Category Archives: Community Questions

Unsolicited Bid, Undesired Outcomes

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Many of my generation understood the advice, “beware of Greeks bearing gifts”, as a literary allusion. According to The Iliad, the ultimate destruction of Troy was the consequence of an imprudent decision by the leaders of that city. What ten years of conventional war waged by Greek invaders had failed to accomplish came to pass when the defenders of the city misinterpreted the purpose of the wooden horse left in the wake of their adversaries’ apparent withdrawal from the field of battle. Unbeknownst to the Trojans, what they thought was a grudging tribute to their steadfastness and determination was in fact a trap that led to their undoing. Continue reading →

Open Letter to City Council: Defer Item 19-276

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of Council:

I write to oppose approval of item 19-276 on the City Council Agenda for July 23, 2019. Until 6 PM yesterday evening, only a relative handful of Portsmouth citizens had any idea this was coming. Unlike the previous master plan for development of the old Fairwood Homes/Academy Park property, which was extensively discussed with our residents, this proposal emerged from closed discussions and is being thrust on the populace as a “done deal”. Setting aside for the moment any casino considerations, the entertainment district could negatively impact nearby neighborhoods — including Cavalier Manor, Highland Biltmore, and Newport — and the businesses in and on the periphery of Victory Crossing. Additionally, it will have potential adverse impact on the Portsmouth Campus of Tidewater Community College. I do not believe that such a project, sited on what is one of our largest, if not the largest, tracts of developable land should proceed at breakneck speed. As I have noted at other times and places, when someone wants to achieve something in the worst way, they generally do. Hometown “poster children” for the validity of that concept include the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion and the Elizabeth River Crossings Project. Continue reading →

HRBT Expansion Public Comment Extension

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The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization has extended the public comment deadline for the two Transportation Improvement Plan amendments approved on December 13, 2018. With an estimated cost of $3.562 billion, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion encumbers a significant portion of anticipated Hampton Roads Transportation Fund revenues for the next twenty years. (The Proposed TIP Amendment link provides access to more detailed information.) Comments are due by Friday, January 4, 2019.

Publisher’s Notebook: Prodding the Media Lion

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Tired of waiting for our “newspaper of record” to report what many, but by no means all, Portsmouth citizens had heard from other sources, I wrote the following as a “Letter to the Editors” of the Virginian-Pilot:

One month ago today, the Portsmouth Registrar of Voters posted the official list of candidates for city council and school board in the November 6 General Election. On Sunday, June 17, and Monday, June 18, the Virginian-Pilot ran stories about candidates for school board and city council, respectively, in Virginia Beach. Since then, I have seen nary a word about who is running in Portsmouth or Suffolk; not in the main sheet, the weekly tabloids, nor online. As a Portsmouth subscriber and city council candidate, I would like to know when the V-P intends to fulfill its duty to its readers in this matter.

A week passed, but the letter did not appear in the paper. Expecting that I would not receive a response of any kind, I was pleasantly surprised to find this eMail message in my inbox about an hour ago:

Hello, and thank you for writing to us.

I heard back from the editor who handles Portsmouth coverage, and he confirmed what I thought — we’re planning to publish something soon about who is running. Close to the election, we’ll be doing additional stories.

Sent by the reader engagement editor, the response was more than I have previously received from the paper when one of my letters did not appear in print or online. Maybe I should be content that my low expectations were exceeded. Most of you know how I am, though; I want more. At a minimum, a date certain for fulfillment would be useful. How many calendar days remain until Christmas?

Publisher’s Notebook: Cancelling the Call for Recycling Boycott

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Following a conversation today with Deputy City Manager Vincent Jones, I am withdrawing my call for a recycling boycott in Portsmouth. DCM Jones made me aware of relevant information not previously available to the public, which included both a timeline and a description of the steps the city administration took on receiving notice in June of the former recycling contractor’s intent not to renew. He assured me that the city retains its commitment to recycling and is moving forward to get the program back in full swing. I urged him to share with citizenry during Tuesday night’s regular city council meeting the detailed explanation he provided me. From what I learned, I am now convinced that the administration acted in the best interests of the citizenry, which means a boycott would be counterproductive.

Publisher’s Notebook: Why Recycling Is in Turmoil

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Two months ago, as I sat outside the meeting room in which the board of the Southeast Public Service Authority (SPSA) was conferring in closed session, I overhead bits and pieces of a conversation among representatives of various waste hauling and recycling companies. Today’s edition of the Virginian-Pilot contains not only the essence of that hallway discussion but additional context for it. Portsmouth residents should pay it special heed for the article indirectly explains why our former recycling contractor was unable to offer the same terms for handling our materials going forward as in the contract that recently expired. If you only read one item from the V-P today, I strongly recommend that it be this one.

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Publisher’s Notebook: Call for Two-Week Recycling Boycott

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With apologies for the eleventh-hour call to action, I am asking my fellow municipal recycling customers in the city of Portsmouth to join in a boycott of the non-recycling program over the next two weeks. As I was surprised to learn on November 13, our city administration allowed its recycling contract to expire sometime in the last few weeks and redirected our recyclable material to the Wheelabrator Portsmouth Waste-to-Energy facility, where the combustible material has been burned and the remainder, diverted to the SPSA landfill in Suffolk. (See the Virginian-Pilot investigative report on this matter.) Not only did these revelations come as news to recycling customers but to members of city council, as well. Continue reading →

Open Letter to City Council: Post-2017 Election Deck Reshuffle

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With the election of Council Member Paige Cherry as Portsmouth City Treasurer, a vacancy on city council will occur in relatively short order. No doubt, council is already engaged in backroom conversations about who will fill CM Cherry’s slot once he resigns to assume his new position. Under Virginia Code and the city charter, the mayor and remaining council members have the authority to appoint an interim replacement. Since CM Cherry took his seat in January of 2015, someone running in the 2018 local election will replace the appointee next fall. Continue reading →

Open Letter to City Council re: Confederate Monument Resolution 17-449

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of City Council:

I write to express my opposition to the resolution of intent to relocate the Portsmouth Confederate Monument. Although I agree in principle with the objective, I believe that the diversity of community opinion on the matter and the intensity of feeling the discussion engenders on all sides of the issue argues for more dialogue among our citizenry as well as an advisory referendum on whether or not to relocate it. Continue reading →

Open Letter to the Port of Virginia re: Portside

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In the course of the FY 2018 budget adoption meeting of the Portsmouth City Council, City Manager Patton stated that our city has requested a grant from the Port of Virginia, the purpose of which is to fund all or a portion of the construction of an entertainment/food and beverage service venue. Although I have not seen the request in writing, I presume that its submission was under the Aid to Local Ports program. I have two main objections to such a request: first, that the city submitted it without requesting public input as to the desirability of such an endeavor, and second, that the project does not meet the requirements for such a grant. As the first issue is self-explanatory, I will elaborate only on the second.

The purpose of the funds requested is to build a venue on the Portsmouth waterfront for food and beverage sales and entertainment. The Aid to Local Ports Policy housed on the Port of Virginia web site, however, contains this central provision: “Funds will be used to support capital needs of publicly-owned ocean, river, and tributary ports and their marine facilities within the Commonwealth whose primary purpose is the flow-through of goods for consumption [emphasis added].”  In my judgment, the request from my city does not meet those criteria. Although under a liberal interpretation, the project in question could fit within the definition of “landside facilities”, the structure proposed is not “for handling and storing waterborne commerce”. Previous success in obtaining a PoVA subsidy to construct a fishing pier, also something of a stretch with regard to the underlying policy, has likely emboldened my city officials to solicit more money for this incompatible use. I would urge those responsible for vetting local requests under the Aid to Local Ports program, therefore, to reject the current application that my city has tendered.

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Yours truly,
Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky