Category Archives: politics

Mayor’s Walk-Through Tomorrow Afternoon

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Mayor Jones’ office has confirmed that he and other City staff, including members of Public Works, Richmond Police Department, and Community Development, will be conducting a ‘walk-through’ of the Oregon Hill neighborhood tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday).

One of the main purposes of this event is to give residents a chance to meet first-hand with the Mayor and provide valuable feedback on City services and neighborhood needs.

The walk though will start at 4:30 pm at the William Byrd Community House on Cherry Street. Weather permitting, the group will then walk to different parts of the neighborhood.

(Personally, I encourage residents to attend and to bring written or printed documents to share with City staff in order to have an effective meeting.)

High Speed Rail Dreams Fade, So What Is The Future of Transportation In Richmond?

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Despite citizen hopes, the dream for high speed rail or even improved passenger rail service is faltering. It’s too bad, given the fact that before the devastation of the Civil War, Richmond was competing with New York City as a passenger rail center, and is famous for early light rail innovation.

The Times Dispatch feigns surprise, but CSX executives are quite blunt about being against passenger rail. From the linked Jacksonville Business Journal article:

“I’m a corporation. I exist to make money, OK?” Ward said. “You can’t make money hauling passengers, so why would I want to do that? That wouldn’t be fair to my shareholders.”

His comments come as CSX, the nation’s third-largest railroad, protests the State of New York’s plan to provide up to 110 mph passenger rail service between Albany and Buffalo. The Jacksonville-based railroads said the passenger trains will damage the track and cause service disruption to its freight trains.

So what is the future of transportation in Richmond?
On Wednesday, the Richmond First Club will host a panel discussion about this subject.

What can we expect?
More begging for the Richmond airport and ‘low-cost’ carriers?
Maybe more news on the BRT concept from GRTC?

At the same time, remember that Richmond is considered a test market for all sorts of advertising and new product launches. To that end, right now we see a new campaign for energy conservation sponsored by Shell Oil (perhaps part of a larger efforts, including the oxymoronic ‘clean coal’. Perhaps we will learn more about this on April 30 at the Science Museum. Green or greenwashing?

Richmond may also see more electric vehicles in the near future. In addition to the latest from STIR and Richmond Segway tours, I keep hearing rumors of electric car chargers in Broad Street garages with giant solar canopy arrays. While I share questions about the overall economic sustainability of electric cars, others are already cheering possible environmental advantages.

Personally, I am less critical and more celebratory about more electric bicycles in Richmond. They are much less expensive than cars and with pedal assist, are easily more energy efficient. Rumor is that Virginia Commonwealth University will be introducing Sanyo eneLoops for its police in order to enforce parking regulations. This, plus Richmond Bike Week, immediately improves the mood.

The new MegaBuses offer a glimmer of hope as well, increasing routes and perhaps doing what government could not by supplying a transfer station in Shockoe Bottom.

Still, at the very least, hopefully the members of the Richmond First Club will recognize that coal, and specifically CSX coal trains, are holding back passenger rail transportation. Mitigate the coal trade, clean up Acca train yard, and let passenger rail work. As I have expressed before, Richmond sits on a Gordian knot that includes strands of energy and transportation policies and must be loosened at all ends before real progress can be made. Sadly, locally as well as nationally, corporations and their demand for short-term profits seem to have a lock hold on those policies and any long term thinking that would benefit country or citizens.

MoveOn.org Protest In Monroe Park On Tuesday

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MoveOn.org, in partnership with other groups, has announced a public demonstration, scheduled for 5:30 pm on Tuesday.

From the event website:

Come join us Tuesday, March 15th in support of the Nationwide Defend the Dream event. WE MUST mobilize thousands of people again for this national day of action before the March 18 budget deadline. It is crucial the nationwide momentum keep building for this fight which was begun by the brave people in Madison, WI. It is time for all of The People to STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN!!! Life, Liberty, and Freedom.

We cannot depend on the progressive fighters in Congress to do it all. They need to hear our voices and me must be Loud and Clear. It is time for “We The People” to STAND UP and FIGHT for the American Dream before it is destroyed by political extremists.

Please take an hour of your time to join us in Solidarity to save the middle class. Our future depends upon our voices being heard.

In the meantime, Occupy Monroe Park has launched a new website with their demands.

General Assembly In Violation of Virginia Constitution?

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Despite the opposition and hard work of Oregon Hill’s state senator, Donald McEachin, the Virginia General Assembly Senate passed Senate Bill 1025. An identical bill (HB 2123) passed in the House of Delegates last month, and Governor Bob McDonnell is expected to sign the legislation into law.

These bills, if signed into law, would tie the hands of Virginia officials, restricting their ability to use the effluent testing and water quality monitoring necessary to protect Virginia’s waterways and communities from the severe impacts of surface mining. The law would also repeal the State Water Control Board’s authority over an important category of pollution discharge permits, eroding the authority of this board of citizen experts.

This violates Virginia’s Constitution. Section 1 of Article XI of the Virginia constitution is particularly relevant, and I quote it here (bolding added for emphasis):

To the end that the people have clean air, pure water, and the use and enjoyment for recreation of adequate public lands, waters, and other natural resources, it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to conserve, develop, and utilize its natural resources, its public lands, and its historical sites and buildings. Further, it shall be the Commonwealth’s policy to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction, for the benefit, enjoyment, and general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth.

“Clean water and clean air have been assaulted from day one of this General Assembly session. Whether it’s loopholes in the permitting process for coal mines, or extending coal subsidies in Virginia, this General Assembly has done all they can to create a safety net for the coal industry,” said J.R. Tolbert, assistant director of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “If we didn’t know any better, you’d think Virginia had become a corporate welfare state.”

Where does the Tea Party stand on this one? Or do they only care about certain parts of the federal Constitution?

Meanwhile In The General Assembly…McEachin Powers on

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Oregon Hill’s State Senator Donald McEachin is doing great work to push forward a clean energy agenda for Virginia in the current General Assembly session.

Sadly, his bill to limit offshore oil drilling (while promoting offshore wind), SB814, died in committee yesterday. This is particularly galling to those concerned about the undue influence of the fossil fuel corporations and their disasters.

Fortunately, there are other bills to root for. In particular, SB907, also sponsored by McEachin, which is now scheduled to come up (again) in the Senate Commerce and Labor committee next week. SB907 would direct the State Corporation Commission to order utilities to develop an appropriate pricing strategy to incentivize residential customers to reduce their consumption. Inclining block rates (IBR) is just such a strategy and is designed so that the more electricity consumers use, the more they pay, sending a price signal, especially to high-use residential customers, to reduce their consumption.

Does this sound familiar? It should, because it is similar to the municipal water reform that Oregon Hill residents have lobbied for in the recent past. Paying for what you use and rewarding conservation makes the sort of common sense that many citizens want to see on all levels of our government.

Plastic Bag Debate

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Bag on Belvidere

RVANews is covering the General Assembly debate.

A few points that are still not getting through to the public are the extent to which plastic bag litter is negatively impacting our environment/wildlife, how much bags are interfering with farming harvests, how much oil can conserved by reducing plastic bag use, and how much money businesses could save by not offering bags.

SATURDAY RALLY & MARCH FOR JOBS, PEACE & JUSTICE

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The following is not particular to Oregon Hill, but this event is close by in downtown where I am not sure there is another community blog to cover it. Besides, this neighborhood does have a history of activism…

From announcement:

On Saturday, Jan. 15, the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., community advocates and supporters from across Virginia will gather in downtown Richmond to tell the 2011 General Assembly:

Reform the prison laws!
Equal rights for immigrants!
Reclaim Richmond’s African Burial Ground!
Don’t balance the budget on the backs of Virginia’s working people!
Money for jobs & education, not for wars & occupations!

1 p.m. – RALLY – Kanawha Plaza, 8th & Canal streets, Richmond, VA
2 p.m. – MARCH – to the Virginia State Capitol and the African Burial Ground