Three candidate forums down and three to go.
On Wednesday October 26 Candidate Forums are being held for:
The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County Virginia are in the process of hosting 5 different candidate forums where citizen generated questions are presented to candidates in a public forum. These programs are: Read the rest of this entry »
The Weldon Cooper Centers School-Age (5-19) Population Estimates for Virginia’s Incorporated Towns shows that:
I’ve recently discussed using the Richmond Sunlight website for bill tracking. This gives you a good idea of the bills proposed and what happens to them. They also have a blog that contains some good information that is accessed from the website link above as well. In particular check out:
This gives you an idea of some of the process in getting bills passed. You can also find some information on how to create an illusion of getting a bill passed when you really don’t want it to pass. (nasty little political tricks)
However, what happens after the bill is passed?
That is where another website comes into play, the Virginia Register of Regulations. No matter how many laws get passed or how much you want to see the law passed, it always come down to initiating and enforcing the law in order for it to be useful. Most often, you see that the bills have to incorporated into the regulations of different departments of government. It is these regulations that explains how the bills will be incorporated into existing regulations and what will be required. Read the rest of this entry »
There is a bill introduced by Del. Onzlee Ware that could have a significant impact on citizens here and in other areas of Virginia. It pertains to allowing Town, Cities, and Counties to use a posting on their webpage instead of a posted announcement in a local newspaper.
I use the internet almost exclusively to keep track of what local government is doing, so I figure some people will expect me to argue in support of this. (That wasn’t always true!) WRONG! Wrong on the assumption and wrong to push forward a change in existing law that would have a negative impact on a portion of the population. I’m willing to listen, but it is going to take a lot to convince me that this is fair to all citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
On Tuesday November 2, 2010 the polls opened for voters in Montgomery County, VA. The problems started immediately. These problems were not state-wide, indicating a problem with the voting system itself, rather they have occurred in a specific region under the supervision of one Registrar. Keep in mind that the issues are not about personality and customer service. The issues are about competency and following the laws of the State of Virginia that pertain to Voting. They are issues about following the policies of the State Board of Elections and about insuring that EVERY VOTE COUNTS! What is in question is NOT the staff of the Registrar’s Office or those trained and certified to run the polling places. It is simply that effective leadership is absent. 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 »
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/260579
I gotta wonder if there isn’t some misinformation here. After all, the Planning Commission and Town Council of the Town of Christiansburg, VA did a thorough study on this parcel of property. A CUP (Conditional Use Permit) was discussed, research, and approved allowing for above ground diesel storage tanks. Stuff like that should not be put in areas where the soil is not stable, particularly in areas where sink holes are prone to develop. I mean that would be unsafe and a potential ecological disaster. The health, safety, and well-being of a lot of citizens would have been put in danger should such be allowed on a site with these types of kartz features. Since that is one of the key goals of such elected and appointed officials, there must be a mistake. I hope the town will come forth with some information about this.
But, wait a minute isn’t this the same type of soil under the Blacksburg High School. So…. it’s not safe enough for Microsoft but it is for the children of Montgomery County.
I feel like I am getting a lot of mixed messages here. Can anyone make sense of all this?
Let me begin by saying that it is my opinion that both Riner and Blacksburg should get new schools. Riner because they have been patiently waiting with some upgrades/repairs being withheld due to the plan to build a new school, and Blacksburg for the obvious reason that I don’t believe many people will trust simply having the existing building repaired (if that is even remotely possible to do given that more and more problems are being uncovered. Read the rest of this entry »
New River News A Tale of Two Burgs New River Journal Blog Washington Post: The Answer Sheet (Education) Roanoke Times Round Table Blog
