Local Mayors, Transportation Planning Board Call for End to Elizabeth River Crossings Tolls

One of the worse fiascoes that former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his Republican cohorts in the Virginia General Assembly have inflicted on Hampton Roads is the "public-private partnership" that granted Elizabeth River Crossings ("ERC") the ability to fleece Hampton Roads commuters with ever increasing tolls in exchange for McDonnell and the Virginia GOP from avoiding tax increases - e.g. an increase in the gasoline tax - to pay for infrastructure that is a governmental responsibility. To call ERC greedy and rapacious is far too kind and their outrageous late fees ultimately forced the state of Virginia to demand reductions in tolls and late fees that quickly totaled in the thousands and thousands of dollars.  Compounding the distress to working class and poor commuters was the DMV's refusal to renew auto registrations until ERC receive its exorbitant demands which subjected commuters to traffic summonses as well. Now, a number of local mayors and members of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Board Commonwealth of Virginia are demanding that the economy crushing tolls be lifted.  Such a move will required action by the Virginia General Assembly.  A piece in Channel 13 News looks at this issue and the need to rescind these tolls that screw the public while enriching private interests.  Here are excerpts: 

Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe said local leaders must find a way to reverse an agreement between Elizabeth River Crossings and the Commonwealth of Virginia before rising toll prices cripple the region's economy.

Rowe, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander, Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck and five others have formed a committee to study how the state could possibly change or back out of the agreement with ERC.

The committee was formed at a Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization meeting, where the mayors and others voiced concerns about toll prices and other aspects of the agreement. HRTPO director Bob Crum Jr. said he supports the new committee's opinion that something needs to change.

"Those tolls will continue to increase over time, I think the concern is what impact that will have," Crum said. "We need to investigate what options are on the table and work with the state and general assembly to get those things addressed."

Rowe said he feels like local leaders are now recognizing the tolls as a regional issue, and not just a "Portsmouth issue." An Old Dominion University study found Portsmouth lost about $8.8 million each year after the implementation of the tolls in 2015. 

However, Crum and Rowe said any changes would likely need to be made in Richmond via the general assembly. The current agreement was made between the Commonwealth of Virginia and ERC. Crum said it was not signed by the local city governments. 

Elizabeth River Crossings responded to statements from public officials that the contract needs to end. The company said in a statement that it assumed more than $4 billion in costs when it agreed to expand, renovate and maintain the Midtown Tunnel, Downtown Tunnel and MLK Freeway facilities.
 Crum said another section of the agreement between the state and the ERC is worrying for local governments. Due to a non-compete clause, ERC could claim damages and lost revenue when other transportation projects are completed within the region, requiring the state to pay compensation to ERC.

With the High Rise Bridge expansion underway and the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel expansion coming soon, Crum said the board is worried about additional costs or repercussions. He said this understanding provides the new committee additional motivation to find a way to end the current agreement between the state and the ERC.

Why Steve Heretick and Medicaid Expansion Make Sense for Virginia

Vote for Steve Heretick

On June 9th there will be a primary that will decide who will be the nominee for the 79th House District.  The incumbent, Johnny Joannou is a Democrat in name only and is virulently anti-gay, opposes Medicaid expansion and has sided with the failed policies of the extremists in the Virginia GOP.  It is important that Steve Heretick replaces Joannou as the Democrat candidate in November.  Besides Joannou's anti-gay voting record, his refusal to support Medicaid expansion are the most troubling, especially since many of his own constituents would benefit.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at how Medicaid expansion would benefit Virginia.  Joannou's opposition is particularly disturbing given that many of Virginia's rural hospitals are struggling financially. Here are article highlights:

The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report saying that states that have expanded Medicaid are better off and if Virginia were to do so, an additional 179,000 residents would have health insurance coverage and 16,000 fewer would experience symptoms of depression.

The report also said Virginia will miss out on $1.24 billion in federal funding in 2016 by not expanding Medicaid. The report’s figures were provided by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit public policy group in Washington.

“By expanding their Medicaid programs, states can improve access to essential medical care, reduce financial hardship, improve their citizens’ physical and mental health, and claim billions of dollars in federal funding that could raise their citizens’ standards of living and make their economies more resilient in the future,” the report said.

Matthew Moran, a spokesman for GOP House Speaker William J. Howell said Republicans remain steadfastly opposed to expansion . . 

The governor’s spokesman, Brian Coy, said McAuliffe is still committed to Medicaid expansion.  “Every day that Republicans in the General Assembly wait to work with the governor to get the best expansion deal for Virginia is another day that thousands of people go without lifesaving care and taxpayers send their hard-earned money to Washington while getting nothing in return,” Coy said.

The irony to me is that the GOP claims to be the party of Christian values and "pro-life" yet once children are born, the GOP kicks them to the gutter along with the poor and less fortunate.  Not exactly what the Gospel message calls one to do.  

Portsmouth school asked to stop censoring lesbian symbol

The Virginian Pilot, ever slow on the uptake, is today reporting on the story about the I. C. Norcom High School student who has been punished for wearing a lesbian pride t-shirt (http://hamptonroads.com/2007/12/portsmouth-school-asked-stop-censoring-lesbian-symbol#comment-580092). What really pisses me off is the stupid comment by the principal's executive assistant which I have set out below. This comment is typical of this backward area where the cretins in positions of influence are utterly ignorant of what the LGBT community is really like. As surprising as it may be to them, gays and lesbians are represented throughout the business world and many are very successful business owners. Moreover, the majority of the Fortune 500 companies have non-discrimination policies that protect LGBT employees from treatment such as Ms. Laccone has experienced. Locally organizations like HRBOR and nationally like the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce represent hundreds, if not thousands of gay owned and gay supportive businesses. Not everywhere is as backwards as Hampton Roads.

If I.C. Norcom wants to prepare students for the business world, it had best teach them that not all regions of the country and not all businesses are as backward and prejudiced as the wingnut I.C. Norcom teacher who took issue with Bethany Laccone's t-shirt. Enough of the sermon - here are story highlights that add to the 365gay.com article cited yesterday:

School officials have until Jan. 11 to respond. A possible action by the ACLU could include a lawsuit if the demands aren't met, said Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the ACLU of Virginia. Attempts to reach Norcom officials and the division superintendent were unsuccessful Thursday. However, Joseph L. Wiggins, the superintendent's executive assistant, said he had not seen the letter and could only speculate about why the student was reportedly asked not to wear the T-shirt. "The concern could be that we are training students to go out into the business world," he said, "But again, I don't know."

The ACLU contends that in early December, a teacher and an assistant principal at Norcom told 17-year-old Bethany Laccone to conceal a T-shirt that depicts a "well-known and historic signifier of lesbian pride and female solidarity." According to the ACLU letter, Bethany was threatened with suspension if she did not respond.

Bethany told her dad, Michael Laccone, about the day's happenings. He encouraged his daughter to contact the ACLU if she wanted to push the issue. A few days later, Laccone said he met with the assistant principal who his daughter claims had spoken to her. "I didn't think it was right to make her cover up a shirt when they allow other students to express themselves while wearing T-shirts," Laccone said Thursday. Laccone said that the administrator told him the shirt had upset Bethany's teacher to the point that it interfered with her ability to teach. Laccone said that sounds like a problem the school needs to resolve with the teacher, not with his daughter.

I. C. Norcom High School

1801 London Boulevard

Portsmouth, VA 23704

Phone: (757) 393-5442

Fax: (757) 393-5449

Principal: Lynn F. Briley - Lynn.Briley@pps.k12.va.us

New Cargo Terminal Buoys Portsmouth and Hampton Roads

One of the few bright spots for the local economy - the housing market is in a virtual stand still with foreclosures doubling since last year and the huge Norfolk Ford plant has closed - other than the cushion provided by the vast military population, is the new port facility opening in Portsmouth, across the river from Norfolk. While the increased port traffic and revenues generated thereby will be welcomed, the local highway system will be even more overloaded and inadequate. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=131803&ran=127981&tref=po):

When the new $450 million port terminal officially opens in his city on Friday, Mayor James Holley will be all smiles. “That’ll be the biggest and the best ribbon we’ve cut since 1752,” Holley said. That was the year Portsmouth was founded.

APM Terminals Virginia will add many more container-hauling trucks to city roads and send out road-choking trains multiple times each week. Its bright lights and noise may disturb neighbors in West Norfolk and Hunter s Point. But it also will pump at least $2 million a year into Portsmouth’s tax coffers. It will bring the city new jobs and bragging rights as it becomes the port epicenter of Hampton Roads.

APM Terminals spent about seven years developing the cargo container terminal, which sits on a large tract north of Va. 164 in Churchland. It replaces a far smaller facility leased from the Virginia Port Authority next to Portsmouth Marine Terminal. It is expected to increase the number of containers the port of Hampton Roads can handle each year by 50 percent.

That’s just the beginning for Portsmouth. The APM terminal, which has room for expansion, likely will be followed by the Port Authority’s planned $2.2 billion terminal on Craney Island. The first phase of that complex is slated to open in 2017. “It will make us the city in Hampton Roads when you think of the maritime industry and port-related activities,” said Steven L. Lynch, Portsmouth’s economic development director.

The facility is projected to add 3,000 truck trips a day onto the state highway, which connects the Midtown Tunnel and the Martin Luther King Freeway with northern Suffolk and Interstate 664, said Richard Hartman, Portsmouth’s city engineer.