VIRGINIA BRIEFING

Kaine Might Back Dulles Rail Below Ground

In one of his few direct remarks on the issue, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said yesterday that he would support building the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport below ground through Tysons Corner if it is found that the benefits would outweigh the costs.

Next month, a panel of independent engineers is scheduled to make a recommendation to Kaine and Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer on whether the four-mile Tysons Corner section of the 23-mile extension should run below or aboveground. Contractors hired for the project say a tunnel would be prohibitively expensive, but Fairfax County leaders, Tysons landowners and some Metro officials say the contractors are overstating the cost.

Kaine, who with Homer is expected to make the final decision on the tunnel this summer, hailed the proposed extension to Dulles at a luncheon speech at the airport yesterday but did not address the tunnel question until asked about it later. Kaine said that the benefits of a tunnel would include less disruption to motorists and businesses during construction and being able to work through bad weather.

Kaine did not mention, until prompted, the benefit most often cited by tunnel boosters: that it would contribute more to the hoped-for transformation of Tysons Corner into a walkable quasi-city. But he then said that that was "all part of it."

"At some point, it comes down to a discussion of long-term benefit and whether that outweighs the short-term differential" in cost, he said.

-- Alec MacGillis

FALLS CHURCH CRIME

Men Tie Up House Occupants, Steal Weapons

A group of young men invaded a Falls Church area house Monday afternoon, tied up the owner and a guest and then stole more than a dozen rifles and handguns, Fairfax County police said yesterday.

The incident occurred in the 3800 block of Larchwood Road, just north of Columbia Pike, about 3:20 p.m. Police said three or four men, described by the victims as Vietnamese men in their early twenties, burst into the house and bound the owner, 51, and a 59-year-old guest. The invaders then searched the house and took the guns and an undisclosed amount of cash, Lt. Richard Perez said.

The victims were not seriously injured and were treated at the scene. A detailed description of the invaders was not available.

-- Tom Jackman

STATE GOVERNMENT

Kaine Finds Windfall, Adds to Budget

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) found more than $29 million in unspent balances, savings and higher-than-expected lottery yields and used most of it to sweeten the budget that takes effect Saturday.

In budget amendments he released yesterday for legislators to consider today, Kaine found $16.5 million more than projected in lottery proceeds and nearly $8.4 million in debt service savings.

Nearly $6.4 million will go to elementary and secondary schools. Millions more in capital projects will go to state-supported universities and community colleges, including an additional $2 million for college research programs along the Interstate 81 corridor.

-- Associated Press

Kaine Finds Windfall, Adds to Budget

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) found more than $29 million in unspent balances, savings and higher-than-expected lottery yields and used most of it to sweeten the budget that takes effect Saturday.

In budget amendments he released yesterday for legislators to consider today, Kaine found $16.5 million more than projected in lottery proceeds and nearly $8.4 million in debt service savings.

Nearly $6.4 million will go to elementary and secondary schools. Millions more in capital projects will go to state-supported universities and community colleges, including an additional $2 million for college research programs along the Interstate 81 corridor.

-- Associated Press