Judging from the poster above, the protests will continue, with some starting in Monroe Park.
Protests Continue
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Category Archives: politics
Protest Starting In Monroe Park
Neighbors are hoping this will be like the protest march we saw at Brown’s Island yesterday, but they are bracing for worse outcomes:
DISHONORABLE AND DISGUSTING ‘Business Leaders’ Pressuring City Councilperson’s Employer
The Richmond Free Press newspaper yesterday published an article on the doomed ‘Navy Hill’ project, in which it also confirmed what 5th district residents have already been hearing- ‘business leaders’ who live in the surrounding counties are putting pressure on our City Councilperson though her employer. That’s not just inappropriate, it’s deliberately attempting to subvert democracy. It’s VILE, DISHONORABLE, AND DISGUSTING.
It’s great to see the community-oriented Richmond Free Press buck the system and make this particular story known, but more has to be done to dig this scum out. Earlier this week, we saw more corporate media, notably the Times Disgrace newspaper, run articles that not so subtly conveyed ridiculous threats- that if ‘Navy Hill’ does not happen, sick children would suffer and jobs would be lost and it would all be City Council and ‘activists” fault. Never mind that Richmond schools would again lose or that VCU Medical as a massive nonprofit hospital is not exactly penniless, or that Richmond citizens are under NO obligation to provide sweetheart deals to any corporation and we don’t have to give up more real estate to VCU’s empire.
Now, sadly, this is nothing new for Richmond. Citizens have heard many other tales of infamous arm twisting of decision makers by ‘business leaders’ who want to coerce government. And this sort of thing is happening at every level, from City Council and City department, to Urban Design Committee to even neighborhood association.
It’s part of Richmond’s dirty secret- that while there are good opportunities here with amazing natural and historic resources and Southern charm, the civic scene is one of oppression. Yes, the United States has become a country increasingly under the undue influence of corporations in commerce, society, and government, but Richmond’s top-down, almost aristocratic, corporate rule is overwhelming.
It has been for a long time a deep corruption where public concerns and priorities are thrown aside for corporate ones. Decade after decade, Richmond citizens have seen this again and again in everything from arts, to parks, from riverfront planning to even down to our water utility payments.
It should be made immediately clear that what happened to Councilperson Lynch reflects poorly on ALL of Navy Hill’s backers- Venture Richmond (previously known as Richmond Renaissance), RVA Chamber of Commerce, Retail Merchants, VCU administration, and, of course, the monopoly that controls our State Capital, Dominion. The public should hold them all in contempt until there are sincere apologies.
What should citizens do?
Of course, they should shame these people and groups’ DISHONORABLE AND DISGUSTING arm twisting tactics for this, and previous transgressions.
Last week, the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, having heard these allegations, immediately voted at its January meeting to oppose the Navy Hill Dominion-VCU coliseum scheme in its current form. Other civic guards should do the same- reject the Navy Hill scheme WITH PREJUDICE and STAND BY AND SUPPORT our PUBLIC officials, at least the ones are honest and have not given in to the corporate slime.
Furthermore, citizens should look to reform measures- not only ones that promote transparency, but ones that beat back corporate influence altogether. On the local level, consider that the City of Charlottesville joined localities all across the nation and passed a resolution in support of the Move To Amend movement, which would overturn the Supreme Court’s terrible Citizens’ United decision and establish that corporations are not people and money is not speech. Why not the City of Richmond? Why not for both the federal AND state constitutions?
Speaking of state, support HB111 in the General Assembly. Let’s take this City and state back from Dominion control!
In the wake of the public exposure of the corporate hegemony, now’s not the time to go on with business as usual, but to revolt and demand better. If RVA is truly going to live up to its potential, we need to throw the corporate welfare mavens out for good!
Unrepresented Film Screening On Tuesday
The political documentary film ‘Unrepresented’ will be showed on Jan 28, at 6:00 PM at the VCU Commons Theater (901 Floyd Ave).
From the event page:
The documentary Unrepresented investigates the mechanisms that give political insiders enormous, unchecked power. If you are tired of the status quo taking place in Virginia, then come to the screening of the documentary and take part in a panel discussion following the movie to see the unprecedented movements taking shape to break this cycle. Engage with panel speakers Virginia Del. Sam Rasoul; Jeff Thomas, author of The Virginia Way: Democracy and Power after 2016; Liz White, Deputy Director of OneVirginia2021; Elizabeth Melson, President of FairVote Virginia; and Nancy Morgan of the Virginia chapter of American Promise. Hear about the grassroots movements taking place here at the state level that you can join to make a difference.
Richmond is the first stop on the film’s State Capital Tour across the country. Come ensure you are Represented!
Burger’s Bernie Belly Crawl Challenge II: The Sequel
Well, it’s been four long years…and, sadly, here we are again…and again, I insert the disclaimer that I do not portend to represent ALL of Oregon Hill residents’ opinion on anything (unless, perhaps, when I am wearing my crown)…
Many Oregon Hill residents, and citizens in general, are pinning hopes on the Senator from Vermont in his renewed run for President. While I truly like Bernie’s story and many of his stances (but not all of them), the reality is that the Democratic National Committee will never, ever allow him their nomination. They don’t want anyone who will rock their corporate sponsors’ boats, go anti-war, or sincerely promote the idea of single payer health care for the United States. They will dishonesty smear one way or another, cheat (again) one way or another, or worse to prevent him from receiving the nomination.
For his part, Sanders has promised to support whoever does receive the Democratic nomination. Harnessing fear and the noise of the ‘But Trump’-ets’, the Democrats will undoubtedly select someone who is very similar to their last Presidential candidate (note that Clinton has been meeting with Warren already), coming dangerously close to the 2016 strategy (but hopefully not repeating the previous, disgusting mistake of elevating Trump’s racism).
I repeat my friendly wager/challenge- I hereby announce that if Senator Bernie Sanders does become the Democratic Party’s 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 3rd and see if you can help prove me wrong. Will any ‘Bernie bros’ (or gals) dare to bet against me- pledge to do the belly crawl if I am right and he does not receive the nomination? (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.)
The sequel to my 2016 challenge with the same thoughts- as with some other bets, I sincerely hope I am wrong. This country needs a big change in direction- it needs the left wing populism represented by Sanders as an antidote to the right wing populism unleashed by the Conman-In-Chief, Donald Trump.
With Virginia’s electoral votes likely going to the blue team again, I am personally planning to continue my Green Party streak. But if I am sadly correct about the situation, the real question is what will Sanders supporters do when he is no longer in the race. With electoral reform still far off, I am not optimistic about the country’s direction, even if Trump is defeated.
“VCU, and not Richmond residents, stands to gain from Navy Hill project”
Laurel Street neighbor Charles Pool has a letter to the editor in this week’s Richmond Free Press. For some people, it will clarify how this SHAMEFUL VCU/Dominion sponsored scam is distracting from truly public priorities like fixing our schools.
VCU, and not Richmond residents, stands to gain from Navy Hill project
The main beneficiary of the proposed Navy Hill project is Virginia Commonwealth University, not Richmond’s residents.
Dominion Energy Chief Executive Officer Tom Farrell II, who also heads the Navy Hill Development Corp., sat on VCU’s Board of Visitors, and his son, Peter Farrell, recently was appointed to the VCU board by Gov. Ralph S. Northam.
The newly approved VCU Master Plan quietly includes plans to partner in the Navy Hill development: “VCU and VCU Health System support the project and are exploring potential partnerships.”
There exists a tremendous pent-up demand for housing and office space near VCU’s land-locked medical campus. However, the Navy Hill Development Corp. would have us believe that the city-owned land adjacent to the VCU campus is of depressed value and won’t be developed without their help. The city-owned land adjacent to VCU is worth many times the value stated in the Navy Hill proposal.
It is unseemly that the city accepted only one bid for the $1.5 billion Navy Hill project from Mr. Farrell’s group. Then, after the bids were closed, the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) zone morphed by 800 percent from 10 blocks to 80 blocks to include Mr. Farrell’s new Dominion tower south of Broad Street.
Richmond should not be duped into thinking that the proposed dorm-like studio apartments will help our low-income residents. The project’s ballyhooed 480 new affordable housing units would be occupied largely by students at VCU’s medical campus, which has a large shortage of dorm rooms.
Likewise, VCU needs the office and research space that would be built by the growing university, regardless of the Navy Hill project.
A new Richmond Coliseum would be a venue for VCU commencements, sporting events and concerts. So why is VCU, which pays no city real estate taxes, putting no “skin in the game” toward building the new Coliseum?
It is worth noting that the much-heralded John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville was built by the University of Virginia and not by the City of Charlottesville.
The unintended consequence of the Navy Hill District proposal would be to starve city schools of funding while subsidizing a development bonanza for VCU. It would be reckless for Richmond to mortgage all new revenue from 80 prime blocks of its Downtown for the next 30 years for this project.
Let’s hope that Richmond City Council votes down this Navy Hill boondoggle.
CHARLES POOL
Richmond
A couple of quick notes-
Don’t forget VCU President Rao’s disgraceful letter from last year.
There’s already talk that this ‘much-studied’ scheme will morph yet again, from an 80-block TIFF back to a 10-block TIFF. It has intentionally become a moving target.
Beyond state delegate Bourne’s bill, there is other possible boondoggle support coming from the General Assembly- as political activist Paul Goldman notes-
Is Speaker Filler-Corn’s Bill HB1414 creating new all powerful transportation agency a way to help Coliseum proponents bypass opponents to the development project, indeed city officials should the boondoggle get passed? Read lines 569-571. This would have been very helpful, if applicable, for Mayor Jones and his Council cronies in pushing through Shockoe Bottom Baseball Stadium despite overwhelming public opposition.
Which bring us to a longstanding question- Is it ‘unintended’ that that these proposals distract from properly funding Richmond schools? The ongoing record suggests otherwise. (See previous editorial, ‘Broken Promises: Richmond’s Leaders Don’t Want To Put Schools First’.)
Extinction Rebellion & Eviction Exhibit Opening Friday
The Extinction Rebellion protests which started on a weekly basis this past July continues into the new year this Friday from noon to 1 pm in Monroe Park (corner of Belvedere and Main). They welcome everyone, and every part of everyone to this nonviolent demonstration. All ages are welcome. They stand in support of #fridaysforfuture and the #globalclimatestrike.
Friday evening, there is the opening at the Main Street library for a new exhibit called Evicted in Richmond.
‘Miss Valentine Is Dead’ and #BallotBattle
Here’s an interesting twist for ‘Throwback Thursday’…the Valentine Museum has a new exhibit that takes some of the conversations surrounding the nascent women’s suffrage movement in Richmond and puts them in a mockup of today’s social media milieu. It’s called #BallotBattle and its bound to spur more attention and appreciation for this period in RVA history. Prominent activists of the time, like Lila Meade Valentine (buried next door in Hollywood Cemetery) are given ‘profiles’ and highlighted in old newspaper articles like the one above.
The exhibit is small and may make some historians squirm, but overall it is a fun, fascinating way to bring local historic figures to life and pose provocative, new-old questions on the verge of a big election year. Will we see the Equal Rights Amendment pass the General Assembly?
(My question? When will Richmond citizens be able to rank their choices for Mayor on the ballot?)
Presentation To ‘Richmond 300’
Laurel Street neighbor Charles Pool, on behalf of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, made a presentation to the Richmond 300 Advisory Committee at the Main public library Wednesday afternoon. Charles shared strong concerns that new planning would lead to allowing 8-story tall buildings to be built in Oregon Hill and other historic inner-city neighborhoods. Before making the presentation, he passed out copies of OHNA’s recent letter to committee members.
Stephanie Lynch Is Oregon Hill’s New Councilperson
From the Times Dispatch article:
Stephanie Lynch won a special election for the 5th District Richmond City Council seat Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections.
Lynch received just about 28% of the vote. Her closest opponent won about 16%. Eight candidates vied to replace Councilman Parker Agelasto on the nine-member council. She will take office Dec. 1.
There was some controversy from yesterday’s election:
Lynch prevailed in a contest that saw five candidates condemn another for distributing what they branded an “unethical” sample ballot.
Handing out the ballot in question were Williamson’s supporters, who distributed a flyer that mirrored the design of sample ballots issued by the Richmond City Democratic Committee. Williamson’s name was shown on the ballot handed out to voters even though the local committee did not endorse a candidate in the special council election.
In other election news, Ghazala Hashmi defeated and will replace Glen Sturtevant as Oregon Hill’s state senator.