Concealed Guns: The Fad You Might Not Have Noticed

By Erica Garman
Sunday, March 16, 2008

Living in LoCo is Erica Garman's blog devoted to all things interesting in Loudoun County. You can find it athttp://www.loudounextra.com. This column of highlights from the blog appears in this space every Sunday.

On March 4, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) vetoed a bill that would have given more leeway to Virginians who have concealed handgun permits -- which appears to be a rising segment of the Loudoun County population.

According to Circuit Court records I obtained last week, 765 Loudoun residents were issued concealed handgun permits in 2007. That's a 27 percent increase from 2006 (602 permits). Since January, 220 permits have been granted, indicating that there will be a significant increase in residents packing heat this year.

Virginia Senate Bill 476 would have allowed permit holders to bring concealed handguns into bars and restaurants. Patrons would have been required to notify their server of the weapon and would not have been allowed to consume alcohol on the premises.

Current law states that concealed weapons are not allowed in establishments that serve alcohol.

I spoke with state Sens. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Winchester) and Mark R. Herring (D-Loudoun), whose districts include Loudoun, and asked about their votes on SB 476.

Vogel fully supported the legislation. "The majority of concealed weapon permit holders carry a gun as part of their job -- they are business owners, security workers, retired law enforcement or military officials -- and they don't want to leave their weapon in the car, where it could be stolen or used against them," she said.

Herring did not support the bill. "Drinking alcohol and carrying firearms is not a good mix," he said. "It's a public safety issue. There was no compelling case for loosening the restriction on carrying a concealed weapon into bars."

Out With the Old Greenery, In With the New

Sterling Boulevard is getting a "green" makeover.

In its quest to beautify the aging neighborhood, the Sterling Foundation has hired a landscaper to put trees and bushes along the Sterling Park thoroughfare, from Holly Avenue to Route 7.

The project had been on hold for almost a year because of Loudoun County Sanitation Authority watering restrictions. Now that the restrictions have been lifted, let the beautification begin!

Greg Wallace, project manager for Poole Landscaping in Frederick, Md., says installation of the trees and plants will begin in early to mid-April and will feature Natchez (white) and Tuskegee (dark pink) crape myrtles, zelkovas, October glory red maples, willow oaks, Kousa dogwoods and Kanzan and Yoshino cherry trees. Ornamental bushes and grasses will be planted as accents.

About 50 trees were recently removed by the landscaping company to make way for the 250 new trees and plants. Wallace says workers will return in the next week or two to grind up the tree stumps that remain.

The project was made possible by a $70,000 matching grant to the Sterling Foundation and $28,500 from corporate and community donations.

The Sterling Foundation was organized in 1989 through the merger of the SterlingFest committee and the Sterling Grasshoppers, who originally maintained the neighborhood.

A Little Help on Loans

This month, regulators made getting a government-backed housing loan a little easier.

Until now, the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could insure mortgages only up to $417,000, sticking many Loudoun County buyers with either conventional loans or complicated "exotic" loans that have higher interest rates.

This year, the average sale price of a single-family home in Loudoun is $470,592. The new mortgage limits for Fannie and Freddie were changed in hopes of boosting the downward real estate market in high-cost areas throughout the country.

Fannie and Freddie set new loan limits at $729,750 in Loudoun and other D.C. areas.

Tony Arko, a consultant with Market Advantage Real Estate, said this increase will help the Loudoun real estate market, but probably a lot less than most people expect.

Arko, who maintains the Loudoun Stats blog, says there is talk that these new loans will create a third loan category with lenders, known as "jumbo lite" loans, which will be priced between current conforming loans and traditional jumbo loans.

"The marketplace for reselling these loans to investors will then set the interest rates for these 'jumbo lite' loans," he said. "Most likely, the interest rate of these loans will be closer to the current jumbo rates than the conforming rates -- consequently, the new jumbo loans will probably have a higher interest rate than the current jumbo loans."

What does this mean? Good news for buyers in the possible "jumbo lite" spectrum, and bad news for buyers looking for mortgages above $729,750 in the jumbo category.

Arko said the new loan limit may benefit homeowners looking to refinance. "This may be a good deal for those interested in consolidating a conventional loan and a home-equity loan," he said.

Mega Scholarships

Researching college scholarships may be the last thing on your high school senior's mind right now -- right around the corner is spring break . . . prom . . . senior beach week . . . graduation . . . summer job . . . summer love.

But don't let your college-bound senior delay; many scholarship applications are due April 3.

Even if the funds to pay for your child's higher education are lined up, it behooves you to check out scholarship opportunities. Have you seen the price of textbooks these days?

Also, your child doesn't have to be a consistent honor roll student to be scholarship-worthy.

"Students should never assume they have to be the top student or the most outstanding athlete or leader to get a scholarship," said K. Anne Lewis, director of student services for Loudoun County Public Schools. "We encourage students to apply for many different scholarships and present themselves well."

LCPS has created an excellent handbook of scholarship and financial aid opportunities specifically for Loudoun students. It's available online and in each school's guidance office.

The handbook highlights hundreds of Loudoun scholarships that are awarded based on need, merit, service and/or ethnicity. Next to each scholarship listed is a description, the amount to be awarded and the requirements to apply.

Here are a few scholarships available to LCPS students:

¿ The Bailey Family Foundation Scholarship (11 at $5,000)

¿ Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholarship (20 at $7,000)

¿ Kiwanis Club of Goose Creek Scholarship (4 at $4,000)

¿ Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association Scholarship (4 at $4,000)

¿ Loudoun Soccer Scholarship (4 at $1,000)

Each high school also has its own scholarships. In the handbook, for example, there are 33 scholarships listed for Loudoun Valley High School students, many of which give multiple awards.

Students should ask their guidance counselors about scholarship opportunities; some may have been added since the handbook's publication or may not be publicized.

"The scholarship process," Lewis joked, "is similar to that lottery motto."

You can't win if you don't play.