Loudoun County Selected to Host 2015 Wine Tourism Conference

LEESBURG - Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today that Loudoun County will host the 2015 Wine Tourism Conference.  Secured in coordination with the Virginia Tourism Corporation and Visit Loudoun and with assistance from the Virginia Wine Marketing Office, the conference will make its East Coast debut in 2015.  Wine tourism leaders from across the country and world will travel to Virginia November 18-20, 2015for the fifth annual Wine Tourism Conference at Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg.  Jackie Saunders, Vice President of Marketing with Visit Loudoun, was present for the announcement at the 2014 Wine Tourism Conference held earlier this month in Paso Robles, California.

“We are thrilled that the 2015 Wine Tourism Conference will be hosted by Virginia and held in Loudoun County, one of the most iconic wine destinations in Virginia,” said Governor McAuliffe.  “I congratulate Loudoun County and the Virginia team for securing this nationally recognized conference.  As the nation’s fifth largest wine producer, Virginia is quickly becoming the premier international destination for wine and culinary travelers.  The conference will offer an exciting opportunity to showcase our award-winning wines and world-class wine industry.”

The Wine Tourism conference is organized by Zephyr Adventures and is expected to attract more than 200 wine tourism professionals from across the world.  Open to winery owners, journalists, wine associations, wine destination marketing organizations and tour operators, the conference serves as a networking forum and provides extensive educational opportunities for this growing industry.  Previous conferences have been held on the West Coast in the premier wine destinations of Napa and Sonoma in California and Portland, Oregon. 

“Securing the Wine Tourism Conference is another win for Virginia’s efforts to become the premier East Coast destination for wine and wine tourism,” said Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore.  “With our wines garnering international acclaim, sales at a new all-time high – surpassing 521,000 cases in the last fiscal year – and more people visiting our wineries than ever before, Virginia is already recognized as a rising star in the global wine trade.  The 2015 Wine Tourism Conference will further that well-deserved attention and reinforce all that we have to offer as a wine destination.”

“Virginia is a top destination for wine lovers across the country, with more than 1.6 million tourists visiting our wineries last year bringing instant revenue to the Commonwealth,” said Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. “By hosting the 2015 Wine Tourism Conference, Virginia becomes the first East Coast destination for this annual event, once again showing the country and the world that we are a top location for wine tourism.”

“We are excited to be bringing the Wine Tourism Conference to Loudoun County and to Virginia,” said Allan Wright with Zephyr Adventures.  “We know both the county and the state have done a great job at promoting wine and tourism and think our attendees from other areas will be very impressed with the local hospitality.”

“Loudoun is thrilled to be hosting the 2015 conference and that organizers recognize Loudoun and Virginia’s important and growing role in the wine tourism industry,” said Visit Loudoun President & CEO Beth Erickson.

Recognized as one of the top wine destinations in the world by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, the Virginia wine industry continues to thrive in both Loudoun County and across the Commonwealth.  Currently, there are 3,100 acres of vineyards and 250 wineries in Virginia, more than 40 of which are in Loudoun.

Virginia currently ranks fifth in the number of wineries in the nation with more than 250.  Virginia is also the nation’s fifth largest wine grape producer.  According to a 2012 economic impact study, the Virginia wine industry employs more than 4,700 people and contributes almost $750 million to the Virginia economy on an annual basis.  In addition, more than 1.6 million tourists visited Virginia wineries in 2013 according the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

Virginia has been listed as one of the best wine travel destinations in numerous media outlets including Wine Enthusiast, USA Today, Food & Wine Magazine and the Washington Post, noting the state's picturesque landscapes and friendly winemakers set Virginia apart as an excellent wine destination.  Visit www.virginia.org/wine to learn more about wine travel in Virginia or call 1-800-VISITVA to request a free Virginia is for Lovers travel guide to start planning a trip to Virginia.  LOVE is at the heart of every Virginia vacation.  For more information, please visitwww.virginia.org.

About Visit Loudoun                                                          

Visit Loudoun is the destination management organization for Loudoun County, Va., known as DC’s Wine Country®, located 25 miles from Washington, DC.  This not-for-profit organization develops and implements programs that promote tourism and travel to Loudoun and its towns, to increase visitation and generate visitor spending.  The organization showcases Virginia’s culinary and heritage assets, including award-winning wineries, horse country, scenic byways, and towns and villages steeped in history.  Visitwww.VisitLoudoun.org for more information

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Update on VA Scheduling Problems From Senator Mark Warner

Injuries incurred by service members are covered by the Veteran Administration. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wanted to give you a quick update on our efforts to fix the scheduling problems recently disclosed at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities across the country, including medical centers in Hampton and Richmond. 

The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation to begin addressing demand for care. It ensures that vets who have to travel more than 40 miles to get to a VA hospital can access private health providers closer to home, and it gives the VA secretary more authority to fire senior managers for poor job performance. 

I’m also proud to report that this bipartisan Senate legislation includes my proposal to put together a team of private sector data and I-T experts to go in, at no cost to tax payers, to assess the scope of the VA’s scheduling problems and recommend technology and management steps to fix it. I’m also pushing the White House to support this commonsense, private sector approach, and those discussions are proceeding as well. 

Click here to watch a short video update from Senator Warner on the VA’s scheduling problems.

We already have a model for how this could work. Back in 2010, when we learned about the back office mess and data management challenges at the Army’s Arlington National Cemetery, I worked with the Army to allow a team of experts from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Northern Virginia Technology Council to recommend specific fixes for the Cemetery’s management issues. Thanks in part to the great pro bono work by members of NVTC, we upgraded Arlington Cemetery from an analog to a digital operation. In fact, you now can use a smartphone app to locate the grave of a loved one at Arlington. 

Every veteran who contacts the VA should be able to schedule an appointment in an efficient and timely way. I believe this private sector assistance makes sense, and this is something that can be completed quickly. 

I will keep you updated as we continue to push for effective solutions to address the deeper challenges at the VA. And if our office can ever be of help to you, please contact us. I encourage you to also sign-up for future newsletters like this one that discuss the specific issues of concern to you and your community. I promise never to share your email address, and I won’t clog your inbox with unwanted messages. 

Regards, 

Mark R. Warner

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GOVERNOR MCAULIFFE ANNOUNCES $13.1 BILLION IN TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS

English: Virginia Megaprojects Transportation Improvements, Northern Virginia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

GOVERNOR MCAULIFFE ANNOUNCES $13.1 BILLION IN TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS THE STATE WILL IMPROVE MOBILITY AND DRIVE THE ECONOMY

Transportation program reflects input from residents and the traveling public following a series of public hearings

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today that the public was heard and their transportation priorities were carefully considered, resulting in adjustments to the final Six-Year Improvement Program.  The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) approved the program, which allocates $13.1 billion to highway, road, bridge, rail, transit, bicycle/pedestrian paths and other transportation improvements throughout Virginia over a six year period beginning July 1, 2014.

“When the draft program was made available to the public in April, I directed Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne and the Commonwealth Transportation Board to ramp up public involvement by getting out into the communities and holding hearings in nine regions across the state to solicit public input,” said McAuliffe.  “Nearly 400 people attended and 1,620 oral and written comments were collected.  From that information, the CTB adjusted the program to reflect the needs and priorities of local officials, residents and the traveling public who use and know their transportation system better than anyone else.”

Project highlights include:

·       Widening eight miles of the most congested stretches of  I-64 on the Peninsula

·       Extending the Tide light rail system into Virginia Beach

·       Providing  two new passenger trains from Richmond to Norfolk

·       Making safety improvements and repairs along I-81, including Exit 14 in Abingdon and Exit 150 in Roanoke

·       Improving Route 220 in Botetourt County

·       Developing I-66 improvements, extending the use of shoulders on I-495 and tie-in to the Express Lanes, and improving the Route 28 interchange in Northern Virginia

·       Widening Route 7 over the Dulles Toll Road

·       Funding improvements in the Metro 2025 program, including upgrades for 8-car trains along the Metrorail Orange line

·       Expanding VRE platforms and adding the VRE Potomac Shores station in Prince William County

·       Providing a package of improvements to Route 29 through Charlottesville, which replaces the bypass

·       Funding a second passenger train to Lynchburg

The six-year program will be updated later this year to comply with the new prioritization process, which was signed into law under House Bill 2 by McAuliffe earlier this year.  Under the process, projects will be objectively selected based on regional needs.

Layne added, “There will be no special governor’s list of projects, but rather a strategic transportation program based on selecting the right projects that provide the maximum benefit for limited tax dollars.”

The CTB will work in collaboration with localities to set weights for key factors like congestion mitigation, economic development, accessibility, safety and environmental quality. Specific projects will then be screened and selected for funding beginning in July 2016.

“Key priorities in the program approved today and future updates will continue to be improving the existing infrastructure, including rebuilding aging bridges and roads across the state,” said Charlie Kilpatrick, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). 

Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Director, Jennifer Mitchell said, “The final program also reflects added funds for rail and transit projects to enhance regional mobility and provide more transportation choices.”

FY 2015-2020 Six-Year Improvement Program breakdown of Allocations:

$9.9 billion – Highway construction

$3.2 billion – Rail and public transportation

$13.1 billion – Total six-year program

Online resources:

CTB presentation of Final Six-Year Improvement Program 

Link

SYIP database

http://syip.virginiadot.org/Pages/allProjects.aspx

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Senior EPA Official Steals Millions from Taxpayers

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Dr. Mercola

Have you ever awakened in the morning dreading another monotonous day at a job that you hate? Have you ever fantasized about faking a sudden illness, taking a personal day—or how about a personal year?

Maybe book a flight to Bermuda and spend a few months eating pineapple and getting massages on the beach? Or perhaps better yet, tell your boss you're a CIA spook on a top-secret mission, so you won't be showing up at the office for some indeterminate length of time.

Chances are, these are just idle fantasies that you quickly snap out of as you blink your way back into reality... unless, of course, you work for the US Government where you might just get away with it.

EPA Hoodwinked by Its Highest Paid Climate Specialist

Senior policy advisor John C. Beale of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air and Radiation pulled off a million dollar con in which he found a fix for his career doldrums by convincing his bosses that he was a top-secret CIA operative.

This required him to be out of the office for extended periods of time—claiming to be traveling the globe on clandestine missions in the interest of homeland security.

Yes, this EPA official was vicariously acting out some sort of James Bond fantasy instead of going to work—and getting paid for it.1 He occupied his time taking lavish vacations on the government's dime.

Beale took 33 airplane trips between 2003 and 2011, costing the government $266,190. On 70 percent of those, he traveled first class and stayed in five-star hotels, traveled by limo, and charged more than twice the government's allowed per diem limit.

Between vacations, he would just putter around his Northern Virginia home doing pretty much nothing at all—and certainly not working. Beale told one shameless lie after another.

For example, in order to be granted a handicap parking space, he claimed to have contracted malaria in Vietnam. However, not only did he never have malaria, he never served in Vietnam!2 How long would you guess he got away with this fraudulent scheme—a month? A year? Try two decades!

Justice, After a 20 Year Long Con...

For well over 10 years and possibly closer to 20, Beale was able to collect his salary—as well as his regular bonuses—while performing almost no work, bilking the government out of close to a million dollars.

Court documents trace his fabrications back through 2000, but additional evidence suggests he may have been lying and manipulating as far back as 1989.

The man was no slouch. A graduate of NYU and Princeton, Beale was making $206,000 a year, making him the highest paid official at the EPA—including the administrator. Pulling off such an elaborate scheme on such a massive scale is quite complicated and requires the skills of a master con. As Michelle Cottle writes in the Daily Beast:3

"You gotta admit: As crackpot lies go, Beale's spy cover was a stroke of genius. Whenever someone grew suspicious about his work activities (or lack thereof),

Beale could simply whip out the national security card: I'd love to tell you why I haven't been at work the past six months, but then I'd have to kill you."

Once caught, Beale admitted to his elaborate deception and on December 18, 2013, was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison and payment of nearly 1.4 million dollars restitution.4  

But why did it take more than a decade for the EPA to realize their highest paid climate specialist was not really a CIA agent—in fact, he had no relationship with the CIA at all, not even a security clearance. How did such an elaborate scheme ever escape notice?

Beale Is 'A Poster Child for What's Wrong with the Government'

Two new reports by the EPA Inspector General's office concluded that the agency "enabled" Beale by failing to verify any of his phony cover stories, and failed to check out hundreds of thousands of dollars him in undeserved bonuses and travel expenses.

Inspector General Arthur Elkins said Beale was able to get away with it due to "an absence of basic internal controls at the EPA."2 Prosecutor Jim Smith said Beale's crimes made him a "poster child for what is wrong with government," a statement prompting immediate investigations by two congressional committees into the EPA, including EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, who was Beale's immediate boss.

This was not the first EPA scandal of 2013. EPA official Robert Brenner was scrutinized for accepting an $8,000 discount on a luxury car arranged by a lobbyist. And in the wake of the Beale scandal, another high-level EPA official is under scrutiny for allegedly approving expenses for Beale—an official also under the direction of Gina McCarthy.

Evidence suggests EPA knew as early as 2010 that Beale's story was false, yet did not take action. Congressman Darrell Issa said these EPA cases "raise serious questions about McCarthy's capabilities as a manager and leader."5 This problem, unfortunately, is much larger than one government official or agency. The Beale scandal is just one more example of waste, fraud, and general corruption within the US government.

Government Can't Manage Taxpayer Dollars—Much Less Protect Your Environment

The EPA cannot keep your money safe, much less make the environment safe. Some of the EPA's high-level employees have come from the same companies the EPA is supposed to regulate—they've become a revolving door for industry. The two largest private sector sources for EPA positions are Monsanto and Waste Management Inc. Since 1970, at least 12 high-level EPA employees have come from one of these two companies, including William Ruckelshaus, Linda Fisher, and Lidia Watrud.6, 7

EPA also has a history of being caught in money laundering schemes. Take, for example, former EPA project manager Gordon McDonald who was convicted in 2009 for rigging bids, accepting kickbacks totaling 1.5 million dollars, and funneling big payoffs to insiders via an EPA "superfund" in New Jersey.8, 9

And you may recall the EPA "warehouse" scandal in Landover earlier in 2013. An EPA warehouse had been converted into a swanky man-cave housing a sizeable athletic center, complete with cushy furniture and televisions and a nicely stocked fridge. All of this was, of course, carefully hidden from security cameras by partitions and piles of strategically stacked boxes.10

Even more disturbing is the fact that EPA doles out hundreds of millions of dollars per year to certain organizations of their choice with no accountability, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Sometimes these funds are directed to organizations for non-environmental purposes.11 Other branches of government are even more irresponsible—including the Pentagon itself. As written in this Reuters Special Report:12

"The Pentagon is the only federal agency that has not complied with a law that requires annual audits of all government departments. That means that the $8.5 trillion in taxpayer money doled out by Congress to the Pentagon since 1996, the first year it was supposed to be audited, has never been accounted for. That sum exceeds the value of China's economic output last year."

Another Massive Source of Waste: Medicare Fraud

The US healthcare system is one of the largest sources of waste. Thirty cents of every healthcare dollar is wasted, adding up to $750 billion annually. Healthcare waste is a result of unnecessary services, inefficient delivery of care, excess administrative costs, inflated prices, prevention failures, and fraud—especially within Medicare and disability programs. Seniors make perfect targets for fraud and abuse.

The Federal Disability Insurance Program has a $135-billion budget and serves close to 12 million people, but its funds are in danger of running out. The Senate Subcommittee for Investigations believes the program is being abused—by lawyers, doctors and even some recipients—putting the benefits for those who truly need them at risk.

According to the Senate investigation, up to 25 percent of disability files should not have been approved and another 20 percent are highly questionable. Some recipients are using disability benefits as a financial bridge after their unemployment benefits run out, which is easy to do since so many Americans have chronic conditions or impairments.

The Biggest Defrauder of the Government Is the Drug Industry

Many drug companies are repeatedly found guilty of fraud, cover-ups of fatal side effects, paying huge kickbacks to doctors, and manipulating scientific research. The worst of the worst are GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Schering-Plough. These four companies accounted for 53 percent of all financial penalties imposed on pharmaceutical companies between 1990 and 2010.

Between 2009 and 2012, criminal and civil penalties have totaled $18 billion. GlaxoSmithKline tops the list of repeat offenders with penalties since 1991 totaling $7.56 billion.13 Recently, GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty in the largest health fraud settlement in US history. The company was fined $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil liability charges related to illegal drug marketing and withholding information about health hazards associated with its diabetes drug Avandia.

Many drug companies are now being investigated for using bribes to boost sales outside the US as well. For example, in August 2012, Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, paid $60.2 million in fines to settle charges that the company had bribed an assortment of government health officials in China, Russia, Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, and Kazakhstan. Are these the folks to whom you wish to entrust your health? These corporations are some of the biggest goons on the planet.

The Drug Industry as 'Organized Crime'

The unfortunate thing is, whether you're talking about Big Pharma, Big Ag, or Big Banks, the US government has been "bought" by industry thugs. Despite stiffer financial penalties, criminal activity has increased dramatically over the past several years, indicating that criminal prosecution of company leadership may be needed to quell unlawful behavior by the drug industry. Due to the astronomical profits made by these companies, there appears to be no fine large enough to make a difference—even hundreds of millions of dollars!

The size of the penalty must outweigh the size of the gain from breaking the law, and thus far, this has not been the case. In fact, it appears that for some drug companies, commission of such criminal and civil violations has become part of their business model. As an article in The British Medical Journal concludes:13

"Are criminal and civil penalties of hundreds of millions of dollars an important deterrent to law breaking by international drug companies? We are forced to conclude that neither the current level of penalties nor corporate integrity agreements are effective and that there is a pathological lack of corporate integrity in many drug companies."

Take Control of Your Own Health

Ultimately, the take-home message here is that you have to take responsibility for your own welfare, and that of your environment. You cannot entrust your health to the government, in the hopes that someone else will make the appropriate decisions based on what's right and true, opposed to taking the opportunity to make a buck at your expense.

When it comes to your health, an ounce of prevention is certainly better than a pound of cure, especially when the cure comes in a pill. Please keep in mind that leading a common-sense, healthy lifestyle is your best bet to achieve and maintain a healthy body and mind. And while conventional medical science may flip-flop back and forth in its recommendations, there are certain basic tenets of optimal health (and healthy weight) that do not change, including the following:

1. Proper Food Choices: For a comprehensive guide on which foods to eat and which to avoid, see my nutrition plan. Generally speaking, you should be looking to focus your diet on whole, ideally organic, unprocessed foods. For the best nutrition and health benefits, you will want to eat a good portion of your food raw.
Avoid sugar, and fructose in particular. All forms of sugar have toxic effects when consumed in excess, and drive multiple disease processes in your body, not the least of which is insulin resistance, a major cause of chronic disease and accelerated aging. I believe the two primary keys for successful weight management are severely restricting carbohydrates (sugars, fructose, and grains) in your diet, and increasing healthy fat consumption. This will optimize insulin and leptin levels, which is key for maintaining a healthy weight and optimal health.
2. Regular exercise: Even if you're eating the healthiest diet in the world, you still need to exercise to reach the highest levels of health, and you need to be exercising effectively, which means including high-intensity activities into your rotation. High-intensity interval-type training boosts human growth hormone (HGH) production, which is essential for optimal health, strength and vigor. HGH also helps boost weight loss.
So along with core-strengthening exercises, strength training, and stretching, I highly recommend that twice a week you doPeak Fitness exercises, which raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second recovery period.
3. Stress Reduction: You cannot be optimally healthy if you avoid addressing the emotional component of your health and longevity, as your emotional state plays a role in nearly every physical disease -- from heart disease and depression, to arthritis and cancer. Meditation, prayer, social support, and exercise are all viable options that can help you maintain emotional and mental equilibrium. I also strongly believe in using simple tools such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to address deeper, oftentimes hidden, emotional problems.
4. Drink plenty of clean water
5. Maintain a healthy gut: About 80 percent of your immune system resides in your gut, and research is stacking up showing that probiotics—beneficial bacteria—affect your health in a myriad of ways; it can even influence your ability to lose weight. A healthy diet is the ideal way to maintain a healthy gut, and regularly consuming traditionally fermented foods is the easiest, most cost effective way to ensure optimal gut flora.
6. Optimize your vitamin D levels: Research has shown that increasing your vitamin D levels can reduce your risk of death from ALL causes. For practical guidelines on how to use natural sun exposure to optimize your vitamin D benefits, please see my previous article on how to determine if enough UVB is able to penetrate the atmosphere to allow for vitamin Dproduction in your skin.
7. Avoid as many chemicals, toxins, and pollutants as possible: This includes tossing out your toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, and insecticides, just to name a few, and replacing them with non-toxic alternatives.
8. Get plenty of high-quality sleep: Regularly catching only a few hours of sleep can hinder metabolism and hormone production in a way that is similar to the effects of aging and the early stages of diabetes. Chronic sleep loss may speed the onset or increase the severity of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss.

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