Best/Worst Richmond screw-ups
In light of this snafu, let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? Share your most favorite/most blood boiling/most “OMG I’m going to punch someone” moments you’ve had with the City of Richmond’s powers-that-be. (Bonus points to anyone who can think of something other than baseball or Center Stage. But if you *must* talk […]
In light of this snafu, let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?
Share your most favorite/most blood boiling/most “OMG I’m going to punch someone” moments you’ve had with the City of Richmond’s powers-that-be.
(Bonus points to anyone who can think of something other than baseball or Center Stage. But if you *must* talk about those, go ahead.)
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Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
The Arthur Ashe Monument. Nothing against Ashe, but that statue definitely looks like he going to beat a group of children with a book and a tennis racquet. It is also at the front of a giant row of confederate war generals. If I were Ashe, I would feel kind of odd having my monument there. I mean its like if there were a monument to Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize there. As much as that would rule, it would probably not be the best place for it.
Yeah I never got that either. I don’t have a problem with it being there, but it seems like it would make more sense for him to be at Byrd Park (he did play there, correct?) or at the elementary school named after him.
For me it was when Wilder tried to move the school board out of city hall and then had to put everything back. Great waste of money.
We are currently living through it. It’s the way the council, the city planning commission and (now) the Mayor are watering down the Downtown Master Plan. Nothing more needs to be said about how our “leaders” disregard the many in favor of the few. Their work will live in infamy.
I’m sorry – did I miss some big RVANews coverage of CenterStage?
Insert terse comment about Center Stage here.
No, seriously, how about when City Council gave Dominion Power a special use permit for their riverfront headuqarters and trading floor in front of Oregon Hill, despite the protests of over 20 different neighborhood and environmental groups?
Bonus: Remember how Marty Jewell protested also? Where is that Marty now that he is on Council? He is siding with Echo Harbor developers who want to block the riverfront view from Libby Hill.
Or how about the Lamar Advertising billboard that still sits on the I-95 James River bridge, collecting rent years after being declared ILLEGAL? Why should anyone have any respect for City Hall at this point?
Don’s right. Given the way citizens’ opinions are thrown out the window due to Council’s “Leave No Developer Behind Act”, their work will live in infamy.
But honestly, the most disgusting thing is watching how the Richmond public schools’ capital building projects budget gets shorted every year, despite the fact that many school buildings desperately need renovation and ADA improvements (Many RPS buildings are illegal under federal law due to lack of ADA).
Richmond citizens pay the highest meals tax in the country and have the highest minimum residential water rates in the country (though we sell cheaper water to countries). But City governent has tons of money for stadium studies.
I could go on, but hopefully you get the point- City government’s priorities are totally screwed.
Correction: sell cheaper water to counties, not countries (though maybe we do sell to countries- nothing would surprise me at this point.).
The coming stormwater utility fee needs to be watched closely by citizens to make sure it is being applied fairly and is actually being used to address stormwater runoff.
Also, in closing, I am hopeful that Mayor Jones will reconfigure the City’s priorities. Certainly these things have been going on years before he personally took power.
Of course I could go on further, but I will stop here.
The ABC in this city is a stifling, out of date component that uses strong arm tactics and likes to bend the “rules” however they see fit. They work within such a grey area that it’s hard to tell what’s what.
It takes me three years to get vehicles off the tax list. I’ve sold three cars and three motorcycles and every. single. time it takes three years. Every year, I’m assured the problem is fixed and they won’t send any more bills, and I still get them. The problem is especially enjoyable now that they forward all their bills to some three-name law/collection agency that doesn’t answer their calls most of the time, and if they do pick up, they can’t answer any questions because they’re not the city.
Then there’s the whole paying-for-my-own retirement thing – they started taking 1.5% of my salary to pay for my pension a couple of years ago. I see how much money gets wasted in the city and wonder why it means so little to the people who are running the system.
4 words and an abbrev.
Home purchase, tax abatement, FML.
Sa’ad El-Amin — enough said.
Anybody remember the Sixth Street Marketplace? What a mess. As if people were really going to drive all the way downtown and pay for parking, just for the privilege of shopping at overpriced stores in the middle of town. What was the draw supposed to be, exactly?
Oh god, as much as I enjoy it…The Canal Walk…I rarely pass 2 people also enjoying this waste of money.
I’d say putting a state penitentiary smack in the middle of the city should have been the biggest indicator of impending failure for the city. Sell the property to ethyl wasn’t much better.
The mall at main street station was rather short lived.