Archive for the ‘Virginia Beach government’ Category

VIRGINIA BEACH – - Virginia News Source (VNS) has learned that only two members of the city council had enough knowledge to vote against giving Norfolk $250,000 for its light rail study.

Only 2 members had read any of the documents governing the resort city’s obligation to Norfolk’s light rail project.

Councilman Jim Wood, who is also chairman of the Hampton Roads Transit board, had never been able to get a copy of HRT’s original grant application until VNS requested it.

Councilman Bill DeSteph had read that and other documents before the issue was bought before council.

That is unconscionable: Councilman John Uhrin, Mayor Will(ing) Sessoms, Councilwoman Barbara Henley – who admittedly knew nothing about the contents and obligations outlined in the documents – were going to ‘blow $250,000′ tax dollars because Norfolk ‘asked.’ Because Sessoms and City Mgr. Jim Spore wanted them to.

Had they done this they would have been guilty of malfeasance in office – but they were stupidly blissful in trying to help solve Norfolk’s financial problems with our tax dollars.

Wrong grasshoppers! Next election you are going down. Future campaigns won’t be like past campaigns. There’s the Internet. There are citizen activists to challenge your every statement and position.

There’s a ‘New Day Dawning’ in politics here and across the nation.

No longer will your money alone be able to put your sorry asses in office.

Integrity. Responsibility. Honesty. Serving the public first. Transparency. Those are the qualities that most lying, currently serving politicians will have to square off against.

Try putting your records, statements, actions, and lies against that standard now and let us know where you think you stand. We may add out 2-cents worth.

Politicians who stick their heads up in public can expect to be held accountable or embarrassed for their arrogance and stupidity.

In the current flap over the funding of the Norfolk study, only DeSteph and Vice Mayor Louis Jones stood up for the taxpayers.

After meeting with the HRT chief the day before Sessoms was going to try to ram the issue through council, DeSteph and Jones alone got Phil Shucet, HRT’s top exec, to withdraw the request.

Oh, we almost forgot: There was a council transcript quoting the previous manager of the corrupt agency as promising the study would “not cost Virginia Beach” a penny.

Despite all the evidence, the council refused so signal in advance how it’d vote, except for DeSteph, Jones, Wilson, Dyer, and Diezel.

For example Councilwoman Henley, admitting she’d never seen any of the documents, said she hadn’t made up her mind before the request was withdrawn.

But sources tell VNS that she’d do anything City Manager Jim Spore wanted and Spore wanted her vote for giving away the tax dollars.

There is no evidence that anybody other than DeSteph might present information about the documents and there is no evidence that those who hadn’t ‘made up their minds’ wouldn’t have voted for the giveaway in total stupidity.

Only Jones, DeSteph, and VNS, stood in the way.

VIRGINIA BEACH – - It ain’t gonna to be Mayor Will Sessoms:

Who ya  gonna call when you want somebody to save your tax dollars?  Why Vice Mayor Louis Jones and Councilman Bill DeSteph – that’s who.

Jones & DeSteph went head to head Monday with HRT chief Phil Shucet over HRT’s attempt to get Virginia Beach citizens to help fund Norfolk’s light rail study costs.  They saved the taxpayers of Virginia Beach almost $250,000 in 1-brief meeting Monday morning.  They’re the heroes of the day.

Shucet withdrew the request deciding to take the funds out of HRT’s own pockets after Jones told him he needed to find the money ‘in house’ instead of looking for it from resort city taxpayers.

While Jones and DeSteph were fighting to prohibit Virginia Beach tax dollars from going to Norfolk’s grossly and criminally mismanaged light rail project, what was Mayor Sessoms doing?

He was trying to break the arms of other members of council to get them to vote to give the money away.  Never once did Sessoms challenge the legality and integrity of the HRT request.

Instead Sessoms was working feverishly trying to force his colleagues to vote approval of the request.  Of Shucet’s turn around after meeting DeSteph & Jones,  Sessoms said, “That to me is HRT building credibility pretty quick.” The resort city’s stupidest mayor, who had been rallying council members to approve the money doesn’t have the ability to be a leader!

DeSteph on the other hand, went after the alleged documents City Manager Jim Spore’s staff said required approval of the payment  to Norfolk.

All DeSteph and Jones found was a 15-page document, negotiated and signed by Spore in 1999, but never approved by city council.  And  even if  it had been legally executed,  it did not require the beach to pay for any Norfolk study.

It limited participating funding to capital ‘acquisitions’ such as …”vehicles, administration and maintenance facilities, bus stop signs, bus shelters, computer systems.”

The project is now sitting on almost $108 MILLION in cost overruns in 1-year.  The original document – HRT’s grant application for light rail – states that any costs over $50 MILLION in federal grants have to be paid by NORFOLK – not Virginia Beach and the other cities.

It cries out for a federal investigation to determine where $108 MILLION – Plus went, where, when, to whom, why, and did it disappear legally or illegally.  Only then can the corrupt, mismanaged agency restore its credibility.  Not from more shenanigans like this in conspiracy with an incompetent mayor who can’t see past his nose.

This has caused some to wonder, whether the project may not force Norfolk into bankruptcy or at least trash its credit rating.

No member of the Virginia Beach city council except Jim Wood, HRT’s chairman, and DeSteph have seen or read the governing documents.

Sessoms was ready, willing and able to give away his city’s tax dollars to a project – way over cost and behind schedule – without EVER SEEING THE DOCUMENTS GOVERNING VIRGINIA BEACH’S RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS,  That should constitute malfeasance and be prosecuted by the Commonwealth’s attorney.

[Just in case:  Did any of you read the preceding paragraph? Read it again.]

In fact, Wood had been unable to obtain a copy of the original grant document himself, even as chairman, because the X-dirtbag HRT administrator REFUSED to give it to him, until it was requested by Virginia News Source.

It is hard to believe that as chairman of the board, you have no control over your employees – except for the fact that X-chief Michael Townes screams “racism” every time he is questioned about something he wants to hide or fails to perform to normal, acceptable, responsible standards.

He had the board scared to death to challenge him one board member told VNS. But now he’s gone.  A new day has dawned, but not without lingering storm clouds that only a federal investigation can drive away.

VIRGINIA BEACH – - Bill Fleming, self-employed and in the Democrat Party, is facing the biggest uphill battle of his career:  An run for the 8th District Senate seat against Jeffrey McWaters,  elected last weekend as the GOP standard bearer.

Fleming has only until January 12 to marshal a campaign against overwhelming odds of money and organization.  McWaters is still officially reporting about $165,000 in campaign funds received in his campaign against fellow GOPer, Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson.

However, insiders have speculated that when the final tally is in, it would run $500,000 to $800,000 from his special interest friends among a political machine that Mayor Will Sessoms’ hardcore of supporters are trying to build around him.

In an appearance before the Saturday Democrat breakfast of about 65 – 23 Princess Anne High School students, Fleming admitted his entry was a last minute move as he denied being ‘extreme,’ but admitted being an otherwise conservative candidate. Read the rest of this entry »

TIDEWATER (August 10, 2009) – - The City of Norfolk filed suit Monday to take possession of the Dominion Tower office complex on the downtown waterfront – not for redevelopment (the redevelopment authority is almost broke), but for a brazen new economic venture with Virginia Beach through its powers of eminent domain.

Norfolk Mayor (also Virginia Beach’s new vice mayor) Paul Fraim and Virginia Beach Mayor (and Norfolk’s new vice mayor) Will Sessoms said the complex is needed for headquarters for the formation of the Tidewater Reserve Bank (TRB), a regional version of the Federal Reserve Bank.

Noting that growing citizen anti-tax, anti-government discontent is threatening everything from Sessom’s buddy, Obama’s euthanasia medical program to members of Congress in Town Hall meetings, they devised the plan, the explained, to better circumvent any citizen participation in their spending decisions.

“We have each reached spending crises in our two cities that are going to require large cash infusions to sustain projects for our special interest developer friends than can no longer be met by normal taxing means.”

“Why, not,” a reporter interrupted. “Because,” Fraim said, “it appears the citizens’ interests don’t jibe with what Will and I believe should be the direction the cities must move and the projects we think we need. Please hold all other questions until our presentation is finished.” “What about the Velcro Farm Project, will TRB fund more Velcro growing in the Pungo Green Line district?” “Questions are over ’til we finish.” Read the rest of this entry »

VIRGINIA BEACH (August 8, 2009) – - Is the Virginia Beach City Council back on Crack Cocaine again?

Or is proposed $28 MILLION animal shelter a political payoff?

Or is the city just remorseful over being named one of the nation’s most ‘Family Hostile’ cities and wants to make it up by putting animals in buildings that cost more than most homes in the city on a square foot cost basis.

Anyway you cipher, council members approving such an expenditure should be hung.

Do you know what this is saying? $28 MILLION divided by proposed size of 54,709 square feet = almost $512 per square feet. We bet Will Sessoms (Norfolk Vice Mayor) didn’t pay that much for his home. Read the rest of this entry »

VIRGINIA BEACH (July 12, 2009) – - I remember ‘The Block’ – the 21st block of Atlantic Avenue back in the ‘60s and 70s. It was exciting. Lots of people. Many ‘hippies,’ sporting long hair and bare from the waist up.

The cops walking with ‘hob nail’ boots under the protection and at the political direction of lieutenants in the old Kellam Organization, stomped on all dissidents. Beat them. Jailed them. Young people were fair game.

No body had rights back then except the cops and their cohorts. And they committed more crimes in the name of the law than anyone else in the city at the time. They even conspired to put certain people out of business to protect their political bosses. Read the rest of this entry »

VIRGINIA BEACH (June 8, 2009) -- - Light rail supporters, under the guise of involving the public in the light rail decision will ‘Delphi’ the opinion to be what government leaders want -- not what the people wants.

In a May 23 detailed, highly documented presentation on the fraudulent economies of Norfolk’s proposed light rail project to the

Oceanfront, Part 1 and Part 2 have dealt with the facts.

The fraud is how officials ‘low-balled’ the projected costs and ‘hi-balled’ usage to obtain federal and state money — a crime most places. Once the funds were obtained, the projected skyrocketed over budget by $56 MILLION; and the first car hasn’t been put on the tracks.

If a member of the public had pulled that kind of shell game involving government funds,  they would have been charged with fraud or other crimes.

Reid Greenmun, chairman of the Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance’s Transportation Committee, is undeniably the most expert citizen transportation not on the public payroll.

Greenmun made the dramatic presentation (on YouTube) based on the facts supplied from the public record by the agencies involved in the area’s transportation projects.  Anywhere documentation didn’t exist, Greenmun pointed that out by saying it was his opinion based on ‘the best available facts.’

Read the rest of this entry »

VIRGINIA BEACH (June 3, 2009) – - Councilman Bobby Dyer said today that he had scored one of his big goals:  Getting rid of the Virginia Beach Media and Communication Group’s (MCG) self-promoting, job justifying, propoganda spewing, City Page.

Today’s page is the last of the last such expense for taxpayers.  Dyer, Councilman Bill DeSteph, former Councilwoman Reba McClanan, and Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson, all opposed continuation of the costly project.

It cost an estimated $6,700 for a single page and $12,000 for a double page in color to run it every other week in the Virginian-Pilot, not counting the staff expense to put it together.

Basically useless, except to give the MCG director, Mary Hancock, something she could falsely point to as an accomplishment.  Any intelligent citizen doesn’t need the page to provide them competent information.

It represented lousy, elementary attempts at ad preparation, and never rose to any level of journalism.  It was self-aggrandizement at its worst.

RIP City Page.

And speaking of MCG Director Hancock:  Why is she afraid to release a copy of her biography?  Why does her boss Susie Walston hide it behind ‘it’s a personnel issue?”  Could it be padded?  Contain exxagerations?  Or worse contain total fiction?  Come on Mary Hancock:  Release your biography/work experience and your resume.

Or is the reason you are withholding it from the public is validates the lack of quality of the ‘dying City Page?’  Come on Mary.  Enquiring minds want to know.  Maybe we can help by verifying your references and validating your credentials as a professional.  You think?

The other question is:  Does VNS already have copies?

VIRGINIA BEACH (May 30, 2009) -- - Light rail:  Traffic congestion panacea or another government boondoggle wasting taxpayer dollars to pay off special interest political campaign debts?

A project that promoters admit will serve no more than 12,000 commuters a day -- a drop in the bucket if you look at the number of cards on our roads today.

WATCH THE VIDEO PRESENTATION:  JUST THE FACTS, MA’AM!

This is Part 2 of a presentation by Reid Greenmum, chairman of the Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance Transportation Committee.  Greenmun is undisputedly  one of the most knowledgeable experts on transportation in Tidewater.

Greenmun noted that the federal government was told the project in Norfolk would cost $232 MILLION, but like everything done by bureaucrats and politicians in a little over a year, it is already $56 MILLION OVER budget and it hasn’t left the station yet.

Did HRT deliberately lie to the feds by underestimating the costs and overestimating ridership and benefits just to get federal, state monies with the strategy being:  Get it started and SOMEBODY will have to finance keeping it going.

Read the rest of this entry »

EDITOR’S NOTE:This is the first in a series of videos taken from the VBTA Transportation Chariman’s presentation on May 23. You must have a strong heart or a weak mind to view it!

VIRGINIA BEACH (May 2009) -- - In a tell-it-like-it-is video presentation, Reid Greenmun, chairman of the

Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance, held a full house spellbound recounting the goals, plans, cost, benefits and negative aspect of the proposal to take Norfolk’s Trolley Folly Lite Rail to the oceanfront.

Greenmun probably is the foremost expert on transportation in Tidewater.  He knows more and tells more,  more accurately than any bureaucrats who are padding their career futures at taxpayers expense in promoting lite rail.

Among the points Greenmun made in the 45 minute presentation, were the fact that:

• The project has nothing to do with reducing traffic congestion. (In fact the words ‘traffic congestion’ aren’t mentioned as a goal of the plan)
• It is strictly designed to serve developers and foster more and higher density development.
• Studies show the people who use it are not people who drive and are not people who are here now -- meaning they will be new people and they will add to, not reduce the traffic congestion.
• The people who use light rail will not be the people who pay for it.
• Riders (users) will probably pay 25- 30% of the operating costs through fares that could run more than $5.50 a day;  (Bus riders pay 25%, but figures aren’t yet available to indicate more precisely how much of the cost Trolley Folly fares will amount to).
• Nonusers -- the rest of the taxpayers -- will pay all other operating and maintenance costs and ALL of the construction costs.
• This is a wealth redistribution plan from the suburban to the urban areas.
• The people who will benefit from this are not the people paying for it.

Part of the light rail plan involves ‘Transit Oriented Development’ (TOD) -- which in theory calls for the taxpayers to pay for building the rail line and then developers will come along the route, build it up and the additional taxes (in theory only, however) will recoup the original costs.

See the video for yourself.  You must have a strong heart of weak mind to view the video.