Category Archives: editorial

Silver Gets Results

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Oregon Hill resident Silver Persinger, running a write-in candidacy for Mayor, held the City Council’s Finance Committee accountable last week for making information available to citizens.

Listen to Silver’s comment by clicking here.

The good news is that the Richmond Open Government Project is having an effect. City Council candidates Delp and Baliles have included Open Government comments in their campaigns. The City has begun putting committee meeting presentations on-line (Click here for link). This really opens the door to much more information.

Some of the issues in the presentation binder for the NEXT Finance Committee meeting:

– COS Staff Report & Supplemental Information
– Stormwater Utility – Delinquent Account Collection Strategy and Timeline Presentation
– Boulevard Redevelopment Plan and Citywide Economic Development Strategies Presentation
– Boulevard Redevelopment Preparation Project
– Community Development – Financial Statement Report
– BPOL Tax Relief Fiscal Impact Statement

Week Long Protest Against Dominion Starts Monday

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From CCAN’s public sign-up page:

Even though Dominion Power hasn’t invested in a single wind or solar power facility in Virginia, the company is receiving $76 million in extra profit for its supposed renewable energy investments.

Monday, October 1, through Friday, October 5, join us for a sustained week of action outside of Dominion’s Richmond office to protest this huge rip-off and call for wind and solar power in Virginia. We’ll also send in a representative each day, asking for a personal response from Dominion’s CEO, Tom Farrell.

And every day we’ll highlight a specific way that Dominion’s actions are harming Virginians, from increased extreme weather from climate change, to mountaintop removal coal mining and fracking for natural gas, to health impacts of the company’s pollution. Then we’ll cap off the week with a rally on Saturday, October 6.

Richmond Open Government Project

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Perhaps inspired by other local online petitions, the Richmond Open Government Project launched theirs recently:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/684/909/771/make-richmond-city-hall-an-open-government-equal-to-the-best-in-virginia/

Knowledge comes from unfettered access to information. Currently the City of Richmond lags far behind the other six most populous cities in Virginia (Alexandria, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia Beach) in terms of the information that is made available to its citizens and their ease of acquiring said information. The City of Richmond impedes the public’s access to information and participation in many ways. A short list of what the City does not do is below. For a complete list of the comparisons between the seven cities go to: http://cityhallreview.com/opengov/index.html

City Council does not post meeting agendas on its website.
City Council does not broadcast meetings at which most deliberations occur.
City Council does not hold public hearings at convenient times
City Council does not post meeting videos on its webpage.
City Council does not provide for downloading its meeting audios.
City Council does not archive meeting audios on its webpage.
City Council does not post all reports or presentations on its webpage.
City Council does not report deliberations in its minutes.
City Council does not report public comments in its minutes.
The Planning Commission provides very limited meeting information on its webpage.
The Board of Zoning Appeals provides no meeting information on its webpage.

People who want public accountability and the opportunity for meaningful participation in the City of Richmond government can and must change the status quo. Armed with information and the opportunity to participate, the public can be a watchdog, an agent of change and a collaborative partner in the decision-making process. As the Capital of the Commonwealth and the epicenter of the development of America’s popular government, the City of Richmond should be at the top of the list for offering unfettered citizen access to public information. The people can open city hall through a united and relentless demand for change. The Richmond Open Government Project intends to start this demand for change with the following petition to City of Richmond’s government leaders:

As a citizen, stakeholder, or candidate for political office in the City of Richmond, I pledge to call for, support, and vote for the following:

That the City government, in accordance with state law, immediately begin to publish City Council minutes that include a summary of the discussion on matters considered.

That the City government broadcast live all regular public meetings on the City website; and

That the City government commit to raising its open government standards to a level that meets or exceeds those of the other six most populous cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Richmond’s Newest Indoor Sport …Drip…Drip…

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Forget about preparations for the Summer Olympics (and speaking of conservation), right now City Council is interacting with the City of Richmond utility department over water rates. An editorial and an online petition has Richmonders taking part in the latest local internet craze- finding and comparing minimum water rate charges from across the country.

Keep in mind, according to census data there are 83,498 occupied housing units in Richmond. If each unit is paying the minimum service charge of $49.40/month, that is $4,124,801 generated monthly from the minimum water/sewer service charge, or $49,497,614 annually.

You see, this issue is generating a lot of email, and rather than dealing with actual water rate reform (which to be fair, might have to involve the Virginia General Assembly), City officials are scrambling to find a way to dispute the citizens’ complaint.

Anyway, for comparison…drip…drip..

Minimum monthly charge for residential water/sewer service:
Richmond: $49.40 [includes no water/sewer volume]
Henrico: $16.27
Chesterfield: $22.16
Norfolk: $1.00
Charlottesville: $8.00
Petersburg: $13.90
Hopewell: $25.39
Alexandria: $18.20
Roanoke: $20.75
Washington DC: $3.86 Continue reading →

Letter of Resignation To Venture Richmond

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Jamie, Stephen,

After giving the situation some thought, I am resigning from my lead volunteer position of the Richmond Folk Festival‘s Green Team in protest of Venture Richmond’s role in pushing the 2nd Street Connector proposal, which evidently comes before City Council on Monday night.

My neighborhood association as well as the local Sierra Club have serious concerns about the 2nd Street Connector proposal, and to my knowledge, those concerns have not been addressed in a proper public manner. I am disappointed by how the 2nd Street Connector proposal is being pushed through the public process, while the rest of the Richmond Riverfront Plan has been delayed.

https://www.oregonhill.net/2012/07/13/city-council-and-2nd-street-connector/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2012/02/04/sierra-club-speaks-against-proposed-2nd-street-connector/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2011/10/08/ohna-sends-letter-in-support-of-city-to-protect-canal/

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/commentary/2012/apr/29/tdcomm03-save-richmonds-canals-again-ar-1875078/

Although I do not want you to take this resignation and protest lightly, I also want you to know that I do plan to continue to support and volunteer with the Richmond Folk Festival without holding the Green Team leadership position. I repeat, I plan to volunteer for Green Team shifts even though I am resigning my leadership position.

As someone who has always supported the Folk Festival (including when it was previously the National Folk Festival), and having won the 2010 Folk Festival Volunteer of the Year award, I believe the Folk Festival has become a vital and important part of Richmond’s cultural landscape. I also want the Richmond Folk Festival to become more ‘green’ and become an environmental role model for other festivals in the area.

I just wish Venture Richmond would take a step back and recognize it’s duty and responsibility as a neighbor and part of the community and how the 2nd Street Connector and amphitheater proposals impact those roles.

Sincerely,
Scott Burger

On May 14, 2012, at 6:05 PM, J Thomas wrote:

The Volunteer page for the Richmond Folk Festival goes live tomorrow!
In order to make sure that the links are all working, please take a moment to click on http://richmondfolkfestival.org/docs/volunteer.html

Letter on “Richmond’s Monroe Park: The Unfolding Tragedy”

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Open letter from Oregon Hill resident and Monroe Park Advisory Council member Charles Woodson:

Dear Friends,

Two years or so ago when the Monroe Park Advisory Council stopped meeting and an exciting Monroe Park Master Plan was delivered to our City Government, I figured the Park was at its most downtrodden. It was impossible to fathom Monroe Park – our first City Park and one that just oozes with fascinating history and promise of a great rebirth, falling even further into a rotting, even more trash filled and untended and dangerous corpse of a place. On Sunday, July 15, 2012 at around 3PM, that realization slapped me in the face. Three RPD cruisers were parked by the overgrown fountain with blue lights flashing, responding to reports of a “crazy man screaming and brandishing a gun” in the Park (their words). I felt afraid for my life.

Historic Monroe Park is situated equidistant from the James River, the soon to be refurbished $50,000,000.00 Altria Theatre (nee Mosque) project and VCU’s beautifully planned $32,000,000.00 Institute of Contemporary Art but there is no word on poor Monroe Park with its terrific $6,000,000 plan of redemption. No website for either the Park itself or the phantom Monroe Park Foundation exists on the web. Nothing… Nada … just Yelp.com’s disturbing descriptions of drunks and hobos and a few other meaningless entries.

The many feedings continue to pour trash into the Park. Trashcans full after one or two feedings, the patrons sit on the benches beside the fountain and just throw refuse on the ground where it gets blown with the trash can overflow into VCU and the neighborhoods surrounding the historic Park.
The trees need maintenance, some need removal and a hundred or so need planting.
The barren brown grounds, devoid of grass in many areas need work to revive.
The decrepit sidewalks and pathways crumble beneath your feet.
Substance abuse is rampant. I wouldn’t want my kids playing here.

Im ashamed mostly at myself for not being a more consistent voice for this great Park. But im also ashamed of you, Charles Samuels, since this is your district and you were a champion for the Park at one time. And there is shame for the Mayor who I know to be aware of the dire situation. Im also upset with VCU for not putting a boot in our rear ends for not making ANY progress – this is weak leadership on their end as well. This is, after all, their face for the newbies that come crashing into Gladding, Johnson and Rhodes Halls, etc, each August and have to live with this mess.

It’s time to get rid of the running mouths and roll up our sleeves and crack open the city wallet to address these issues.

Sincerely,

Charles Todd Woodson.

His letter included the following photos:

MoveToAmend.org Comes To Richmond

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I am marking this ‘editorial’, since full disclosure, I wrote the following press release also. Unfortunately, I have not seen any notice of this is in the corporate, mainstream media, so as a public service, I am posting it here. I will delete this post if I see good notice and coverage appear elsewhere.

Virginia Greens Speak Up Against Corporations And Look Forward To Cobb’s Visit

by Scott Burger

Green Party of Virginia

http://vagreenparty.org/

For immediate release:

July 9, 2012

With Fourth of July holiday celebrations over, Greens across Virginia are eager to work towards freeing their government from the undue influence of corporations. This should come as no surprise as the Green Party of the United States has actively called for repeal of ‘corporate personhood’ and the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling as well as an end to the influence of corporate PAC money on elections.

On May 4 of this year, the Green Party of Virginia adopted the following resolution at a regularly scheduled meeting:

RESOLVED, the Green Party of Virginia stands in defense of democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate power by calling for amending the United States Constitution to establish that:
1. Corporations may neither claim for themselves nor limit the rights of persons or of citizens;
2. The right to spend money or direct economic resources to influence elections, legislation, or the decisions of government is not unlimited.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we encourage our local, state and federal representatives, as well as organizations that value the health of democracy, to enact resolutions and legislation to advance this effort.

As part of these efforts, Greens are looking forward to an upcoming visit to the Southeast by 2004 Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb on behalf of the citizens’ organization, MoveToAmend.org. Cobb deserves recognition for not only his electoral efforts, but his civil rights protest of the vote tampering in Ohio.

Cobb will be in Richmond, VA on Wednesday, July 11 at 7:30 pm at the Friends Meeting Hall, located at 4500 Kensington Ave, Richmond, Virginia 23221-1827.

After that, Cobb will be attending the Green Party National Convention in Baltimore.

For more information on Cobb’s tour schedule, please check MoveToAmend.org’s Campaign Calendar.

~END~

“Deal of A Lifetime”: Landmark Theater Gets ‘Center Stage’d

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Don Harrison, of SaveRichmond.com fame, has a back page editorial in this week’s Style magazine that revisits Center Stage saga and it’s next victim, the Mosque, sorry, the Landmark, no, sorry, the Altria Theater (?).

Excerpt:

Now I’m no forensic accountant, but the foundation’s financial track record and recent lack of success raising private dollars suggest that there might be other motives behind the Landmark project, which City Councilman Marty Jewell recently called “the deal of a lifetime.”

If it’s so great, why shield its true cost to taxpayers? It’s been reported that only $14 million in public dollars will be invested. But the figure actually is closer to $30 million. Included in what’s called the private-fundraising side is an estimated $18 million in state and federal historic tax credits, which the foundation plans to use to finance the deal. This deal also hands over millions in Landmark corporate naming rights to the foundation, and since the theater is a city-owned facility, this is public money that is being given away (the city could independently sell these rights). Meanwhile, the mayor insists that he can’t address the city’s high meals and admission tax rates because the city is hurting for revenue.

Universities Vs. Historic Neighborhoods

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From email:

Hey! I’m from Knoxville TN. Recent news in Knoxville is that the University of Tennessee is planning to further encroach on the adjacent historic Fort Sanders Neighborhood. Anyone with experience in the Oregon Hill effort to maintain boundaries with V.C.U? I’m planning to blog and and hoping to gather some hope though any stories of creative approach to the issue in your neighborhood. Thanks! Jennifer

Jennifer,

Thanks for writing. I will try to send you some other information, but here is an update on the situation with VCU:

VCU still refuses to put in place any longterm, binding agreement to protect the neighborhood.

https://www.oregonhill.net/2008/10/24/ohna-president-asks-vcu-to-take-positive-step-for-true-community-partnership/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2011/06/27/issue-1-still-no-positive-step-from-vcu/

The last we heard, anything new would come forward in community sessions for VCU’s next Master Plan.

The problem is that VCU can make adjustments to their Master Plan at any time in support of their encroachment, and in fact did so the last time we had an issue.

To paraphrase a neighbor’s published column:

In 2004, the VCU 2020 Master Plan, page 88, marked a dotted-line boundary between VCU and Oregon Hill. We believed VCU would honor this boundary. That belief proved to be false.

In 2007 — despite opposition from multiple neighborhoods — the VCU Executive Board, desiring more property within the Oregon Hill Historic District than their previous Master Plan allowed, chose to breach the boundary of good faith by amending the border to facilitate the acquisition and demolition of a livery stable built to service the landmark City Auditorium.

The property in question, 911 Green Alley, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register as a contributing element to the Oregon Hill Historic District. A Times-Dispatch article from November 12, 2006, extolled this stable’s amazing renovation and adaptive reuse. The sister stable at 917 Green Alley, listed on the historic registers as well was slated for demolition. VCU also destroyed Green Alley on this block. Green Alley was part of the historic streetscape established circa 1817. We are unaware of any other Virginia agency ever acquiring a fully renovated property listed on these registers with the intent to demolish. Implications loom large for other historic communities.

In other words, Master Plans CANNOT be trusted.

So right now, this state of mistrust still exists between the neighborhood and VCU and so far VCU has done nothing to alleviate it.

I wish I had better news. Sadly, citizens and neighborhoods have a tough time in disputes with large institutions and corporations. The difference in available resources is one thing, but now its hard to even find any rule of law. I will send you some other stuff via email and, of course, my best wishes.

Thanks,

Scott

Drip…Drip…

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Correspondent of the Day in the Times Dispatch:

Water rates target smaller users

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

You ran two Op/Ed columns on Richmond’s water rates. The column by Gloria LeRose, “Water’s worth the cost and effort,” explains that the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) does a needed job protecting our water quality, and what it spends to do so is worth it.

An earlier column by Scott Burger, “City proposes outrageous water rates,” relates to the amount of service charge DPU has in its rate structure, which results in a lower volumetric charge, which in turn discourages conserving water.

While both of these are valid concerns, the main issue with a high service charge is the inequality of cost for small consumers. Someone using 3 to 5 ccfs (1 ccf = 100 cubic feet) of water per month ends up paying about 79 percent of his total bill for service charge, while someone using 100 ccfs per month pays only about 11 percent. The purpose of the service charge is to recover certain fixed costs and should be recovered proportionally based on the amount each consumer uses. Lowering the service charge requires increasing the volumetric rate to compensate for the reduced revenue. There would be no less money for the DPU. There would be no lost revenue.

I raised this issue in 2006 with the DPU after a study recommended reducing the service charge. At that time the DPU indicated it agreed the service charge was disproportionate to the small user and planned to gradually reduce it and increase the volumetric rates. The DPU needs to renew this plan.

Robert Bedell.

Richmond.