Well, looks like the Star-Sentinel has finally got it's set of cojones in the mail. In this weeks issue (available online as a pdf) Stuart Revercomb (subject of not a few comments for some reason) lays out the timeline for the Dowe-based Scandal...
Not only did Harris know nearly the second the FOIA request was made, but the Times waited over 3 weeks to run the story after they received all the information back. You know, after the Dem primaries.
SO, doing a little extrapolative thinking here - and judging by the timing of certain stories that co-broke with the Dowe thing.. I'm going to lay this out.
1. On Dec. 19th, the VMT received it's report on how lousy it is. Anyone even remotely associated with the VMT knows that, and knows the potential it holds is 100 times greater than what it is now. Bev knows it, but the city part-owns it...
2. Jan. 28th, the Roanoke Times files it's FOIA (still no given reason as to why), 2 days later, the results of the search were handed back to the Times and all 7 council members. Harris knows.
3. Feb 9th. The City Democratic "Firehouse" popularity contest. The shake-out begins. Fitz is cast aside for someone younger and with more real-estate ties.
4. Feb. 21st. The Roanoke Times and Star-Sentinel both run headlines as the Dowe story finally breaks. In it's 2/29 edition, the editor of the Star-Sentinel documents the entire 3 week process.
5. Feb. 23rd. Dowe resigns, after a 90 minute chit-chat with Harris over his kitchen table. Light tea-sipping reported.. along with much knitting of brows.
6. Feb. 26th. Report surfaces about the VMT's problems. The same report which was handed over on Dec. 19th, that even the museum's own blog reported on (12/26) which was the follow up to a scathing report a few days earlier that got Fitz and co. in trouble. So how this report was missed a few days earlier, or a few MONTHS earlier - well, it's beyond me. Unless it was timed to try and take the heat off someone, there's no valid reason to try and make this an issue now.
7. March 3rd. Now it comes down to this - the city council meets to accept Dowe's resignation, and figure out a way out. I'm going to start taking names and figuring out odds here.. so if you have anyone you want on the list - let me know.
Possible Fill-Ins: Bill Bestpitch (10-1), Bev Fitz (100-1), Stu Revercomb (50-1).. Me (1000-1)
Anyone else?
Meebo Chatbox from time to time today.. see you there.
5 comments:
The entire Valley Forward Organization, rotating representatives every Council Meeting. 50/1.
My money is on one of Harris's stooges Bill worstpich.Or even ole Joel Richert, just let them do for the city what they do to Old Southwest ..there odds 100 percent. Chances of anybody that will do any good ,A snowballs chance in HELL on a hot day.
Thinking of selling my house for sure now. Besides this interesting turn of events, the fact that the debate over Rockledge continues, some of the crap that the fire dept is getting (see Rhett's blog) and the increased crime near my house I'm almost embarassed to say I live in Roanoke City.
For some reason the RSS site doesn't seem to be working. On their home page when I click I get the 1/11/08 paper and from your site I just get frozen. As far as the VMT, I read nothing about it until the other day when one of the tv stations posted a blurb, so I don't think the report was released until just recently, and that's why it's an issue now.
An informed Roanoker told me the VMT report is really not "new news" and as I recall it may be at least 30 to 60 days old. Maybe more. I saw a comment on a RT's blog that was posted by someone who claimed they knew some of the details and the claim was that it tracked some of the poor management practices way back to before FitzP's time. It was less about today than way the hell back when. Personally, it's been a long time since I visited and then I was not impressed. It looked more like a place for old retired NW people to hang out an play with trains. The bulk of what they had appeared to be donations of things pulled out of barns, fields or other such places and all clearly in need of restoration. The board should have established some guidelines for taking in junk with no hopes of being able to restore it. I suspect they would be wise to purge some of the iron and do a major "down-sizing" keeping what is really in good shape or which can be restored rather easily. BUT again, I have not see the stuff in years, so maybe I'm wrong.
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