Life for Red Light Cameras?
A bill to allow localities the use of red light cameras is likely to pass through the General Assembly after years of languishing in committee.
Local governments had been permitted to use cameras to catch red light runners, but that authority expired in June 2005. Many jurisdictions which had the cameras in Northern Virginia left the cameras up, but no longer used them to issue tickets.
Legislators from Northern Virginia re-introduced the bill, but the House of Delegates committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety rejected it repeatedly.
Supporters of the cameras say that they reduce the number of dangerous T-bone collisions and help to manage traffic. Opponents say that the cameras are simply a cash cow for localities and consider it to be an invasion of privacy.
But this year, the bill authorizing the cameras went to the house transportation committee, which overwhelmingly supported the measure. The full house approved the bill on Feb. 5 by a 61-37 margin.
A similar bill passed the Senate, and the differences will need to be sorted out by negotiators. If they can reach an accord, and the governor approves, the cameras could be operating on July 1.
-Ari Cetron
Cooperation Leads To Capture
Two men suspected of armed robbery were arrested less than 12 hours after the crime was committed. The arrest was made by the Arlington County Police Department with assistance from the Fairfax County and City Police Departments.
According to police, around 2 p.m. on Feb. 5 a man with a handgun entered a mobile phone store in the 4800 block of Columbia Pike and demanded money. The suspect fled the scene with two cell phones and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police said several security cameras in the area captured video of the assailant entering a car driven by another man. Detectives from the Fairfax County Robbery Unit located the car seen on the 4100 block of Locust Lane.
"We were able to identify the registered owner of the vehicle from the video tape," Public Information Officer John Lisle said. "The surveillance tape actually caught the license plate on camera and our officers were able to obtain an address."
Fairfax detectives remained at the scene while awaiting a search warrant. Arlington detectives, with the help of the Fairfax City SWAT team, then arrived to apprehend the suspects. According to police, the two men and evidence linking them to the crime, including the handgun used in the robbery, were found in the home.
The suspects are each charged with one count of armed robbery and are currently being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility. Officer John Lisle said, "It was very good police work and cooperation from Fairfax County and City [that] made it possible to catch these suspects so quickly."
-Vanessa Becknell
Arlington Lawyer Disbarred
The law license of former Arlington attorney John Christopher Pasierb was revoked by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board last week.
Pasierb admitted that he made false representations to his clients by falsely telling them that he had filed suits and obtained settlements. He was accused of misrepresenting his clients on four separate occasions dating back as far as 2002.
Pasierb, whose law offices were located on Wilson Boulevard and Veitch Street in Arlington, consented to his disbarring and signed the affidavit that enacted it.
"[Mr. Pasierb] is no longer an attorney," Barbara Lanier, the clerk of the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary System, said. "He won't be practicing in the courts anymore."
Lanier wouldn't comment on whether or not Pasierb will be subject to a criminal investigation but did say that "he is out of our jurisdiction now."
-David Schultz
High School Closes Because of Water Line Break
Wakefield High School closed early on Monday because of a problem with its heating system. A break in a water line caused the Arlington school's heating system to be turned off for most of Sunday night and Monday morning.
A spokesman for Arlington Public Schools said that the superintendent made the decision to close the school because he "didn't want to have the kids try to learn in that kind of an environment."
Although the break was fixed late Monday morning, the school was closed throughout the day because it could not be reheated until Monday afternoon. Evening activities at the school, which were initially going to be cancelled, went on as normal on Monday night.
-David Schultz