“It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.” David Hume.
Do you trust the IRS? What liberties did Lois Lerner take from organizations that she disagreed with? And now another example of an IRS abuse of power: Please visit the Institute for Justice website for the story of a true patriot standing up for her liberties and ours.
We know Councilman Moss will protect our liberty. Vote for Moss- City Council At Large
The VBTA would like to thank the school board candidates who participated in the forums this morning. We learned about their positions on many important issues. The talent level of the candidates is impressive! Stay tuned for our endorsements for school board and city council.
Please join us this Saturday October 25th for our School Board Forums. School Board races are far too important to ignore!
Continental Breakfast begins at 8 am and costs $3.00
At Large and Beach candidates-8:50-9:45 am
Lynnhaven, Princess Anne and Bayside candidates- 9:50-10:45 am
Marion Manor is located at 5345 Marion Lane virginia Beach, VA 23462
Bring a friend! Guests are welcome to attend!
Please take a moment to read this important update on the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commision ByLaw Committee from Reid Greenmun:
Our quest to have our right to speak on each Agenda Item of the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC) continued today … but I don’t think we gained any ground.
Here are my notes from today’s Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC) Bylaws Committee Meeting:
10/17/2014 – HRTAC Bylaw Committee meeting began at 1:00 PM – all 5 committee members were present. The meeting ended at 1:25 PM.
1. Mayor Paul Fraim – Chair – Norfolk – TowneBank
2. Mayor Linda Johnson – Vice-Chair – Suffolk – TowneBank
3. Mayor Haulman – Williamsburg
4. Chairman Jones – James City County
5. Delegate Chris Jones – Suffolk – TowneBank
Also sitting at the table was an attorney and Camelia Ravanbakht, Interim Executive Director of the HRTPO.
A lot of HRPDC staff was also present. It seemed to me like there was more paid staff in attendance than the public, or the committee (counting the lawyer). But I did not count them, to determine that. It was my impression.
1:02 PM – The meeting began.
3 public speakers addressed the committee:
1. Reid Greenmun, 2. Donna Sayegh, 3. Dianna Howard (she yielded her time to Reid Greenmun).
Robert Dean was present, but did not speak.
A few other people (non-staff) were watching the meeting, maybe 4 or 5. I’m not sure if the media was present. The meeting did not appear to be filmed.
Bottom Line: The committee didn’t actual discuss the individual HRTP/VBTA bylaw changes. They didn’t make any decisions. They … chatted.
In general it appeared to me that Del. Chris Jones let the committee know if any of their ideas would be okay with the General Assembly. He indicated the ideas discussed would not result in any objections. But he’d check and report back.
Details:
Mayor Fraim (Norfolk) introduced 2 other changes he had received. One in an email yesterday – from Mayor Kransnoff (Chesapeake – HRTAC Chair) and the change from Mayor Wallace (Hampton). Although requested (by me), none of these proposals were made public before the meeting. Since citizens spoke first, we were unable to address these proposals brought up for discussion during the meeting. Thus, no public input on the 2 new proposals.
There was discussion on ideas from the committee members, but not really any discussion on the changes the HRTP and VBTA had submitted.
Instead here are the notes of the discussion that did take place.
Mayor Fraim asked the members to take the changes the HRTP/VBTA had submitted and review them, red lining the existing bylaws. Send any suggestions and thoughts to him. Via email Mayor Fraim said they would discuss any changes the committee wanted at the next meeting, meaning the next HRTAC meeting.
Mayor Fraim had 4 things it appeared that he wanted to discuss. They were:
1. There did not appear to be any term limits for HRTAC officers and he thought there should be. He supported a one year election with a limit of only 2 more consecutive terms (or a total of two years, I’m not sure).
2. He felt making the HRTAC bylaws “gender neutral” was easy and should be done. All appeared to agree, or at least none voices any objections. Perhaps they were ambivalent? This change was included in the HRTP/VBTA changes.
3. Increasing the notice time for a Special Meeting from 24 hours to 48 hours. All appeared to agree. This prompted some discussion about Special Meetings. Mayor Haulman proposed adding a change to the bylaws that allows the Chair to call a Special Meeting, without requiring 6 additional members to agree. It was unclear if this idea was agreed with or not, there wasn’t too much discussion.
4. This promoted a discussion of Meeting notices. There was a fair amount of discussion and it appeared it was agreed that meeting notices (to include Agendas…
Bring a friend to tonight’s Light Rail presentation. Learn more about the financial risks and a truthful examination of the experiences other cities have had with Light Rail. If you like the idea of Light Rail, but don’t know much about it, then you definately should attend!
Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O’Toole is speaking at the Central Library on Virginia Beach Blvd at 7 pm.
We look forward to seeing you there.
LIGHT RAIL PRESENTATION CHANGE OF ADDRESS
Cato Institute Senior Fellow and nationally recognized transportation expert Randal O’Toole will be speaking on light rail at the Central Library at 7 pm. Learn what proponents of light rail don’t want you to know.
LIGHT RAIL PRESENTATION
Cato Institute Senior Fellow and Nationally Recognized Transportation Expert Randal O’Toole will be speaking about Light Rail. Learn what proponents of light rail don’t want you know.
Thursday October 16th at 7 in the evening @ The Virginia Beach ODU higher education center located at 1881 University Dr. Virginia Beach 23453. Second Floor Auditorium.
The VBTA, Tidewater Libertarian Party, Tea Party and Slipper Brigade are proud to sponsor this event.
Make plans to attend this event: Help Re-Elect Councilman John Moss
Wednesday October 8th. 6-9 pm
Aqua Lounge is located at 5476 Virginia Beach Blvd. Suite 123
Join us for an event to help Re-Elect Councilman John Moss Wednesday October 8th.
Aqua Lounge is located at 5476 Virginia Beach Blvd. Suite 123
6-9 pm
Come show your support for John Moss!
Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance 