Okay, I’ve allowed enough time for the dust to settle after transitioning to a new Town Manager. Actually, there have been so many positive changes in government in Chrisitiansburg, there has been little to discuss. All good things come to an end though: Read the rest of this entry »
Yes, I am wandering a bit far afield here by taking a look at a National issue, but I have heard so much about how we have got to deregulate in order to get the economy going. In fact, it is the opinion of some that, without significant deregulation, the United States is doomed. So … off my little fingers go into Google land to take a peak at what information is available to support the assertions that deregulation creates jobs.
Deregulation does not create jobs when you have a failure in … nope…not there. Read the rest of this entry »
I have heard citizens of the Town of Christiansburg say, more than a few times, that they don’t like paying double taxes. A lot of people perceive that they are paying double taxes simply because they live in a Town and have to pay both County and Town taxes. Read the rest of this entry »
I first heard of the Annie E. Casey Foundation when I was volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem in Florida. Over the years, I’ve continued to use it now and then to answer a question I was pondering. The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, VA is currently studying the Role of Federal Government in Public Education, and I find myself again drawn to the wealth of data provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Read the rest of this entry »
It was June 21st, my sister’s birthday, when Christiansburg Town Council held a meeting. Along with multiple other items on that agenda, there was a request from the Christiansburg Civic League for some help offsetting some unexpected expenses that were incurred at their Train Day event held in Cambria. Read the rest of this entry »
The Community Planner is a quarterly journal on Planning. What makes it unique is that it is written to provide information to citizens as well as professionals. It is produced on a CD rather than in print because along with the 60 or so pages of each journal, there are also additional features added. For instance, in the article I wrote for the just released Volume I Issue 3, I refer to several tools that can help people understand the Freedom of Information Act and several sources of on-line information that citizens can find useful for determining what documents they need to request. Attached to the article, via links, are 3 pdf files which have a list of websites where you can find information on each state’s Freedom of Information Act, Retention Schedules for documents, and websites for each state’s auditor/Auditor of Public Accounts. Read the rest of this entry »
By now, most of you have see the “$100.00″ exercise that came to you with your water bill, was talked about in the newspaper, was posted on the internet, or came to a community/group meeting near you. Some of you have had some questions. And, many of you have had some questions bout the process.
The most important question I have heard from people working through the exercise is that they do not understand why there seems to be duplication of things in the different sections. There are several reasons for that to have occurred. Read the rest of this entry »
Did you know that there is a swim meet occurring at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center this weekend (starts 5pm today). See this article for more information.
Hopefully, if you are business owner who might be affected, you do know and have anticipated the possible impact to your business. Read the rest of this entry »
While representatives from the Town of Christiansburg Government went to the recent annual VML Conference, little information has trickled back to citizens about what information or ideas those people brought home with them…yet. Of course, it is still early and Town Council members have been very busy dealing with Town business.
Fortunately, VML (Virginia Municipal League) does an excellent job of outreach to citizens. They provide a website that includes a page of topics covered and handouts provided at: http://www.vml.org/CONF/10ConfHampton.html. If you are not one of those people who wants to sit back have information delivered to you, simply take the initiative to see what is available. Who knows, it may just give you the background you need to understand why some things are done the way they are, or might inspire you to come up with a different idea that would work better for your area. Read the rest of this entry »
When I first heard about the Federal grant awarded to Citizens Telephone Cooperative, I figured that’s nice. People out in the far reaching rural areas will have a chance to get plugged into better internet service. Well, much to my surprise … Read the rest of this entry »
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