NOW THAT IS REAL PROGRESS

Negotiators, our deep thinking politicians in Richmond  finally agreed on a plan to require state workers to contribute 5 percent of pay towards their pensions. BUT  OFFSET  BY A 5  PERCENT RAISE FOR EMPLOYEES.

Ferris wheels also produce a lot of noise, but aren't going anywhere.

MESSAGE FOR ALL CITIZENS

contributed by AC  An opinion

Thank you employees for your loyalty to our City. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. And thanks to you fine citizens who pay taxes without question, especially those of you who patiently sit through Council meetings to approach the Council with matters important to you and never get an answer. Henceforth all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed anywhere but here.  Signed  SCG and LJ

NATERING NABOBS OF POSITIVISM

There is a very complimentary piece in the SNH proclaiming that the third Homearama in ten years indicates Suffolk is the place to be and  buying an expensive home is the “thing.” The piece presumes that inserting, “nattering nabobs of negativism” will head off all contrary thinking. But my first thought was to consider the current status of previous Homearamas. Following that were financial conditions of some overeager developers, many former owners, and even banks with large inventories of now empty homes. Nor would I choose to live on nearly treeless plains where immense mushrooms loom above stretches of grass. The SNH piece pictured a typical developer touch…an oasis with pond and bridge where it is assumed the subdivision population may gather to visit and cook wieners on hibachis while they converse about local issues and share pictures of the kids who are at the oceanfront. Lord just let us keep our average home among the trees with room for a few tomatoes.  

New Deputy Superintendent for Suffolk Public Schools

Sometimes I just scratch my head and wonder . . . .

Struggles With Student Achievement on State Tests
By her own admission, the new deputy superintendent of Suffolk Public Schools was disappointed in the number of schools in her charge that made AYP during her recent tenure with Savannah Chatham Public Schools. While I understand that the raised bar was harder to meet, the bar wasn’t a surprise to anyone. In fact, the AYP bar was set back in the year 2001 giving schools time to determine how to meet and/or exceed the AYP targets.
http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-07-20/state-17-local-public-schools-fail-make-adequate-yearly-progress


Struggles With Achievement on ITBS
Additionally, Ms. Chavis shared "We’re not happy with this, but we will continue to implement those things that we know can work,” said Chief Academic Officer Jackie Chavis.
http://savannahnow.com/share/blog-post/jenel-few/2010-02-03/heres-what-happened-february-2010-savannah-chatham-county


Changing of the Grades
When dealing with an ethical issue, Ms. Chavis – as chief academic officer of Savannah-Chatham Public Schools on one hand stated that a principal should be terminated for making arbitrary grade changes and on the other hand suggested that the County school board offer that same person a non leadership position in Central Office as punishment for her bad decision citing the employee as dedicated and highly effective.

Does this sound familiar? Ms. Chavis once worked for Norfolk Public Schools
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2010-09-15/update-deonn-stone-gets-30-days-without-pay-keeps-job

Hired Before the Application Deadline?
It certainly appears that the deal was sealed with Suffolk’s new Deputy Superintendent even before the stated deadline for applications for the position. The announcement, given on November 23rd by the superintendent of Savannah-Chatham Public Schools, stated that Ms. Chavis would be taking a job with a Virginia district. The application deadline for the position was November 30, 2010. How fair is that?
http://www2.wsav.com/news/2010/nov/23/sccpss-school-supt-dr-thomas-lockamy-talks-about-s-ar-1126636/

And Then There’s the Money Issue
As a public employee, Ms. Chavis receives substantially more than the advertised salary range posted in Suffolk’s job application.

As citizens, we’re working our own hard and long hours, opening up our wallets to help fund the bloated salary of a person who brings the kind of achievement record we really don’t want in Suffolk. .

CITY MANAGER NOT TALKING BUT DALE WALKER IS

 
Quit or be fired, your choice, Said Selena Cuffee Glenn and don’t expect to know why, just pack and git. That’s about the way the ex-Finance Director Dale M. Walker sees it. Nice way to dispose of the $113,000 position held since April 2009, Even the public deserves more than that since we had no part of the hiring but we did pay his salary and great benefits. How could the tight-lipped manager have made the mistake of hiring him in the first place if she would handle the dismissal in such a crude manner, have him ushered out of the building without his personnel effects. If there was an error in judgment it was hers. It is no wonder that Walker was stunned and flabbergasted. Even the city spokes-person, Debbie George was speechless. Surely the citizens are due a little more “openness and transparency” than that. I remember the mayor promising that would be the first order of business.

SPSA SLOWLY DISAPPEARING

SPSA, bothered for years by less income than required apparently believes that the secret to profitable growth is to continue selling parts of itself. Their garbage-fueled power plant went to Portsmouth for 150 million of debt. Then, recently, they sold off its recycling headquarters in Chesapeake to a storage company for just over $1 million. Of course SPSA can explain how that debt was created.  Now to cut costs and prevent more debt the plan is to close the gates two days a week, put more people out of work and forego planned improvements to the operation. Seems there has been a dollar crisis for years for different reasons that seem to pop up. Now they are getting serious, moving to a strategic decision, “Should we sell the landfill? The deal was to survive to 2018. Didn’t they just find money by selling the valuable gas garbage puts out? Haven’t dumping prices been adjusted upwards often enough driving customers to seek other solutions? It does leave us wondering about the planning that appears off the mark, and the management. If they sell the odorous heap SPSA is down to owning only the garbage transfer stations. After they go Suffolk the woods and highways become dumping stations.    

WHAT DID SID LEAVE BEHIND? 3 percent decrease

Home assessments dip 3 percent in Va. Beach, 

Chesapeake  3 percent, 

South Norfolk 4.19

Western Branch 4 percent

IT AIN'T ALL BAD IN OUR SCHOOLS

Nice to see the picture of the actors from Nansemond River High School in the SNH, all smiling and obviously pleased to be recognized for their hard work and talent. Reporter Heather McGinley brought us some good news about what goes on in our schools. Next competition is at the state theatre level, the first time our high school actors have played on that “stage.” So hats off to the students and drama and choir teacher Joleen Neighbours. It is the first year the drama students have made it to state competitions. Now we would like to hear about a group of Suffolk top math students equally excited about their accomplishments. And the teacher that made it happen. 

FROM $10 TO $308 TO

Leslie E. Dildy Jr. thought it OK to wheel his lawn tractor on Bank Street. If he was near the Courthouse and doing wheelies he was tempting fate. But if just going to cut a friend’s lawn, nearby, well how else can you move five hundred pounds of deadweight? This criminal court case needs more investigation than it got in the newspaper. Assuming the driver was sober and just practicing for his first Nascar race, I mean how fast can a lawn tractor go? There isn’t much grass to mow in August but maybe a friend had offered to sharpen the blades. But astute Suffolk police halted Dildy, 35, and ticketed him for driving without a license. The judge in General District Court demanded a ten-buck fine. Apparently Dildy’s attorney Jim Grandstander, that’s not right, Gandfield  had studied the constitution of the United States and did not want this crime on Dildy’s record and appealed to Circuit Court. Congratulations to Mr.Dildy who stood up for his rights. Wednesday he was found guilty again and fined $50 and $258 in court costs. Of course the attorney will take the case to the State Court of Appeals. Assuming Grandfield is correct, that a lawnmower is considered a farm tractor, I’d take it all the way to the Supreme Court, assuming Dildy has the money.

IS THERE AN INDIAN DANCE PROMOTING VICTORY

The Nansemond Indians have been struggling for recognition since before 1946. Documentation no longer exists since a Virginia registrar of Vital Statistics for Virginia tribes, a white supremacist, decided long ago that Indians were really Negroes.  But Democrat Twins, Webb and Warner have reintroduced legislation that could result in a reversal, much needed by our builders of Mattanock. It would give Chief Bass a key to the benefits provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other federal agencies.
 “We’re just still trying, still working on it,” Nansemond Chief Barry Bass said. Making matters worse is the fact that the Virginia tribes’ peace treaties were with England and not the United States.” So thanks to Walter Plecker, the “evil” registrar (My computer indicates Plecker is misspelled) the Nansemonds have needlessly suffered. It is time they got a break. We hope Webb and Warner can charm the government.

TWO MORE HIGH SUFFOLK OFFICIALS MOVE ON

 

 Two years on the job and city finance director Dale M. Walker resigns. He is the second city official out of a sinking boat or what? When he boarded he was declared ripe with experience and dripping leadership qualities. Not a word from Market Street as he jumps ship. OK, it’s his business. Perhaps he just didn’t like the daunting numbers during reductions. Can’t be much fun. Or over worked with city payroll, accounting, issuing bonds long and short. Then another bomb when the most “hated” man in Suffolk had enough of satisfying the spending members of Council by pleasantly asking citizens to dig deeper for property taxes. His feminine predecessor had more to say upon leaving than Sid. And unspecific “personal reasons” can cause puzzlement. He says it is completely voluntary at 55; he wants to see what’s up the road. Tough sledding would describe it.  The C M offered no comment, unusual for  her, on Walker’s resignation, or that of city assessor Sid Daughtrey earlier. And the Mayor offered no reason or explanation. We have seen this many times in the recent past when high employees left.

WHAT DOES THIS PROVE

Washington, D.C. – Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) announced that, this evening, the House of Representatives passed a measure in the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution that would prevent the use of funds to close the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) for the fiscal year to allow Congress the time to study how restructuring JFCOM could impact national security and the ability of the Armed Forces to work jointly.

Congressman Forbes made the following statement:

"Over the past couple years, the Pentagon has refused to provide shipbuilding and aviation plans to Congress as required by law, placed “gag orders” on senior defense officials preventing them from providing information to Congress, refused to send specific witnesses requested by the House Armed Services Committee, failed to meet deadlines for requests for documents related to defense cuts, withheld information from Congress on defense decisions, and failed to supply cost-benefit analysis for its move to shutter one of our nation’s ten military commands.

“That culture of secrecy and defiance ends today. Members of Congress from across the country have made it clear that we will no longer allow the Department of Defense to exercise blatant disregard for Congress’ oversight responsibilities. The amendment sends a clear message to the Department of Defense that we intend to exercise our constitutional oversight role prior to allowing actions that have, up until this point, an unknown effect on the future of our national security.”

SCHOOL BOARD ONE SUPT ONE

 Three school board members intimidated by parents backed off closing two schools a year earlier than planned. Members Hinton and Skeeter had reservations in spite of telling the superintendent he must find a way to shave 5.2 million from the budget. Of course cuts can be a hardship for students, teachers and parents, it is called “life” and happening to nice people all across the country. Ask the Franklin paper mill ex-employees or the thousands from DefCom. How bad a cut hurts depends on how much one is paid, two years of no Social Security increases hasn’t put a smile on retirees faces.  It is already obvious that few citizens realize the entire nation is in deep trouble. When students, if true, can’t afford batteries for their calculators, as one teacher lamented, it indicates we aren’t far from going without meals as happened back in 1929. Don’t think that can’t happen again. It is true that Boards of all institutions have their duties and must serve the people by protecting them from all evil. Allowing the Superintendent to spin in the wind, however, isn’t one of them: we expect to see the red pen in their hands. The board did give the Supt one victory, to offer 140 thirty-year employees a plan for early retirement.      

DO YOU REMEMBER THE MAINE

All was well until just after 2140 on Tuesday, 15 February, when suddenly and without warning the MAINE was ripped by a violent explosion. Immediately the Spanish lent assistance, the cruiser ALFONSO XII rescuing survivors.  In spite of this 260 of MAINE's 358 officers and men died.  The Spanish authorities in Havana proved helpful and cooperative in the days that followed, but from the start Americans suspected sabotage.  A Court of Inquiry chaired by CAPT William T. Sampson determined that the MAINE explosion "could have been produced only by...a mine situated under the
bottom of the ship."  When this news reached the United States there were immediate calls for war.  Any remaining pacific voices were further quelled by the earlier release of a private memo written by the Spanish ambassador in Washington, Dupuy de Lome, that characterized President McKinley as a
"small-time politician" who was too inept to discover Spanish duplicity in their intentions over Cuba.  These coincident events prompted the US to declare war on Spain on 21 April 1898. In truth Spain had little to gain and everything to lose by provoking the US.  In 1975 ADM Hyman Rickover and a panel of experts reexamined evidence and photographs of the salvage efforts and concluded that the MAINE was likely the victim of an accidental internal explosion. It is theorized that spontaneous combustion in a bituminous coal bin burned through a bulkhead into a magazine. Though the battle cry "Remember the MAINE!" may have been based on a misconception, the subsequent successes of the US Navy in the
Spanish-American War served to announce the emergence of our Navy as a true world power.  In recognition of this the salvaged mast of MAINE, still contorted from the blast, has been mounted at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.  Sent to me by a friend. "A second look, too late, found the truth."

KNOWN HISTORY OF THE HILTON GARDEN INN

Despite the opposition of many citizens it opened in 2005 built on prime river property for 23.6 million. Suffolk put up half the money and 5 million of that paid for the ten-acre park and 28 slip Marina. The hotel contained 150 rooms, 14,000 square feet of conference rooms. Those persons familiar with the area warned of tricky soil conditions and someone suffered financially when the seawall failed to behave and had to be repaired. It proved that opposition could be correct.

In 2008 Landmark Hotel Group bought the hotel and Conference Center for $14.3 million. It seems someone absorbed a loss when you see two numbers, cost to build hotel and price received. Within months of the purchase the bottom fell out of the need for hotels and a dismal occupancy rate followed. There is some question about the Marina occupancy, are they legitimate or just there to make the marina look busy? The city still owns the land and picks up ten grand for the lease and $134,000
from the down-sliding property taxes as hotel assessment dips. I have never seen a lowering of my  assessment. The hotel felt a loss of revenue when the Franklin paper mill disappeared and slicing up JefCom won’t help. Remember the schmaltz at the time the city was pushing public/private investment and how the hotel was to be the Gateway to Historic Suffolk. With a current occupancy rate still under fifty percent it could get worse until a new Congress redesigns the national budget.    

The Culture of Real Freedom Isn't for All

The most recognizable of the phrases associated with the Statue of Liberty, is from a sonnet, The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus. Using the original spelling, this reads: "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. / I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

The monument was completed on October 28, 1886, during a dedication presided over by President Cleveland. In 1892, Ellis Island opened as the chief entry station for immigrants to the US, and for the next 32 years more than 12 million immigrants were welcomed into New York harbor by the sight of "Lady Liberty", among them my grandparents who came separately but met years later. The vast majority of these immigrants was poor but resourceful, hungry for both education and a job, expected little, and only wanted a chance to be part of the American dream. And they enriched this nation for many generations in the process. While this may be enlightening, I brought this up to point out what the famous sonnet didn’t say. Nowhere does it say anything about, “giving me your lazy, your racists, your corrupt, your religious zealots, those among you who turn their back on education and work, and those yearning to live on welfare and disability for the rest of your lives”. This is no oversight or mistake.

This nation was created for those who yearned to be free, work hard, educate themselves, and succeed on their own initiative and group efforts. This nation has always acknowledged the need for a safety net for those who can’t; but not a hammock for those who won’t! The freedom to succeed can’t exist without strictly limited government to prevent government from absorbing and squandering the fruit of individual efforts. I think that many in the country today don’t realize this. Memo to all: The United States is NOT fit for everyone—nor was it ever intended to be.

The United States was a strong concept and an ideal long before it became a nation built on the blood, sweat, ingenuity, and backs of early immigrants. The new world then was very far away, wild, and huge in size—and these attributes attracted many of those drawn to our shores. It was the very space, the size, the wilderness, and the understanding that survival here depended heavily on self reliance and individual effort that built a very distinct American character that soon demanded more freedom than which existed anywhere else on earth! This American character accepted the harsh reality that with real freedom comes the risk of failure—and that too is alright because most of those who made mistakes were strong enough to learn from them and try again, eventually achieving a level of success—or at least improved circumstances.

Unfortunately, over time and as a greater proportion of the population moved from the open spaces, farms, and wilderness towards the urban areas, I think we’ve lost something. Many of those who study their history and understand what it took to create this nation can still reach through their intervening generations and grab onto the immigrant culture of self reliance. Others who still work the land or in hazardous occupations, or have served in the military, also seem to have retained some of the frontier spirit. But for the rest, the results of a few decades of public schools deserting serious economics and US history in a PC rush to multicultural relativism has been devastating! Try to find an educator today who has any understanding of capitalism and can explain how critical creative destruction is to this economic model. ANY failure to a modern educator seems to be a tragedy that more government could have prevented. To a capitalist, failure is often the cleansing process necessary to open the door to success through innovation leading to individual and societal improvements. But the loss of understanding of where our forefathers came from and accomplished has made too many less self reliant and somehow more dependent on others, on government, and on things that never existed on our shores—because they were never supposed to be here! That is what our ancestors fled from in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and in the Middle East. It is only a small distance from true dependence to general demands for socialism and cradle to grave nanny government programs to take care of us even if it means protecting us from ourselves. Perhaps some should ask themselves if they really ended up in the right country. There are many countries in the world where people aren’t expected to accept the burden of individual responsibility they must accept in this society to truly succeed. Just a thought.

MY MORNING PICK ME UP

I like the Suffolk News Herald, wrote a column in it for twelve years, and the people comprising the staff. “IS” congratulates recent promotions. I poke around in the various departments looking for news I missed and this morning came across an ad I’d not noticed before entitled “Too Many Girls.” Curious I clicked on it and to my surprise it opened to a new world labeled, “Naughty Girls in Suffolk.  What followed then was quite a gallery of ladies available for “conversation.” So here I am I rushing to acquaint readers of their availability when I figured I’d better check my sources…I went to the exact spot and wasted fifteen minutes, it had disappeared. That’s the reason “IS” does not traffic in the pop-up-ad business…having no control over what may appear as an ad can be risky. We’d bet no one at the SNH would OK that ad and probably few SNH readers have seen it. Besides, this is Suffolk, there are no Naughty Girls here, certainly none with the frontal proportions exhibited in that ad.

THE TEA PARTY

“IS” believes that the National Tea Party action is shaping the future of America by daring to point out those politicians that have failed to understand they are to represent the voters that trusted them. “Tea Party” is an excellent name for citizens that dumped tea in the ocean many decades ago and recently led awaked citizens to dump liberal corrupting politicians from their too secure positions. It appeared that big government wasn’t big enough and Socialism was their objective. The debt mess they had created almost overnight is frightening but one more cleansing national election could save the country. The Tea Party must become even stronger and this requires uniting those who genuinely care about getting America squared away. 2012 elections are down the road a-piece and enthusiasm has a tendency to wane and go out like an unattended fire. We can’t let that happen and “IS” will provide whatever space is needed to keep the Tea Party growing strong enough to oust liberals and progressives from every governmental nook and cranny. It is time for another Greatest Generation.           

GUESS WHO DID IT TO YOU

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised: 1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary. No longer Voluntary  2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program, Now 7.65%  on the first $90,000. 3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year, No longer tax deductible 4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust fund' rather than into the general operating fund, therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and, Under Johnson the money was moved to The General Fund and Spent 5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income. Under Clinton & Gore Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed. Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month --and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put away' -- you may be interested to know that everyone of those harmful changes were made by Democrats, Lyndon Johnson,     The Democratic Party. The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the 'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President. Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party made it possible for Immigrants moving into this country to begin at age 65, to receive Social Security payments even though they never paid a dime into it!

ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ

The following is a copy of an article written by Spanish writer Sebastian Vilar Rodriguez and published in a Spanish newspaper on Jan. 15, 2008. It doesn't take much imagination to extrapolate the message to the rest of Europe - and possibly to the rest of the world.  REMEMBER AS YOU READ -- IT WAS IN A SPANISH PAPER
Date: Tue. 15 January 2008 14:30

I walked down the street in Barcelona , and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz ... We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world. The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned. And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride. They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime. Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts. And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition. We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs. What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000; that is ONE BILLION TWO HUNDRED MILLION or 20% of the world's population. They have received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature:1988 - Najib Mahfooz   Peace: 1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat

DERAN WHITNEY LEFT A DOOR OPEN

Our new School Superintendent moved without fear or delay to catch up to the fact dollars are scarce by imposing his no raise rule for all employees including teachers. People on Social Security got the same deal and lived with it. Deran Whitney takes his new job seriously when he closes two schools. The State reduced the usual annual check to the school system, and wisely insisted the school system contribute more to it’s own pension plan. That adds to 5.2 milliom Whitney will not see. But, and here’s the door he left open; even though his budget calls for nearly two million less than last year he knows the taxpayers will come up with the shortage. He said he is committed to continuing to provide the best possible educational experience to all of our children.”  With what we have.

IT IS THAT TIME AGAIN

One-quarter of Suffolk contains three-quarters of its population growth in the past decade, leaving the city's political process as unbalanced as the people who draw the boroughs boundaries. Chuckatuck, Nansemond, and Sleepy Hole, have been gifted half the population of Suffolk courtesy of those who build and sell homes. The latest census will again summon the crazies who will dance around the table of maps, calculators in hand arguing while deciding what is and isn’t fair. Do not be surprised if you wake one morning living in a different borough with a new Council member representing you and he could be black. What that meant would depend on your color. It has been said that black residents  fiercely fight for equal representation based upon the fact they are black. This is a proclamation that whites are not fair in their treatment of black citizens. True or not it is easy to believe that forming borough boundaries would be much easier if skin color were not a factor. And it should not be a factor among grownups. It will be fun to watch. Remember that higher authority than Suffolk must sign off before a stamp of approval is applied. And what they approve will tell us a lot.

51% LEAVING JEFCOM 3900

U.S. Joint Forces Command will be 1,450 employees and one building. Two buildings up for grabs, said General Odierno. Of course Rep. Randy Forbes expressed disappointment in the decision.

“While Virginians will see the economic impact immediately, the strategic harm caused by the abandonment of military "jointness" will be a weakening agent to our military capabilities for decades,” Forbes said in a statement released Wednesday. Eighty percent of  the 2500  contractors employed by JEFCOM  are gone and only 300 of  3900 LEAVING employees will be reassigned. Critical functions will remain with the organization, particularly relating to modeling and simulation, but will be done in a more efficient  way. The General admitted what we said months ago, he had been given the mandate to shut JEFCOM down. A two star  general will take over what’s left of JEFCOM. The Department of  Defense will save 400 hundred million annually and the Office of Economic Adjustment  will provide a Workforce Transition Center in North Suffolk ($470,000) to help workers find jobs. So far the Pentagon has failed to release detailed analysis supporting the closing.

PROGRESS AT LAST

Only Mamie Locke and Johnny Joannou voted against Governor Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan. The $4 billion plan passed the Senate 34-6 with the hope that will help reduce congestion and create jobs. The House of Delegates approved the bill 65-33 Friday. There are a few dollars in here for  passenger choo-choo trains.  When there are so many routes to Chesapeake Square many wonder what is so important about that 1/3 mile piece of Nansemond Parkway? Shoulders Hill needs some help.  58 gets help here and there but not in Suffolk where it is needed but there is twenty million for a 58 interchange in Southampton County.  The best hope for thousands of commuters is the money for an additional Midtown Tunnel tube. Interest rates on borrowed money are near record lows and construction labor available at reasonable costs. If we, we being taxpayers, can afford loan payments now is the time to move quickly.                   

NANSEMOND INDIANS MAKING PROGRESS

LATEST  ON

MATTANOCK  TOWN

Chief Barry Bass was on the "Roundtable Talk" cable show on Jan 12 with Mr. Damiani. City surveying of  Property is underway. Mattanock architect has had first meeting with city staff. Facilitator has been working on legal aspects of the Nansemond project.   Left is Earl Bass, former chief.

BE SURE YOUR DELEGATES SUPPORT HB 1721

Richmond, VA - On Friday, Delegate Riley Ingram, Chairman of the House Counties, Cities & Towns Committee, sided with the Home Builders Association to force some typically rural communities into establishing an area of high-density high-rise mixed use urban development in the midst of a countryside setting. If Ingram has his way, you'll be forced to forfeit your land for the development of high-density 'urban development areas' also called 'smart growth'. A 2007 law mandating that every county with a population of 20,000 or more or a growth rate of 15% must zone an area for high-density urban planning. Public funds in the form of grants, subsidies, and tax incentives, will be used to promote the project to include rail, bike lanes, and other public transportation projects, reducing access to roads and without the benefit of alternative transportation to many communities. This will increase the cost of housing within the urban boundaries with a natural consequence of increased property taxes, and will reduce the value of property outside urban  boundaries.

This type of one-size-fits-all mentality fails to consider that many of the localities like Goochland, Powhatan, and Louisa County are required to establish zones for urban development but offer no alternative transportation for those communities. How are they expected to promote alternatives to personal automobiles in the absence of any alternative? Yet they will be forced to help fund alternative transportation projects for other communities from which they won't benefit. But grassroots activists of the tea party movement are fighting back in support of Delegate Bob Marshall's HB1721 that would make UDAs optional  rather than mandatory. The measure would allow local communities to decide if
urban areas are appropriate for their locality. It further allows for input from the citizens in areas that currently use the predetermination techniques of the "consensus" process that dismisses any public input.

FREE MUSIC FROM ENGLAND

Two things you can’t get in England are good cold beer and thick steaks. But good music is basic and a group of students from Bury St. Edmonds Upper County School in the County of Suffolk, England, will visit Suffolk, Va. The exchange is part of Suffolk’s Sister Cities International program. The England Suffolk, a county I am familar with, is an hour northeast of London and about 15 miles northwest of Ipswich. There you can pick up the scenic coastal road going north to Pocklington, from which we emmigrated, ten miles east of York, very beautiful country. (I had to work that in)They play a delightful variety of band music and barbershop quartets. SSS will present three free concerts at local schools Feb. 18 and 22. When we know where and when you will know.

SO MUCH TO DO HERE

Said the Mayor explaining the dramatic increase in Suffolk’s population to over 84000. I’d like to see her list, and our Tourist Bureau list compared to Norfolk or the Beach. And does the population count consider how many will leave Suffolk when the hammer falls on JefCom and other parts of the north Suffolk military complex. But if we really are a target for people on the move might it not be the fact that we still have space where one can set down a home instead of an apartment or a loft. Where do you find developable dry land in our Eastern cities? And Suffolk has an ample supply of foreclosed homes on desirable property at, now, reasonable prices. Besides, as our Budget Director indicated, we have the second lowest tax rate in Tidewater.

GET REAL

The city called for spending $724 million over the years as though it were chump change, 23 million here, 1.5 million there.  So it won’t be too difficult to chop a few million out of the plan because of less than expected money from the state and lower property tax values. But our budget director apparently has never heard of lowering property taxes, their plans must not fail. She says capital spending is not a budget, just a plan. Then why does she favor raising the tax rate when it is obvious assessments should be down? Haven’t the citizens of Suffolk yet had enough…higher prices for gas, food, and everything else? Is her office lighted by a dim bulb or is she? To hell with the long reach plan, we are in trouble right now. Cut the city payroll, cut  your own salary, and wake up, property values are down. Is there something wrong with us having the second lowest assessment in the state? Aim lower.                                        

PROPERTY RIGHTS

According to the Constitution a citizen has the right to do with legally owned property anything within “reason”. Property can be sold, purchased, traded, and given away. The “within reason” is determined by laws in effect to protect other citizens from unreasonable use by the owner. “Unreasonable” quite often must be established by argument and a decision rendered by judgment. That is what makes a country like ours unique. Merely compare our system with nations where the Government owns everything and robs the citizens of reasons to do better by eliminating the right to making property decisions. The question in Hobson was about the physical condition of the buildings determined to be historical…could they be safe as accommodations? Practiced eyes said ”No” while amateurs insisted “Yes” and sued to stop demolition by accusing the city of discrimination.  We believe part of the judgment was that the owners wanted taxpayers to foot the bill for restoration and pay nothing themselves. And perhaps the “historical factor” was never really a serious part of the discussion? Case closed but arguments never die.

HOW THEY VOTED

	TARP HR 1424	Stimulus HR 1	Cap & Trade HR 2454	Health Care HR 3962 / SA 3276
Webb (D)	Yea	Yea	Upcoming	Yea
Warner (D)	Yea	Yea	Upcoming	Yea
Wittman (R)	Nay	Nay	Nay	Nay
Nye (D)	Nay	Yea	Nay	Nay
Scott (D)	Nay	Yea	Yea	Yea
Forbes (R)	Nay	Nay	Nay	Nay
Perriello (D)	Nay	Yea	Yea	Yea
Goodlatte (R)	Nay	Nay	Nay	Nay
Cantor (R)	Yea	Nay	Nay	Nay
Moran (D)	Yea	Yea	Yea	Yea
Boucher (D)	Yea	Yea	Yea	Nay
Wolf (R)	Yea	Nay	Nay	Nay
Connolly (D)	Yea	Yea	Yea	Yea

  

THE RISING TIDE OF NO

Residents of Westhaven Lakes paid to live in an upscale community just west of downtown and want to keep it upscale by preventing Foxfield Meadows from constructing a crowded subdivision of low-price housing on 73 acres and creating traffic congestion. Cloverleaf Development wants to build 128 detached homes and 158 attached units on 73 acres southwest of Pitchkettle at the 58 bypass.
 About 60 people met last week figuring how to oppose it.

A CHARMING LADY STILL HAVING BIRTHDAYS

At age 86 I marvel at the spirit of Yancy Birdsong 19 years older at 105. She obviously has the gift of remaining young at heart with a positive mind. I told her that several years ago shortly after she moved to Lake Prince Woods. That day she graciously allowed Andy Damiani and I to visit her in her new beautiful home so she could be part of Andy’s Round Table Talk Show. She made the point that everyone should in some way contribute to their community and she has done that for decades. Yancey arrived in town as a music teacher, said, “I do” to Mr. Birdsong, raised a family and set an example for others by being a very likable and active citizen. We hope she sets a record for longevity.