Category Archives: politics

Congressional 3rd District Redistricting

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Excerpt from Times Dispatch newspaper article:

The Reapportionment Joint Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. Monday in House Room D. The panel will receive an overview of the 3rd District case and adopt public criteria for redistricting.
The House Privileges and Elections Committee will hold a public hearing to solicit input on potential redistricting plans at 3 p.m., also in House Room D.
“These meetings are important and necessary prerequisites to filing redistricting legislation,” Howell added. “Once these meetings are complete, the House will work efficiently and diligently in an effort to meet the court-ordered September 1 deadline. Redistricting is a complicated and arduous legal process made more difficult by the compressed time frame under which we are operating.”

Court Declares Congressional Map Unconstitutional

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From Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s FaceBook page:

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District has again ruled that the 3rd Congressional District held by Rep. Bobby Scott is unconstitutional. The court has set a September 1, 2015 deadline for redistricting. This will ultimately require approval from the General Assembly and Gov. McAuliffe and could impact Richmond voting precincts in the 5th District.

Washington Post article: Court declares Virginia’s congressional map unconstitutional

Public Square On Segregation This Thursday

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The Times Dispatch Public Square events are sometimes good and sometimes very weak, depending on how topics are presented and moderated. But this one sounds like it it could be a better one (and maybe of particular interest to Oregon Hill, which is often described as a “traditionally white neighborhood”):

Public Square 56: Why is Richmond still segregated? Thursday, April 23, 12-1:30 p.m., Richmond Times-Dispatch 1st Floor Auditorium (300 E. Franklin Street)
At the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s next Public Square, we’ll explore the issue of segregation in the region. We’ll include presentations from Heather Mullins Crislip, president and CEO of Richmond’s Housing Opportunities Made Equal, and John V. Moeser, senior fellow in the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement at the University of Richmond and professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University. We’ll also hear from Victor K. Branch, Richmond market president for Bank of America and a HOME board member, and longtime Times-Dispatch columnist Michael Paul Williams. As always, the audience will be invited to ask questions and make comments.

Also:

Richmond Public Schools (RPS) State of the Schools Address Tuesday, April 28, 6 p.m., 1500 N. Lombardy St., RVA 23220
Come join the members of RPS and the Richmond community to discuss the current state and future of the schools in Richmond. The event will be held at the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center (on the campus of Virginia Union University).

4/15 for $15 in Monroe Park

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As part of a larger, national “Tax Day” action, there is a protest for higher wages in Monroe Park this Wednesday. From the FaceBook page:

Working people are fed up with being treated, and paid, like we don’t matter. On April 15, we will stand side-by-side with other workers demanding $15 an hour, the right to form a union and the respect we all deserve.

Join Fast Food Workers with the Raise Up campaign and a coalition of supporting organizations and individuals on Wednesday April 15th, the day before Tax Day, at 5pm in Monroe Park to rally for a $15 dollar an hour living wage for Fast Food Workers!

Vigil and Protest At Dominion’s HQ On Wednesday

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Virginians are gathering on Tredegar Street this coming Wednesday morning, concerned about the ongoing tragedy of Fukushima and Dominion’s nuclear plans.

I expect a less noisy and more somber event than the recent pipeline protest, but perhaps as equally as important.

From FaceBook event page:

Please join us ~
Wed. March 11, 2015 from 7:30am-10:00am.
We will be participating in the global day of action ~ Commemorating the 4th year of the ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima and protesting against Dominion’s plan to build a 3rd nuclear reactor at North Anna on the fault line.

8:30am ~Vigil for the victims of Fukushima in plain view of Dominion Executives as they drive into work.
(will we be the next victims?)
10:00am ~ Moment of silence for the victims of Fukushima, followed by a brief memorial tribute and press conference.

Our State & Federal government is placing us at enormous risk!
Even with the past nuclear disasters (TMI, Chernobyl and the ongoing/uncontrollable disaster in Fukushima spreading radiation all over the world), nothing has stopped VA Dominion Power from moving forward with a plan for another reactor at North Anna.

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Protest Against Dominion

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This morning there was a protest march against Dominion Power that purposefully blocked the intersection of Tredegar Street and Brown’s Island Way (aka 2nd Street Connector) to raise awareness of Dominion’s role in profiteering, pipelines, pollution, and climate change. Eventually fire trucks were called to assist a massive police presence in clearing protesters from the street.
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Editorial: You have to wonder if Dominion executives are regretting their arrogant insistence on building their riverfront headquarters and 2nd Street Connector. Their corporate hegemony, combined with some of their biggest supporters corrupting and dishonoring state office is just making citizens angrier.

Richmond On McDonnell Verdict

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Neighbor John Richmond got a mention in the Washington Post yesterday:

John Richmond, 44, a public school math teacher, was riding his bike by the Capitol not long after the verdict was announced. He said he was less than shocked.

“These guys, they’re just as corrupt as people in any other state are. It’s just the corruption is legal,” he said, referring to ethics laws that, before the McDonnell trial, allowed officeholders to accept unlimited personal gifts as long as any worth more than $50 were disclosed.

Developers Respond To City Council’s Real Estate Tax Abatement Reform

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RichmondBizsense.com has an article this morning on City Council’s actions in regard to reforming the City’s real estate tax abatement program.

From the article:

After nearly 10 months of fine tuning, Richmond City Council last month approved an updated real estate tax abatement ordinance, closing what it said were loopholes in the popular rehabilitation incentive program.

Developers who qualify for the program pay taxes on a property based on its value prior to any redevelopment or improvements for either five or seven years, depending on the building’s use. In some cases, this system can save a developer millions and encourages the revitalization of buildings that are 20 or more years old.

Most of the article consists of responses to the changes from developers, and does not include any quotes from citizens who raised concerns about abuse.

Political: Suit seeks to redraw Scott’s congressional district

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Rep. Bobby Scott represents Oregon Hill.

From the Times Dispatch article:

A federal judge will hear arguments today in a lawsuit aimed at declaring the state’s 3rd Congressional District invalid.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs, three voters residing in the district, are accusing the General Assembly of “racial gerrymandering” by packing African-American voters into Virginia’s only black-majority congressional district.
The plaintiffs — Dawn Curry Page, Gloria Personhuballah and James Farkas — allege that the district’s current boundaries make adjacent districts safer for Republican incumbents by diminishing the influence of African-American voters in these areas.