Bacon's Rebellion

NBC-12 in Richmond has just reported that Richmond and Kansas City have been eliminated from consideration as potential sites for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Richmond’s team, with Josh Lief at the helm, gave it a good shot.

Update: The Friday morning Times-Dispatch story is here. No reason was given by NASCAR, but they claim they did the organizers a favor by not “stringing them along.”

Potomac ExecutiveBiz has published an interview with Aneesh, Chopra, Tim Kaine’s new choice for Secretary of Technology. (Registration may be necessary.) The 33-year-old Northern Virginian seems an unconventional choice.

On his professional background: “I am a managing director at a think tank with a focus for the health care industry. … A big portion of my professional background has been studying ways that technology can fundamentally transform the healthcare industry in particular.” (These and other quotes below in italics are all mine.)

On why he accepted the position: “I fundamentally shared Governor-Elect Kaine’s passion for his policy agenda. He stated some pretty big goals that I believe technology can play a pretty significant role in. The top among them for me is his desire to lower the uninsured rate in Virginia, lower health care costs, which will improve small businesses and access to health care, which will also hopefully do so in a way that is cost efficient across the government to use so we can actually make better use of the government dollar where appropriate. Those are the things that really drove me. His agenda resonated, and I thought that the technology piece would be a big factor in achieving those policy goals.”

His top priorities: “My first priority would be to nurture the continued success of VITA. Second priority is to work very closely with my colleagues in the Cabinet to identify the most leveraged areas where technology could improve government service. Third, I want to continue to support the technology industry across the Commonwealth.”

Reading between the lines: Chopra wants to apply technology to improving the efficiency and quality of health care — including, possibly, the state Medicaid program. If I’m right, that would prove to be a most interesting direction for the new Secretary of Technology to take the job.

Washington Post Metro columnist Marc Fisher now has a blog, Raw Fisher. He bills it “The Gold Plated Cadillac of the Internet.”

Pretty soon you’ll be nobody until somebody sees you blogging.

Update: Some VA bloggers welcomed Fisher and he noted that an article he wrote about blogging will appear soon on the American Journalism Review site.

I haven’t been outgoing Technology Secretary Eugene Huang’s biggest fan, but in this letter to the editor of the Daily Press, he shows a little “attitude.” He gets a good zinger in at the end, not that I think he has the better argument.

The City of Manassas has suspended its enforcement of the controversial zoning provision affecting extended families. There goes half of Bacon’s Rebellion‘s content ….

He could have ducked the questions, but Governor-elect Tim Kaine made his feelings known about the nationally televised unsportsmanlike conduct of Hokie Marcus Vick at Monday’s Gator Bowl. Good for him. I hope he’ll continue to speak out, even more strongly if necessary, against bad behavior of all kinds that brings dishonor to Virginia. A Governor ought to exert some moral authority when necessary.

Over at SST, die-hard Hokie fan Old Zach has his thoughts on Vick’s inexcusable stomp on the leg of a prone Lousiville player.

I’m with Old Zach. Vick should be dismissed from the team–for good, this time.

The Manassas Journal Messenger reported this afternoon that the ACLU is prepared to file a lawsuit challenging the local ordinance that redefines who counts as “family” when it comes to who can live together in a single family home.

According to the Messenger, Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU, said in a press release issued today:

“No one is saying that Manassas can’t reasonably regulate the number of people living together for health and safety purposes,but the government has no right to tell me that my aunt or nephew can’t live under the same roof with me.”

Willis is reported to have gone on to criticize the ordinance as a violation of substantive due process rights and for its “purpose and effect” of breaking up Latino families.

As noted elsewhere in Bacon’s Web Empire, WAPO carried a front page story today on last night’s transport forum in West Falls Church. WAPO reports that there is little (no) consensus on “solutions.” Some who have the Governor-Elect’s ear have told us they understand that the only “solution” to improved mobility and access in contemporary New Urban Regions is Fundamental Change in human settlement patterns. These advisors and confidants have either not articulated this understanding well or the Governor-Elect has chosen to ignore and/or keep mum about this reality.

In the same story WAPO also reports that the town hall tour has attracted “hundreds of frustrated commuters.” Neither the MainStream Media nor the Governor-Elect has been willing to tell “commuters” that they need to go home and look in the mirror if they want to see the root cause of growing congestion. They have three choices, they can move their job, move their home or move both. Many are opting to jump out of the frying pan in one New Urban Region only to find themselves in the fire in another New Urban Region.

The “live here, work there” population (aka, commuters) cannot realistically expect any government action that will bail them out since it a physical impossibility to provide functional transport for dysfunctional settlement patterns. Dysfunctional human settlement patterns can be quantified by the Vehicle Miles Traveled per capita, per job and per household. See “The Commuting Problem,” 17 January 2005 at dev.baconsrebellion.com

WAPO as recently as 2 January 2006 editorially supported road building as a way to improve commuting. The growing economic pressure on MainStream Media makes it impossible for them to be honest with readers about the solutions to the growing mobility crisis because honesty would anger advertisers. Honesty would also anger subscribers because governance practitioners have not prepared citizens for understanding the Physics of Gridlock.

This raises the question: Can democracy, prosperity and sustainability be supported with the information derived from for-profit media? On the other hand, is volunteer media at the neighborhood, community, regional and nation-state scales the basis for the 21st century “Fourth Estate?” These are questions we will be exploring in future columns and through PROPERTY DYNAMICS.

EMR

There was some controversy in the comments section of an earlier post I wrote about the pay for Presidents/Acting President/Chancellor/Superintendent positions at state supported universities. These individuals receive a portion of their pay from state sources and a frequently larger portion from private sources. The Richmond Times-Dispatch provided this chart of pay and perks.

The T-D chart noted that “compensation packages vary widely and some are very complex.” The controversy was in the state funded portion of the pay–some saw certain university leaders (such as those from historically black or women’s colleges) receiving pay that was not comparable. I didn’t think there was that much variance that wasn’t explainable by obvious factors, such as a medical school, number of graduate programs, size of campus, enrollment or longevity.

The highest state pay goes to the Norfolk State University interim president–$216K. He receives no private money, however. The lowest pay goes to the president of Christopher Newport–$121K. The upper tier are presidents of VCU and UVA at $162K and VT at $155. In between, there are presidents in the $140s, $130s, and $120s. I don’t see all that much of a discrepancy, but I’m opening this up for any other comments that might be out there. If you want to make a pitch for more cash for the prez of your alma mater or less for a hated in-state rival, go for it.

Attorney Patrick O. Gottschalk has been named Secretary of Commerce and Trade by Governor-elect Tim Kaine. Gottschalk, a UVA Law grad and former naval officer, has a background in working economic development in his professional capacity, as well as experience with economic development groups, such as the Virginia Economic Developers Association.

Looks to be a solid appointment. Here’s his impressive bio.

More: He’s been a big Kaine supporter.

Look, I like the Beach Boys as much as the next guy, maybe more. I’d rank “Sloop John B.” among my top 20 favorite tunes of all times, and I’ve downloaded a bunch of other Beach Boy classics, from “Kokomo” to “Heroes and Villains,” onto my laptop. But is Virginia so sparse of home-grown musical talent that we need to import a headliner from the West Coast to fete Tim Kaine’s inauguration?

If I were elected Governor, here’s whom I would ask to play at my inauguration:

Susan Greenbaum, a Richmond musician. A half dozen cuts on her CD, “Hey, Hey, Hey,” are as good as — nay, better — than any of the popular music heard on the radio today. A former communications executive for Chesapeake Corp., she’s too old to fit the mold of the 20-something pop Diva, but she’s way more talented. Not only can she belt out a song, she writes her own music.

Carbon Leaf, a Richmond band, hasn’t made it into the Top 40 yet, but it is doing national tours. Every song on its latest album, “Indian Summer,” is solid, and some are inspired. Carbon Leaf’s music is not easily categorized, but it’s darn good.

And my absolute favorite, Scott Miller and the Commonwealth. Miller lives in Knoxville, TN, but he grew up in Virginia and the lyrics in his albums — “Downside” and “Thus Always to Tyrants” draw heavily upon Virginia themes. Plus, his music totally rocks. Great lyrics, great tunes, great range, great guitar.

Mr. Governor, why not use your inaugural gala to showcase some of the great musical talent that Virginia has to offer!

Virginia’s own Kilo at Spark It Up has blogged the West Virginia mining disaster from the start, adding his special expertise to the situation and media coverage.

To follow Kilo’s posts from last night and early this morning, when joy turned to disbelief, is heart-wrenching.

Two opposing candidates at a joint appearance, with no jabs or personal attacks? It happened last night at a library in Lynchburg. Shannon Valentine (D) and Michael Harrington (R) are vying for Preston Bryant’s 23d District seat in a special election to be held on January 10th.

Not Larry Sabato projected the winners of today’s special elections before the polls closed and there’s no reason, based on results posted so far, to doubt that Ryan McDougle (R) is the new fourth district Senator and Dan Bowling (D) is the new 3d district delegate. Net, net, no change in either the House or Senate make-up.

Surprising turn-out in SWVA–perhaps the mine accident had something to do with it–and terrible turn-out in Hanover and surrounding areas.

The Falls Church News-Press has issued a press release touting its top stories of the year. Leading the pack was the “rise of the creative class” in Northern Virginia and its role in propelling Tim Kaine to the Governor’s Mansion and snatching power from “the clutches of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and the religious right.”

The “creative class” is the term coined by Richard Florida, now a professor at George Mason University, to describe the growing ranks of artistically, scientifically and entrepreneurially creative individuals, along with associated highly educated professionals, who contribute disproportionately to wealth creation in the U.S. economy. Northern Virginia, home to one of the nation’s leading technology clusters, is dominated by these “creatives,” who tend to be more socially liberal than the rest of the population.

Sayeth the News-Press:

“The contiguous jurisdictions of Fairfax and Arlington counties, plus the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax provided Kaine with 102,663 of his total 113,340 statewide margin of victory, or 94% of the entire margin. Kaine won the entire rest of the state by only 10,677 votes, and that margin was more than accounted for by the City of Richmond, alone, where he’d served as mayor. The same Northern Virginia jurisdictions brought the Democratic lieutenant governor and attorney general candidates within a hair’s breadth of victory, statewide, as well.

“It was the overall shift in the demographic makeup of the Northern Virginia enclave over the last four years that was most responsible for Kaine’s victory, and the prospect of turning Virginia ‘blue’ once and for all.

“The balance of political control in Virginia has shifted away from the lairs of two of the nation’s most powerful institutions of the religious right– Jerry Falwell’s Lynchburg and Pat Robertson’s Virginia Beach — to a more tolerant, scientifically-minded and pragmatic bastion in Northern Virginia. This stunning defeat for the forces of Falwell and Robertson in their own state will also resonate nationally.

I just thought I’d throw out the red meat and see who bites. Any comments?