James River Advocates Upset About Dominion Dumping Plan

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Scott

Dominion is planning on dumping MILLIONS of gallons of highly toxic coal ash wastewater PER DAY into Virginia’s waterways, including our James River.

The State Water Control Board’s final vote on Thursday, Jan. 14, to grant the utility company the state permit required to pump waste from the coal ash ponds at Bremo Bluff Power Station in Fluvanna, up river of Richmond.
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The public forum prior to the permit hearing takes place at the State Water Control Board meeting starting at about 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14 at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries at 7870 Villa Park Drive.

Burger’s Bernie Belly Crawl Challenge

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Scott

Ahhh politics…and in particular the U.S. Presidential race. A lot of people will look down their noses at my forthcoming expression of opinion. Some will rightly say that a community news site should concentrate on local level politics that have more of an immediate impact on the community it represents, while others will disdain any local opinion whatsoever based on their notions of propriety or something. I disregard them, in part because I agree with the adage that all politics is local, and in part because I desire MORE community engagement with politics in general. It should be obvious, but here I insert a disclaimer that I do not portend to represent ALL of Oregon Hill residents’ opinion on anything (unless, perhaps, when I am wearing my crown).

Anyway…so yeah, currently one of the big questions is if Senator Bernie Sanders can successfully upstage Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Now, like a lot of people, I have been a fan of Bernie for a long time for many of his stands as an “Independent” in Congress (though not all of them). However, I am betting that he will not gain the nomination for a couple of different reasons. Bernie Sanders will not be on the ballot in November. I would love to be proven wrong. So much so that I am willing to make a friendly wager/challenge on this- I hereby announce that if Senator Bernie Sanders does become the Democratic Party nominee for President, I, Scott Burger, promise to crawl on my belly south from Idlewood Avenue down to the James River. (In the unlikely circumstance that I lose this bet, I will concede my loss on a date of my choosing, and upon losing, and I will fulfill my promise to do this crawl on a time and date of my choosing.)

So, if you want to help Bernie or would enjoy seeing me punished and brought low for my political thoughts, I urge you to vote in the Democratic Primary on March 1st and see if you can help prove me wrong. (By the way, I am certainly not alone in this crude speculation and if you would like to bet real money, there are already websites that will cater to this.)

Having issued this challenge, who then am I supporting in the Presidential election? Click for more… Continue reading →

State Senate Political Debate Set For VCU on Oct. 20

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Scott

From VCU press release:

10th District Virginia Senate candidates to face off at VCU

RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 14, 2015) – The leading candidates for the 10th District seat in the Virginia Senate will field questions from young voters at a town hall on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Republican Glen Sturtevant and Democrat Dan Gecker will discuss key issues from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 303 of Hibbs Hall, 900 Park Ave., on VCU’s Monroe Park campus.

The event is sponsored by Virginia21, a nonpartisan group representing the state’s young voters; the VCU chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists; and VCU’s Department of Political Science and the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Gecker, a member of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors, and Sturtevant, a member of the Richmond School Board, are vying to succeed Republican Sen. John Watkins, who is retiring.

The outcome of the Nov. 3 election could determine whether Republicans continue to control the Virginia General Assembly. The GOP dominates the House of Delegates and has a 21-19 advantage in the Virginia Senate.

Watkins is considered a political moderate who has sided with Democrats on some issues, such as expanding Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income residents. In recent statewide elections, the 10th Senate District has leaned Democratic.

The district includes parts of the VCU campus, part of Chesterfield County and all of Powhatan County. For a full map of the district, go to: http://www.vpap.org/offices/state-senate-10/district-map/.

During the town hall, Sturtevant and Gecker will answer questions from a panel of young voters assembled by Virginia21. They will include VCU, community college and high school students. The candidates will also take questions from the audience.

The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Guests must RSVP at: bit.ly/VA21TownHallatVCU.

Libertarian Carl Loser and Independent Marleen Durfee also are running for the 10th Senate District seat. It is among a half-dozen Senate races that are considered especially competitive this fall.

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Water: A Tale Of Two Cities

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Scott

This past month, the Richmond Times Dispatch featured some interesting editorial back and forth about Norfolk’s tax policies.

Why not also compare the water/sewer rate structure of Richmond and Norfolk?

Richmond water/sewer customers must pay $29 monthly just to be connected to the water supply, but there is no comparable service charge in Norfolk. Though their volume charge is slightly higher, the customer’s bill in Norfolk is directly correlated to the amount of water used. By contrast, Richmond water/sewer customers who conserve water are actually subsidizing those who waste water because of the high base service charge. A Richmond customer who uses 1 unit of water/sewer service monthly (748 gallons) will pay $39.05 monthly, which is over three times what a Norfolk customer pays for 1 unit of service.

Additionally, Richmond water/sewer customers are unjustly slapped with a charge in lieu of federal income tax on every unit of water, but customers in Norfolk do not pay a federal income tax surcharge on their water bills. While the Richmond utilities are authorized to charge the customers a payment in lieu of taxes that a private business would pay to the city, there is no business that pays federal income tax to the city. Altogether the city water/sewer customers are gouged around $5 million annually on their water bills in lieu of federal income tax, and this is the most regressive means of raising general funds revenue for the city. This is especially egregious, given that the City of Richmond sells water to the surrounding counties, who in turn, charge their citizens less.

Let’s learn from Norfolk’s fair water/sewer rate structure that rewards conservation and does not unjustly add a federal income tax surcharge onto the water bill. This should also be a campaign issue for our City and General Assembly political candidates.

Venture Richmond And Local Media Ignoring Concerns On Amphitheater Rezoning

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Scott

Last week, there was a Richmond Symphony stage put up on Tredegar Green to “test the site”. There was no notification to the neighborhood and several neighbors did ask about it. The stage was taken down and it appears that the actual event will occur on Brown’s Island. (Did it violate the “four day rule”?) However, to put it politely, this seems a bit premature and it would have helped to have a courtesy heads-up from Venture Richmond staff while they are supposedly working with the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association to rezone the Tredegar Green property.

In fact, it appears that Venture Richmond is once again arrogantly and deliberately planning to ignore community concerns. A quick look at latest submissions to the City Planning office confirms that Venture Richmond’s plan appears to fall far short of the neighborhood association’s proposal. (It’s also important to recall that there is no “Tredegar Green” amphitheater in the City’s Riverfront Plan.)

For example, the section on “Building Restriction”: instead of a limitation stating that no permanent structures would be built, Venture Richmond is proposing that only structures on the City-owned portion of the property would be reviewed by the Urban Design Committee and Planning Commission (while buildings up to 95 feet in height could be built on the Venture Richmond-owned land by right!)

Below is a photo today of the grand view from the terrace of the Virginia War Memorial. This is certainly one of the most important viewsheds in Richmond.

Also below is quick photoshop illustrating how this view would be impacted if a building 95 feet in height were built on Tredegar Green, as permitted by the DCC zoning proposed by Venture Richmond. This is a view that should be protected by a restriction on any permanent structures in Tredegar Green, as the neighborhood association has proposed.

Will there be any un-biased media coverage going forward? Oregon Hill neighbors fear that Folk Festival coverage will once again be used to drown out community voices and promises will once again be dishonorably broken. The Times Dispatch, Richmond Free Press, along with other local media outlets are corporate ‘partners’ of Venture Richmond. Who represents the regular citizens on Venture Richmond’s board? This week Style magazine published its 2015 Power List issue with Venture Richmond’s Jack Berry and no mention of his Shockoe stadium campaign or the destruction of the Tredegar wall or Kanawha Canal. No mention of why so many citizens have knicknamed Venture Richmond as “Vulture Richmond”. No mention of the lobbying, tax exemptions, and no-bid lease arrangements. With Venture Richmond increasing ties to WRIR, it looks like they will have all the local media locked up. I remember when former Oregon Hill resident Chris Maxwell and I were excited about creating a community radio station that eschewed corporate donations and influence. Sadly, for many Oregon Hill residents who have supported that WRIR vision over the years, it has been compromised and corrupted.

Despite Style’s Power rhetoric, are “RVA”‘s political winds REALLY on the verge of shifting?

Congressional 3rd District Redistricting

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Scott

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

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Scott

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

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Scott

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

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Scott

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

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Scott

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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