Worth Noting: News Briefs

Sterling Company Tracking Capitol Christmas Tree

Technology developed by a Sterling company will allow Web surfers to track the Capitol Christmas Tree as it travels from Arizona to the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

A local company called SkyBitz created the tracking technology, which relies on small mounted terminals and a satellite and is used widely in the trucking industry.

Through detailed street-level maps on the site www.trackthetree.com, viewers will be able to watch the 85-foot blue spruce as it is trucked from Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to this region starting on Nov. 10.

Leesburg Votes Down Election Move

The Leesburg Town Council voted down a proposal to move its elections from May to November starting next year.

The proposal arose after it was learned that holding elections in the fall could save the town about $12,000. Also, some council members, discouraged over low voter turnout in 2008, thought having elections the same time as county and federal elections would entice more voters to the polls. In 2008, town elections drew just 8 percent of registered voters.

Citing time constraints, a majority of the council voted against the measure at a meeting on Oct. 27, with only two members, Ken Reid and Thomas Dunn, voting in favor.

Document Forecasts Loudoun’s Fiscal Future

The 2009 Loudoun County Fiscal Impact Committee Guidelines report is now available. The document shows demographic, economic and fiscal assumptions and forecasts for Loudoun County. A summary of the forecasted population, housing units, households and employment for Loudoun is found in the document, which is available online at www.loudoun.gov/ficguidelines.

County Turns to Social Media

The Loudoun County government recently launched its own Facebook and Twitter accounts and is also posting videos on YouTube as a way to disseminate county news to residents. The county has also started to incorporate the use of social media in crisis and emergency planning. Links to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are available on the county’s site at www.loudoun.gov.