Category Archives: editorial

A Positive Step For School Modernization

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Local media are reporting about the announced school funding plan from Mayor Stoney that should satisfy the 2017 School Modernization Referendum. The WRIC report includes these highlights of the plan:

Successfully provides $800 million of school capital investment over 20 years;
Does not rely on any real estate tax increase;
Includes $150 million of school capital investment funding based on the recently enacted 1.5% meals tax that is dedicated to Schools;
Allows for full compliance with all of the city’s existing Debt Policy Guidelines;
Provides significant capital funding for general non-school projects over the same 20-year time frame;
Relies on 2% growth in the city’s debt service budget commencing in FY 2024, a rate that is below that of historic inflation and is a fraction of the city’s recent growth in taxable real estate assessed valuation.

Paul Goldman, who was the author of the Put Schools First campaign and subsequent referendum (as well as the new one!) had this say:

Media/Stoney/Council/Democrats/Chamber finally understand the citizen led 2017 School Modernization Referendum. The Referendum effort had and has only one public spirited goal: Getting long denied RVA children out of decrepit, intolerable, immoral buildings conditions and into clean, modern, worthy facilities necessary to teach a true 21st century education. I knew – as did Richmond Crusade for Voters and Sierra Club – that City Hall, City Council, editorial writers, columnists, and Chamber of Commerce would not do it without putting the proverbial political gun to their heads. And if in the end City Hall, Council, editorialists, columnists, Chamber, et al join together to do the right thing, I will be cheering the loudest for them and give them all the credit.

So, wishing good fellowship for the holidays. We shall see more of the details of the Mayor’s plan when he presents it to City Council on January 14th. Let’s hope it includes lots of vision on including historic preservation, green building, and solar for our ailing school system.

‘Single-Family’ To Be Removed?

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From a concerned Richmond citizen:

The Richmond 300 group is meeting this Wednesday, and I was told by Ms. Pechin that they planned on voting at this meeting on the new future land use categories that will next year be assigned to neighborhoods throughout the city. According to the Ms. Pechin, they will be removing the “Single-family” designations and replacing them with a blanket “Residential” designation.

“Residential” would include high-rises and the terribly inappropriate development underway on the 800 block of W. Cary. It appears that the City government is making a concerted effort to foist higher density on the historic districts, including Oregon Hill.

In a recent vote, the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association voted that the future land use of Oregon Hill in the Richmond 300 plan should be designated as “Single-family” (medium density) with “Community/Commercial” on Cary Street. I am alarmed that the Richmond 300 group is removing the “Single-family” future land use designation for all of the neighborhoods. The Single-family designation is descriptive of the appropriate and desired future land use of Oregon Hill and is consistent with our R-7 zoning.

Coliseum Vs. Schools: Time For A New Referendum

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Well, this one has been bubbling for a while…but the Coliseum vs. Schools debate is about to rise to a new level. What? You say you don’t know what I am writing about? Click here for a quick refresher course.

Yesterday’s headlines made it pretty clear that Tom Farrell and VCU are going to play hard ball to make sure that their coliseum scheme comes first-

VCU Cancels University-wide Spring Commencement Ceremony

I was going to write a whole bit explaining this, but let’s allow Paul Goldman to do it:

Earth to RVA citizens: Why do think VCU is being denied use of the current Coliseum in May/2019 despite having used it for commencements since 1970’s? HINT: The Stoney/Farrell plan to use $500 million in PUBLIC RVA CITY money to build and finance a new Coliseum that will NOT be to owned by the city calls for demolishing the current Coliseum in March/2019! FACT: Farrell’s team is going around Richmond promising no-bid contracts to politically connected individuals if they will lobby the Council to ram thru this fiscally irresponsible Coliseum without giving RVA taxpayers a fair chance to weigh in. That’s why my citizen group is circulating the “Choose Children over Costly Coliseum” petition so you can sign it and put to Special Election vote as called for in the City Charter. Sign the petition! It’s your only way to truly be heard.

In other words, this is the ol’ fait accompli thing -“citizens can’t stop this new plan, it’s already been decided and in the works“…………. WRONG!

We can still make sure that the City of Richmond PUTS SCHOOLS FIRST! Before the coliseum. Before any other giant corporate welfare project.

What Goldman is referring to is his new City referendum effort to establish by law that the City has to put money from certain types of financing towards SCHOOLS FIRST. It will not be on the ballot this Election Day, but referendum supporters will be collecting signatures for a petition to get the new referendum on the ballot in 2019. It’s going to be interesting to see if a good coalition of grassroots can come together like the last time. Goldman is looking for more poll volunteers and donations for this new campaign.

And by the way, speaking of last time, that original PUT SCHOOLS FIRST referendum became law this year. Tick tock, Mayor Stoney, City Council, School Board. Citizens want to see a real school modernization plan come together before the end of the year- if the Education Compact can’t do it, then figure it on your own. Relying on increasing state funding only goes so far, when there is plenty of corporate welfare that should be cut anyway. Don’t be scared this Halloween, it’s time to lead and PUT SCHOOLS FIRST.

Ranked Choice Voting Meeting Thursday

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From FaceBook event page:

Looking for a concrete way to restore some sanity to politics?

Turns out there’s a better way to vote. It’s called ranked choice voting, and it’s spreading nationwide. In ranked choice elections, you don’t just vote for one candidate. You get to rank the candidates from most to least favorite: your 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on. These “instant runoff” ballots let voters back their favorite candidates while ensuring that winners still earn majority support.

Cities across the country — from San Francisco to St. Paul to Santa Fe — use RCV, and in 2018 Maine became the first state to use ranked choice ballots statewide.

Virginia saw its first ranked choice legislation nearly clear the House of Delegates last spring, and FairVote Virginia is hard at work to see it through in 2019. Join us at Union Market in Richmond to debrief on our latest legislative efforts and learn how you can help bring RCV to VA.

5:30 PM – 6:30 PM,
Union Market
2306 Jefferson Ave, Richmond, Virginia 23223

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FairVote Virginia is VA’s chapter of the national FairVote movement to advance ranked choice voting. Visit our website at fairvoteva.org to learn more.

This community news site has proudly editorialized in favor of ranked choice voting for years now.

American-Made Solar Prize, RVA Solar Tour, And Yes, Solar Schools

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Tonight, there is an event at HackRVA about the American-Made Solar Prize. This event is FREE and open to the public! Local nonprofit Indie Lab is entering the American-Made Solar Prize competition and is making a presentation on their entry. Wait, what is this? It’s a $3 million prize competition designed to revitalize U.S. solar manufacturing through a series of contests and the development of a diverse and powerful support network that leverages national laboratories, energy incubators, and other resources across the country. The American-Made Solar Prize is directed and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. Learn more here: https://americanmadechallenges.org/solarprize.html
See their presentation event, then help them put Richmond on the map for solar innovations! For those unable to be physically present, they will be streaming the event using Zoom. Please follow the link to connect: https://zoom.us/j/663212254
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Also, coming up this weekend, the RVA Solar Tour, part of the National Solar Tour. And yes, there is an Oregon Hill house on the tour. Here is a word from sponsor Virginia Sierra Club:

RICHMOND, Virginia – This weekend, the Greater Richmond Solar Tour will take place as part of the world’s largest grassroots solar event. Across the country, homeowners, businesses, volunteers, solar installers, public officials and grassroots organizations will welcome the public to learn more about solar energy. The tour, made up of energy efficient and solar-powered buildings, includes eight locations open for touring in the greater Richmond area this year.

The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, in partnership with the American Solar Energy Society and Solar United Neighbors of Virginia, will host the Greater Richmond Solar Tour. Information about the solar installations and the benefits of solar energy will be available to tour participants.

The kickoff event for the Richmond Solar Tour will be held at 10:30 a.m. at 4986 Burnham Road in Chesterfield, at the home of former Sierra Club Virginia Chapter director Glen Besa and Tyla Matteson, long-time advocates for solar energy. Attendees will have the chance to see solar installation in their own communities and ask direct questions of homeowners about the positive impacts to their lives and the environment.

The public is encouraged to stop by any of the featured tour locations on Saturday, October 6 and Sunday, October 7 in area homes in the City of Richmond, Chesterfield and Caroline Counties. A full list of locations is available at https://nationalsolartour.org/tour-locations/

WHO: Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, American Solar Energy Society, Solar United Neighbors of Virginia. Speakers at the kick-off event will include: Glen Besa, Solar Advocate, Drew Gallagher, Richmond Sales Manager at Sigora Solar and Zach Jarjoura, Conservation Program Manager at the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter.

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 6, 2018

WHERE: The home of Glen Besa and Tyla Matteson, 4986 Burnham Road, North Chesterfield, Virginia 23234

For more information, contact Zach Jarjoura, 804-241-8226, zachary.jarjoura@sierraclub.org

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Last but not least, a bit of editorial- Governor Ralph Northam is trying to make up for his status as a ‘Pipeline Democrat’ by announcing an energy policy that includes more renewable energy, including more solar. The big picture is that the world is looking increasingly grim with climate change.

At the same time, Virginia knows it needs to modernize its schools. Richmond, of course, is an epicenter for this need. Why not look upon this as an opportunity to update, build, and renovate every school in Virginia for green building and solar?
Why not do what other states are doing, and turn ‘solar schools’ into emergency shelters for hurricanes and other disasters? This community news site will continue to advocate for using solar as a solution for emergency planning in the state.

#MeToo Revolt

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Quick editorial on national politics..(hey, the Times Dispatch does it…):

As expected, Russiagate has not resulted in much, and certainly not Trump’s impeachment, at least not yet. Real evidence of Russian election tampering has NOT come forward, despite all the past hoopla and promises by intelligence agencies (which should tell you something about the overall credibility of intelligence agencies). Furthermore, what evidence has come forward (at great cost to a few brave individuals) gives credence to groups like the Green Party, which steadfastly denies the Russian hysteria, and continues to press for needed election reform in the face of traditional, domestic (mostly Republican) voting suppression.

Meanwhile, you cannot listen to the news without hearing about Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh’s sexual assault accusations. Rightly so, this is starting to re-energize the #MeToo movement. This community news site endorses #MeToo and encourages it to go forth boldly (something candidate Trump did initially also, until it became clear he was being accused also).

What is curious is why it ever took a breather. Over a dozen women have accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault. Yet for the most part, media and ‘leadership’ have ignored them. Why? Are their stories not as compelling if not more compelling than Kavanaugh’s accusers’?
The American people should be demanding investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s sexual assaults NOW.

Centrists cowardly hide behind legalities and past cultural norms. Groups like ‘We The Resistance’ tell citizens not to be ‘gaslighted’, to #BelieveSurvivors and that ‘We have 3 days to #CancelKavanaugh’. But that’s it, no further. Not when new accusations cut close to their own. The current politicians don’t really want to challenge Trump or the overall power structure on sexual assaults or crooked business deals. While current politicians decide which sexual assaults they want to highlight and which ones they want to ignore, they are doing the same thing with wars. The fact is that we need the inherent, grassroots, leftist populism within #MeToo to counter the right-wing populism in power. Other countries are watching and hoping. #MeToo should not be kept under a moribund DNC leader’s leash.

Let’s hope #MeToo finds its independent voice again and inspires millions of citizens of all genders to take to the streets and demand real political change- meaning not just ‘draining the swamp’, not just forcing Trump out of office, but overturning the whole corrupt corporate duopoly that has brought this country so low. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let’s hope it becomes more inclusive- not just about getting female, ex-C.I.A. agents elected but making sure other voices are not just heard but heeded, before it is too late. Don’t settle for #Resist, it’s time for a #Revolt.

Seeking Healthier, Greener Richmond (Including Monroe Park)

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Tomorrow night, the VCU Institute For Contemporary Art is hosting the following event:

Artist’s Choice: Art + Science
WEDNESDAY, SEP 19
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

As Richmond strives to adapt to climate change this conversation, led by artist Jon-Phillip Sheridan, explores a number of related questions. How do we make our community healthier? How can we rectify social environmental injustice? What changes can be made to zoning to stop creating areas that are substantially hotter, have more air pollution and are food deserts?

Join Sheridan and urban farm activist Duron Chavis, bioengineer Stephen Fong, forest ecologist Chris Gough, and sustainability manager Alicia Zatcoff as they explore green urbanism and grassroots strategies to mitigate pollution and the urban heat island effect.

Audience members will receive native plant seed packets provided by Enrichmond Treelab. After the conversation, learn more about how you can get involved and enjoy free snacks and a cash bar at ICA’s Ellwood Thompson’s Cafe.

Jon-Phillip Sheridan is Assistant Professor at VCUarts Department of Photography and Film. Sheridan deconstructs photographs and found images, creating meticulous, kaleidoscopic arrangements that question materiality and the paradox of the picture plane itself.

Duron Chavis developed and organizes the McDonough Community Garden, an 8500 sq ft community garden located in a USDA denoted food desert in southside Richmond. He is the Manager of Community Engagement at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, where he coordinates initiatives around the topics of urban agriculture and food security.

Stephen Fong is Associate Professor of Chemical and Life Science Engineering at VCU. His research group works on systems biology, computational modeling, synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and microbial evolution. Recently, Dr. Fong started SustainLab as an undergraduate research group focused on sustainability/quality of life topics.

Chris Gough is Assistant Professor of Biology at VCU. His research focuses on how climate, disturbance, and management shape forest, wetland, and urban ecosystem interactions with the climate system through their effects on atmospheric greenhouse gases. Chris is an advocate of open science and education resources, arts-sciences inte

Alicia Zatcoff is the first Sustainability Manager for the City of Richmond. She founded and developed the city’s sustainability and energy management program, focusing on improving the economic and environmental performance of city government and making RVA more livable, competitive, and resilient.

Sounds great. But here is something very important to consider- the VCU administration is responsible along with the Monroe Park Conservancy for the destruction of over 576 inches DBH of healthy mature trees in Monroe Park (the equivalent of 165 newly planted trees). Make no mistake about it, using the private-public partnership of the Monroe Park Conservancy, VCU officials have successfully connived their way around the desires, needs, and demands of City residents after previous attempts to do so failed. The problems with the Monroe Park ‘renovations’ have been documented. It is clear that the Mayor and City officials are determined to ignore them, but it is imperative that shade trees be replaced in this oldest of city parks to mitigate air pollution, storm water runoff and to reestablish wildlife habitat.

Here is the Feb 2017 tree exhibit that was presented to the City’s Urban Design Committee as part of the “Pavilion presentation”. It shows where the two replacement trees were supposed to go as well as the location of the “allee” plantings. As fence around Monroe Park FINALLY comes down, and tree planting season approaches, City Parks Director Frelke and other officials have a duty to make sure that VCU and the Conservancy add promised replacement trees, even if they will never make up for what was taken.

Open Letter In Regard To ONE VCU Master Plan Draft Open Houses

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In Regard To ONE VCU Master Plan Draft Open Houses, the following was recently sent to VCU officials, local media, local government, neighbors, and ‘community partners’:

Dear Dr. Weiss,

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association representatives have met with you repeatedly, and have repeatedly respectfully requested two things:
1) A commitment that VCU will not encroach further south of West Cary Street into the Oregon Hill Historic District.
2) A commitment that VCU will limit the height of buildings on the north side of West Cary Street to 3 or four stories out of respect for the Oregon Hill Historic District across the street.

Unfortunately, to my knowledge the neighborhood has yet to receive any commitment to these two issues.

Oregon Hill residents have pointed out that since VCU has a Memorandum of Understanding with the distant country of Cuba, it is perplexing why VCU cannot engage with a Memorandum of Understanding on these two points of neighborhood concern with VCU’s adjacent neighbor, Oregon Hill.

As you are finalizing the draft of the VCU Master Plan, please consider these valid concerns of your neighbors in Oregon Hill.

Sincerely,

Scott Burger
(served as President of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, 2003 to 2010, and as OHNA VCU liaison)

VCU’s ‘Free Ride’

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This past week Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) announced that it had signed an agreement with the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) that will give their students and employees unlimited access to the new $65 million Pulse system and all other GRTC bus routes. In other words, as much local media trumpeted, VCU students and workers will get to ride ‘for free’.

Of course, this is welcome news. If nothing else, it may alleviate parking pressures and reduce carbon emissions. However, Richmond citizens should look past the headlines and consider the big picture of VCU’s ‘free ride’.

The conversation about the need to grow GRTC and mass transit in general has increased measurably as VCU has grown in both population and physical plant. All along, this community news site has advocated for more commitment from counties and universities to GRTC and mass transit. This call has only increased as ‘The Pulse’ BRT project has spent federal and state funds for implementation.

The problem is that with federal and state monies now spent, more and more of the cost burden will be shifted back to City taxpayers. And VCU, despite the announcement this week, is still falling very short in its commitment. $1.2 million is a drop in the bucket. Heck, VCU probably spent close to $1.2 million on all of the PR for their new ICA building. One year is not that long. Consider that VCU has made more of a commitment to its basketball coach than Richmond’s mass transit.

So what, the neoliberals say, college basketball brings in more money and GRTC can’t even support itself. VCU spends so much on transportation per student, university administrators say (if I was a student, I would be looking at where that money is going exactly). Yet, despite supposed sports profits and rising tuition, more poor and longterm Richmond residents are getting forced out of the City with rising tax bills. The City of Richmond continues to pay the overwhelming majority of GRTC’s budget and now it has increased its operational costs. Remember when ‘The Pulse’ backers said that it was designed to help Richmond’s poor? Now the largest entity by far on ‘The Pulse’ route is hedging its bets and waiting to see how the chips fall.

The local media and elected officials should be questioning this ‘deal’ more, but the majority of them won’t for fear of falling out of VCU’s favor (and advertising budget). If VCU alumni want to arrogantly claim that ‘they built this city’, they should be required to put their money where their mouth is. Other urban universities do more than brag.

Education Compact Meeting Scheduled/Goldman’s Proposal

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On Monday, July 30 at 6pm City Council, the School Board, and the Mayor are meeting for the Education Compact quarterly joint meeting at the Main Richmond Public Library (101 East Franklin Street).

It will be very interesting to see if there are substantial changes in direction and priority. From an earlier post:

One big question is if the Mayor and other leaders who ran and were elected on ‘Education’ platforms will continue to champion the Tom Farrell coliseum plan while ignoring the Put Schools First movement. No doubt, we will hear the same tired and false arguments about how Richmond needs to increase its tax base BEFORE modernizing schools. Don’t fall for them. Take note of what is being financed before school modernization, and who proposes what. Another question is what political candidates will eventually emerge to challenge the leaders who don’t want to put schools first.

Meanwhile, from former Chairperson of the Democratic Party of Virginia and local activist Paul Goldman, on school modernization financing:

Part (1): STATE LEVEL. Assuming the $250 million annual projection is accurate, it is being both principled and pragmatic to propose using $150 million of the $250 million to support the debt service on the first-ever state K-12 school bond issue. To repeat: These are not funds from a new tax but merely from taxes currently owed yet knowingly not paid. Thus both parties can support this approach without violating any platform promises. Part (2): LOCAL LEVEL. Since this is a first-ever proposal, it makes sense to ask localities – legally responsible for local school maintenance and modernization – to match $100 million from this historic state contribution. I have studied local financial resources. This is a very fair number to use with accomations for certain distressed localities. Part (3): Brown II Mandate: The fact Virginia refused or failed, depending on your point of view, to live up to the state’s responsibility under the long overlooked maintenance and modernization part of the decision doesn’t justify continuing to avoid responsibility 63 years later! Indeed, the opposite imperative is more to the point. In that regard, the state can afford to allocate $150 million annually to fix school facilities covered by that case but never properly addressed.
THE BOND ISSUE MATH:’
Part (1) can pay debt service for roughly a $ 3 billion dollar 30 year bond issue at current rates. Part (2) can pay debt service for roughly another $ 2 billion and Part (3) can pay debt service for roughly an additional $3 billion. Added together: $8 billion potential. The plan outline assumes the state will be backing everything and that certain laws will be amended accordingly. Thus a bipartisan consensus is possible to develop an historic state/local effort to address the “crumbling” school facility crisis distressing Governor Northam. I have conceived it as a pilot program, requiring state and localities to work together here. Should the Kaine-Evans legislation pass, the dramatic reduction in local school modernization costs for many projects would allow the bond issue contemplated here to be more far reaching.
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The key point: All three parts are independent by design . Part 1 is the base of any state initiative. It can pass stand alone. Part II is my judgment of a likely political decision to have a match type requiremeant with consideration for hard pressed areas. Part III is my own view that a Brown II initiative is both orally and historically justified/right thing to do and would be enactable you got pervious consensus for Parts 1 and 2. Like any other bold out of the box idea, it is a work in progress, designed for improvement by others. But progress requires someone doing the work to get it out there so the discussion has a concrete reference point. Improvements welcomed!