Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope that everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather – and the fact that the leaves are still on the trees, at least for the time being! Thanks to everyone who came to my first informal office hours at the beginning of September. The conversation ranged from health care issues, to ensuring the accuracy of price scanners at stores, to the need for better trails, to planning for an aging population – just to name a few.

My second event will take place at Main Street Bagel this Saturday, October 11th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The format is casual and no appointment is needed. See www.davidbulova.com for additional information. If you can’t make it for the free coffee, stop by the City of Fairfax Fall Festival on the same day in Old Town Fairfax! Senator Chap Petersen and I are sharing a constituent services booth and will be available to chat about the issues. For more information on the Fall Festival, visit http://fairfaxva.gov/specialevents/FallFestival/FallFestival.asp.

Internet Safety: For those of you like me who have internet savvy children, or have children who are just beginning to take an interest in the internet, I want to bring to your attention an outstanding new resource from an organization called Enough Is Enough.

The internet is a wonderful, powerful tool that has made our lives more convenient and productive. At the same time, it has exacted an enormous toll on parents’ ability to control the type of information accessed by their children. The internet has provided an unprecedented and largely unregulated market for pornography and a place where predators can anonymously reach our kids through chat rooms and social network sites. And remember, the internet is not just connected to your home computer. It can also be connected to cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and gaming devices.

While there has been much debate in the General Assembly about the use of filters in libraries and other public spaces, statistics show that over three-quarters of exposure to inappropriate materials takes place in the home. Seven out of ten of our children will accidentally come across indecent materials on the internet. Over forty percent of exposure occurs while a child is conducting an innocent word search. One in seven kids will receive a solicitation from an on-line predator.

This past Tuesday I attended a meeting at Robinson Secondary at the invitation of the Northern Virginia District of the PTA. The purpose was to launch a new partnership to get internet safety resources into the hands of parents. A must for parents is a resource guide called “Internet Safety 101: Empowering Parents.” The guide provides information on the nature of the problem, warning signs, and tangible steps that all parents can take to protect their children.

I will personally make sure that any parent who wants a free copy of this resource gets one –just send me a request. For more information, visit www.enough.org.

As always, it is an honor to serve as your representative in the House of Delegates. I hope to see you for coffee or at the Fall Festival!

Sincerely,


David Bulova