South of the James

By Conaway HaskinsAs many Americans know, Richmond was the capitol of the Confederacy. The city has also been plagued with a number of racial problems over the years, stemming calls for greater dialogue and even prayer vigils. Now, in the midst of one of the saddest tragedies to ever befall the River City (this month), the staff at Richmond’s Maymont Park killed two black bears accused of biting an unnamed 4-year old child. Typically, this blog stays on the southern side of the River, but on occasion, issues of importance rise to the point where a commentary on life in the northern end is necessary. This is one such case. And, since neither the NAACP, Sa’ad El-Amin, or even Yogi Bear are here to help, I’ll gladly take up the mantle of justice.

Maymont killed those two bears because they were black.

There, I said it. I just gave voice to what thousands of people were thinking and feeling but were too afraid to say. Millions of bears would also agree with me if only bears had larger, more complex brains that were actually capable of processing intelligent thoughts and other things (like speech?). Despite the attempts to explain the reaction of Maymont, this is a matter of bigotry, pure and simple. These two innocent creatures were minding their own business, when apparently, some little kid and his parent put their body parts in the cage. The bears were forced to respond defensively. Wouldn’t you bite someone if they forced their way into your cage? This is the South, after all, where people, bears, and legislator’s flak jackets get shot for less.

Also, I’m highly suspicious of this situation for other reasons. First, black bears are mostly herbivores, preferring a diet of nuts, berries and other vegetation to say, human flesh. Second, the fact is that little kids are simply not that tasty, from what I hear (I tend not to eat people). Scientists note that sharks don’t like to eat people when given a choice, and well, sharks will eat just about anything with a pulse. Oh, you know I’m right.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Maymont is on city-owned land and the mayor is black. Well, that’s not the point. Sure, Richmond has a black mayor, black commonwealth’s attorney, black sheriff, a bunch of black radio stations, etc. But that does not change things. As a matter of fact, the preponderance of blacks in power may even make some Richmonders more likely to kill black bears just to “keep them in their place.” Yeah, I can see the protesters now - Hate the black mayor, kill the black bear. Hate the black mayor, kill the black bear.

This anti-black stuff is not just limited to black bears. After years of being called a bear, the panda community was rocked when it was announced that these cute animals who love to eat bamboo and lounge around were not bears, but more akin to raccoons. Chinese ‘coons! (expect Klan rallies at the National Zoo any day now) See, even life for half-black bears is rough.

If these bears were white, every step would have been taken to ensure that they got a fair hearing.

After all, polar bears show up every Christmas in those weird Coke commercials ice skating about serenely and looking peaceful. But, those same snuggly, wuggly, white polar bears violently bludgeon black baby seals and black and white penguins to death and then eat them. And no one lifts a finger to stop them. Then, the polar terrorists hop back on an ice drift and look cute and helpless with no one shooting at them (Inuit and Eskimos notwithstanding).

In the end, you can now add “mauling while black” to the laundry list of actions that can get one beheaded in Richmond. Let this be a lesson to those who are black, a bit on the furry side, and like to forage for nuts, berries, and other natural goodies (hmm, I won’t be going to Elwood Thompson’s wearing shorts this summer) – Richmond is not safe.

By Conaway HaskinsPublished in the Richmond Voice on February 28, 2006

Even with the end of the 2006 Black History Month, the Richmond Shakespeare Festival is looking to reach out to more African American patrons for its production of, “Othello.” This classic play tells a tangled tale of love, intrigue and racial bigotry centering on the life of the title a dark-skinned Moor (North African Muslim) general married to a white European woman. According to Cynde Liffick, director of education for Encore! Theatre Company, the producers of the festival, this play should hold significance for Black audiences. She says that there is a “need to get the word out in the African American community in a big way.”

Liffick notes that “Othello” is essentially a play about a Black man.She says, “It’s in the title, ‘Othello, The Tragedy of the Moor of Venice,’ but Shakespeare goes beyond that, making it an exploration of the very words “black” and “white” and how they are used in today’s society to designate something beyond color.” The Richmond play stars local African American actor, Thomas Nowlin, a Richmond resident.

Full of intrigue, betrayal, and ultimately death, this story is not without irony. As Liffick notes, “Shakespeare has made the Black man the ‘whitest’ on-stage. [Othello] is called noble, an excellent general and is well liked by everyone, apparently, until [the play’s villain] Iago, his ensign, comes along. Iago states so many reasons for disliking Othello, that in the end, it’s hard to believe any of them; he keeps changing his story. He pulls the strings of everyone around Othello in order to accomplish his goal: to take Othello down.He plays the race card with the people to whom it matters.”

The play is known for its deliberately murky portrayal of race and racism, something that is notable considering the 16th century society in which Shakespeare lived. It seems that The Bard wanted to challenge his audience to rethink their own views on the importance, or lack thereof, of race as a defining characteristic. Says Liffick, “When Shakespeare wants to make a statement he usually has a lot of people discussing the same issue; here he does not. What we’re left with is that the white man does the ‘blackest’ deeds; that evil is not in a black skin, but in a “black” heart.”

Given the racial history of the Richmond area, the cradle of the Confederacy, “Othello” could be an effective mechanism for generating greater understanding across racial and ethnic lines throughout the community. Liffick holds that, “For this reason, this is a perfect play for Richmond. Having discussion on these issues might start getting to a point where race truly is not an issue. Please come see the play, and decide for yourself.”Othello is part of the Acts of Faith series (http://www.actsoffaith.org), and it will run until April 8. Group rates for groups of 10 people or more, and there are special rates for children as well. Some performances include discussions with the cast and director.

For more information, go to: http://www.richmondshakespeare.com.

By Conaway HaskinsChesterfield is seeing an expanding number of opportunities for citizen and media coverage of the goings-on in the county as a local newspaper prepares for expansion and two new blogs have set up shop. With additional outlets for locally news and opinion, expect the temperature to rise a bit in the county of nearly 300,000.

In a move that was announced back in late 2005, the Chesterfield Observer will going to a weekly format starting March 1. This local newspaper was previously published twice a month and circulated to tens of thousands of homes and stores throughout Chesterfield. Focusing mostly on Western Chesterfield, but with stories touching the entire county, the Observer will join the Village News in providing all the news that is fit to print for this growing community on a weekly basis. Coupled with expanded coverage of happenings in Chesterfield by the Richmond Times-Dispatch and local television stations, the expansion of traditional media coverage should bode well for the entire county. At the same time, it affords residents another opportunity to provide both letters-to-the-editor and engage in media watch-dogging.

The move toward a weekly Observer will be complemented by a new political blog that was created just last week. Shape of the Future (http://shapeofthefuture.blogspot.com) is a new blog that plans to serve as “a forum for the inhabitants of Chesterfield County and the surrounding area to share thoughts and suggestions on issues that will shape our future.” Maintained by county resident and noted citizen-activist Andrea Epps (who has posted comments on South of the James), the blog has already challenged the local media and citizens for the attention given to the recent chartered-plane controversy. Shape of the Future promises to offer an intriguing and interesting perspective on all things Chesterfield. Congratulations to Mrs. Epps for joining the fray, and welcome to the blogosphere!

Finally, the Chesterfield County Economic Development blog (http://chesterfieldcounty.blogspot.com) has been with us for nearly two months with updates every few weeks. The blog is designed to “post for discussion the issues and news items that relate to the business community in the county.” The most recent post is in regard to the approval of the Watkins Centre rezoning, a major step forward for the county that was promoted at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting by Faith McClintic. This blog gives a good introduction to the county’s new economic development director, Wil Davis. Given the Meadowville project, as well as, Mr. Davis’ preferred approach to economic development – growing existing industries and firms while sensibly taming incentive packages – this is a great time for citizens to interface with the county’s business and economic policy leadership.

An expanded Observer and these new blogs add great value to citizen activity in Chesterfield. This year, a number of key policy decisions will be on the docket for county leaders, and having as many voices as possible contribute to the discussion will ensure accountability. With county elections on the horizon in 2007, this is a great time for more traditional and alternative journalism as public forums. These new developments will certainly add a new wrinkle to things at South of the James. It will be quite a ride.

Perhaps it is mere coincidence, but yesterday’s column by the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Michael Paul Williams was curiously titled, “A flight of fancy lands with a thud.” This word choice for a headline should not be new to South of the James readers since we have been covering the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors chartered-plane controversy all week with our own series of articles titled “Flight of Fancy.”Maybe this is purely happenstance, or maybe not. But, one thing is certain - whether you read about it in the Times-Dispatch or on South of the James, this particular flight of fancy is obviously not quite making its final approach. Still, let us all hope for the sake of the county that this matter passes soon.

Comments to South of the James:

Will Vehrs said…Everything Mr. Ramsey needed to know or could reasonably be expected to find out could have been transmitted via phone. With four deputy county administrators, one of them could have faced the press. As I wrote over at Commonwealth Conservative, we can now get rid of the four deputies, since the BOS doesn’t trust them to run the place when Ramsey is on vacation. That’s a shame, since I suspect they’re all capable people, but that’s the upshot of flying Ramsey back.
2/21/2006 11:51 AM

Anonymous said…this could get ugly, ramsey appears to be a good adminstrator, but such a lapse in judgement could jeopordize his future…
2/21/2006 10:34 PM

Anonymous said…This entire story reeks of abuse of power and misuse of taxpayer funds, and for what? Not county business, not support of the arrested supervisor, but a quick spin in front of the cameras. This is more than a lapse of judgement on the part of Ramsey and the BOS that gave ‘approval’. Besides, who really initiated this charter and attempt to get Ramsey back so quickly? Was it Ramsey, or Dickie King? Why didn’t Ramsey charter a plane from Kansas instead of spending the money and the fuel to go from Richmond to Kansas? That makes no good sense. Did any of this charter benefit King, or the County financially? How is Dominion connected to Chesterfield, or to King? With his name on a restaurant at the airport, one has to wonder. Lots more questions raised here than answers provided.
2/21/2006 10:43 PM

Bob Herndon said..Fiscally irresponsible, poor judgement and utterly useless are the first thoughts that come to my mind regarding spending $18,000 to fly Mr. Ramsey from Kansas to Chesterfield in the early morning hours of December 30. And for what! With Ed Barber secured in a Chesterfield County jail, what was Mr. Ramsey going to do that couldn’t wait a few hours and at much less cost to Chesterfield taxpayers? While the matter was certainly an embarrassment for Chesterfield County officials, I fail to see that it rose to the level of such urgency that it “demanded” the County Administrator’s immediate return. Most all of the deputy administrators, and certainly all of the supervisors, are experienced in speaking with the press. Any one of them should have been able to handle this without spending over $18,000 to bring Mr. Ramsey home in the middle of the night. This is but one more illustration of the need for a structural change in Chesterfield County government. Two additional supervisors, one of whom is the Chairman elected at large by all county voters, would give Chesterfield County more leadership personnel to handle such “demanding” situations and, hopefully, better judgement regarding the use of taxpayer funds. From the looks of things, it would seem there is no time like the present for such changes.
2/21/2006 10:59 PM

Bill Brown said…
One issue that I have not seen addressed is that of Dominion Aviation, the company that provided the charter flight and billed Chesterfield County $18,000+ for the service. The Chesterfield County web pages do not make clear the exact relationship between the county and Dominion Aviation but apparently DA is contracted to operate the airport on the county’s behalf. What sort of arrangement with the county exists that allows DAS to bill and be paid more than $18,000+ for a service that other providers would make available for a fraction of that amount? Who arranged the flight? Who gains financially from that $18,000+ that the taxpayers had to pay? What does DAS charge corporate customers for a similar service? This morning’s Richmond Times Dispatch says Supervisor Art Warren wants an “emergency travel” policy drafted. Why doesn’t the county’s current travel policy already address such issues? For that matter, does the policy already address situations like this and did Ramsey ignore that policy? I’m a Certified Public Accountant and a faculty member in accounting at Longwood University. Earlier in my career I taught auditing and my current responsibilities include a course called Accounting Information Systems. I can assure you that internal controls are an important part of any accounting system (and any system of accountability). Good controls would not allow an extra $17,000+ dollars to be spent in a situation such as this. Even if a charter flight had been appropriate, good controls would not allow use of a vendor that charges $18,000 for a service available from other charter operators for as little as half that amount ($8,821 - $12,925 for a light jet according to the charter estimator at http://www.airlineexpo.com/).

It may very well be that Lane Ramsey’s own poor judgment is solely to blame for this fiscal irresponsibility but I doubt it. Supervisor Dickie King was in direct contact with Ramsey while the latter was still in Kansas. What role did King play in the decision for Ramsey to return. What is King’s relationship with Dominion Aviation Services? What ever the answers to the many questions this event has generated it is clear that Chesterfield County’s financial controls and general decision making process seem woefully inadequate. The ultimate responsibility lies with the elected officials. Bill Brown—————

The county pages do say this about Dominion Aviation: “Dominion Aviation Services (DAS), a full service fixed base operator, offers a full spectrum of services during normal business hours and after hours by request. Services from DAS include; corporate charter, flight training, aircraft rental, piston and turbine maintenance, major AF & PP, interior shop, aircraft sales, car rental, catering and 100LL and Jet A Fuel. FCI’s terminal building contains a pilot’s lounge, flight planning room, a conference room, a restaurant, and a 200 seat banquet facility run by Kings Korner Katering with a daily lunch buffet.” (http://www.co.chesterfield.va.us/ManagementServices/AviationServices/)DAS’s top page says this:”Dominion Aviation is a full service Fixed Base Operator that specializes in Aircraft Management and Charter. Located in Richmond, Virginia at the Chesterfield County Airport, Dominion Aviation operates a diverse charter fleet including corporate jets, turboprops, and light twin-engine aircraft. In addition to Aircraft Management and Charter, other services include Aircraft Refueling, Aircraft Maintenance, Pilot Flight Training, Aircraft Rental, and Hangar Leasing. Whatever service we are providing, we strive to excel in customer service. Keeping our customers satisfied is our number one priority.” (http://www.dominionaviation.com/)
2/22/2006 8:07 AM

Bob Herndon said… Based on this morning’s Times Dispatch, Lane Ramsey still doesn’t get it, despite the overwhelming response of the public! As support for the legality of this expense, he offers that it had to be approved by a Deputy Administrator. Which of the Deputies reporting to Mr. Ramsey would he expect to “challenge” him on this expense and remain in their position? Proper accounting and internal controls would require the approval of someone in a superior position to Mr. Ramsey, i.e. Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Board, other Board Members or another appointee of the Board such as the County Attorney. It is impractical and lacking even a basic understanding of internal accounting controls to have a subordinate employee authorize such an expenditure of the person to whom they directly report. Such conduct by senior management is how Enron, MCI/WorldCom and other corporate misdeeds were able to occur in recent years. Chesterfield citizens and it’s elected leaders deserve and should expect it’s management to be held to a higher standard than demonstrated in this situation.
2/22/2006 8:58 AM

Debby Burroughs said…Where do the elected members of the Board of Supervisors stand on this? News reports have stated that Ramsey had approval of “most” of the members. With Dickie King on the plane with him, and questionably involved with making the decision or the arrangements from this end, we know that he approved. Ed Barber was not involved in this decision, Art Warren, as he came out in today’s TD, seems to have opposed the decision. Renny Humphries was on board with getting Ramsey back to Chesterfield. That leaves Kelly Miller. Has there been anything on the record about his approval or dissent? The citizens of Chesterfield deserve to know just where our elected officials stand on this misuse of county funds.
2/22/2006 9:15 AM

Anonymous said… Some folks are beginning to get it! It’s not rocket surgery, folks–connect the dots! King panics>calls his aviation friend: “Fly me to Kansas real fast.”>King and Ramsey discuss damage control on the flight home>Ramsey conducts a “crucial” press conference (the reason for his return, which relieves King’s panic>Dominion’ engines cool off and contemplates, “Now, let’s see what we can stick the county for here.” It’s not that hard to figure out. In the “good ‘ol days” no one would have noticed. Unfortuately for the county, the citizens are now paying attention!
2/22/2006 10:05 AM

old man midlo said… Chesterfield has two choices for the Ramsey flightgate problem. Yes I did intend the pun. Ramsey must pay for his miss judgement out of his own pocket, or resign. Any supervisor who condones the expense should be removed from office NOW! The only way we found out was through an FOI request. How many dollars have they wasted because of their arrogance. Why did this happen? easy to explain. Lane Ramsey runs the county not the Board of Supervisors. or if they support this, they should be referred to as The Board of Stupervisors as they kowtow to Ramsey. Ramsey is very good at spreading fear in the ranks, He has been in the county a long time and knows where all the bodies are buried. He also knows how to manipulate the media, All though on TV last night he looked very arrogant saying he would do it all again. As for where is Kelly Miller on the Issue? He’s in his lawyer mode. He won’t say anything public until he sees how it will benefit him.
2/22/2006 10:19 AM

Shelly Schuetz said… This $18,000 is a sympton of the bigger problem in Chesterfield County. I along with several other citizens having been requesting other Chesterfield citizens to get involved. PLEASE! We need to demand accountablity and fiscal responsibility from those in office. It is not okay for them to make reckless decisions that are not supported by common sense or data and facts to support their decision making! Their Lame Excuses are not cutting it! If everyone is so fired up over the $18K then more people need to wake up to the $1.8 million dollars that some of our supervisors and county administrator approved to spend! We have approved to purchase land at $118,000 per acre to build a middle school in a location that is not supported by facts and data. We don’t need a school in this location. Not only will the school cost us a bundle in site cost, but the long term cost of increased transportation cost will be passed onto the taxpayers! No good business executive is approving to purchase land in commercial development for a tax burden at $118,000 per acre or $176,000 per usable acre in a location with NO INFRASTRUCTURE that is not supported by the data to chose this site! Schools don’t generate revenue….although supposedly Chesterfield is doing everything possible to increase the business tax revenue to help the homeowner meet the growing demeands of services? EXPLAIN HOW? We have FOIA documents from the developer saying that he would never purchase land at this cost, but he was willing to sell it to the county for this amount! Who did this decision benefit? Just like the charter plane….it doesn’t add up….WE are a bunch of Damn Fools if we don’t do somthing about this reckless spending! Don’t raise my house assessment then try to partonize me by telling me that you will reduce my tax rate….I’ll still be paying more taxes for you to abuse! Fired UP!
2/22/2006 12:56 PM

Anonymous said… I’m tell’n you folks, don’t put all the blame on Ramsey. Dickey’s likely the one that rented the plane and flew out to pick Ramsey up.By the way, how many $$ does Dickey have invested in Dominion? Hmmm………..Someone needs to look into the contracts of King B-B-Q, Dominion and the county. Can you spell i-n-c-e-s-t?
2/22/2006 2:40 PM

old man midlo said…
Easy to find out if Dickie has money invested in Dominion! He has to fill a yearly financial report to the clerk of th board, and it’s public record..Unless he changed it like Rennie did a few years back
2/22/2006 3:06 PM

Anonymous said… Check the website at Channel 12 (www.wwbt.com) to see the story on today’s BOS meeting. Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce businesses collected money and a check was presented to Ramsey at the meeting to cover the costs. This should not permit the outrage to die out, nor the investigations of other wrongdoings to be abandoned. There’s more here to learn. This action certainly says something loud and clear about the favoritism the local businesses enjoy from the BOS and Ramsey. And as for where Miller stands, he clearly came out in support for Ramsey today.
2/22/2006 5:44 PM

Anonymous said… I’ve just learned of the recent development….what is going on here! Who doesn’t want the us to conduct a public audit or dig deeper into expense records? This has come out of the blue for me…..this is even more of a red flag….something stinks in Chesterfield and it’s not the waste water treatment plant this time!
2/22/2006 6:24 PM

Anonymous said…Let me ask you this: Would the business community have bailed out Art Warren if he needed it? Nope, in fact, I bet you that they would pay for a one way ticket for him to fly straight to China, where the other socialists live.
2/22/2006 6:26 PM

old man midlo said… After the actions of the BOS last night, with the get out jail free card the chamber of commerce gave to Lane Ramsey. I thing we need to repaint the water tower at the Willis road exit to better reflect Chesterfield citizens. rather then FIRST CHOICE it should read FIRST CHUMPS
2/23/2006 9:41 AM

Anonymous said…There is a bigger issue involved in this situation. Dickie King and others are out to discredit Ed Barber, the only Democrat on the BOS. His arrest was not handled in line with usual procedures, but rather smacks of Republican interference. The girls who accuses him is mentally disturbed. It’s no surprise that Dickie King wanted Ramsey back in Chesterfield very quickly. It raised the whole situation to a matter of great urgency, when in actuality, the charges against Barber had nothing to do with the County or his role as Supervisor. What is Dickie King’s relationship to Dominion Aviation? Why was their charge for the flight so out of line with other charter companies? What is really going on here? The Republican mentality is frightening. Chesterfield citizens deserve better.
2/23/2006 10:21 AM

Anonymous said…As a government employee who manages contracts, the most appalling part about this whole fiasco is the procurement process. Actually, I am amused that the small business community bailed the BOS out, when if this were an award process where a contract was awarded to one their competitors without a fair and open process, these guys would be enraged. The problem with what the county did is not so much a matter of cost. There are lot of scenarios in which the government has to act faster than most perceive we can, and being able to use a vendor who can accomodate those request with a quick turn around is not unsual. The problem is the lack of justification and poor public administration. Uusally, when a request like this is made, there has to be some type of written justification given as to why. Also, there are generally protocals, already in place, to address authorization of the release of funds, especially when the boss, in this case Lane Ramsey, needs the goods or services. If you want to see if this is really legit, get a FOIA request on the justification of the cost and a copy of the county contracting procedures.
2/23/2006 10:31 AM

Anonymous said…it this is a republican plot, then is definatley backfired on them! I don’t live in Chesterfield, but if i had to bet, Mr. King is in some serious trouble come next election.
2/23/2006 11:20 AM

old man midlo said…Why wait till the next election, begin the recall process NOW!!!!
2/23/2006 11:48 AM

Anonymous said…is that really a possibility? does the code of Va. have a “recall” clause for local BOS members?
2/23/2006 12:05 PM

JustATaxpayer said… How many Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce members are residential real estate developers, realtors, builders, or otherwise connected to building new subdivisions? They probably were fighting over who was going to pay the bill. These people have a vested interest in keeping the current board and administration around because they’ve never denied a residential project. Regardless of whether the infrastructure could handle the new homes, the current board just will not say “not now” and properly manage residential growth.
2/23/2006 12:27 PM

old man midlo said… YES THERE IS A RECALL PROCEDURE. You must get 10% of the number of votes cast in the last district election for the office which you wish a recall. A recall is not as hard as you think. The county would have you believe you have to raise 10% of the total voters, but that is not the case. The numbers are as follows:Recall Kelly Miller-need 370Recall Dickie King- need 745Recall Rennie Humphrey-need 745Recall Ed Barber-need 520The voters must reside in the district for which you are doing the recall. for further information call Larry Haake in the Chesterfield Voter registration office.
2/23/2006 12:58 PM

RustyNail said…Thanks for the info on the votes and number of signatures needed for the recall. With the fervor this high, this can probably be done. What is the process once they are recalled? Is there a special election, or is someone appointed? Larry Haake is very much on the side of King, Miller, Humphries and Ramsey. It might be best to get your information elsewhere to be sure you’re getting the right scoop.

As a result of the holiday, I’ll be taking it light today. See you tomorrow!

– Conaway