As expected, with Councilperson Agelasto’s removal, here comes the special election with a major question- who is running who will stand up to the Tom Farrell/VCU-backed “Navy Hill” coliseum scheme? Of course there are other important questions for the district that need to be asked, but as I have stated previously, the major backstory to ALL Richmond politics right now is this new corporate welfare/white elephant being pushed on the public.

Some of the local television stations have be pretty one-sided in their coverage, but the Times Dispatch is really taking the cake by launching a full-on editorial press. The “lay of The land” by Chris Gentilviso was laughable. It was full of the the ol’ ‘neglected’ land/great opportunity schtick that longtime Richmonders know all to well. Remember when Jack Berry waxed poetic about the ‘weed-strewn’ parking lots of Shockoe Bottom while pushing for a Shockoe Stadium? Of course, Sunday’s editorial did not mention the purposeful neglect/deliberate abandonment of the area.

And then today, the ‘Times Disgrace’ serves up a column from C.T. Hill and Pamela Royal: ‘Prioritize schools and a new downtown’. Again, longtime Richmonders have seen this baloney before, with the push for the Center Stage. Remember when Ukrops and supporters lined City Council chambers with school kids and told everyone that “It’s for the children”? At the time, citizens who questioned the meals tax increase and the sketchy deal were dishonestly labeled as ‘anti-art’ and ‘anti-human potential’. Never mind the broken promises and tax bail-outs that followed, never mind that despite these ‘we can chew gum and walk at the same time’ claims, school building maintenance was once again deferred for yet another ‘downtown project’ and attention had again been stolen from civic needs for the aristocracy’s wants, the ‘top’ had told the ‘bottom’ to shut up.

Right now there are boosters who claim that Farrell is being unfairly targeted for his role in the coliseum scheme (never mind all the pipeline building, fossil fuel exporting, and political lobbying that he does with his monopoly). They say it’s ridiculous to be suspicious about how Farrell inserted himself into Richmond school board politics before launching the coliseum scheme. They continue to gloss over his and others’ previous roles in Center Stage and other boondoggles. They refuse to acknowledge how Farrell “misconstrues” (how he lies):

“The chairman of CenterStage’s parent group, Dominion Resources Chief Executive Tom Farrell, told City Council that CenterStage is “probably the only public performing arts center in the country that pays for itself because of the way it’s been operated.”
In fact, the organization that he heads receives $500,000 annually from the city to support operating costs. The city also contributed millions of dollars to the renovation of both theaters the group operates, most recently $14 million for the renovation of the Altria Theater.”

This is the same Farrell gang that think they have a right to run roughshod over citizens and they are not shy about using the daily paper and other local corporate media as their mouthpiece in doing so. From a journalistic perspective, what’s probably more damning is how the ‘Times Disgrace’ is once again revealing its ongoing problems with the concept of disclosure. We have seen these previously with its coverage of VCU, Center Stage, and other matters, but more recently, Jason Roop of Style Magazine fame noted:

As you read new editorials from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, keep in mind that it has added the paid public relations spokeswoman and head of marketing and communications for the Chamber RVA — Bryanna Johns — to its Community Advisory Board.

As opinion page editor Pamela Stallsmith announced yesterday (August 24), the paper will rely on this board to help craft opinions for its editorials. This alignment isn’t completely out of left field — the Times-Dispatch is a “Partner Level Member” of the Chamber.

As you may recall, the Chamber was a staunch supporter of the Navy Hill project nearly instantaneously — many months before information was made available to the public and before the mayor presented his plan to City Council. The Times-Dispatch published a Chamber editorial pushing for the project without disclosing that more than 15 percent of the Chamber’s executive board stood to gain financially from the project.

While new Richmond arrivals may look askance at all these local goings-on and commentary, longtime Richmond citizens keep hoping we will see real political and media reform.
Many citizens pray that Goldman’s ‘Put School First’ movement and referendum can save the day, despite the corporate hegemony.