We are not patient, particularly since no one I know has seen a Dominion Va Power truck anywhere in our travels to check on friends, find gas, find food. They are entirely missing, while they claim to be working hard. If there were some evidence of that, it would be more credible.

Completely agree! I didn't see any trucks at all until late last night. While my town is one of the smaller ones on va, my neighborhood has hundreds of homes, a senior living center, and a care clinic all still with no power. Im pretty sure when Isabel hit years ago the power restoration was much quicker. I understand it's hot for the workers but thousands are sitting in what feels like a sauna in their own homes!

Less than 10 miles f/ the capital of the western world and we're into 40+ hours without electricity.

The crew assignment from Dominion Power for July 1 has ZERO crew in McLean but 12 in Middleburg where all the real money is.

Wow, people 5 people died during this storm. I'm cleaning out the fridge and trying to remain grateful.

Instead of regurgitating Dominion press releases you should ask them why, with no evident damage from downtown all the way down Old Dominion to Glebe and beyond, there is still no power.
They should at least put in an appearance.
No more excuses for Dominion's incompetence - turn the damn power on.

Zero crews in McLean, one of the worst hit areas. Come on, Dominion.

I believe a lot has to do with workers choosing to leave and take off for the holiday. Only thing I can think of for there being this much of a delay and no trucks on the road.

Dominion should really consider burying the power lines. Beulah road is strung with low hanging power lines which line and criss-cross the road. These lines are are next to, in and among trees just waiting for a storm to take down the power lines

Re McLean, I have friends there, and their power was restored yesterday (Saturday). I hope everyones' is back very soon.

Don't think the colonies apt complex (near 123 and old meadow rd, basically parallel to 495, where we live) is back up yet. Have been at Tysons galleria all morning

David. It was a media call so there was really no opportunity for a shakedown about your individual neighborhood. Tweet them if you want to tryand get a direct answer.

If you have electricity, be a good friend and check on your friends or even your neighbors who don't, and volunteer to let them store their frozen food in your freezer, and hang out with you. If they are real close, and you have the space, let them spend the night too. Its not much fun trying to sleep when one is roasting hot.

More like 25 have died in Arlington alone, elderly, pre-existing medial conditions; hundreds more have visited or been taken to hospitals,

Whatever the complaints about crew assignments and repair priorities, I know that each and every repair crew member is working hard in this heat with little time for breaks, sleep, or family time. The Dominion Power folks working did not take the weekend off, and many cancelled their planned Independence Day vacation weeks to be where we need them most. Can we find a small way to recognize their individual hard work and dedicated during our difficult time? These guys (and gals!) should be welcomed as heroes in our neighborhoods. I want to hand each crew member a nice cold Coke when they work in my neighborhood, but without power I have nothing cold to offer. What are some better ideas?

I agree we should all be grateful--tell the families of those who lost loved ones that you are upset by being inconvenienced by a power outage. Besides a few days of uncomfortable conditions is far preferable to having life, home and community threated by fire or flooding like so many others are facing. There are only so many places crews can be at once and I would assume they are rather hot working on lines in the sun and humidity. Stop being so spoiled--it stinks but clearly you still have your phone to complain on.

Barry, I've read about 20 and now 25 heat related deaths in Arlington in other Patch comments too, but everywhere I read and listen, they're saying five or six for the entire state. Even one death is tragic, but where are people getting 20, and now 25?

Maybe a reporter made a mistake or one person heard something wrong and now it's being taken as fact. It happens a lot.

Staybridge Suites Chantilly has suites w/ full kitchens, free breakfast and internet. Plus we LOVE pets! Bring your thawed items over and store them in your full size refrigerator/freezer or cook out on our gas grills.

Barry, of course you're right - we should all look out for all of our elderly neighbors. Getting in touch with a friend in McLean whose parents are in their 80s/90s in lilve with her was the first thing I tried to do Saturday morning. (They were fine and power was restored yesterday.)

I'm just questioning the number. I keep reading and hearing that there were about 6 heat-releated deaths for the entire state. That alone is terrible, but I haven't found anything about 20 just in Arlington that someone else posted or the 25. That would be an extremely high number and you'd think the news media would be reporting it.

Can you find any source other than someone posting that confirms it?

Dominion's own website said they had ONE crew working in a single location in Arlington today. No one I know in Arlington has seen a single crew. There is no evidence of any work being done here and the power outages in Arlington are bad.

Does anyone know if power has been restored to the 7 Corners area of Falls Church?

My own father got a calling Saturday morning from dominion at 3 am to report with enough clothes for almost a week! I sit here worried about him in this heat also! We had to sleep in a hotel last night with a sick child. I know they are out there working because I have seen them. If you do see one offer a bottle water or something. They too don't have A/C but working hard for all of us!

We're grateful...but haven't seen 1 Dominion truck in all of Fairfax Station!

The correct number from the governor is seven. Twenty in arlington is 100 percent false.

Does anyone know whether McLean Place townhouses off Magarity Road has power?! Also stop blaming Dominion. They are loosing hundreds of millions each day the power is out- they obviously want this done sooner than later.

People, you may not see a Dominion truck right away, they are working as fast as possible. Please be patient, while you're home with your families, even if its hot, they are not. You have options, go to cooling centers or other available shelters, they cannot. My husband has been working around the clock to help you, be considerate.

Finally glad Dominion Power is here! Near Chantilly High School, Shenandoah Apts!

Liz, no Dominion worker is on vacation, all has been canceled. They all are working, be patient if its too much for you, go to a family members home or cooling center.

Folks, I just want to make people aware that there is a senior citizen building which also houses disabled seniors (who do not have access to transport or anywhere to go) - Lake Anne Fellowship House - right across from Lake Anne Plaza that still has no power and the management for the building is nowhere to be found. They have basicallybeen invisible and are not doing anything to help. We're trying to get in touch with the American Red Cross to see if they can provide any water or help. If anyone is available to bring food, water, ice there, it would be very much appreciated.

Location is 11450 North Shore Drive, Reston 20190. Robert Farell, here is something we can agree both with.

Many thanks to The Dominion VA Power linemen who are doing what they can, in dangerous conditions, that include both the heat and the electrical wires.
Yes, we are all suffering in this stifling heat, but we are alive. Thank God for that and redirect your anger inward, to your inability to cope.

Bert, all contact numbers/emails for management - not just at Lake Anne but their other properties - have been tried?
http://www.fellowshipsquare.org/fsf/contact-us

Surprised that I haven't seen anything about Reston Town Center beign without power Friday night and all day yesterday. I don't know if they now have power. I assume that their lines, like the rest of Reston, are underground. We are still without phone service as were the businesses in RTC yesterday. I feel fortunate that we do have electricity.

I suspect that many of the outages are because power stations went out. If so, you aren't likely to see the workers. I also heard a report that several towers went down Friday night.

Bob

Surprised that I haven't seen anything about Reston Town Center beign without power Friday night and all day yesterday. I don't know if they now have power. I assume that their lines, like the rest of Reston, are underground. We are still without phone service as were the businesses in RTC yesterday. I feel fortunate that we do have electricity.

I suspect that many of the outages are because power stations went out. If so, you aren't likely to see the workers. I also heard a report that several towers went down Friday night.

Bob

My neighborhood of Evermay in McLean is half on and half off. How can that be

the Carlyle area of Old Town was unaffected until an hour ago when the power went off. Any suggestions on whether/how we can find out if it was a planned move with a specific end point or if we are now off because of a fresh incident? Thanks

Is power at the Encore restored?

We shld all b gratefull tht we survive... Those guys r wrkin real hard

Dominion Power's own numbers present an anomaly worth questioning, serious enough to warrant the Fairfax County Board's attention. As of right now, Fairfax County outages count for half of Dominion Power's totals (127,058 of 248,056) [reference: http://kingstowne.patch.com/articles/more-than-290-000-without-power-sunday-morning-in-nova]. Meanwhile, Dominion Power has 116 current work crew assignments, of which only 3 crews are working in Fairfax county [reference https://www.dom.com/storm-center/pdf/crew-locations-northern-va.pdf]. Why do half the outages receive less than 3% of Dominion Power's attention?

For a good reporter, there's a news story in here somewhere.

And no, I'm not just a complainer. See my earlier post about appreciating the hard work of these crews, many of whom cancelled vacations to be where we need them most.

"if its too much for you, go to a family members home or cooling center"

Great idea - if you have family or a cooling center is open. None of Alexandria's opened until Noon today, and win't be open late. Total FAIL by city government - which expects its employees to be on time for work tomorrow. A good reason to throw out the incumbents in November.

I am in Tyson's glen apartment still no power , it feels bad, still fallen trees on th roads, I don't know whether dominion knows about this location or not.

What a lot of of you fail to realize is that the power comes from the west and feeds eastward. They have to fix the infrastrucucture west in order to restore power in the east. These things take time. A tree falling over a line not only needs to be cleared, the power shut down between the poles, wires possible restrung, attached, tested, etc. This isn't as simple as going in your basement and flipping a breaker.

I'm in central West Virginia where 1/2 state has lost power. That means no gas, no food, and of course no air conditioning. Private citizens spent Friday night removing fallen tree from roads. Their answer to their problems was "It is what it is." things could be worse than just losing power

Penny
Does anyone know whether Douglass road and Churchill road area has power?

My parents live at the end of Lapham Drive in Oakton - does anyone know when power is going to be restored there? I can't get information and can't get through to them

Does anyone know if Seminary Towers apartments off of Kenmore Ave. has power?

Unless you are close to losing your life, please be grateful that the only thing you have lost at this point is the comfort of AC and lights!!! Come on people, there are workers hanging from electric poles in 100 degree weather that got out of bed in the middle of the night on Friday to help us. Shame on you!

"What a lot of of you fail to realize is that the power comes from the west and feeds eastward. They have to fix the infrastrucucture west in order to restore power in the east."

Nonsense. If the issue is a lack of overall capacity, Dominion could engage in rolling blackouts - not leave while neighborhoods in the dark. Fixing lines in Leesburg does nothing to remove downed trees in Alexandria.

"Come on people, there are workers hanging from electric poles in 100 degree weather that got out of bed in the middle of the night on Friday to help us. Shame on you!"

No one is criticizing the hardworking linemen. The problems include Dominion's misapplication of its resources, and lack of disclosure about the timing of repairs. The fact that things could be worse doesn't mean that complaining is inappropriate.

Anyone have an update on 5000 block of Lee Hwy, Arlington va 22207? Thanks so much!

Is power in Annandale Virginia restored?

Live in Broyhill Crest community in Annandale...power still out along with Cox cable

SO grateful to have NOVEC and reliable electric service! Underground power lines make a huge difference too... they cost more to install, so no one wants to pay to install them anymore, but power rarely goes out in areas like mine... Penny wise and pound foolish IMHO!

I hope you all get power back quickly!

Does anyone know if power is on at King St Old Town or if any issues getting into Old Town from Woodrow Wilson Bridge? I come from out of state to work in Old Town. Just wondering if I should telecommute or drive in.

"John, the only thing your posts say is that you don't know jack about power distribution and restoration. 
1) The breadth of storm damage was unexpected. Unlike a hurricane or most winter storms, there were only a few hours before we knew with some certainty that this was likely to be ferocious. That precluded utilities from acquiring and pre-positioning outside resources."

And I didn't say anything to the contrary.  Nice straw man argument, Mr. Dominion Apologist.

"Which brings me to 
2) "Dominion's misapplication of its resources" Really? They have a process, refined after every event. They have priorities - hospitals, 911 communications, fire stations, police stations, my mom's highrise assisted living facility - how can you presume to know where, and how wisely, they are allocating their finite resources?"

Already discussed.  Dominion's own website establishes that 10 work crews were sent today to Falls Church, Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria.  Middleburg alone had more than all of Traditionsl "NoVa" put together.

"You,personally, are their lowest priority, as it should be."

So, even if I'm wrong, the very act of challenging Dominion's choices condemns me to the back of the line?  You're a scary man, Mr. Dominion Apologist.

"3) "lack of disclosure about the timing of repairs" - Do you think there is some standard time to make power restoration? Do you think they can just look at at a wide outage map/estimate and say, "Okay, this will take an hour, this will take two."?"

Dominion can say: "We're not e en working in your area today; so don't bother editing and hoping.  You can safely check into a hotel until at least date X."

...

"Stop whining like a little girl and appreciate everything you've got."

Once again, the fact that things could be worse does not mean that one forfeits the right to complain about things that could be done better.

"Give Great Thanks to the crews and families supporting them."

A point already made.  Too bad you were too full of yourself to notice, Mr. Dominion Apologist.

From Dominion's Facebook page:

We also want to share with all of you some of our restoration challenges. We aren't making excuses, just trying to provide answers to some of your questions.

Unlike a hurricane, this storm could not be forecasted well ahead of time by the National Weather Service. When we plan for hurricanes we have time to secure and position people and supplies. We couldn't do that with this storm.

Since this storm was so large and spanned over so many states, affecting more than 3 million customers in all, we are there is a large demand for outside help. Further complicating the situation are communications infrastructure problems, especially in Northern Virginia.

Initial restoration work focuses on large electric transmission lines and critical facilities such as emergency call centers, hospitals and cooling centers. For that reason, customers may not see crews working in their neighborhoods in the initial days. The focus then turns to power lines serving large numbers of customers and then to neighborhood circuits. Dominion will work around the clock until all customers have their power restored.

To follow them/for more info, check here: http://www.facebook.com/dominionvirginiapower

We now have the opportunity to blame no one and every one at the same time for not seeing the new paradigm, which is, there MUST be a new awareness of and response to the FACT that we and our neighbors WILL suffer greatly during events like this. Just like with Doppler radar, we've got to have constant access to info about non-performing power grids so we can target timely help to people in need. Local news organizations recycled the same old crap throughout the day, so their ability to provide real value ro the community remains infantile. I spent 24 hours in misery but now I am free. Hundreds of thousands of my neighbors are experiencing geometric increases in suffering. As a community, we are impotent and you all know it. So, please, no one do any congratulating. Or blaming. Perhaps a bit of contemplating is what we all really need now, cause this will happen again.

Nicole, - thanks for the update re Lapham Drive. I'm in Texas - the only thing I can think is to call the power company tomorrow, except they'll already be overwhelmed - or just get on a plane and come there. Any suggestions?

Open - In Annandale Center the Sunoco (formerly Texaco) across from the CVS (Backlick and Little River) - steady flow but not a long wait as of 4 this afternoon, Priced fairly at $3.45 regular.

Just a block closer to the Beltway on Little River (at MARKHAM) the EXXON is open, but jacked up their price overnight to $3.99 (up 63 cents). DON'T GO THERE - screw the price gaugers and remember them when things normalize.

John Greyson is a troll - Dont feed him

Shocking to say, but Dominion needs to take a page out of Pepco's book and start cutting down a lot of trees that could damage power lines.

Live in the Colonies complex, still no power and now an ambulance and fire truck outside one of the apt buildings

McLparent, if you lived in Maryland, you would so not say that! We lost power in Bethesda every time someone sneezed. Not that I ever exaggerate. ; ) But the difference is astonishing over on this side of the pond in Reston.

Hope all are watching weather forecast...another thunderstorm due here late overnight

McLParent, I understand. It just made me smile. Pepco has hacked away at trees forever, big time. Hasn't done a lot of good, and they've been under tremendous scrutiny for quite a while, as one of the worst utility companies in terms of service and reliability, yet charging most more than most. But I do get your point. And maybe that approach is needed here, if carefully done.

"John Greyson is a troll - Dont feed him"

So, since you can't respond to my points, you accuse me of being a troll?

Then I'll return the favor, "Chipperson" with no first name. I charge you with being a Dominion PR flack, misusing social media for CYA purposes.

What a waste most of these comments are. Clearly if you are able to get online to rant back and forth then life isn't too aweful. This was a storm. Damage occurs in storms. Accept it, find solutions to problems, don't wait for others to do for you, and try to assist those in need.

I hope Dominion is working 24/7 until power is restored for all, or are they on business hours? Anybody know?

Can anybody tell me why over 100 senior citizens plus staff continue to swelter in Chesterbrook Residences--our local assisted living? There are rumors that Dominion power is ready to help but it's a question of Fairfax County cutting down trees? Can this be true? What's going on? There is some sporadic generator power in common areas but no power in individual apartments and no phones--this is an untenable situation for our elderly--can't someone help?

Somebody at the Chesterbrook Residences should get a hold of John Foust and ask him whether he's been in contact with Dominion to move up in priority the restoration of power to that senior living center and that surrounding area.

Besides Dominion's resources being overwhelmed, who else has been missing following the storm?

How about the County. Other than Bulova's "it's unacceptable" quote above, what has the county done to ease the suffering of Fairfax residents (you know, the taxpayers)? All I can find after looking at scores of FC tweets is that 5 rec centers are open and offering $2 showers and free cell phone re-charging. Employee work tomorrow (Mon) is optional.

What are our elected officials doing, if anything???

Congratds to the Annandale Patch (and Sherill W) for being our only local lifeline to the community. The interactive process is right-on-the-money. The A-Patch is now on my Fav Site list. Chairman Bulova has tried but she responsibilites are far too extensive. Hope she convenes a Citizens Panel for an after-action-report as we used to say in the Army.

Disclosure: My power was restored this morning, my house is cool again, so I'm admittedly not so cranky. However, some perspective is in order. This was not a typical storm--we have catastrophic outages. I do believe that Dominion is doing it's best, particularly the linemen. Also, just because we might not SEE trucks doesn't mean that work isn't being done. I'm sure they are triaging the situation and addressing root causes and priorizing what fixes bring the most number of people back online. Unless you're old and infirm, this is not the end of the world. We have alternatives for escaping the oppressive heat--stay with some friends, go to a hotel, cooling centers. Buck up! I wasn't happy pitching the contents of my fully loaded refrigerator ($$$), but it is what it is. There is so much more worthy our rage than a week's discomfort--I can give you a whole list of child abuse cases--that's what should make us angry. Anyway, hoping everyone's online as soon as possible.

Dominion has been lucky that Isabel and the Snow Storms didn't do as much damage. I can't help but think they spent too much time congratulating themselves and not enough time looking for lessons learned.

Isabel was 9 years ago. Dominion escaped Tropical Storm Lee last year when the WMA received about 14" of rain over a 3-4 day period, but with no high winds.

Dominion needs to spend more time cutting down trees on public property, and homeowners with large, overgrown trees on their property need to hire an arborist to inspect their trees and even consider chopping them down.

Lots of seniors living in overheated buildings are falling ill. What don't you contact the hospitals rather than some PR person in County Government?

Does anyone know if power is back on in broyhill crest of annandale?

How is it possible Reston Town Center is still w/o power? You notice Tyson's Corner shopping center got their power switched on in a few hours.

The lesson that Andrew Macdonald missed was that large, overgrown shade trees do not belong near power lines nor do they belong near homes. No one ever said to burn more fossil fuels.

If you want to keep your large shade tree near your home, and there's zero chance that the tree can cause damage to your neighbor's house, then more power to you.

Keep dreaming about alternative power sources, as even with your idea, that power needs to be routed to homes somehow.

Trees add value to homes, provide habitat for animals/birds and help the environment in many ways. And they all fall eventually. It is our choice whether to accept the risk of having beautiful, large trees around us or not. (I'm looking out the window right now to our wooded lot with bird feeders, houses and bird baths.)

If someone does not want the risk associated with trees, there are many communities that don't have them. The wholesale cutting down of any tree near a house or power line is not the answer.

We hired an arborist to walk our property to assess risk. He is a consultant and does not cut down trees or do other tree work - so he doesn't have a pony in the race to make money from cutting down trees. (Some arborists don't care about saving trees - they make much more money cutting them down.)

And while it is possible to assess health and immediate risk to some extent - more obvious if a tree is failing - a perfectly healthy tree can fall, given the right - or wrong circumstances.

I am one of the lucky folks in Mclean whose power returned on Sunday morning (around 2am). I bless the Dominion VA Power folks who were out in the heat over the weekend and continue to work out in the heat all this week to restore power to our area and all of NOVA. For all those complaining...please keep this in mind...we should be thankful that for a majority of us, all we had to suffer from our recent storm was loss of power, uncomfortable heat, throwing away food from refrigerators, etc. I feel for those who lost their lives during the storm (especially 2 young boys who had been camping and a tree fell om their tent at a campground in another state). It's also brought tears to my eyes watching the news about the homes literally burned to the ground - a pile of ashes - in Colorado. I can't imagine losing everything - returning to a pile of ashes that was once your home. People, let's focus on the fact that you should be thankful for what you have.

MEGA MEGA KUDOS TO HARRIS TEETER. THE WASHINGTON POST SITE INDICATED THAT HARRIS TEETER sent trailer trucks filled with ice to each of its area stores and GAVE it all away on Sunday regardless of whether or not the store was operational or not. That is first class community concern. So all you shills and salesmen who wanna make a buck off the community's misery by touting your crappy wares here, I politely invite you to sit down and turn beet red in shame. We need to applaud the Harris Teeters and encourage/recognize more of the same!

To all of you complaining, I'm a Dominion employee and some of your comments are so selfish that they make me sick. The majority of us are also without power to our homes. Just because a truck passes your neighborhood where wire may be down and doesn't stop, doesn't mean we don't care. The larger damamge is going to be worked on first, those lines are the ones that feed your neighborhoods so to repair a wire down or pole on your street without fixing the main lines first would be result in zero restorations. Think about it... We are working 16 to 24 hour shifts as many of vacations have been cancelled as we are away from our families to restore your power. Show a little respect or take a walk in our boots for 24 hours straight wearing rubber gloves and sleeves and after you pass out from heat exhaustion, maybe you'll have a new respect for what we do and the effort that goes into restoring power. The majority of you have no clue what it takes to get large numbers of customers on safely. We just can't flip a switch and presto! To those who commended our efforts, thank you.

Power returned to Parc Reston condos at 11:30 am today

Thanks everyone! We are getting ready to bring power back to another large portion of a circuit that feeds Lewinsville Rd. @ Balls Hill Rd. Should get a large amount of pour customers on within the next few hours.

*our

So now you're calling your customers poor? That's niiiice!

To the 5 year olds... If you're out of power, I can come check things out for you and assess the situation and you can vent your frustrations to me in person. We are here to restore the power as quickly and safely as possible.

What a bunch of negative whiners. You know who you are. There are very kind people on this site who are serious and trying to give out and find out information. These people are sincerely trying to help each other. I'm from out of town and I'm trying to find info to help my family who lives there. Don't you have some friends to complain with? I'm in a place where I can watch the news. This is a storm of unprecedented proportion. It was unexpected and people are doing the best they can. There are convoys of trucks coming from as far as Canada and the National Guard is there helping. There are several states in the same boat as you are. The gentleman who offered information about a hotel was very helpful. If this continues much longer I may get a room for my family and I have been having a hard time finding out where there are rooms available and it wasn't easy to find a way to send money for food today. It is difficult to find out anything about businesses in your area. The internet is affected and cell phones aren't working properly. I was reading this and thought I finally found some help. It has been helpful but I have read through a lot of dribble. Why don't you complainers go find someone to help?

Solar Power :)

"I tried to illuminate some idiot and he called me "Dominion Apologist."

No, you put words in his mouth, he called you out, and you ran away like a little girl since you didn't have any substantive to say in response.

Interesting that he also used what I assume) is his name, while you hide behind a pseudonym, "Uncle smartypants" And you call him a troll? What's YOUR real name?

What's with all the "little girl" pejorative comments, coming mostly from men? Little boys run away too and so do grown men. Enough already!

How about burying the electric lines? My daughter lives in the center of Reston and has NEVER had her power go off. Much of Reston has buried power lines. A little Simon brilliance and forethought that seems to have paid off. I live along Lawyers Road and our power goes off many times every year. The lines that come into this part of Reston are not buried. How come nobody ever talks about this as a solution?

Kathy Kaplan

"What else can you expect from coddled Reston residents?" "First story on this silly site was about coffee."

The first story wasn't about coffee. That was a later, lighter, human interest story. Speaking of coffee and Reston, the elderly low-income residents at the Fellowship House on Lake Anne who haven't had electricity since Friday, and most assuredly aren't coddled, "really* wanted their coffee/tea in the morning. Elderly parents of a friend said they could deal with their power outage if someone would just find them a cup of coffee. People in Reston range from very low income to upper brackets. They represent a cross section of people in income, work, ideals, cultures, etc.

I will admit to liking coddled eggs, however. My mother used to make them.

Any update on when power will be restored to 7 Corners/Patrick Henry Drive/Arl Blvd area? Traffic cameras confirm still now power at this intersection, other than traffic lights.

I will refrain from writing anymore comments on your forum. I just wanted to give everyone an understaning of how much is involved in restoring power after a storm of this nature. I meant no disrespect and only wanted to give those who read this forum exactly what goes on during times like this. Unlike hurricanes, we had no heads up to how and when these storms would hit is, therefore leaving us with about 0% time to request assistance and staging storm center workers. Thanks for all your kind words. This is by far the most damage I've ever seen in our area since I've been with the company. We really are trying our hardest to restore power as quickly as possible to you folks and we just ask for your patience as we work. We feel for all of you who have to go through this and we will continue to work around the clock to get every last one of you on as soon as we can. Thanks Again.

Thank you Carol Lewis for your offer to help me find information. I was online all day but it was worth it to help out my family. It's frustrating to be away from where I can be of any service. I hope you nd your family are well

Ooops..... And as I was saying.. I hope all of you and your loved ones are well. You are all in our prayers. You are getting help whether you can see it or not. I finally was able to send money to my family through a bank. If anyone needs to have money sent to them It can be wired from 1 bank account to another bank account. You just need to check and make sure the receiving bank is up and running. Many but not all of the atm's are functioning. I found some Sheraton hotels that appear to have vacancies, decent rates and allow pets. Hopefully that'll help somebody out there. Jake I'm sure most people out there appreciate what the workers are doing. No need to explain yourself. People get cranky when they are hot. I hope all of you get your electric on soon. Thanks again Carol you're very kind.

Many of these comments have been very entertaining, yet utterly ridiculous at the same time. People have the right to complain if they want to. Of course there are those who feel compelled to tell others how they SHOULD feel, because "it could be worse", we could be eating poop out of a dumpster, living in a cardboard box, with maggots coming out of our ears...

My power went out, I have children who were getting sick from the heat, and I actually DID pass out from heat exhaustion. Unlike those who suggested taking a vacation, I can't afford a spur of the moment vacation OR a hotel.

I'm not so much complaining about how Dominion handled THIS situation, because I can understand this was a pretty bad storm and a power outage is to be expected. On the other hand, I haven't seen ONE dominion truck, worker etc. since Friday while I was driving around the area. I guess part of the explanation could be that they are busy giving themselves accolades on Vienna Patch or working behind some magic curtain. From my personal experience Dominion power just sucks. Not necessarily the workers, but the company. If I were just dealing w/ power outages after storms I wouldn't have a complaint. No one can avoid those situations. The fact is that I experience up to 10 power outages a year when there aren't ANY storms or natural disasters occurring. My power has gone out in the middle of the day, night, morning, for NO REASON, and I'm not talking about a couple of minutes or hours either!

My name means nuthin' - I have removed three of your posts for violating our terms of service and using profanity. Please try to make your point without it.

I just noticed that!! Guess what, take this propaganda forum and shove it, I'm out of here. It's obvious this site is monitored for what some ideologue intendant upon being the decider of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate uses as a play toy. Karen Goff, whoever you are, why don't you take personal inventory and decide whether you want to really provide a community forum or an outlet of control and get back to us.

I hope Dominion just made a clerical error when it's Work Crew Locations today for Alexandria is made up of entirely Arlington addresses.
https://www.dom.com/storm-center/crew-work-locations.jsp

My name means nuthin - If you read the byline on the story, I am the editor of Reston Patch and the author of this story. I can and will start censoring comments when they become personal attacks (check), profanity (check, check, no matter what you said) and other levels of innapropriateness as defined by our terms of service. You are welcome to make your thoughts known without violating our terms of service. That goes for everyone. They are sticking to the rules. See if you can too and we will have no problem.

Hundreds of seniors have become ill and visited the hospital since Friday night. Get your older friends and relatives outta hot homes. Time for your Mom to go on vacation to visit friends, relatives, Canada, whatever.

Ms. Geoff - you say that you will censor personal attacks and otherwise enforce the rules, yet there are still posts above in which users with obviously fake names accuse others of being a "troll".

That sure sounds like a personal attack, and Patch rules specifically say: "You may not use any aliases or other means to mask your true identity."

So I must agree with "My name means nuthin"; you are selective in your enforcement, which destroys your credibility as a journalist.

I also clicked on the "Flag as inappropriate link" for some posts. Mocking people, calling them nazis, shills, hypocrites, etc., is garden variety troll behavior. (For those not familiar with how "troll" is used on internet boards, it's someone who thrives on disrupting boards, upsetting people, causing controversy, etc. Google for a better definition than my clumsy one. And there's a common saying, "don't feed the troll," which means ignore them, since posting to them or about them is like food for them. (Yes, I am feeding now.) Trolls drive people away or cause chaos. Some are creative but most aren't.

This is a moderated forum (thank goodness), not an unmoderated one. I think Karen moderates lightly and tries hard to be fair. But she can't make everyone happy - moderators always get grief. Just my take.

Actually, Davie, so you're now in charge of what kind of posts others can post? And anyone who doesn't agree with you or says anything even remotely non-attacking about Dominion either a) works for Dominion or b) has a spouse who works there? What's what they say about making assumptions?

But I do give you props for a solid, condescending and sanctimonious post.

Davie? I don't let people call me Davie, Beth. Or do you just not know your right hand from your left?
Not only are you condescending, but you're rude. And you never did say if it was you or your spouse who works for Dominion. Honesty too much for you, scarecrow?

Thanks, Leslie Perales, for explaining why my posts were marked "Delete". Makes perfect sense - I just didn't know that!

Carol, I appreciate your response to my comment. I was not so much criticizing the workers, but the company and the unstable service I receive all throughout the year, every year, when there are no storms or other natural disasters. I think there are major problems within their overall infrastructure that haven't been addressed because my power frequently goes out on an average day without even the slightest breeze in the air. If that can happen 5-10 times a year on an average day, I believe the length of time it has been taking to restore power after this storm could easily have something to do with those underlying problems.

Reading many of these comments, I almost felt like I was in grade school again. We are all adults (I'm assuming) and we all have the right to express our opinions. The fact is that without power, I didn't know about cooling centers, which were probably filled considering the number of people without electricity. Suggestions of hotels, vacations etc. aren't an option to many people. In addition to that, how were we supposed to get to these locations when there was no gas? I passed out from heat exhaustion, my kids were getting sick, and one of my kids asthma was really acting up. Fortunately, I have family in Md who took us in, and I filled up my car with gas two days before the outage.

I also feel that "my name it means nuthin" is getting targeted when there are so many other people who have posted insulting and inflammatory remarks here.

Goff initially said: "You are welcome to make your thoughts known without violating our terms of service. That goes for everyone."

Then she said: "I wish everyone would use their real names, but until Patch software enforces it, i usually let people slide."

Pure, unadulterated, doublethink. We must follow the rules ... except when it's too hard to enforce them. Arbitrary enforcement of rules leads to chaos ... and any forum moderator who thinks that OK probably isn't too concerned about the basic rules of journalism. So yes, Ms. Goff (apologies for the misspelling, though), you have destroyed your own credibility.

This forum has ceased to be useful and will not be held up as a forum on my professionalism. Shutting down the comments for now.