Category Archives: politics

“F29: SHUT DOWN THE CORPORATIONS”

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From announcement:

Occupy Richmond answers the national call put out by Occupy Portland to
Shut Down the Corporations on Wednesday, February 29 with a day of action
against corporate influence in politics.

At 1:00 PM, a press conference
will be held at the corner of N. 3rd
St. and E. Franklin St. in front of the Richmond Times Dispatch and Media
General buildings.

Afterwards we will march to actions throughout the city to bring attention
to the ways in which bribery are business-as-usual in the corporate
world.

This day of action focuses on the American Legislative Exchange Council
(ALEC) and one of its member corporations, Richmond-based Altria. Not
only is Altria one of the largest contributors to ALEC, but several
Altria executives occupy key positions of power in the organization. The
current National Chairman on ALEC’s corporate board is
Mr. W. Preston Baldwin III, a former tobacco lobbyist and Vice President
of State Government Affairs at U.S. Tobacco Inc., a company now owned by
Altria. Daniel Smith, a lobbyist, is Altria’s representative on ALEC’s
corporate board. Like other corporate members who spend thousands of
dollars to join, Altria lobbyists
use the platform provided by ALEC to develop special relationships with
legislators. ALEC works with corporate interests to craft
ready-to-introduce bills to provide
lawmakers. By providing cover for the purchase of influence in the halls
of government, ALEC whitewashes patronage and makes bribery seem
respectable.

Event Schedule:
• Rally at the Media General/Richmond Times Dispatch corner at 12pm (N.
3rd St. and E. Franklin St.)
• Demonstration at Altria at 2pm (N. 5th St. between Leigh and Jackson)
• Rally at Richmond Federal Court House at 4pm (N. 7th St. and E. Broad St.)
Contact: Occupy Richmond Media Group
Tel: (903) 203 – 7358
Email: occupyrichmondva.media@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEResources for further information:
• http://f29.occupyrva.org
• http://www.facebook.com/events/253092951433469/
• http://www.shutdownthecorporations.org

About Occupy Richmond:
Occupy Richmond considers itself a part of a growing economic and human
rights Movement that recognizes and affirms the essential dignity and
inherent value of all human beings and life.
We seek to create a safe space for free speech and civil dialog because we
believe our society and the earth are in crisis, and we recognize the need
for imminent change.
About Shut Down the Corporations:
Occupy Portland calls for a national day of non-violent direct action to
reclaim our voices and
challenge our society’s obsession with profit and greed by shutting
down the corporations. We
are rejecting a society that does not allow us control of our future. We
will reclaim our ability to
shape our world in a democratic, cooperative, just and sustainable direction.

# # #
* No one person has been elected to speak on behalf of the entire
organization. The contact information provided is
given only for verification and follow-up purposes.

This Council Race Is On.

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At last week’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting, David Gammino announced he was challenging Marty Jewell for his 5th District Council seat.

The Times Dispatch is now reporting that Jewell has failed to account for his fundraising.

From the article:

While he said he doesn’t plan to make it an issue, Gammino said Jewell’s “inability to file election campaign disclosures and reports speaks to his organizational skills or lack thereof, and his transparency, or lack thereof.”

Gammino said he has been working to build relationships in the district’s South Side precincts, where a challenge by Woodland Heights civic leader Lee Shewmake split the vote in a three-way race with Jewell and Randolph neighborhood businessman Mark Brandon.

Dominion Power and HB 657

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Having written about Dominion Power and renewable energy on this site before, there is simply no reason to let up.

Here’s the latest, including a solution for the General Assembly in the form of HB 657:

Virginia’s “voluntary” renewable portfolio standard is voluntary for utilities, but it’s mandatory for ratepayers. Utilities charge citizens for the energy they buy to meet the goals, and then they get to charge citizens again for their bonus under the law. The idea behind the law was to incentivize utilities to buy renewable energy, but utilities have treated it as an entitlement program for their shareholders and are doing the minimum possible to earn their profit.

Everyone thought the 2007 law setting up the renewable energy incentives would result in Virginia-made wind and solar energy. That hasn’t happened, and yet utilities are collecting their full bonus amounts just as if they had made a real effort.

Dominion Power ran advertisements in 2010 claiming they were building wind farms “to power Virginia’s energy future.” Those ads misled everyone into assuming they were doing just that. But they have built no wind farms in Virginia.

Dominion talks a good game about renewable energy, but the reality came out in its rate case this fall, when it had to reveal the energy sources it was using to meet Virginia’s renewable energy goals. Almost all of it consists of old conventional hydroelectric plants from dams. None of it comes from projects built after 2000, and none of it is wind or solar.

Legislators should support HB 657 (Rust), the RPS reform bill, in its current form, including the provisions for Virginia-made wind and solar energy. If the final bill does not incentivize wind and solar in Virginia, the RPS law should be repealed rather than charging ratepayers millions of dollars extra.

The Virginia-made requirement makes sure that the ratepayers who are paying for the renewable energy are getting the benefits of it. Building wind and solar energy in Virginia is important to create new jobs here for Virginia’s young people, to increase energy supply without adding air pollution, and to give Virginia a stake in these fast-growing industries.

Coal In Their Stocking- Dominion’s Permit Has Expired

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Speaking of Special Use Permits, local citizen watchdog C.Wayne Taylor has been just as concerned about the latest flurry of riverfront planning as Oregon Hill neighbors.

He has started asking some very pertinent questions and has come to the conclusion that, despite what local officials may or may not say, Dominion Resources’ riverfront SUP has legally expired:

In 2001, City Council approved a special use permit for the Dominion Resources headquarters on Tredegar Street. The permit increased the maximum allowed building heights within a sloping “envelope” that extended from 60 feet above ground level to 160 feet above ground level.
Under the terms of the permit, it would automatically expire if certain conditions were not met. The city maintains that the conditions were met and that the permit is “still valid.”
The facts indicate that the permit expired. The property owner failed to meet the deadline for using the special use permit. The development that occurred on the property complied with the zoning regulations and did not require the special use permit.

Look for Dominion to try to quietly go behind the scenes and change things to their advantage. After all, this is what they do. And continue to do.

And don’t look for the local corporate media to cover it, after all, this is what they they won’t do. Why is it up to this little neighborhood community news site to mention the local connection to the MF Global story, where a former United States Congressperson and Governor “doesn’t know” where over a billion dollars went?

Citizens, remain vigilant!

Vote On Tuesday

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Voting now in the 10th District, on Tuesday Oregon Hill will help decide between challenger David Bernard and incumbent John Watkins for State Senate. James River Maven offers more information on this race, with a provocative post entitled “Who Owns John Watkins”.

Although there has been some talk of moving the voting place for the precinct, it will remain at the Landmark Theater. For more voter information, contact the Virginia State Board of Elections. See you at the polls this Tuesday.

Candidate Bernard Canvassing This Saturday

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About the time that the neighborhood clean-up will be wrapping up this Saturday, Virginia Senate candidate David Bernard and volunteers will be visiting the neighborhood, going door to door and asking for residents’ votes.

To learn more about Bernard’s platform or volunteer, go to his website David Bernard for Senate.

Oregon Hill will be voting in the State Senate District 10 for the first time after being redistricted this past spring. The incumbent is Sen. John Watkins, who Bernard is challenging.

Expect Occupy Richmond

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The mainstream corporate media has been downplaying the Occupy Wall Street protests until very recently when the marching has expanded to include more of New York and more people who are not traditionally part of these street protests. I have seen reports of airline pilots and Marines joining the movement. I know some Richmonders, ones who usually are not into public protest, who have gone to NYC on the Chinatown bus to be part of this.

At any rate, spurred on by the theme of resistance to corporate rule and greed, now there is yet even more expansion and there is an Occupy Richmond, including their own article in the news.

What does this have to do with the neighborhood? Well, for one thing there is talk of local protests close by, taking place October 15 around the Federal Reserve.

From this morning’s Times Dispatch article:

According to its Facebook page, Occupy Richmond seeks to “collectively voice our disapproval of the intermeshing of government and corrupted capitalism. We unite as 99 percent of the American population.”

“The middle class is disappearing,” said Alexandria Vasquez, a Richmond organizer and a graduate student of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Vasquez said young people are led to believe that “if they get their education, they’ll get that prized job. That’s not the case. They’re going to be graduating and fighting for a job making $7.25 an hour.”

Vasquez, 23, said the local movement plans to hold a meeting Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Monroe Park to discuss plans for the Oct. 15 demonstration.

She said they plan to cooperate with Richmond police. “We want to actually work with them,” said Vasquez, who is president of Students for Social Action, a student group at VCU. “This is going to be a peaceful protest.”