Democrat Eric Young running for Brentsville District

MoonHowler

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Eric Young has announced his candidacy for the BOCS seat vacated by former supervisor Wally Covington.  Young is a life-long resident of  Prince William County  and grew up in Nokesville where he currently makes his home .  He will be running as a Democrat.

I am glad to see Mr. Young throw his hat in the ring for this race.  Even though I cannot vote for him, all supervisors influence the county.  There was just something about that other race that wasn’t quite meeting all requirements of my sniff test.

Mr. Young has taken the pledge to take no developer money.  Now there’s a switch.  It isn’t that Young is anti growth or even anti development.  He seems to want decisions based on what is best for the county, rather than who can throw the most money at each supervisor.  Novel concept, eh?

Stay tuned.

Mr. Young’s website:

http://www.ericyoungpwc.com/

 

 

A clarion call for blog intregrity and decency

MoonHowler

The past few weeks one of  the local blogs has been waging war on behalf of Jeanine Lawson who is running for Brentsville District supervisor.  She wants to take Wally Covington’s place.  That’s fair.  Ms. Lawson has been active in the community and supports many things this very blog holds dear.

Bloggers often have their favorite candidates.  What isn’t fair is the usual half-truths, lies, and derisive pictures being posted against her opponent, Scott Jacobs.  I am reminded of some of the nasty tricks that have been done to local candidates in the past.

For starters, a picture of Canadian Mayor Rob Ford, a large buffoon known for excesses and drug use, is being posted along side, or in place of Scott Jacobs.  This derisiveness and mockery is unacceptable.     Ford isn’t even an American and has nothing to do with Brentsville.  The use of his picture is an immature propaganda attempt to smear Jacobs and to ridicule him.  Absolutely the facts should be debated, sans lies and mimicry.

I call on both Jeanine Lawson  and Pete Candland to contact the blog owner(s) and demand decency during this campaign.  Pete gets named as culpable because of his close connection with the blog in question.  He is its favorite son.  If they do not insist on ethical behavior, then count on me to call them out–all candidates.  We need to stick to the issues of Prince William County.  Let’s not vilify other candidates or those who support them. Yes, I recall what was done to Jeanette Rishell and her campaign manager.  I recall what was done to Sharon Pandak when she ran for chairman,   I remember what was done to Elena as she supported the Rural Crescent and a candidate who did not win.  If the politician stands to profit from unethical, derogatory  blog behavior, then they will quickly own the problem and must step up to the plate to demand decency.

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Wally Covington appointed a general district court judge

MoonHowler

Insidenova.com:

The Virginia General Assembly on Thursday appointed Brentsville District Supervisor Wally Covington a district judge, paving the way for a special election for his seat on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Covington has served three terms on the board and is currently vice chairman. He was chosen Friday to fill a vacancy in Prince William General District Court, a position that requires him to resign from his elected office. Two Republicans, Jeanine Lawson and Scott Jacobs, plan to run for the vacant seat in a special election that will be sometime this winter. There won’t be a Democratic contender for the seat. On Oct. 1, the Prince William Republican Committee will hold a mass meeting to nominate one of the two candidates to run in the special election. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Patriot High School.

Congratulations to Supervisor Covington.   Most of us knew that he wanted this position for a long time.  Hopefully he will find the job very rewarding. Now the fun will begin as the two Republican candidates jockey for the vacated supervisors position.  The decision to chose the candidate at a mass meeting pretty much decided the outcome of this election.   Plan for the deck to be stacked. Brentsville District will certainly be rocking this fall.  I am not a Republican and I don’t live in Brentsville District.  We will be watching from a distance. The civility of this race will be remembered.

Child sex abuse? Rule of Law! Rule of Law!!

Angelina_Apr

Mike Hethmon, for those of you who do not remember, was one of the outside sources giving Prince William County legal advice on how to write their “Rule of Law Resolution.” There are just some things that come back and bite you in the ass. This is one of them.  Surely Prince William County could seek advice from someone who didn’t have this alleged dirty little secret.

Don’t expect other blogs to be covering this tawdry story.  I am sure it will be brushed under the rug.  The anti-immigration blog might be crawling back under its rock with this news.

Mike Hethmon tried to protect us from anchor babies.  If this charge is true, who is going to protect the anchor babies and all the rest of the children from Mike Hethmon?

Mike Hethmon advises US on Rule of Law????

Mike Hethmon is innocent until proven guilty.

Lady Liberty is actually a bouncer in drag

MoonHowler

 

 

I am going to advance a hypothesis.   Local people who feel threatened by the refugee children from Central America are the same people who were anti-immigration to start with, you know, back in the day.  Yes, the people who smugly went around touting “Illegal is illegal” and feeling like they had just made some sort of deep observation or said something profound. What does surprise me is the fact that these same people are now attacking children. How stupid on my part. Why am I surprised!?
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BOCS: What did and did not happen

MoonHowler

Get Microsoft Silverlight

Very briefly, the BOCS went in to closed session following the invocation.  They emerged about a half hour later and Chairman Stewart announced the result of their session which you can hear in the above video.

Posting this video should cut down on the myths, lies and superstitions out there in cyberland.  Additionally, Chairman Stewart confirmed that no children were being housed at the Armory on Dumfries Road, outside Manassas.

The questions the Board seek answers to  seem appropriate.  I sincerely hope the BOCS will keep this reasonable tone and stand down during this humanitarian crisis.  These kids have to be scared, alone, and insecure.  They do not need to hear county  vitriol carried over from 2007 hurled at them.   Yes, its pretty much the same familiar tired old faces spewing hate and explaining to us why they aren’t prejudiced. (Yea, well yes you are!)   Some of them just had to get out their thread-barren old shirts, some with those red circles and make sure we all knew that there was still a sputter of hate left inside.

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Supervisor Candland, did you forget something?

MoonHowler

little-league-baseball-1

Once again, it’s increasingly difficult to get out of my driveway.  All day long I have charter buses, school buses, trucks and regular automobiles full of people going up and down my street.  The daily rescue squad also screams down the street–at least once a day.  Why am I so blessed?  I live near a county water park.  I also live near soccer fields and baseball fields.  The athletic fields are what really bring the traffic in, car after car after car.

When I first read about Old Pace West athletic fields staying on the county books, even though the facility was being sold to private industry, I breathed a sigh of relief.  At least they weren’t being moved to MY neighborhood, with all the little baseball players and their family cars.  That’s really what NIMBY is.  Selfishness.  I was really glad that locally owned QBE, the company that bought Old Pace West, worked out a deal with the county.

Actually, this deal works really well for all concerned.  The PWC School Board sold its old school that it no longer has use for.  The school had athletic fields which the county gets to continue to use in exchange for QBE’s land tax on those fields.  Great business partnership on display here.  QBE doesn’t need athletic fields.   QBE pays taxes each month.  The county then reimburses  QBE for the taxes on the athletic fields.   What a great partnership.  More businesses should take advantage of public/private partnerships that benefit the public like this one does.

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Tea Party mentality vanquished by the BOCS 2014

MoonHowler

Budget time is always a contentious time of year.  This year was particularly awful.  It didn’t have to be that way.  The county tax rate was set at $1.148.  It probably should have been much higher to start bringing some of our deficiencies like class size and first responders into line.  But it wasn’t.  We should be glad that it is as high as it is.  The schools are still short several million dollars.

I am not sure why the notion that officials  need to “cut spending” is so popular amongst some people.  I live in this area because I want better than average services.  I hate tea party mentality.  I also don’t feel that I am over taxed.   “Cut spending” is a bumper sticker slogan.  Prince William has been so lean for so many years, “cut spending” just sounds stupid.

What particularly peeved me this time is the number of people who live in far more expensive houses than mine who whined about taxes and then tried to do it on MY behalf.  In fact, my neighborhood was cited by name.  For starters, it isn’t a poor neighborhood.  It is an older neighborhood.  There is a huge difference.  A lot of people who live near me have grown children.   We aren’t utilizing the schools.  We do want fast response time if we need the police, fire or rescue.  We want our streets maintained, swept, and the weeds killed that are growing out of the cracks in the road and sidewalks.  We want adequate lighting.  There are no street lights in my community.

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No library in the Gainesville District? BS!

MoonHowler

Several speakers at Citizen’s Time yesterday  spoke to the issue of a library in Gainesville.   In fact, one woman shrieked at the board for a solid three minutes.  Sadly, she did not make her point.  Shrieking anger  seems more blog-like than tone one should use addressing the BOCS.  I was extremely grateful when her three minutes were up.   Other speakers spoke for the libraries at citizens time, with considerable less vitriol.

What some of the people in Gainesville must not realize is that they have a library.  We call it Bull Run Regional Library up here in the original Gainesville District.  It’s right over in the Sudley North Center, off of Sudley Manor Drive on Ashton Avenue.  It’s very much in the Gainesville area.  It’s a modern, attractive,  large, well-stocked  facility with several community meeting rooms.

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Bristow Beat: Recap of BOCS Meeting

MoonHowler

One of the best re-caps  of yesterday’s BOCS meeting can be found at the Bristow Beat.  Stacy Shaw did a great job of summarizing the very long meeting as well as using citizen profiles and quotes to encapsulate the various points of view represented.  In fact, the Virginia Press Association named Bristow Beat the best in Breaking News Writing in the online-only category  at their annual awards banquet last Saturday night.  Congratulations, Bristow Beat!

Perhaps the most refreshing part of Stacy’s write-up was the air of neutrality.  I saw none of the bias one usually associates with local news, whether it is blog related or actual online or print media.  Yes, we expect blogs to portray bias.  That is sort of the point of a blog.  But all too often the actual online news sources can’t seem to resist showing their colors.  It is just darn difficult to find your news without an infusion of commentary.

One of the most touching parts of the meeting was listening to people speak to the needs of the Prince William Free Clinic.  It literally is a lifesaver for people who do not have health coverage and who might not have the out of pocket funds to get medical and dental treatment.  Not everyone gets Medicaid, especially men.  Where would these people be without the free clinic?  Hopefully, Ray B. will come along and enlighten us about who really does qualify for Medicaid in Virginia.  This illumination will be helpful when we listen to our state legislators argue the need for expanding Medicaid for 400,000 Virginians.

Meanwhile, be sure to read Stacy Shaw’s article covering the most recent Board of Supervisors meeting.  Keep up the good work, Stacy.

Bristowbeat.com

 

Corey–1, Insidenova–Zip: Look who’s keeping score

MoonHowler

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Good for Chairman Corey Stewart.  He has continued to point out the need for additional law enforcement officers, despite the fact that he has been vilified and mocked on some other blogs that frankly, would brand him regardless of what he advocated in his role as county chairman.  Now one of the local online news agencies wants to pile on, ignoring facts.

insidenova.com:

In recently arguing his case for more police officers (and perhaps higher taxes) in next year’s fiscal county budget, Prince William Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart also managed to perpetuate an unfortunate stereotype.

“It’s not just in Woodbridge or Dale City, it’s not just in places where people would think these things would occur,” Stewart said of what he perceives as a spike in crime. “They are happening in the western end of the county.”

Really, Mr. Stewart? We expect rape, robbery and murder on the east end but not the west end?

He might as well have called it “Hoodbridge,” that embarrassing nickname that started who knows where, but it seems to have stuck.

Stewart called a press conference earlier this month to make his case that crime is on the rise, and mentioned two recent high-profile incidents – the execution-style shooting death of 21-year-old Glenda Coca-Romero at Platanillos Grocery in Woodbridge and a gang fight at Potomac Mills mall.

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Why the assessment hysteria?

MoonHowler

assessments

The county assessments are out.  You can find yours at the county website.

Despite the dire warnings I have read on Internet and on blogs, my real estate assessment didn’t go up all THAT much.  At one quick glance I determined that if the $1.158 published tax rate goes through, then I might be paying about $13 [editorial correction from earlier amount] more dollars per month in real estate taxes.  That is not going to break the bank.

The hype and scare that some politicians are trying to work up in the Gainesville District  are simply that, hype and scare.  I heard about all the mock concern for the working class people (read:  those who don’t live in a McMansion)  That would be me.  I am not whining.  I live in a perfectly ordinary older home in a 40 plus year old neighborhood.  Lots of Prince William residents do.  I would say my assessment is pretty typical.  I did notice my house went up 9k more than my neighbor’s house that is the same model.  Maybe it was the bathroom upgrades and the new roof.

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Chairman calls for more police (this is the Corey I like to see)

MoonHowler

cops

Chairman Corey Stewart held a press conference earlier in the week to announce a needed crackdown on crime because of a recent spate of serious, more violent crimes in the area.   Chairman Stewart addressed crime, rather than more divisive factors in his press conference.

potomaclocal.com:

Stewart today called a press conference in his office in Woodbridge and called for answers from the county’s police department on what’s causing what he called an “uptick” in local crime. No law enforcement members were present at the meeting when Stewart announced he wants Police Chief Stephan Hudson look for trends, or possible commonalities on what’s behind a recent rash of violent crime. Recent incidents like a rape, sexual assault, and a bank robbery in Nokesville were also cited as part of a rise in crime.

“It’s too early to know if there is an underlying cause, or if this is a beginning of a trend, but crime did go up substantially in 2012 and I think it’s going to go up again when the final numbers are ready for calendar 2013, as well,” said Stewart.

He’s basing his concerns on anecdotal information given to him, he told reporters.

This is the Corey I like to see! He didn’t single out any demographic groups to target. He aimed at the problem–CRIME. Addressing this problem now, rather than waiting until it gets its foothold in the door is a good thing. Public safety should always get top billing here in Prince William County. It’s just how that top billing is presented that has been a problem in the past. Chairman Stewart is going about this the right way this time. He is going directly to the Chief for his data and solutions.

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The taxman cometh to PWC (without the hysterics and girlie screams)

MoonHowler
Local man thinks his tax bill is tripling.
Local man thinks his tax bill is tripling.

Let’s face it.  None of us like to pay taxes.  It’s against our grain to turn over our money to anyone else without seeing something visible and tangible in return.  Local taxes are often invisible–Public money goes  to schools, roads, community services like fire and rescue other people’s welfare, and to fix broken pipes and water mains.  If you don’t commute, have kids in school or if your house doesn’t catch fire, then you might not have much of a notion as to where your ‘hard earned’ cash goes.

[Does anyone have money that isn’t “hard earned?”  Are there any of us who aren’t tax payers?]

This  Tuesday, the PWC Board of County Supervisors will set the proposed tax rate for  FY 15 which begins July 1, 2014.  To read local blogs, one would think that Tuesday is  Doomsday.  Prognosticators wearing long robes and carrying signs have been predicting the end of the world for months now with the evil chairman being the chief instigator to take that hard earned cash.  One would think the evil chairman was a one horse show, rather than simply one of 8 elected officials.  Enough about Wizard Stewart, the money grabber.  Let’s examine a few things about the tax rate and what it represents.

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Electronic town hall: The District of Nottingham

MoonHowler

Now we use the telephone

I used to live in the Gainesville District.  In recent times, I am not so sure what district I live in.  I have not moved.

Last night, my supervisor held an electronic town hall meeting.   I like the concept of the electronic town hall meeting.  I enjoyed the last one.  Last night, not so much.  All I heard were talking points from a local blog.  I was disappointed.  I pretty much heard affirmation of an uncooperative board of supervisors and an irresponsible school board.  I don’t believe either of these bodies are irresponsible.  Furthermore, the school board is not made up of members of society from a lesser god.  They are duly elected officers  of the county, the same as the board of supervisor members.

I wanted to ask a question but I figured I wouldn’t get through to my supervisor.  It wouldn’t have been well-received, I don’t think.

The question I would have asked is the following:

If I contacted the supervisor’s office or the county over something that irritated the supervisor, would he post my inquiry on his website, thus opening me up for ridicule and vicious attacks from local bloggers and contributors?

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