Governor Bob McDonnell Announces “This Commonwealth of Opportunity” Statewide Tour

English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Will Travel Virginia from Bristol to Machipongo to Fairfax

***Tour Highlights Virginia’s Successes During McDonnell Administration***

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell will embark this Friday on a week-long “This Commonwealth of Opportunity” tour of Virginia. The tour, which begins in Salem and concludes in Leesburg, will highlight Virginia’s successes over the past three and a half years including a falling unemployment rate, rebounding shellfish industry, transportation breakthroughs, open space conservation achievements, increased agricultural exports, and educational innovations to benefit Virginia’s students, teachers and parents. The tour will take the governor, and members of the cabinet, from Virginia’s highest bridge in Buchanan County in the mountains of Southwest Virginia to a vineyard located between the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean on the Eastern Shore. Along the way the tour will be stopping everywhere from Civil War battlefields to growing research universities to 21st century technology companies.

            Speaking about the upcoming tour, Governor McDonnell noted, “This is a Commonwealth of Opportunity. Over the past three and a half years, through bipartisan cooperation, Virginia has taken tremendous steps forward. Our unemployment rate has fallen from 7.3% to 5.5% and is the lowest in the Southeast, and far below the national average. Since the beginning of our administration, Virginia has added 172,600 net new jobs. Agricultural exports have reached record highs. At the same time we’ve posted four straight revenue surpluses, more than doubled the state’s Rainy Day Fund, and dramatically reduced the future unfunded liabilities in our pension system. State workers have received their first pay raise in 6 years. We broke a nearly three-decade long standstill on transportation funding to put in place a bold new plan that will pump nearly $6 billion in new revenue into roads and rail around the state over the next five years. We’ve made college more affordable and accessible for Virginia students, and added thousands of new slots for in-state students at our colleges and universities. And our K-12 system is stronger than ever with the implementation of new reforms and policies that will ensure all students get the world-class educations they deserve. In short, the last three and a half years have witnessed significant progress being made in addressing the challenges facing our citizens in their daily lives. Virginia has more jobs; Virginians have more opportunities. I look forward to traveling the state in the days ahead to see some of these successes first-hand, and to learn more about what we can continue to do in Richmond to improve the lives of all Virginians.” 

            A full tour schedule is listed below.

Governor Bob McDonnell’s “This Commonwealth of Opportunity” Statewide Tour

August 9^th – August 15^th

Friday, August 9, 2013

Salem - 1:00 PM

Governor McDonnell Announces Strategic Compensation Grant Recipients

Andrew Lewis Middle School Library

616 South College Avenue

Salem

Roanoke – 2:45 PM

Governor McDonnell Joins Transit Leaders for Announcement about Amtrak Service to Roanoke

Pedestrian Walkway between the Roanoke Convention Center and Hotel Roanoke

710 Williamson Road

Roanoke

Bristol – 5:00 PM

Governor McDonnell Visits the Birthplace of Country Music Museum

520 Cumberland St‎

Bristol

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Bristol – 11:00 AM

Governor McDonnell Tours Wire Tough

14570 Industrial Park Road, Suite C

Bristol

Breaks – 2:30 PM

Governor McDonnell Takes Part in U.S. Route 460 Connector Phase I Project Briefing

Phase I Project Site (off Route 80 adjacent to Breaks Interstate Park)

627 Commission Circle

Breaks

Galax – 5:45 PM

Governor McDonnell attends Old Fiddler's Convention “Poor Man's Supper”

Felt's Park

601 S. Main Street

Galax

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Blackstone –2:30 PM

Governor McDonnell Visits Virginia National Guard Units at Fort Pickett and Tours Facilities

Fort Pickett

Blackstone

Monday, August 12, 2013

Lynchburg –10:00 AM

Governor McDonnell Participates in Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Governor’s STEM Academy

Central Virginia Community College—AREVA Technology Center

3506 Wards Road

Lynchburg

Release: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1472

Lynchburg – 11:30 AM

Governor McDonnell Takes Part in Odd Fellows Road Interchange Project Briefing

VDOT Training Center—Ramey Memorial Auditorium

4303 Campbell Avenue (Rt. 501)

Lynchburg

Release: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1907

Danville –2:15 PM

Governor McDonnell Tours Precision Machining Center at Danville Community College

Danville Community College—Charles R. Hawkins Engineering & Industrial Technologies Building

Boswell Street

Danville

Ringgold - 3:30 PM

Governor McDonnell Participates in Groundbreaking Ceremony for Dan River Plants, LLC

Dan River Industrial Park

2311 Cane Creek Parkway

Ringgold

Release: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1891 

Martinsville – 5:30 PM

Governor McDonnell Hosts Cook Out for State Employees

Virginia Museum of Natural History—Great Hall

21 Starling Avenue

Martinsville

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Virginia Beach - 10:30 AM

Governor McDonnell Visits Sugar Plum Bakery

1353 Laskin Road

Virginia Beach

Portsmouth – 1:00 PM

Governor McDonnell Participates in Conversation about Virginia’s New Restoration of Rights Policy

Tidewater Community College—Portsmouth Campus Building A

120 Campus Drive

Portsmouth

Release: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1895

Chesapeake – 2:30 PM

Governor McDonnell Makes Major Economic Development Announcement

*Details to be announced closer to event.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Machipongo – 9:00 AM

Governor McDonnell Tours Chatham Vineyards and Winery

9232 Chatham Road

Machipongo

Weems – 11:00 AM
Governor McDonnell Tours Kellum Seafood’s Oyster Harvesting, Shucking and Packing Facility

Kellum Seafood

96 Shipyard Lane

Weems

Fredericksburg – 2:15 PM

Governor McDonnell Tours Intuit and Meets with Employees

110 Juliad Court

Fredericksburg

Woodbridge - 4:15 PM

Governor McDonnell Participates in Roundtable Discussion on Veteran Issues

VFW 1503 Dale City

14631 Minnieville Road

Woodbridge

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Alexandria – 9:30 AM

Governor McDonnell Participates in Roundtable on K-12 Education Reform

*Details to be announced closer to event.

Fairfax – 11:00 AM

Governor McDonnell Discusses Higher Education Policy Reform and the Path Forward

George Mason University

4400 University Drive

Fairfax

Leesburg – 12:30 PM

Governor McDonnell Makes Major Civil War Battleground Preservation Announcement

Ball's Bluff State Park

Leesburg

Gloucester, Virginia's New Middle School A Danger To Children?

It's one thing to look at all the facts about the present situation Gloucester residents are facing with the potential of a new middle school being built in the county that most Gloucester residents are against the way that it has been put together.

  One building destroyed that could have been rebuilt, another school closed because we are told that it is no longer needed yet we are told that we need to build this other school because it is needed.  (Yes you read that correctly).  We have looked at a number of very serious legal issues surrounding the new middle school and in our own views, it is being done in violation of state codes.

With all of this said already, there is still more that has not been explored on the building of the new middle school and it is even more serious than the other issues already explored.  In fact, it has the very real threat of endangering the children.  That threat is the location of the new school.

  Here is what we did.  We took the information to a transportation engineer who;s job it has been to determine locations for sites based on a number of factors that also include environmental concerns.  Based on using Gloucester Counties own information and assessments, a quick and dirty analysis shows that the location of the new school is not in the best interest.

Let's assume that all the latest information on global climate change and the sea level rising are real.  If that is the case, then the location of the new school is in serious jeopardy.  Let's look at Gloucester's own information on this.

Highlighted in yellow is the location of the new proposed middle school.  In red is the location of the old school, across route 17 George Washington Memorial Highway.  The other red along the water way is the hurricane flooding zone.  The model is the most recent from Gloucester County information, however, with sea level rising, the model is seriously now out of date.

  The new school is to close to the water ways putting it into a serious flooding situation.  If we are going to be environmentally correct, then the location of the new middle school is a serious violation to our environment.

Gloucester, Virginia" target="_blank">Natural Resources 070213 Gloucester, Virginia from Chuck Thompson

Here we are looking at Gloucester County's own laws and codes regarding the Chesapeake Bay act and proper planning methodology for what must be considered.  However, all this came about after the planning of the location for the new middle school.  With tax dollars being spent by the county on these studies, they must now realize that the new school location is endangering the children, being closer to the water and flood zones than before.

  VIMS has told us about the sea level rising, your tax dollars are hard at work to show you this.  At the very least, the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors need to put a screeching halt to the new construction until they can at least study the sea level rising and new flood zone issues and impact to ensure all of us the safety of our children.  Otherwise Gloucester County officials must admit that the issues at hand are nothing but junk science and your tax dollars are being wasted in numerous ways.

  Although they can always continue with the new school and prepare it for aqua learning.  Studies while under water.  Not a place I would send my own children.  

The Chesapeake Bay – Landsat photo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wittman Chesapeake Bay Restoration Legislation Passes House

English: Congressional portrait of Congressman Rob Wittman, 112th Congress. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

July 11, 2013

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation that included language authored by Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) to aid in the clean-up and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Wittman’s bill, the Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act, was included as part of H.R. 2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013. One of Wittman’s signature pieces of legislation, the Bay measure would enhance coordination, flexibility and efficiency of restoration efforts. The 2013 Farm Bill passed the House by a vote of 216-208.

“What a great achievement for Virginia and America’s First District today, with passage of this provision to help restore our Bay,” Wittman said. “I’m pleased the House included my bill in passage of legislation today, to bring resources together and increase the efficiency of efforts to bring the Bay back into balance. I am eager for the Senate to pass Senator Warner’s companion legislation and see this bill become law.”

Wittman supported final passage of the FARRM Act, which also included important reforms to agricultural programs. The Virginia farming and forestry industries support over 500,000 jobs across the Commonwealth.

Wittman, in previous remarks supporting his bill, said, “Farmers have a vested interest in a clean Chesapeake Bay; their commitment to the land and waters is reflected by multi-generation stewardship of farms across the watershed…Better accounting and more flexible management are essential to restoring the Chesapeake Bay. Crosscut budgeting and adaptive management provide performance-based measures to assure federal dollars currently spent on Bay restoration activities produce results. Both techniques will ensure that we’re coordinating how restoration dollars are spent and making sure that everyone understands how individual projects fit into the bigger picture. That way, we’re not duplicating efforts, spending money we don’t need to or, worse, working at cross purposes.”

As a leader on Bay issues in Congress and Co-Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus, Wittman continues to advocate for improvements in the management of resources for restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. To achieve the goals of enhanced coordination, flexibility and efficiency, Wittman's legislation would fully implement two cutting edge management techniques, crosscut budgeting and adaptive management. These techniques have been used successfully in the Everglades and the Great Lakes; however, they have not been fully implemented in Bay restoration efforts, where results have lagged far behind the billions of dollars spent. Additionally, the legislation would create a Chesapeake Bay Program Independent Evaluator to review and report to Congress on restoration activates in the watershed. The Chesapeake Bay partnership includes 10 federal agencies, six states and the District of Columbia, over one thousand localities and multiple non-governmental organizations. To date, the complexity of the participants has resulted in a muddled effort. In drafting this legislation, Congressman Wittman drew heavily on his 23 years of experience as a shellfish specialist monitoring water quality and environmental health issues in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner recently introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

Congressman Rob Wittman, the Co-Chairman of the Congressional Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus, represents the First District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee, where he is a member of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs, and the Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources.

Our Notes:  Frankly we do not like this bill.  It forces people who had nothing to do with polluting the bay, to pay for it's cleanup.  It also forces people who own property around the bay, to go through a bunch of new and unneeded expenses.  It does nothing to force those responsible for the pollution, to pay for any area of cleanup.  Now is that political leadership or cowering to the special interests?  We like Congressman Wittman, but this is awful legislation and we feel works against the people, not for the people.

The overall idea is right, it targets the wrong people and tells the wrong story though.

The pollution in the bay comes from Industry that dumps it's waste into the watersheds that feed the bay.  A national engineers website shows this as a fact.  Yet we the people get stuck with industry cleanup?  This is fair how?  It's bad legislation and bad politics for the people.  It only serves the special interests of business.  Let's hope it gets shot down on the next level.

Common Sense Thomas Paine" target="_blank">Common Sense Thomas Paine from Chuck Thompson

Something for Congressman Wittman to consider.

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Gloucester, VA - Kudos To Delegate Keith Hodges

A special thank you to Delegate Keith Hodges, representative covering Gloucester County, Virginia.  Keith recently turned down backing Gloucester Counties legalize theft campaign in favor of the citizens of Gloucester.

  A great deal of information came out in the news over all of this.  Gloucester County Government sued it's own citizens to push through a system no one wanted back in 1988.  Now the county wants more money for a system people still do not want but the county could care less what the residents want.

It's like we already pointed out, the board of supervisors have been taken over and you are dealing with a secret masonic order that knows what you need and could care less what you want.

  It would make more sense to us if you are looking to argue saving the Chesapeake Bay, that more homes should have septic systems as opposed to a county sewer system.  Let's look at the logic behind all of this.  If you can call it logic on their part.  The county sewer system is piped over to Hampton Roads across the York river.  Eventually that pipe system is going to break down or break for one reason or another.  Storm destruction, hit by a tanker, whatever, something will knock it out.  Here is the problem.  When you combine the waste of multiple households, you increase the toxicity of the waste more than twice it's level for each household added.  Two households increase toxicity by a factor of at least 4 times.  10 households over 40 times.  The more you add, the more toxic the waste becomes.

  It's no different than chemistry class.  Add chemicals together and you get new chemicals.  New strains of bacteria and so much more.  When the pipeline does break, the massive amount of waste that dumps into the bay area will be tremendous.  The system backups that will flow back into people's houses will be massive.  When that happens, who is going to pay for the cleanup?  Gloucester County Government?  Don't count on it.  You will.  Based on a system you never wanted to begin with.

  With septic systems, you have containment.  Gloucester County only had 3 septic systems needing attention in 2012 and they see this as a problem?  The hourly bird droppings into the Bay cause more damage than 30 septic system failures would cause in a week.  So who are they kidding?  No one in Gloucester wanted the 22 million dollar debt note.  So it's a county problem.  Not a resident problem.  Just stop paying the note.  Default on the payments.  If our federal government can do it, so can our local government.

  Maybe the county could then file for a federal bailout? Maybe they can just hold a bake sale to raise the money.  Have a special Masonic fun day and charge parking fees.  Put parking meters on Main Street to raise money.  Stop giving tax breaks to big business and let them pay their own way like everyone else has to.

  Maybe we should hold a contest on how the county can raise money other than putting a gun to people's backs.  Or maybe they can actually put guns to people's backs as they shop through the Gloucester Main Street Village.  A sort of pay to play daily event.  Fun for the whole family.  They can even process your credit cards to cover the fees while holding you up.

  Enough of the poking fun and once again saying Thank You to Delegate Keith Hodges.  With actions like this, it looks like we have to keep you around.  Not a bad idea in our opinion.

Free MP3 download.  Out On The Road is the title track by Persson.  A really good Blues track.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5NJpRCvjyV8VExMNUpxbjlBMkk/edit?usp=sharing

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Gloucester, VA, Board of Supervisors Ask Senator Tommy Norment To Legalize Theft?

BEWARE THE ENEMY WITHIN!

In a recent article in the Gloucester County, VA Beehive paper, the county has openly stated that it is asking Virginia Senator Tommy Norment to add Gloucester County to a list of localities that may require connection to the public water and sewer system by property owners where public systems are present.

  Property owners who have properly working private wells and sewage systems would not be required to disconnect and use public sources, but may be required to pay a connection/access fee and a monthly nonuser service charge.

  Anyone feel a gun at their backs yet?  The county wants to charge you for services they are not rendering.  This is the same thing as if you owned a business, let's say a printing business, and you decide to send the county a bill for setup fees and then a monthly nonuser fee for not using your printing services.  The same for any insurance company, any bakery, any auto repair shop, any type of business.  You can quickly bankrupt the county if you do business the way the county government wants to do business.  Just because they are a government entity does not give them the right to practice what is tantamount to illegal business practices in the real world.

  Both the county and the state want to legalize theft here plain and simple.  The county goes on to state in the article that they have already been collecting fees like this and made it clear that it was legal for them to do so, since 1988.  It may be legal, but it is immoral.  Anyone cheating the system here is fully justified in doing so in our view.

  Now here is yet another kicker, the county says the proposal is to address environmental and FINANCIAL issues of the county's sanitary system.  A system already paid for by tax payer revenues by the way.  The article states that currently the public water and sewer system are subsidized and supported by all tax payers including those who do not have public water and sewer services.  Since this is already the case, why are county officials proposing more fees?  Dual taxation?  Moral bankruptcy?  Shear greed?

  The revenues from the fees and charges collected would be designated to support sanitary services and reduce the subsidized amount taken from the general fund.  There is your answer folks.  The county wants more access to the general fund which is made up of your tax dollars anyway.  It's nothing more than another money grab.

  The article goes on to state that the proposed legislation would also facilitate business and residential development in the county now and into the future.  No it own't.  Who wants to do business in a place that legalizes theft in our view?  Who wants to live with outrageous taxation?  We see more people leaving because of issues like this.  Not moving here to support such nonsense.  This is the kind of legislation that people move out of the county because of it.



   Still it gets worse.  The article also states that the inability to require sewer system connections will handicap the county in it's efforts to comply with regulatory requirements, including the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act which is shear nonsense in and of itself.  If you really want to preserve the Chesapeake Bay, you force the corporations to clean up their acts that are along the tributaries of the bay and are the ones who are really responsible for the damage.  But it's easier to blame the public masses and make them pay the burden for corporate pollution.  If sewage runoff was really the issue, humans could never have survived this long on this planet.  The water ways would have been over polluted with extreme toxicity centuries ago.

  But let's play their game for a few minutes here anyway.  As we see it. the government is the one that has the real issues with run off.  Blame the Governor because he is the one in charge of all the wildlife in the state.  The defecation that comes from wildlife is by far more than human waste.  Who's looking at that?  What about the county that sprays toxic pesticides every summer to control the mosquitoes?  What about the runoff from that?  Also, in case you did not know this, 3 Mile Island, the nuclear power plant located outside of Harrisburg, PA is located along one of the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.  That's the same power plant that melted down a few decades ago.  Anyone think that has not caused lasting damage to the bay?  Yet you are being told that you are the real cause of the pollution?  Give me a break.  They are barking up the wrong tree.

  Now here is a point.  If you own a business, try and send Gloucester County a bill for not using your services.  See how fast you end up in court with criminal charges being put up against you.  Why are you allowing them to do this to you?

  Every session of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors begins with an opening prayer.  A local minister or preacher comes in and delivers this.  We applaud that.  What we want to point out is the fact that God is not deaf.  It could just very well be that we are one of the messengers God has sent to answer those prayers for wisdom.  Something to think about.

For all the latest news, please click on the Home button towards the top of this site.

Have a news story? Submit it above.

Some of Gloucester's most incredible history is found on this site in detail.

Gloucester, VA Links and News – A GVLN Website.

We cover what no one else will.

 

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