Your Credit Rating/Our Credit Rating Just got Cut!!

It seems rather crazy that in the world of 24/7 cable news that the very fact that our nation's Credit Rating was cut this last week has gone with barely a whisper from the corporate media. Could it be that there is some fear on the part of the media that such news may in some way impact the current perception by Main Street USA regarding this economy and the real truth about its underpinnings?

Credit rating agency Egan Jones (EJR) downgraded the United States on concern over the sustainability of our public debt. Egan Jones is one of the most important ratings firms in the world; they lowered the US credit level from AA+ to AA. The firm reduced the US from AAA to AA+ in July 2011, just before Standard & Poor’s did the same

Egan Jones further warned: “Without some structural changes soon, restoring credit quality will become increasingly difficult . . . without some structural changes soon, restoring credit quality will become increasingly difficult.” They added that there was a 1.2% probability of US default in the next 12 months. The company cited the fact that the US’s total debt, which now equals its total GDP, is rising and soon will eclipse the national GDP; the company sees the debt rising to 112% of the GDP by 2014.

So dire have economic conditions become in the United States that American freelance alternative press online columnist Allen Roland stated to Press TV this past week that the United States is experiencing a deep depression and cited the following facts:

“Reality is finally coming to the surface. The stock market is not the American economy. Eighty percent of the stock market is basically high frequency trading of the big boys playing games with their money.

And 61 percent of the American debt is being bought by, guess who? The Fed (US Federal Reserve Bank) – So we’re printing money. So let me give you the raw economic numbers, which basically what this is telling us – raw economic numbers about the American economy:

38 percent of all Americans are either considered to be low income or living in poverty; 57 percent of all children in the US are living in homes that are either considered to be low income or impoverished; the average amount of time a worker stays employed in the US is now over 40 weeks and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed in 2006; today that number is 14.5 million.”

Most astounding to note in these horrible statistics about the US economy are that they are apparently welcomed by Obama who yesterday stated about the weekly jobs report: “We welcome today’s news that our businesses created another 121,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate ticked down…”

Failing to be mentioned by Obama, or his propaganda mainstream press corps lap-dogs, was that the only reason the US unemployment rate was able to be tagged lower was due to the record number of 88 million Americans dropping out of the work force because there are no jobs for them.

To how the Obama regime is really dealing with the catastrophic rate of unemployment, aside from keeping the American media from telling the truth, appears to be through mass arrests of those who dare to protest, and as of 29 March showed nearly 7,000 US citizens jailed for protesting in at least 113 separate cities.

Even worse, new reports from the United States are further warning that a new wave of home foreclosures is underway that will rival the upheaval seen by those who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

To how the Obama regime will deal with future instability caused by unprecedented economic dislocation and chaos Americans are being warned that their police forces have now adopted Israeli techniques which, in essence, labels all protesters as terrorists while at the same time the US Department of Homeland Security is still refusing to say why they ordered 450 million rounds of ammunition.

One of the rare exceptions to those American media organizations doing lap-dog service for the Obama regime is the highly respected lawyer and New York Times best selling author Glenn Greenwald who in his latest article in Salon Magazine writes: “The uncritical relationship and overlapping functions of government officials and establishment media organs are more severe than ever.”

Most sadly in all of these events, the once great United States, whose press freedoms were once legendary, has been placed at No. 47 on the world’s press freedom index by the internationally respected Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organization in a stunning move reflecting how deprived of real truth the American people truly are.

The great American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson once warned his fellow citizens, “Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it.”

With that warning going unheeded, however, the quote of the great American author Mark Twain seems to be the more appropriate one to use for this American generation, “There are laws to protect the freedom of the press’s speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press.”

What Have Our Public Schools Become?

I would like to pose a simple question; are our public schools really about education anymore or more about some form of social engineering?

Ask yourself why it is you feel we need public schools in the first place and then read the following from Rick Gray from the Village News. I am sure you will have more questions than answers once you read his thoughts:

"Recently, in this space, I have challenged our superintendent’s plan to “reform” education in Chesterfield’s public schools. After three columns on that topic, I’m going to give it a break in hopes that parents, teachers and others with more at stake will take up the banner.
True, I have strong views on the subject, but, in a sense, I really don’t have a dog in this fight. I left public education eight years ago, for good, because of an earlier “reform” called SOLs.
Still, having devoted over a decade to teaching, and more years studying the theory and practice of school administration, education is a subject close to my heart. And it occurs to me that having spent so many words on what educational reform shouldn’t be, I should begin to outline some ideas on what it might be.
Because there are a great many things we could do to improve our schools, if and when Americans ever get serious about public education.
Now, some of these ideas will surprise my readers. In the field of education, the big issues are seldom discussed. As in the Catholicism of the Middle Ages, most of the fundamental questions have been settled by authority. Instead of seeking the right answer, or even a better answer, the educational establishment has simply forestalled discussion by adopting one answer and declaring all other opinions heretical.
As a result, most of the educational debates covered by the media are arguments over detail – in effect, discussions of how to rearrange the deck chairs on The Titanic.
No one discusses changing course. But let’s try.
The most fundamental question never discussed is this: “Why do we have public schools?”
We don’t often ask the question, because nearly all Americans agree that schools are necessary. But because we don’t ask the question, an interesting situation has developed:
America’s public schools lack a mission statement.
Now, if you ask, every school district – and every school – can dig out some sort of mission statement. But examined closely, these missions statements are incredibly vague, phrased in terms of warm, fuzzy intentions such as “educational excellence for all children”, or “an atmosphere of inclusion”, or “preparation for life”.
None of which sets any goals, or, really, means anything.
In simple truth, the last time America had any meaningful educational goals was between 1957 and 1969, from the time the Soviets launched Sputnik, starting the “space race”, until we claimed victory by landing on the Moon.
Since July, 1969, a month before I started college, Americans haven’t truly been able to answer the question: “Why do we have public schools?”
Not even highly paid educational bureaucrats with Ph.Ds or Ed.Ds can answer this question in a meaningful way, setting forth clear goals which delineate what our schools should do, and what they should not; what our schools should produce.

As a result, over the past forty years, we have loaded all sorts of non-academic tasks onto our schools, creating an ever-more-muddled set of expectations.

We expect our schools to provide nutritious meals and fight childhood obesity on a budget of pocket change.

We expect them to teach sex education without offending parents, religious groups or secularists.

We expect them to help college-bound students choose the right schools, and help the rest of their students acquire critical job skills while studying an essentially college-prep curriculum.

We expect them to provide social services for all manner of troubled youth.

We expect them to teach our children to be polite, respectful and law-abiding, without hurting their feelings (or their backsides) – and without suggesting that parents have some obligation to assist in the process.

We expect them to treat all children, and their parents with absolute respect, even if those children and parents refuse to return the favor.

We expect them to provide babysitting services into the late teens for unfortunate kids whose intellectual abilities will never be equal to the demands of the secondary curriculum.

We expect them to provide babysitting services for all young people into their late teens, despite the fact that these kids are, during non-school hours, free to come and go as they please .

Now, to be sure, most of the things we expect our schools to do should be done by somebody. But when we ask schools to do them, the result is that they become less and less like schools and more like all-purpose social service agencies.

So here’s a suggestion: We should decide what we want our schools to do, what kind of young citizens we expect them to produce, in clear, specific terms.

And, having done that, we should create other entities, non-educational entities, to take care of the other stuff.
Because, as of now, our schools are trying to do far too much and accomplishing far too little"

Chesterfield County Schools: Proposed 2012-13 School Day Changes

Comments from teachers, parents and others led to changes in the calendar proposed for the 2012-13 school year:

• Thanksgiving break will be extended one day to include the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Nov. 21 was previously proposed to be a three-hour early release day for students and school-based personnel.
• Winter break will be reduced by two days with December 21 now being the first day of the holiday. The increase of two instructional days will be used to offset additional student holidays on Nov. 21 and Feb. 18.
• Presidents Day on Feb. 18 will be a holiday for students and staff.
• The three-hour early release day/school-based professional development or teacher workday on Jan. 30 will be eliminated.

The School Board is seeking additional input on the proposed calendar, which is available online at mychesterfieldschools.com. Comments may be emailed to calendar@ccpsnet.net or mailed to Proposed Calendar, Chesterfield County Public Schools, P.O. Box 10, Chesterfield, VA 23832. The board plans to vote on the calendar March 27

Chesterfield Board of Supervisors: More of the Same?

We are barely into the new term of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors and it is already fairly obvious that the election in November 2011 has brought very little change to the trajectory of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors. Citizens entered 2012 as open-minded as we did four years ago when a few of these Board members were elected for the first time, but as the term progressed we learned some very disappointing things about how our government in reality was working. A new group of leaders in Dorothy Jaeckle (R), Daniel Gecker (D/I), James Holland(D) and Marlene Durfee (I) entered leadership joining Art Warren (R) four years ago and hit the County professing a more open, transparent Board seeking to work with our School Board addressing concerns for the County. Unfortunately, our government entered into a period of bitter rivalry in which members like Supervisor Gecker pushed for more oversight by the Board of Supervisors over the budget of the School Board. As many of you are aware, the Board of Supervisors allocates the revenues generated to the County for use by the School Board, typically 48% or so of County revenues, but has no line-item powers to challenge how the School Board drafts its budget. The School Board had its own share of new blood as well that sought to rock the status quo that individuals like Supervisor Gecker have long supported. The egos of those involved managed to reach its boiling point in 2010.


That said, the new County Boards arrived for work last month and there was a bit of optimism for a few weeks until like a balloon under too much pressure that optimism burst when the Board of Supervisors selected Supervisor Daniel Gecker (D/I- Midlothian) as its Chairman. Citizens will recall it was a back room deal conjured up between Gecker, Supervisors Jaeckle (R-Bermuda) and Warren(R-Clover Hill) that eliminated the ascension of one James Holland (D-Dale) to the Chairmanship in 2011 backed by Marlene Durfee(I-Matoaca) that was thrown upon the latter right before the vote. This was an orchestrated political move undertaken by Gecker and Jaeckle that completely contradicted these leaders positions on transparency and eliminating the politics in Board activity. In the end, Warren would resume the Chairmanship for what seems like the tenth time over his long history on the Board. Last month, the those that would deliver Warren to the Chairmanship and undermine Supervisor Holland's bid in 2011 would return the favor to Supervisor Gecker. Politics as usual in Chesterfield.

Even the Richmond Times-Dispatch lead with a piece on January 29th with an article entitled "Gecker to Bring More of Same" as it analyzed how the government would operate under a Gecker Chairmanship. Citizens need to take a moment and reflect just what that "more of the same" really means and how it will inevitably impact our quality of life in Chesterfield. This was the proponent behind the 4.3 million dollar pre-payment deal to Sportsquest, which not only remains delinquent to local companies but also to the tune of 74,500 in delinquent taxes to the County. Gecker also in December addressed the Chesterfield Legislative contingent from Chesterfield to the General Assembly asking them to raise taxes on Virginians either directly or through the gas tax to pay for infrastructure for localities that fall under the State's responsibility. Gecker has been known to play "accountability politics" with everyone from the School Board in Chesterfield to the General Assembly but always fails to demonstrate any responsibility or accountability regarding Board actions. Gecker has demonstrated time and time again with his dealing with School Board member Patty Carpenter from Midlothian.

We were told by Board members like Art Warren that this new government and the relationship between both the Supervisors, Assembly and the School Board will be "more collegial". Is "collegial" what the County wants? Dos not "collegial" bring with it is own set of fleas when solutions must be created to address County needs? Was it "collegial" for Art Warren to accept the Chairmanship in 2011 after the maneuver's of Gecker and Jaeckle? Or might it have been more appropriate to take the higher road and the one leaders professed to endorse and withdraw from consideration and allow Holland to assume the Chairmanship?

Citizens of Chesterfield County should review the areas in which Supervisor Gecker seeks to focus on as Chairman as a pretty good indication of what to expect from his leadership. In the Times-Dispatch article, Gecker states that he seeks to:

1. Create a long-term plan for Parks and Recreation----this after reducing funding for parks and then shilling for the 4.3 million dollar prepayment to Sportsquest.

2. Finish the 2004 bond referendum projects---yet the Midlothian library set to alleviate stresses on Bon Air and Midlothian libraries with a location decided upon on Robious was shelved by Gecker and will not likely be completed under the new Comp Plan.

3. Infrastructure Improvements- yet Gecker's position on extending the Powhite Parkway will simply create even more urban sprawl and contribute to even greater over capacity in schools in Clover Hill and Midlothian where some schools are already at 120+% capacity. He further advocates additional taxes upon citizens through the State to pay for infrastructure improvements that may include required sidewalks and bike ways within new residential developments approved/required under the pending Comp Plan.

4. Increasing Regional Ccooperation- obliviously the biggest issue that comes to mind will be that of the Diamond and whether Chesterfield will contribute further to any new stadium deal being worked out with the City of Richmond.

All citizens should pay close attention to the actions and trajectory of the new Board's agenda moving forward and be prepared to hold it accountable given the Board has proven its inability to hold itself accountable for its own decisions.

"Tebow Law": Gaining Support in Virginia

Elections have consequences.

For years the Democrats aligned with their collective associations and unions throughout the country as self-appointed "protectors" of the public educational system have fought this measure that only recently has been called the "Tebow Law", which would allow home schooled children to participate in public school sports. In Virginia, the Republicans secured virtual control of the State Senate in this last election and that along with the timing and popularity of Tim Tebow and his advocacy for conservative principles has created an opportunity to get this bill passed.

Problem?

The Republicans apparently cannot all get behind this bill in either the House or the Senate. Home school issues have always been a tough issue for politicians, which speaks to the power of the groups within the educational community and their reluctance to endorse any measure relating to homeschooling publicly. Why? The public funding situation at both the federal and state level is always plagued with jurisdictional concerns over population and enrollment. For example, in Chesterfield County there will be certain budget cuts from the State and the County will be more impacted than others in large part because it was able to secure more funding than many other localities due to enrollment growth over the last decade. Its share in the coming years will be less than it is accustomed. Any issue that in the view of the elite public education statists sees as threatening or impacting local budgets with be highly scrutinized and ultimately criticized even though home schooled families contribute equally to public education as those families actually sending their children off to school everyday in the community.

Here is one take:

January 23, 2012

All Will Brockman wants is to play soccer for a few more years.

"I don't have a David Beckham or a Tim Tebow on my hands, but he's not bad," Sharon Brockman boasts of the 13-year-old son she home schools in Montgomery County near Christiansburg.

Will plays on a private club team now, but that will end once his contemporaries matriculate into high schools and compete on their varsity teams over the next year or two. And under current Virginia law, Will will watch from the bleachers unless he enrolls in the public schools — something Sharon Brockman says won't happen.

"If push comes to shove, he won't play high school soccer either. It's more important to us that his education be what it is than he gets to play public high school sports," Sharon Brockman said in a telephone interview.

For years, a bill that would open public school sports teams to home-schooled athletes living in their attendance districts has come before the General Assembly and just as often, it floundered, usually before the Senate Education and Health Committee.

But with the Senate under new conservative management with this month's disputed Republican takeover, three bills by Republican House members revive the issue. Sponsors call it the "Tebow Law," named for Tim Tebow, an evangelical former homeschooler who won a Heisman Trophy and led the Gators to a 2008 national title at the University of Florida, then quarterbacked the Denver Broncos into this season's NFL playoffs.

"These people pay taxes that support their public schools. You can't just shut them out from the facilities and activities they're paying for just like everybody else," said Del. Rob Bell, a bookish 44-year-old Albemarle Republican who sponsors one of the bills and is burnishing his conservative credentials for a 2013 race for attorney general.

Florida is among at least 15 states across the country that put no restrictions on home-schooled students who want to play interscholastic sports at public schools in their communities, according a state-by-state summary from the Home School Legal Defense Association. At least 13 states allow home-schooled children conditional or partial opportunities for extracurricular involvement at public schools.

The National Conference of State Legislators says it does not track the issue.

Opponents of the bill say that allowing kids who want no part of campus academic and social life to crash high school varsity teams would be unfair to full-time students, create enormous competitive inequities and gut eligibility and participation requirements of the Virginia High School League, the statewide sanctioning body for public interscholastic athletics and other activities.

"There are 13 individual eligibility requirements for participation for our programs, and under Delegate Bell's bill, the homeschoolers would meet only six and part of a seventh," said Ken Tilley, the VHSL's executive director.

Paying state and local taxes that underwrite public education doesn't, by itself, create an entitlement to a spot on a public high school varsity team, Tilley said.

"There are thousands of public school students whose parents pay taxes and who don't meet all of the 13 eligibility requirements and they can't participate," Tilley said. "Why should homeschoolers get that advantage? It completely destroys all fairness."

He's not alone in opposing the Tebow bill. The politically potent Virginia Association of School Superintendents and Virginia Education Association, which represents more than 60,000 public school teachers, have joined the fight.

They contend there is little or no periodic monitoring of academic progress for children taught by parents at kitchen tables, unlike in public classrooms. Nor, they say, is there any way to verify that a student is doing classroom work through the day, instead of working out with a personal trainer.

It would foment resentment among students and athletes, their parents and particularly school faculty, said Keith Rowland, the superintendent of Shenandoah County's public schools.

"The teachers are going to have that message ringing in their ears: 'I'm not good enough to provide you an education during the day, but I'm good enough to provide you come and play.' That's not a real good message," Rowland said.

Perhaps the bill's most formidable adversary is Del. Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach. The chairman of the House Education Committee is nicknamed "Coach" for the football teams he led to championships in his days as a high school educator. He also was a University of Virginia football and baseball star in the early 1950s who played briefly for the NFL's Detroit Lions.

Tata fears that opening high school sports to homeschoolers would weaken the system's accountability and allow aggressive coaches at powerhouse sports schools to "recruit" home-schooled blue-chip players.

"I guess what you'd have is sort of like a bunch of adolescent free agents," Tata said with a laugh. "But how would you control it? I mean, you could have some 6 (foot) 4 (inch) gorilla at home who can't read or write but can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash."

"It'll start all these schools recruiting, and don't think it won't happen," he said.

******************************************************************************

While I think that Del. Tate needs to look at things through a different lense and not through that of a coach concerning such issues, it could be easily constructed through legislation to permit homeschoolers to participate in athletics at the schools in which they would attend otherwise if enrolled. There is no reason to shoot down the idea simply because one fears manipulation by coaches and "big time" schools. If you have that fear than you should have the will to implement measures that would restrict such a situation. As to "accountability", it is the school district and its athletic component that is certainly responsible for following the measure as laid out by the State and if they fail to do so than it should be in the State's purview to withhold funding should they be found to be in violation.

Note: Chesterfield County State Senator Stephen Martin has failed to respond to constituent requests for his position on this matter as of this posting.

Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors: Supervisor Jekyll or Chairman Hyde?

When you speak with most citizens residing in Chesterfield about matters regarding its Board of Supervisors one usually will hear the response, "Why am I not surprised!" This response has basically become the norm in Chesterfield when it comes to actions taken by the Board. The reason is very simple. Citizens have become so disillusioned and used to viewing the Board as so out of touch that nothing the Board decides ever surprises them. The Board has become predictable in its ways and in the last year or so the Board has proven that it seeks to return the Board back to the "good old boy" network that once controlled matters in Chesterfield for so long.

In 2011, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors decided then to break with tradition and not elevate Supervisor James Holland (Dale-D) to Board Chairman. In typical back room deal fashion- denied of course by Supervisor Gecker and Jaeckle---Holland's consideration at the last minute was removed and instead Supervisor Art Warren would Chair the Board. This would satisfy two interests in the County; one the interest that wants to control the agenda and two, the old line that had no desire for Chesterfield to have its first African-American Chairman. The former is important because of the issues that we face as a County, especially the new Comprehensive Plan as well as the potential shortfall in school funding  moving forward. The latter of course would be denied publicly that such notion even exist on the Board or in the County, but we as citizens no better. You do not break tradition for no reason and the manner in which it was done whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent is shameful.

That said, we learn today that Supervisor Daniel Gecker (Midlothian-D) has been elected by the Board to be Chairman for 2012 and Supervisor Dorthy Jaeckle (Bermuda-R) as the Vice Chairman which is the same duo that thwarted Mr. Holland's elevation in 2011 who they perceived as aligned with former Supervisor Marlene Durfee from Matoaca. During the process, Mr. Holland has set an example of grace and integrity while his colleagues have demonstrated a willingness to return Chesterfield County back four decades and have shown themselves to be true "political animals". Supervisor Holland abstained from voting on the Chairmanship issue this week and rose above the 2011 matter and demonstrated true leadership in this regard. All too often our Board plays to its lowest denominator and is more about "personalities" than issues. Frankly, this was the issue that Supervisors over the last four years could not rise above and in large part you have elected officials like Supervisor Gecker that do not particularly liked to be questioned on anything nor do they willing accept accountability let alone be held accountable by colleagues in a public forum. This was why over the last four years our Board has become so contentious. Some Supervisors did not feel comfortable with the challenges being made by former Supervisor Durfee regarding policy and frankly the influence peddling going on at the County level.

I recall one discussion with Ms. Durfee in 2010 regarding zoning and development with regard to both the residential side but also the commercial but in particular the government-related projects that were underway in the County. It made little sense to many of us that schools were costing dramatically more to build in Chesterfield County- even when you remove land as compared to other localities when these projects were often being undertaken by the same firms. These same firms were also engaged not only in school projects but also government buildings and residential developments. The question arose just how is it the the same firms seem to be winning the majority of these contracts in Chesterfield. Are we as a County getting the best bang for our buck? Ms. Durfee challenged many things in her term and frankly many people in the halls of County government and the Board did not like that, but especially Supervisor Gecker. The matter would always be dismissed as "styles" publicly, but in truth the matter was many did not want to address publicly many of these matters that they intended to keep below the radar. It did not matter that Durfee voiced concerns over Cosby High School- size and scope, location of middle school as well- along with hundreds of residents demanding the school be built for at the very least 2,200. Of course, these number was ignored and the project moved forward in a manner that the established interests wanted and in the end Cosby High School was over capacity within one full year of opening. The most shameful result is the lack on responsibility and accountability by those on the Board then and now regarding this issue. Will the Board have anyone in 2012 on it to hold others accountable or is this Board hoping that the silent majority (citizens) remain silent? It is no secret that members wanted Durfee gone and it very well may have been more her than Holland himself that prevented Holland from assuming the role of Chairman in 2011, but do not forget who has benefited from that back room deal. The proof is now in the pudding!

It hard to tell what shape the new Board will take under the direction of Supervisor Gecker as Chairman. Gecker has been all over the map on various issues, especially the Comprehensive Planning debate where his influence from his urban planning background that appears aligned with such policy as Agenda 21 and very well may have been a participating factor in the Renaissance Group being selected to devise the Chesterfield Comprehensive Plan. We should all watch this issue and the debate that ensues with the January 25, 2012 Public Hearing on the Comp Plan, which will be f the first major policy issue this Board faces in 2012. Gecker has proven not to be a friend of the CCPS and the School Board and has been more critical of that body than any other member on the Board in recent years and his relationship with his district's School Board Representative Patty Carpenter-Midlothian has been tenuous at best.

At this point it is apparent that we have no way of knowing just which Chairman of the Board of Supervisors will lead the new Board; Supervisor Jekyll or Chairman Hyde!!!

Chesterfield: Economic Development

Chesterfield County's amazing developments

Calendar event: Chesterfield County's amazing developments
By: Times-Dispatch Staff Richmond Times-Dispatch Published: January 16, 2012 Updated: January 16, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Chesterfield County's economic development director, Will Davis, will talk about the county's "amazing developments" at the Chesterfield Business Council Networking Breakfast on Tuesday.
"We're not succumbing to the recession," Davis said. "We should be celebrating and pleased … to see how fortunate we are to be in a growth community."
In 2011, he says, the county's Economic Development Department helped generate 11 projects worth $143.6 million and resulting in 2,149 new jobs. That investment was an 18 percent increase compared with the previous year.
For example, he noted, Amazon.com Inc. last month announced plans to invest $85 million for a large distribution center in the Meadowville Technology Park adjacent to Interstate 295 just south of the James River in eastern Chesterfield. About 1,000 people will work at the Meadowville site.
And in the past five years, Davis said, the county's economic development agency has assisted in generating more than a half billion dollars in new investment and 4,198 jobs.
The networking breakfast will be 7:15-9 a.m. at Johnston-Willis Hospital's cafeteria, 1401 Johnston-Willis Drive.
To register, go online at www.grcc.com or call the reservation line at (804) 783-9368.
Walk-ins will be accommodated based upon availability.
The Chesterfield Business Council is an advocacy arm of the Greater Richmond Chamber that works to support the county's business community.
(Peter Bacqué)

As quick as the County is to rally around these developments, there must also come the reponsibility of prepapring the County for the impacts that these new economic projects will have upon our County infrastructure and especially our schools. On average, a new family that may enter the County will bring with it 1.52 children that must be accomodated with our system and our system is already railing from poorly inconceived planning measures by our Board of Supervisors. The assumption in the press release regarding Amazon is the jobs will be filled by citizens already residing within the County, but that of course is certainly no guarantee that that is how things will play out. The jobs are coming and if the come so to will people in search of them.

Unfortunately, those members on our Board of Supervisors that have steered our growth the last decade and even before (Supervisor Daniel Gecker and Art Warren) never really embraced the message in the movie "Field of Dreams"- "if you build it, they will come"!! Chesterfield as been building at a clip with no rival save Loudoun and Fairfax County in NOVA but has managed to stay behind the growth curve in terms of public facilities, infrastructure and school capacity. It is apparent from recent comments from the new Board that very few lessons have been learned and the breathing space that has resulted from a slowing housing market as not provided them with enough pause to reevaluate their positions regarding the build out. The reality is Chesterfield County has been unable to keep pace with its own planning decisions and still believes that "growth pays for growth". Well folks, growth does not pay for growth; we as citizens do in one way or another!

It's A New Year in Chesterfield: How Much Will Things Remain the Same?

As we unwind from the Holiday Season and stow our decorations away for another year, it begs the question just how Chesterfield County will look and feel at the end of this upcoming year. There was heated debate last Fall in some quarters about how our local government has been operating these last few years and the animosity that has ensued between different elements of government and in particular how Chesterfield County has taken on the look and feel of a Fairfax or Loudoun County in Northern Virginia. Many citizens question whether that is a suitable direction to be embarking upon here in Chesterfield. The issue over the new Comprehensive Plan has spurned real debate that has intertwined national, political agendas with local policy.

The two obvious issues that such measures as the Comprehensive Plan highlight is Chesterfield's inability to structure growth in a manner that is mutually beneficial to all residents (property rights) within the County and  and the capacity level of our school system.You will recall that many citizens demanded that Cosby High School be redesigned to accommodate a greater capacity than was proposed. The Board ignored citizens whom understood seeing all the new growth and new developments coming on line that there would be more and more families moving into the area. The Board zoned these developments and then ignored the impact of such zoning upon the area. One year after opening its doors, Cosby High School was over capacity.

Chesterfield County continues to remain one of the fastest growing localities in the Commonwealth. Two years ago, Kirk Turner the County Planning Director stated that "a healthy growth rate is 2 percent and anything less does not support the growth, anything more stresses our ability to provide public services". As we all know, Chesterfield has grown above that 2% growth rate over the last decade and from a public service perspective the slowing housing market while very tough on citizens has benefited government in this area because had the housing boom continued Chesterfield would be worse off from a service standpoint than we are today. The County is still unwinding excess inventory from the prior boom today. That does not reflect well on the continued leadership in planning and government that has ridden this period of growth out the last decade and a half however and with the support of a Board of Supervisors that remains behind the curve of growth. As Kirk Turner explained in 2009, "when you zone more property in any year than the market will absorb, then you have over zoned".

Our previous Board of Supervisors has always pushed back upgrading "public facilities" and routinely has bought in to the notion that "growth pays for growth", but in reality citizens pay for that growth. The poorly maintained infrastructure can not withstand another four to eight years of this negligent growth model. Our Board must chart a course for Chesterfield with a realistic vision that does not solely rely on the General Assembly or the Federal Government has it has the last twenty years. Many of us have asked our government to slow down and permit our schools to absorb the expansive growth that this broken model has achieved and yet even from James Stegmaier, County Administrator we are told that "when you get down on the ground, there are obstacles you didn't see from there whether they are unforeseen consequences or political realities". Here in lies the problem with Chesterfield.  The consequences regarding the issues of growth were never "unforeseen" and have been highlighted by citizens throughout this growth period but by and large have been ignored by the Board, which has sought to protect itself from "political realities".

This last election cycle brings Chesterfield to a crossroads. Citizens of the Matoaca District elected both a new Supervisor and School Board representative  and replaced two of the most outspoken, challenging the status quo personalities the County has seen in a long, long time. Will these voices be missed? Will Chesterfield County return control back to what many of us can remember being referred to as the "good ole boy" system of government? The are many questions and frankly reservations that citizens have and the fear now within the County is that our government just too two steps backward which will result in less transparency. During the last decade, we have been dealt a Board that has been unaccountable and recklessly irresponsible in addressing citizen concerns regarding growth, schools and real estate assessments/valuations and taxes. We have witnessed a Board that has approved zoning after zoning case and flooding our market with excess capacity driving down values at the same time neglecting our older villages and areas resulting in blight with unoccupied commercial property and an increase in rental housing units. There has been no real vision for the County communicated to citizens by its leaders and the result has been rushed zoning cases that in the end result in not only negatively impacting our quality for life, our schools but also our business community. Two touted developments sought by this government regime were Magnolia Green and Roseland- both whose developers have declared bankruptcy and remain delinquent on payments to local banks and companies, not to mention the four million dollar bailout of SportsQuest with tax payer money in a "lease for play" deal that enabled the private concern to remain viable for a period of time only now to be delinquent to elements of the local business community.

Chesterfield can do better! The days of remaining on the sidelines hoping that we have a government that will do the right thing and provide our public services and safety without question are coming to an end. Our schools face a certain financial shortfall, over capacity and we are witnessing quality teachers move to other localities on the one hand and we have a Board of Supervisors providing themselves a pay raise on the other.

The Board of Supervisors of Chesterfield County in 2012 must return to the table and acknowledge that "WE" are all in this together. If we as citizens allow this Board to remain isolated from reality and to maintain the status quo of a failed model, than as we unpack those decorations in December of this year we will face even greater challenges for both our community and our families.