violence is a civil right, and we all have a moral obligation to be in this important fight of time.
Clean the Bay Day
My family went to Mason Neck State Park to help pick up trash for Clean the Bay Day. We found bottle caps, straws, containers, and other debris; took a hike; and got to see some cool critters — Let’s all do our part to take care of the Chesapeake Bay!
Mount Vernon-Springfield Chamber Meeting
I appreciated the opportunity to provide a legislative update at the Mount Vernon-Springfield Chamber meeting and hear from our local business leaders.
Legislative Updates
Learning Exchange with Nepal
I had the opportunity to meet and discuss legislating with Nepali legislator Yankila Sherpa while she was in Virginia as part of a learning exchange facilitated by the International Development Institute. It was interesting to hear the similarities and differences between the Virginia General Assembly, one of the oldest continuous law-making bodies in the western hemisphere, and Nepal, one of the world’s newest democracies.
Air Board’s Actions on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
On Thursday, June 8, the Air Pollution Control Board voted to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI is a regional compact that trades carbon credits and is a key tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.
Since joining RGGI, Virginia has had a 17 percent reduction in emissions, and we’ve raised $589 million to address flooding and to help low-wealth communities be more energy efficient.
The General Assembly passed a law in 2020 directing Virginia to participate in RGGI. That law is still in place. In fact, in recent legislative sessions, Governor Youngkin supported proposals to overturn this law, but those efforts were defeated.
The Air Pollution Control Board’s action would take effect at the end of the year. It begins a process under which the governor’s office reviews the repeal and then takes public comment for 30 days. One of the concerns that has been raised is whether the Board has the authority to overturn Virginia law through executive action. I anticipate lawsuits will be filed raising this question.
Transportation Updates
Free VRE on Fridays
Ride the train for free! The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) announced that until September 1, the VRE will be free on Fridays. For more information, visit the VRE website.
VPRA Town Halls on Franconia Area Rail Projects
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority will be hosting three public engagement sessions for community members to learn more about Franconia area rail projects. Two events will be in person, and one will be online. You can find more information about how to attend below:
Virtual Public Meeting:
Monday, June 12, 2023
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Pop-Up Events:
Franconia VRE Station
6880 Frontier Dr, Springfield, VA 22150
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Lorton Library
9520 Richmond Hwy, Lorton, VA 22079
Saturday, June 10, 2023
10:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
VPRA staff will be discussing two major projects at these meetings: the Franconia to Lorton Third Track and Franconia-Springfield Bypass. I have included the VPRA’s brief description of the projects below, along with links to more information on their website:
Franconia to Lorton Third Track will add approximately 6 miles of mainline third track from Franconia to Lorton, creating a continuous third track corridor between Alexandria and Lorton.
Franconia-Springfield Bypass, located just south of Franconia-Springfield station, is a rail bridge that will allow passenger trains to crossover to serve stations on the west side of the rail corridor and will reduce congestion for freight and passenger trains on the remaining two rail tracks.
Reduced Metro Fares for Low-Income Riders
Metro announced recently that they will begin offering reduced fares to low-income riders for the first time on June 20. The program is called “Metro Lift” and will allow Virginia, DC, and Maryland residents to enroll if they qualify for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
More information on how to enroll will be available after June 12 on the Metro Lift’s website.