Windy City Blues

So how many of you are keeping track of what debris you have found on your property?

I have found: 6 roof shingles (not from my own thankfully)
3 strips of film from someones vacation to the grand canyon
1 apple and 1 orange (just to be difficult - the apple was nicer than the orange)
untold amounts of junk mail, most of which had to do with some carpet business
1 tennis ball (bad day to play fetch, eh sparky?)
And that's just in the back yard. That does not include the endless "soon to be mulch" pile of organic debris.

Oh, and a big batch of scruples. Not sure whose those are, but none of the presidential candidates have come to town - so I will assume they are local.

SO we have 2 new faces headed for the Council chambers. Rosen and Price, and let's not forget Lea - who is going to miss his little buddy Wishneff. But I am sure he can play nice with everyone.

Rosen, a land developer who moved here from DC; and Price - a school age guidance counselor. Those are your soon-to-be representatives. Combine Price with Trinkle and you get "cradle-to-grave" coverage. And I am sure Rosen has no interest in development of anything.

Well, I for one am still hoping for some good indies to come forth. There is still time, the deadline is a bit less than a month away.

Anyway, here's hoping for some light zephyrs rather than force 9 gales - and that goes for the elections too.

Oh - which reminds me. Did anyone else hear the Art Museum took some damage from the storm? I heard it once, but it's not been in the paper. I'm just curious.

Always check the Chatbox to the right there, you never know when I'm going to pop in.

Dear Bill,

Please, stop it.

We know, we know. You folks are good and valiant and noble, and celebrate the diversity and whatnot.

8 people, black/white/men/women/young/old - all of them previous democrats, and tied into the system in one way or another. Not a single outsider in the race. Not a single "new" face - not to anyone who pays attention.

Perhaps we should call them the "Friends of H."

In short, because you got passed over for this round of elections - do not be such a good little soldier and tow the party standards. They are old, tired, and no one believes them anyway.

Just like that "oath," simple grounds for removal. Say something against the Democrats while a Dem.. shame shame shame. You took an oath.

An oath means nothing coming from duplicitous, sneaky, Machiavellian politicians of any sort - but worse on the heels of the disgrace of the Reorganization meeting.

Please - stop assuming the people are stupid. We know what you are about, and we don't like it. You are taking advantage of the complete disorganization of the rest of the city to enact your own little schemes, we know that too. We know a whole lot about how you do things.

Please, go away. That is all.

Oh. I thought we took care of that problem.

Rats.

Now it seems that Patrick Henry is over-run with them.

First, on Saturday - the rats from City Hall descend upon PH. I'm sorry, I should say "quite obviously the best thing to ever hit this town, considering the Republicans can't even get a ticket together life is so full of sunshine and roses."

The Democratic primary. Where as few as 4 people could decide the fate of nearly 100k. And that's not including the MSA. That's right - if we get screwed, you do too.

Emperor Harris and Queen Burcham will be spending the night in PH, so they can be there to kiss the feet of the true overlord on Sunday.

Queen Hillary arrives to give lip-service and tear up, pander and promise on Sunday. Part of her "Confusion for America" tour.

Can you stomach it Roanoke? A city council that really doesn't give a rat's ass if you vote or not? A former first-lady who fits in perfect with our own City Manager?

Makes me want to call in sick from Reality this weekend, and live in the dream world of the new City Democrats. Fortunately, I have to work.

And yes, I am seriously going to throw up if I hear the words "Young Professional" and "amphitheater" in the next 24 hours.

Someone tell me - what do you really expect of your Council? Other than the obvious fixing of roads and the basic infrastructure stuff. The good stuff - what is it? What would get you involved in an election?

Live! in the Meebo chatbox

forgot that before...

Words failed me

Sure, there was much to be said last week. I was in the process of putting together a nice post recapping the week in my head for the weekend.

Saturday morning everything was derailed.

I had barely skimmed the entire paper on Saturday morning, opting to head straight for the "Letters to the Editor" as I usually do. The wife alerted me to something I missed, on the front page of the Virginia section.

GOP will sit out Roanoke elections.

Now, thankfully I have very large very sturdy coffee cups, as I slammed the one in my hand down on the table in disgust and shock.

Not one person to run for ANY of the open seats, including that of Harris. Disgraceful.

To me, this means all these guys, and these guys, are failures and directly to blame.

If ever you needed a better reason to gain candidates and stir up the pot of dissent against the current administration - you couldn't find one than the current state of the City.

Well, once again - we, the people, have been failed by our "leaders." Now our only hope is some decent, sane and strong independents to guide us. March 4th is the deadline for that, so let's get busy folks - and don't forget - the election board has to count write-in votes too.

The Burcham-crats, or Harris-crats, or Piece-o-Crats have the upper hand for now. But they also have all the baggage and damage control. They can, and for the good of the city, must be replaced.

Or do I need to go from door to door with a lantern looking for that one semi-honest, pissed off man to run.

And before I get the obvious comment of "why don't you run" - who says I am not?

I have made no declarations as of yet.

But shame on the Republicans... pitiful.

Studying up?

Nelson Harris - age 43 - tanning hero - George Hamilton

Anyone else find it funny that Harris, with his own checkered recent (and past) is reading a book about one of the most corrupt cities in American history?

And he says he sees many parallels between Chi-towns past and our own, and I am sure he does. I would be on the lookout for more in the future if this book is anywhere near in-depth as it should be.

Harris is a student of History, and I am sure he is learning a great many lessons on politics and how to run a city.

I wonder if he has yet to read the history of Tammany Hall?


On a better note - I have to say, my admiration for Mr. Robin Reed just went up a few notches. Anyone who can get the true meaning of Mr. Schultz and Peanuts is a friend in my book.

I've got some other stuff thats been rolling around my head - but that's for another time, you all seem to be enjoying the commentary of "Dissenting Viewpoint."

A dissenting viewpoint

This just in, from one of those rare people who actually use Mill Mountain.

"In case you haven't heard there is a group of people in Roanoke called Valley Forward. They have this idea of wanting to put a Restaurant atop Mill Mountain. The debate and argument has been going on quite a while now. The original plan has been scaled down a great deal from their original propasal.

I have been and continue to be in opposition to this development. Commercial development does not belong in a public park!!!! They claim that the structure will have minimal impact on the mountain, however they have not supported this with evidence other than claiming that they are building a LEED friendly building. The existance or idea of the structure in itself violates LEED recommendations that state land that is being used in a natural way should not be disturbed in order to build a structure.

There is no way to prove that construction traffic itself will not lead to pollution, road damage and disturb the natural habitats of so many animals. There has been no data published to detail the impact of soil erosion and damage from rain water run off from the addition of a building and two parking lots. There has been no evidence to support whether the proposal would be a success. In fact, Valley Forward has failed to answer the concerns posed by many citizens who are in opposition to the plan. They contunue to claim that based on a survey of a 500 people, that a majority of citizens favor this development. I find this funny as a large number of citizens do not know nor understand the scope of the project.

If you care about keeping Mill Mountain green, please consider attending a meeting of the Mill Mountain Advisory Committee at 4pm on Thursday January 24th at the Discovery Center. If you would like to speak on the issue, please note that you must sign up in advance. "

via Jen's Bike Blog

This just in....

Hosted by "For the Future's Citizens for Rockledge"? Coffee and Treats by Mill Mountain Coffee?

And here I thought the snow had stopped. Apparently, the snowjob rolls on.

On the good side, I guess you can no longer say it's impossible to get people organized around here.

At least 2 of them think this is a good idea.

Check the forecast..... mmmm.. snow again. Ok. Let's see - support something that a very small minority want, that is dubiously bring brought forth while it's snowing. Umm.. think not - thanks though.

Oh - and the petition has stalled out at 459 signatures. Give them a hand, with some real reasons to build something on the mountain. OR voice your concerns, complain, hoot and holler. Whatever - it's a public petition. They will delete any postings that do not measure up to their standards.

But please, feel free to help them reach the goal of 1000 signatures on this loaded baked potato of a petition.

And go right ahead and go on down to support the "For the Future's Citizens for Rockledge."

(makes me want to do a facepalm just thinking about it. in the chatbox if'n you care)

Snow Job

SO - which is it, the Wishneff article in today's paper (aka - the Times strikes back) or the lovely weather outside?

Discuss it in the Meebo box. (down on the right side)

Where have all the heroes gone?

Harris for Mayor, again.

Ballin, Cranwell, Fitzy, Lea, Price, Rosen, and Wyatt for Council. All Dems.

And Lockard in the Ross Perot position.

Not one outstanding person among the lot of them. Not one worthy of public attention. Although interestingly, Rosen and Ballin are both young'ins - which is interesting.

So far, those are the two I really want to hear from, as they "represent" the younger citizens of Roanoke far better than the geriatric council does now.

Will they make it? Nope. Let's be honest about it. They do not have the name recognition (and by that I mean the well-known name because daddy did something good - like Fitz or Cranwell), nor do they have the experience (in the 'One Manager to rule them all' world anyway). Of course, we do not know their views on certain things. The same could be said for all the candidates.

Some questions for them:

What is to become of the old Victory Stadium site? Will it be an Ampitheater, soccer fields, or perhaps a good location for the new 'mega-library'? Because, right about now - ain't much o nothing going on there, and it's looking pretty sad. Plus- the location of the new hotel on Reserve, speaking of ugly, is there nothing the city can do to prevent it from looking like it does? I understand there are delays and such, but does it need to be an eyesore? Is there no slipcover we can put over it?

And about that ampitheater? Downtown, or not? Or can we put something similar (and cost-effective) downtown that has multiple purposes?

Is Rockledge even an issue? Or is it one of those fear-mongering things tat will be a great tool that the City actually has very little say over. Regardless of whatever may happen, the courts still have the last word on this one, due to the covenants on the mountain. And no Lugar or Burcham interpretation matters a hill of beans in the face of a legal decision.

The Market Building, and downtown in general should be the forefront of this election - as this is our main attractor/collector for new arrivals and new businesses. Too many vacant buildings still - too little sensible planning, and that exploded bathysphere of a zero-to-bankrupt Art Museum. Theres more loans being floated there then in all the banks during the Flood of '85.

This is by no means going to be an easy election - our choices suck so far. And with the importance of the Downtown issues, and the education of our children always in the balance - we need the heroes of tomorrow today.

We need the ones who can walk in and change the world - who do not get bogged down in endless debate and study, and most of all - we need someone as Mayor who can effectively handle the job, and be a leader - not a preacher.

But so far - Harris is our only choice, and I'm not sure whats more depressing. That, or the fact the pack so far is nothing but Democrats.

Goood Morning Roanoke!

Another interesting day unfolds here in ol' Noketown. We start with rain and fog, and smoke and mirrors.

Once again - more articles on the Democratic Candidates for City Council and Mayor, but only the Dems. I shall assume there is not one Repub or Indie anywhere within the City of Roanoke remotely interested.

Money - sure it comes down to money. It always does. But write-in candidates usually don't spend much on advertising, if anything at all. Might be an option, if you think about it.

Of course, I'd personally like to see hundreds of write ins, each getting a hundred votes - negating the best efforts of the paid politicians to continue their reign of power.

Anyway - just thought I would toss that out there.

Sitting in the Meebo box for a bit. Stop by and say hi if you like.

The Emperor Strikes again

So Harris is going to try for 2... Wonderful.

This should be fun.

In the Meebo Chatbox to the right there - stop on by and enjoy a laugh at the Mayor's expense.

Word on the street is....

That our CEO would not be unhappy if someone, or something - tore down the Market building completely, and replaced it with something more "progressive" like stores and parking.

Yes, you heard me.

Tear it down.

She does not see the value in having yet another city-funded building that requires more funds than it will most likely generate in revenue.

Well, at least she is thinking of our finances.

Think she needs to go yet?

Pardon Moi?

The City Council chooses to find someone else to take on the burden of fixing what it will not.

This is acceptable?

I'm in the Meebo chat to the right, being angry and broody on this one folks.

I think the gauntlet has been thrown down by Emperor Harris and CEO Hillary Burcham.

War?

A touch delayed

Ok, so I had to be in at 6 this morning, which meant I got to read all the headlines from today's paper - but had no time to respond to them.

Although if I know my readers, you know which articles I'm talking about.

#1: Softened Opposition

Straight out balderdash I say. You can always find people to say what you want them to say, but it's what you report that leaves the impression. Now I don't know if Mr. Kittredge has any real inside line or reason for pointing the story in the direction it took, unless is had something to do with the New York Times article from last week. But seriously now, the citizenry of Roanoke has given up, as usual, and accepted it.

I guess they think that once the Council decides it, it's a done deal. And the sad part is, because they act on that belief - it becomes a reality. Which leads us to article #2.

#2: Selling ideas on Market Building

So the Adams boys have teamed up on this story, straight from the desk of Darlene herself - on the age old question: What do we do with another municipal owned building that the city has a poor track record of maintaining?

I think it comes down to this folks, this is the election issue of the next dozen years. The wise, learned individuals down at the Municipal building (which by the way has more unmaintained issues than most realize), including the C.E.O. (self-ordained) of Roanoke have seen fit to decide NOT to maintain any publicly owned structure in the past decade. Most of which had not been maintained since the late 60's as it was.

Rather, they ordered study after study on what to do with these buildings. Studies on how to improve the areas around the buildings, without dealing with the buildings themselves. And now, they are selling off city property - YOUR property - because they no longer want to pretend to spend the money on upkeep.

Sure, they can all promise they do not want the Market Building sold. But Harris, for all his faults, said it best.

From the article: 'Mayor Nelson Harris said the city council must consider a number of alternatives. "One is the market building remaining completely in municipal hands and have it operated by the city," Harris said. "Another option would be some kind of public-private partnership."

In other words - we make no promises folks. We will do what we feel is best to do. That WE does not include YOU. If you wanted something to base your benchmark of a candidate this election cycle on, this is it.

And article #3: Rockledge won't make, or break, Mill Mountain.

I am actually agreeing with Dan Radmacher. I know, I'm just as shocked as you. But like I have said before, Valley Forward is backing the wrong horse on this one. While it is certainly nice that they raised $35,000 for the Greenways (where did the money go by the way?), I've said before - no restaurateur could ever give any sort of guarantee that a restaurant, or a pair of restaurants would succeed on Mill Mountain. As a matter of fact, it would probably be one of the biggest food-related gambles to hit Roanoke in a long time, short of allowing Spanky to operate another restaurant. Maybe now they will get the message - a restaurant on Mill Mountain, no matter how noble the cause - will not be the harbinger of a new era in Roanoke.

Just like the Art Museum and the Market Building, the Restaurant depends on the people - the very same people who have not been consulted, and are generally left out of the process.

I said before - this is a critical election for the City of Roanoke, and regardless of political party, if you cannot see that, you should probably move to the County.

Actually - I would recommend it. Us mouthy minority folks who are ruining it for everyone, well - we are just getting warmed up.

Exactly what I meant.

Remember how I said I would be on hiatus until the 2nd, unless something really stupid happened?

Here it is.

Read on, go ahead. I don't think I really need to say much more about this. I mean - makes us look like gold once again.

Ladies and Gentleman, there will be a slight delay.

The Forgotten-Roanoke family is proud to announce the arrival of PVC.

PVC is the first child for the Forgotten-Family, and came into the world claws out. Obviously he shares his dad's sensibilities. But thankfully, he shares his calm, zen-like state with his mother. He is not a pit bull, yet.


Coming in at a respectable 7lbs, 7oz. and 19 3/4ths inches long - he's a cruiser weight baby.

All is well, mother and child are fine. Father is undergoing therapy for being present at the birth, and cutting the cord. Deep therapy. Actually, he has a prescription for a 4 pack of Guinness. We are just hoping he stops mumbling and drooling soon.

We will take a pause for the Holidays, and barring any unusual news in Roanoke - will return shortly after the first of the year.

Merry Christmas, Happy Belated Chanukkah, Enjoyable Kwanza, and a hearty Festivus for those who watch too much tv and refer to pop-culture references far too much.

We'll be back.

DId he just say "dusting"?

Ok - so we can let Robin Reed off the hook for this one. I don't think anyone was calling for any kind of snow, much less accumulations of +-1"

But does it matter? It snowed. The Friday before Christmas, and it snows. Everything was hushed this morning, and it felt like Christmas. And even now, at 9:30 with the now still on the ground and roof - Mill Mountain coming out of the slight fog that held it before - the mountain is capped by white.

It's been a long, yet remarkably fast year - and here in the closing days, things just suddenly slowed down.

Enjoy it while it lasts..

Required Reading for today

If I had more than a 5 hour turn-around from yesterday to this morning, I might have a post ready for you - but for right now, you have some homework.

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/144097

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/letters/wb/144112

And have you heard about this? You probably have not, unless you are one of the inside crowd from a certain group. They have been circulating it among themselves, without allowing public comment on it. There was a signature in protest I saw in the early days of this, it has since been deleted. Always good when you remove dissent.

Anyway, I have work. Someone has to serve you people...

FYI

I am in the Chatbox (to the right and down a little) until about noon today. Stop by and say hi, or Excelsior, you Fathead!

Oh, and by the way - the Miller's Hill project is not being held due to market weakness, or any of the stuff mentioned in the article - they ran out of money. Plain and simple - but always the hardest thing to admit. ESPECIALLY when you are a government funded agency.