Having watched (and participated in) this frenzy of local democracy for the past 6 election cycles, this one is shaping up to be epic. We have a mayoral race pitting an entrenched (impacted even) incumbent with 2 or 3 interested parties lining up in the wings. Council seats so far only have a couple of people nibbling at running. As things start to shape up, we’ll have a lot more news and opinion here.

In the meantime, if you have any inside scoop, rumors, or interesting news, please don’t hesitate to pass it along!

The dining room is spacious and immaculately clean, with a large TV and free WiFi for diners who need to be entertained while eating. But the food is the highlight of Red Kabob, as it should be. The meats are perfectly cooked, side dishes quite tasty, and portions are more than enough for one person. We had the beef and the chicken kabob plates, which came with basmati rice and a small salad and a large, locally baked pita. Along with the dinner came two very nice dipping sauces, a minty, spicy one that went very well with the beef and the classic yogurt/mint tzatziki sauce.

I can’t overstate how nicely the meats were prepared. So often, kabob restaurants have the meat pre-cooked and it ends up dry and tough as it is reheated. The chicken and beef were tender, moist, and very nicely spiced.

In addition to the main courses, we had a side order of hummus, which would have been nice with a little olive oil, but was fine by itself, with probably more tahini than some recipes, which made it quite tasty.

The owners are very enthusiastic about their new restaurant and are quite happy to offer you a taste of something else, or a little bit more of what you were having if you’re still hungry. My only regret is not realizing how large the portions are. Two full plates is really more than enough for 3 or 4 people, so you can probably get away with splitting one of the combination dishes if you want to keep the per person lunch cost under $10. Our bill for 2 dinners, drinks, and a side of hummus was $24.

The graciousness of the owners and the perfect preparation of the meats make this place a repeat visit for sure.

The town’s water and sewer systems are financed using an enterprise fund, which has several requirements placed on it. It must operate independently of the town’s general fund, it must retain specific cash reserves, and until recently, it must be able to underwrite its own financing for capital improvements. In short, it is supposed to be a self-sustaining, independent business entity from the ongoing operation of the town. However, it is intertwined with the town’s finances, since it relies on town staff for things like payroll, maintenance, IT services, etc. It has also relied on the town to underwrite its last bond issues, ostensibly to obtain better financing rates, but the net effect is to make Leesburg tax payers liable for any default on the bond payments.

Many may not realize this, but Leesburg has cadillac of a water and sewer system. It’s much nicer than most of our neighbors, and has more than enough capacity to service all of Leesburg and a lot of the surrounding communities. State and federal requirements place some additional burden on the expense side of the water and sewer equation, with more stringent water standards leading to ongoing upgrades and expenses at both plants. And these expenses often come with little or no extra money to implement the mandate. Unfortunately, we are now in a situation where driving a cadillac and having to incur its maintenance costs is going to bite us if the town council and staff don’t find a credible way to reduce the costs.

With a downturn in home and new business construction, the system is far over the capacity requirements currently needed by the town. It is also not receiving hook-up fees and availability fees that would normally be paid by developers to offset the costs of providing this increased capacity. Consequently, we are stuck paying for all of the equipment, buildings, etc. to support a much larger user base that is actually using the 2 plants. While the incremental operational cost to provide this overcapacity is relatively small, there is no revenue currently being received from this excess capacity, so it’s a net loss to the town.

There are public hearings on July 28th and August 11th to discuss the proposed rate increases. The proposed rates are coming from an outside consultant whose business is advising local utilities, and it is working with the town staff to propose rates that will cover all of the revenue shortfalls and cover the current and planned capital projects. But there are very likely lots of ways to reduce expenses or increase revenue that are not being considered. If you plan on speaking at one of these public hearings, you might consider asking about the following.

• What capital projects are being cut or terminated to reduce costs?
• What reductions in staff have been considered to reduce costs?
• What overhead costs have been cut to reduce expenses?
• Has the town considered selling excess water and sewer capacity to the county or to private developments using wells and septic systems?
• Has the town considered selling a portion or all of the water and sewer plants to private operators or to LCSA in return for a share of operating profits?
• Has the town considered contracting operation of the plants to a private entity while retaining ownership?

At the end of the day, the bulk of the expenses behind these utilities comes from capital improvement projects and the bulk of the revenue was planned to come from an increased user base and fees, supplemented by the existing customers. In the absence of the increase in users and fees, it begs the question of why we have ongoing capital projects related to capacity. Inquiring minds want to know!

The series is free, and open to anyone who can get their blankets and lawn chairs spread out fast enough to claim a spot. Concert start at 7 PM and usually last until around 9. Since it’s right next door to the town parking garage, and right around the corner from numerous restaurants, it’s easy to make an evening of it. Stop in to La Lou’s, China King, or Leesburg Restaurant for a quick bite, catch the performance, then wander up to Shoe’s for a cup of coffee and dessert before calling it a night. Can’t beat that for a nice summer evening in Leesburg!

Our second small but nice restaurant is Lesher’s Hot-Dog at 26 South King St. You better look up for the sign to not miss the place! First of all, we have gone several times to this place and it’s always super clean and the staff is very friendly. The menu is not very large (3 kinds of hot-dogs and 2 choices of burgers if I remember correctly) but the food is good. I really like the chili hot-dog. They burgers are well cooked and juicy. Unfortunately they do not serve fries, but they do have a variety of chips and sodas. I hope one day this place will add a few mores items on they menu like more toppings and some side dish. That would make it a lot more interesting place. But you can get 2 hot-dogs and a soda for about $5.30, which is not bad for lunch.

Right now, the best way to characterize Shoe’s is as a local coffee shop, very much in the pattern of the old Market St. Coffee, but with a significantly wider selection of coffees, teas, smoothies,  and fruit drinks. Add to that the freshly baked pasteries and sandwiches and salads made on the premises and you can start to see where it goes beyond the “just another coffee shop” label. And best of all, their coffee is organic and fair-trade and they are trying to stick to local, organic ingredients in the food they serve.

The decor is fun, with walls of shelves, a floor to ceiling chalk board, big tables with board games, puzzles, and rack of magazines to entertain. Not to be missed is the overhead light fixture made from antique shoes, complete with a 1928 ladies shoe found in the wall during renovations. And as we walked in, one of the baristas was adding live music to the mix with her guitar and pleasant vocals. There’s also free Wi-Fi, but it was hard to tell what the power outlet situation was for road warriors needing a quick bite and a cuppa.

We tried several things from the menu, selecting the Shoe salad (a bit of an antipasto-topped garden salad), the Italian hoagie, and the grilled portobello and mozzarella sandwich. The sandwiches were good, and though already made, they were happy to stick them in the sandwich press to toast them up for you. The ingredients were great, with the roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella, fresh greens, and nice breads adding a lot. Beverages we tried included the Shoe smoothie (normally peach, but made with pineapple for us), the blackberry smoothie, and the lemonade. All were very nice, freshly made, and as a pleasant surprise, not very sweet with the tartness of the fruit supplying a little extra zing to the drinks.

While we were dining, we were treated to a preview of the menu to come once the beer and wine license wends its way through the Virginia ABC bureaucracy . A nice small plate, including goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers and some grilled focaccia with melted cheeses would go very well with a glass of wine, and we look forward to these sorts of additions to the menu.

Sandwiches were followed up by coffee and dessert, with a nice blueberry scone and a large cup of café mocha rounding out the meal. Due to a complete ordering failure on my part, we didn’t get to try the unadulterated coffees or teas, but that’s just an excuse to go back soon.

In short, Shoe’s is going to be a wonderful addition to the downtown dining scene. They are open every day from that first wake-up cup of coffee to the late evening dessert run or glass of wine. The staff were all very helpful, the decor is a treat, and you can’t beat the location for convenience. See you there!

Of course you can also visit the Oatlands Mansion and gardens (admission fees) while you are there. The property is open to public Monday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm. i think that might be my week-end activity this week!

You can always find the current map by clicking on the “LeesburgTalk Map” link in the upper right corner of any page.

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Here’s a list of things on our calendar for the weekend.

Friday, July 3rd

Leesburg’s First Friday kicks off the weekend of celebration. Come stroll downtown Leesburg, visit with friends, and check out the new shops and old favorites. Starts around 6 PM and goes until 9.

Fireworks fans can start early with shows in several surrounding communities on Friday night.

• Lovettesville Community Center, party starts at 6 PM with  fireworks start at 9:15
• Lansdowne Resort, fireworks start after the concert which begins at 7:30 PM

Saturday, July 4th

The real celebration starts with the Leesburg 4th of July Parade, which rolls down King St. from Ida Lee Park to the Safeway parking lot, starting at 10 AM. You can’t miss the inaugural appearance of Stanley Caulkins as a parade participant!

Celebrations

• Leesburg: Ida Lee Park opens at 6 PM for music and fun prior to the fireworks display at 9:30. Word to the wise, the traffic afterwards is horrific through town and the fastest way to anywhere is to go the opposite way and take the bypass to wherever you’re trying to go.
• Middleburg: all day at the Middleburg Community Center, with the serious party running from 6-9 PM.

Fireworks

• Leesburg fireworks – 9:30 PM at Ida Lee Park. (Rain Date: July 5)
• Franklin Park Fireworks Display—9:30 p.m. (Rain Date: July 5)
• Ashburn Village Fireworks Display—9:30 p.m. (Rain Date: July 5)
• Middleburg Community Center Fireworks Display—Dark (Rain Date: July 5)
• Hillsboro Community Center Fireworks Display—Dark (Rain Date: July 6)

Sunday, July 5th

The Bluemont Concert at Dodona Manor is a good way to recover from the 4th. A relaxing picnic on the lawn seems like a nice way to spend the evening, starting at 7 PM.