Bill Howell's Spin

It was reported today in the FLS that Bill Howell continues to harp on an anti-gas tax platform, yet he refuses to answer to reasonable workable solutions to come up with a revenue stream to fund transportation. Now before my hard core republican friends stop reading, at least get through the math and discussion below. On two separate occasions I have engaged Mr. Howell in a personal discussion of the gas tax and both times he has avoided proposing a specific solution or alternative.

In 1986, the gas tax was set at the current rate of 17.5 cents per gallon. This is not inflation adjusted, so today that 17.5 cents is worth the equivalent of 9.2 cents (calc). That means road users are paying just about half the tax to use the same roads that they used in 1986.

Howell's most reasonable explanation for stalling a change to the gas tax is that as users transition to more efficient vehicles, the revenue stream is reduced, as it is based on the number of gallons sold. He seems to forget that every year that goes by also reduces the equivalent buying power of this revenue. He also leaves out that his own republican party is regularly voting against increasing fuel mileage standards. When prodded about how to relate transportation costs to impacts and use, his conversation wanders to the only fair solution being one that taxes on per-mileage. These technologies are years away from being affordable, cheap and hack-proof. Any manager would point out that you can only work with what is available today, and the best (cheapest, easiest, and closest to scaling to impact or use) is to look at the gas tax.

Instead Howell and others are proposing a one time fix of privatizing Virginia's ABC store. Isn't this much like selling the family cow? Now, for other reasons I fully support this plan, but not as a long term fix for Virginia transportation. How does this go for paying years of maintenance and road improvements?

I hate spin. If we're really going to find solutions, and I mean fully implemented systems approaches, it's going to take a combination of actions and compromises.

The Pub rocks starting in Dec

A local favorite is The Pub. Its the original, not to be confused with Fredericksburg Pub. David over at Musings Over a Pint has written about this place starting a true brewpub. http://www.musingsoverapint.com/2008/06/brewpub-for-fredericksburg.html

We ate a great dinner here on Friday. Gail enjoyed a tasty hot ham and cheese, and my french dip was delic. They even had a good selection on the child's menu. Our one year old likes pickles - who would have guessed that one?

I am happy to report that brewing is set to begin the week of September 28th. They are planning three batches to start with, an ale, red and a hefferveisen. Expect the first to appear on tap in 3-4 weeks. Once the first batch is ready, The Pub is planning some type of brewpub opening party.

Come December, when the smoking restrictions kick in, this may become one of our top recommendations. Until then we won't attempt bringing our child back which is a shame since he enjoyed the food. December can't get here quick enough.

Curacao Vacation

Friends have known where I disappeared to the other week, vacation, glorious quiet, cell phone free vacation. I was so impressed by the place we stayed, that I wanted to share the experience so that other folks on the internet can get to know about this place. If you love clear blue water, warm temperatures, the beach, shopping and friendly people, then I highly recommend Curacao. Specifically, if you're looking to take a few people, I will give a resounding recommendation for Flamingo Villa (http://www.flamingo-villa.com/) , a family owned rental on the country side of the island. We found them through home-away (http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p182407) but they are also on VRBO (vacation rentals by owner). Let me start off with there are lots of internet scams out there. I was initially concerned, but several well known news shows have covered VRBO and HomeAway, so those fears were somewhat calmed, but I really wasn't sure exactly what we were going to show up to. Let me tell you, it far exceeded expectations. The house was exactly as shown in the pictures. Even as a rental, it showed no wear an tear. The family that owns this property really takes care of the home. Emails exchanged indicate that they are as much regular users as their renters.

Following are a few photos, and notes on our trip. If you ever go on a trip like this, hopefully you will find the property manager as friendly as Don - Don called us on Sunday giving us the inside story on places to go such as a Landhuis where local artists display there goods once a month, along with a steel drum band and local foods.



Curacao has a flamingo sanctuary at the salt ponds.


This was the view that greeted us on all the beaches. Clear blue water, unspoiled reef systems, dramatic coastline.


The Punda area of Willemstad was a beutiful Netherlands inspired city. The streets offered a variety of shops and food, along with friendly locals that would help you in any way needed.


This is the pontoon bridge, which is open to foot traffic when it's not moving out of the way of shipping traffic. Here it was being moved out of the way for a large containership.


This alley led to the Nena Sanchez gallery. No fear of street art here!


By Thursday, there were a few spots that needed relief from the sun. (Curacao is only 12 degrees off the equator and results in sunburns just about anywhere you don't regularly reapply sunblock.) So it was off to the other side of the island to visit the Aloe Vera farm. We didn't make it to the Ostrich farm or the herb farm nearby, but I hear they are also popular places.


On the way back into town, we searched out the practially hidden Curacao factory. We weren't looking for a place this small. It's amazing that a facility this small can produce all of the Curacao liquer. They were happy to let us taste several varieties, as well as mix a few samples to come up with combination flavors. And here is a tidbit of trivia - the Curacao factory has NO orange groves, they get all of the product from locals that bring in the indiginous fruits.


And of course this type of vacation wouldn't have been complete without being able to get below the surface. We went with friends, one of which is a dive master, so the two of us snuck out for a few days of compressed air intake. The shore diving was incredible. We were able to explore Cas Abou near our rental, then went with friends-of-friends that were local to The Tugboat near the southernmost point of the island. On Friday we hooked up with Neils at http://www.divechartercuracao.com for boat dives at Watamula and Mushroom forest off the northernmost point of the island. As you can see in the slideshow below, the coral around Curacao was pristine. I've never been on a reef where you stop to look around and don't see sand somewhere. Macro fans will love these reefs.

8 Things I Will Miss From the DC Commute

After beating up on VRE yesterday, I was getting coffee this morning thinking about the things I will miss about going to Crystal City every day.

1. Having Mocha Mo's on speed dial for the best Vanilla Skim Latte for the train ride
2. Catching the sunrise over the Potomac
3. The Tue afternoon street market with real farms in Crystal City
4. For that matter, I will miss Crystal City and the active BID, arts, music, parks and vibrant life
5. My afternoon nap on the long "heat restrictions" ride home (VRE reference for the non commuter)
6. The beauty in a designed city: skyscrapers, 2500 car underground lots, the ability to stroll inside from one end to the other.
7. Buses that run every 10 min
8. Having time to blog and twitter every morning and afternoon.

Symbolism and VRE

I shot this picture in the Fredericksburg city VRE parking lot wondering if it is symbolic of where VRE has been or where it is headed. The tagger probably doesn't even ride VRE, yet I find it interesting anyway. For three years I have hopped on the big grey train to dc. This is my last regular week (hooray!).

This picture pretty accurately describes my opinion of where VRE is headed. I won't miss the nanny PA announcements about queuing in the isles, or the conductors saying the are requires to write x summons in a day. I surely won't miss the broken down engines pulling brand new cars nowhere. VRE's excuses and sorry's will be a thing of the past.

Over the years I have witnessed the reality of little viable competition allow VRE to use their monopoly position to their favor. It really is a case study in a captive customer base. Management doesn't use the service, at least not like commuters do every day, and the government board is substantially made up of representatives that don't use the service. Using the service is just different than listening to our complaints. It would give each decision maker an appreciation for the issues. The biggest of which is communication. Communication between VRE and customers, CSX, NS, elected officials and even their own employees!

I say all of this because VA rail has the potential to be a great service! New locomotives are on the way, several stations are getting makeovers and new platforms. Fredericksburg is even supposed to get a station fix, with concrete repairs to the underpasses. VRE has yet to make a statement on the impacts from the fredericksburg station repairs. This reflects the perceived history of keeping the customer in the dark as long as possible (much like the dark status boards at all the stations).

I wish I could say 'wake up' to VRE management, but it doesn't matter because people keep riding no matter what changes they make. So I guess I should just say thank you VRE for the 75% good job! Way to go.

OK, after writing this, I envision at least one person asking - well what would you do? So here it is:
Monthly what's coming next statements on the web, in the seat letters, on the station screens
When things start going wrong, an immediate continuous comm link with CSX
A backbone in negotiating the next Amtrak and CSX agreements
An renewed emphasis on cutting costs across the network
Accountability of paid management to the city/county governments and customers, perhaps its time for a management change.

Parthenon Restaurant is a Must Eat Here Location

I have failed you, loyal readers of the blog.  Life has been very busy lately, and what free time I have has been spent doing things other than writing.  Oddly, I miss it, and a few ideas for posts have been kicking around just waiting for time to get down on paper.  Even Gail asked yesterday if a post was coming.  A great dinner with Gail actually sparked this post, as you will read in a bit.  As most know, having a 9 month old does take away some time, so we have been trying to have a babysitter keep him one night a week so that we can get out for date night. 

Last night we had the most wonderful, quiet, relaxed, delicious dinner at Parthenon Restaurant in the Park & Shop (or should this now say Eagle Village) shopping center.  2024 Augustine Ave., Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Based on a suggestion, we both had the Greek Salad with Grilled Gyro meat.  We were both trying to stay on the light side of things, but who can resist Tiramisu.  I've also read several reviews complimenting their souvlaki. The Greek wine was just incredible.  But the food is only part of the reason to visit, it's also the hospitality of the Psaras family.  We chatted away with Mrs. Psaras about the 26 years they have been in the same location, and how this summer things seemed to be just a little more quiet than usual.  She expressed her interest in seeing Eagle Village develop, and what that might do to benefit their small restaurant.  Gail told her about visiting Parthenon for pizza in her college days across the street.

It's nice to see unique family run businesses in today's fast pace cookie cutter world, and Parthenon is just the place to step away to enjoy a nice home cooked meal.  You've probably driven right past this wonderful gem a number of times and not even noticed it's there.  If you get a chance, stop in and enjoy.

Business Lessons From Bloggers on USS Nimitz

When I first read this article (http://www.damniwish.com/uss-nimitz/), several things came to mind.  First, holy crap - they let 16 bloggers loose on the Nimitz and let them blog their experience? The US Navy is more open that I thought.  I wonder what they had to do for clearances!  Wow I'd love to get in on this!  But all of these reactions are small potatoes when you read the content.  This first blogger details four best practices that would work in just about any business. 

    1 - Keep it simple; it's not about the technology.
    2 - Helping people be good at their jobs.
    3 - The power of complete openness.
    4 - What appreciating our troops really means.

If you're more into pictures and video, head over to Guy Kawasaki's blog about the same visit (http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/06/24-hours-at-sea-on-the-uss-nimitz.html).

Let me give you a few quotes from Sernovitz:

What would happen at your company if you let 16 bloggers talk to anyone they wanted, including the CEO? (Besides needing to send an EMT to resuscitate the panicked PR team?)

•Do you have a culture of openness and trust?
•Do you have something to hide?
•Do you trust your people to know what topics aren't appropriate to talk about publicly?
•Most important: Do your employees have the pride in their work necessary to happily represent you to the world?
...
1. Details matter.
2. Everyone knows their jobs.
3. Special places matter.
4. Proven is better than newer.

Fredstock '09

Yet again this year an event almost slipped past without any major advertising. Fredstock happens this weekend. See the Weekender story for more info.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/062009/06252009/475581

Who is really the Consumer

At tonight's Fredericksburg City Council meeting, there was a discussion about taxi surcharges. Last year they revisited overall rates with taxi drivers and owners where the industry said they liked rates where they were. Consider, the discussion was actually about whether to go to meters. So of course they are going to choose to keep the existing fares and formats. Plus using a 'fuel surcharge' further obscures the true taxi costs for riders.

So as is common lately, in the rush to complete the meeting, a council member was cutoff and a statement was made about how the 'consumer is happy the way it is'. Whoa, wait a minute, since when is a taxi owner or the driver the consumer? I always thought that would have been the rider/user/payer. But I guess in this new form of government, consumer is up for redefinition.

City Taxes Going UP-UP-UP

For those of you that vote in Fredericksburg VA, here's who you can thank for higher real estate taxes.

Councilwoman Greenlaw made the final motion to raise the rate to $0.705 of every $100. That's almost 26% percent. It was seconded by Vice-Mayor Devine.

Councilman Kelly put forward an alternative $.68 of every $100. It was seconded by Councilman Ellis. The caveat is that the meals tax would have to go up a penny. Solley changed his mind from the first vote and supports the meals tax. This lessens the commercial real estate tax, and someone moves that to the restaurant business. However, in my case it also frees up significant money to actually go out and eat.

Just for reference - 1 penny on real estate = $340k
Meals tax increase 1% = 800k, offset somewhat by having to delay implementation August (100k). Yet another issue with council waiting until the last minute to approve budget.

Mr Kelly mentioned cuts to consider to make up the 100k - continuation of hiring freeze, limiting city manager salary (not filled at the moment).

But in the end, Solley, Greenlaw think this is a bare bones budget. So I ask it in public, why does the city maintain TWO parking decal authorities? Why do we continue to fund a money loosing VDOT express? What was the priority for outside agencies when you blanketly levy a 15% cut? Greenlaw justified this somewhat by saying that by 'making the list' they are priority - OK, I'll accept that. What do we save by going to 1 day trash? What did the extra $300k get in the schools?

Devine gave a speech about all the calls she gets about people wanting extra things in the city. That's fine, good managers have to know how to say NO. Yet in the end the city only took a 5.2% hit. FIVE-POINT-TWO PERCENT, with no clear vision about where we're headed. Devine 'we're wringing our hands'.

Kelly responded with 'we cannot be a burden on those people that depend on us' and 'we're beginning to hurt people we serve'. Mr. Kelly finally got my point, some savings might be only a few dollars, but all that funding adds up!!!

In the end, it was tabled, but I BEG you to think about who is running your city and how they are voting. It does matter. Renters residential or commercial, consider that every dollar your landlord has to pay in taxes is going to come out of your pocket in higher rents.

ps, they also are considering a 14% increase in the car tax, on top of water, sewer and utility taxes approved last month.

Special "Find a Patriot" day 6/12

Just received this email that I thought was particularly interesting.

The Mine Run Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution is having a "Find A Patriot" meeting, open to the public on June 12th, Friday evening from 5:30 to 7 pm at the Chancellor Ruritan Building 5994 Plank Rd, Fredericksburg, VA.

Please bring the names of your grandparents, dates and places and we will look for a Patriot ancestor. We also sponsor a Children's chapter. For more information or alternate dates; call 540-854-6700, Debbie DeHart

It's particularly interesting to me, having found that I am related to Charles Lee, brother to the more famous local Robert E. Lee. My father took up some geneology searches in retirement resulting in some interesting adventures. One was to find my great-grandfather's name on the National Law Enforcement's memorial in DC.

Smith Point Rescue Fishing Tournament

Local columnist Rob Hedelt writes in today's paper about a great organization, smith point sea rescue. http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/062009/06092009/471878

We sometimes spend the weekend in Fairport, just across Cockrells Creek from their main rescue boat. This fishing tournament this weekend is always a huge hit with locals and visitors alike. The activities are nonstop, but if you can break away I suggest eating at The Cull Ring at Fairport Marina for a taste of good local cooking.

Eating For A Cause

Just received this from Paul Lewis of The Fredericksburg Athenaeum

Every Thursday in June, Capital Ale House is giving 25% of your food tab to the film festival. All you have to do is print and present this coupon and eat a good meal. Thank you for supporting your community by supporting RIFF and our efforts to sustain an active, vibrant downtown. Hope to see you there!

Celebrate VA Live rain out Alternatives

If you don't know yet, Dark Star Orchestra has been postponed due to wet fields at Celebrate VA Live this week. The good news is that First Fridays is happening downtown and there should be good food and art all over! We are calling the baby sitter and headed out for the evening. You might find us at the museum courtyard listening to the local band playing for free.

Quarter Hail vid at Golds

Didn't catch the start, but eventually the pounding on the roof made me go check it out.

Storm over Fredericksburg vid

Is this what they mean by rotation, not too long of a video, decided it might be time to get on home.

Fredericksburg News & Info on your Kindle

Now get the area's hottest news delivered direct to your Amazon Kindle! FburgNews.com tries to bring together a diverse set of blogging content, and it is now available in more formats than ever.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029U2X8Q

Hopefully they will drop the price to make getting the local inside story more affordable.

Check out the Weekend Events 5/14/09

Whoever is editing the Free Lance-Star Weekender section today nailed it on content. Its almost all local for once, and gives important details like location, price and a bit of opinion on the events.

Check it out at http://www.fredericksburg.com

Let me give you the rundown of just the top name things.
Gin Blossoms at Celebrate VA Live (behind central park)
Big art show at Hurkamp park
Marine Corps Historic Half (although they didn't publish road closures. Look at my post yesterday for more details)
Hike along the river w/FOR
Performances by the Spotsylvanians (chorus)

And next weekend at Patriot Park in Spotsy you can catch a popular Charlottesville band Sweetbriar. Hedelt even had a great article in the region section about this band. We have always enjoyed getting to listed to them perform.

With the exception of these last two events, readers of this blog already were aware of these if you clicked the events tab. Check back ever week to see what has been added to 'Bryans Picks'.

Marine Corps Historic Half 2009

Runners visiting from out of town should search this website for the "Marine Corps Historic Half" tag. Read up tips on using 301 instead of I-95. Visitors should also utilize visitfred.com and fburgnews.com to find other interesting things happening in our town. For critical DAY-OF information, keep reading.

Parking: always a concern in cities. So this year a press release says it all - there are more options.

Organizers of the Marine Corps Historic Half marathon announced today transportation procedures for the May 17 event. Runners and spectators can benefit from free parking and complimentary shuttle service.

Ample parking spaces are within walking distance of the start line in the Central Park shopping center. Additionally, a free shuttle will transport runners from the commuter lot located off I-95 at exit 133B (at US-17 North towards Warrenton) to a drop-off point near the start line.

On race morning, spectators may also take advantage of a free shuttle between the Central Park shopping center and downtown Fredericksburg (at approximately miles 7-8 of the Historic Half course). The shuttle will run from Gordon Shelton Parkway to Hanover Street downtown.

On-course parking is available in the University of Mary Washington parking garage located off Jefferson Davis Highway (US-1), one block north of College Avenue. This parking area is located near mile 10 of the course.

From the Healthy Lifestyle Expo on Saturday, May 16, free shuttle service will offer runners and their guests easy access to downtown Fredericksburg. The shuttles run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. along much of the race course making stops at the Art Festival on the corner of William and Prince Edward Streets, in front of the Fredericksburg Visitor Center, on the corner of Caroline and Charlotte Streets and at Caroline and William Streets.

Traffic: A year of experience should help organizers do better this year than last.
Road Closures by time:
5:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Carl D Silver Parkway (CDSP) (all lanes) from Fall Hill Ave. to Expo & Conference Center
5:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Traffic control point at Fall Hill Avenue and CDSP.
6:50 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. Carl D Silver Parkway southbound from Expo & Conference Center to Cowan Boulevard.
6:50 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Cowan Boulevard (eastbound) from CDSP to Keeneland Road.
7:00 a.m. - 8:05 a.m. Woodland, Keeneland and Westwood Roads from Cowan Blvd to Route 3.
7:05 a.m. - 8:10 a.m. Route 3 (westbound lanes) from Westwood Rd to William Street.
7:10 a.m. - 8:55 a.m. William Street (westbound) from Blue/Gray Parkway to Sunken Road.
7:10 a.m. - 8:35 a.m. Sunken Road northbound from William Street to Fitzhugh Street.
7:15 a.m. - 8:35 a.m. Fitzhugh Street between Sunken Road and Franklin Street.
7:15 a.m. - 8:35 a.m. Franklin Street between Fitzhugh and Madison Streets.
7:15 a.m. - 8:35 a.m. Madison Street between Franklin Street and Littlepage Street.
7:15 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. Littlepage Street between Madison and Grove Avenue.
7:15 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. Grove between Littlepage and Kenmore Avenue.
7:20 a.m. - 8:50 a.m. Kenmore Avenue between Grove and William Street.
7:20 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. William Street between Kenmore Avenue and Washington Avenue.
7:20 a.m. - 9:05 a.m. Washington Avenue between William Street and Pelham Street.
7:20 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Maury Street from Washington Avenue to Fall Hill Road.
7:20 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Stuart Street from Washington Avenue to Fall Hill Road.
7:20 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Pelham Street from Washington Avenue to Fall Hill Road.
7:25 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Fall Hill Road/Canal Street from Pelham Street to Prince Edward Street.
7:25 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. Prince Edward Street from Canal Road to William Street.
7:25 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. William Street between Prince Edward Street to Princess Anne Street.
7:25 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. Princess Anne Street between William Street and Charlotte Street.
7:25 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. Charlotte Street between Princess Anne and Caroline Streets.
7:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Caroline Street between Charlotte and Van Buren Streets.
7:35 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Amelia Street between Caroline Street and Sophia Street.
7:35 a.m. - 9:55 a.m. Sophia Street between Amelia Street and Pitt Street.
7:35 a.m. - 9:55 a.m. Riverside Drive from Woodford Street to Fall Hill Avenue.
7:35 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Fall Hill from Riverside Drive to US Route 1.
7:40 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. US Route 1 (southbound) from Fall Hill to Mary Washington Boulevard.
7:40 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. Mary Washington Boulevard from Route 1 to Hospital Drive.
7:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Hospital Drive from Mary Washington Boulevard to Cowan Boulevard
7:20 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Cowan Boulevard (westbound) from Hospital Drive to CDSP.
7:20 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. CDSP northbound from Cowan Boulevard to Fall Hill Avenue.

And just for completeness, here are a few links of importance:
Marine Corps Historic Half website
Course Map
Course Description

CV Live kicks off TONIGHT!

Celebrate Virginia Live gets going tonight behind Central Park in Fredericksburg VA. This open air concert series is going to bring some well known talent to the area.

5/1- The Wailers
5/8- Keller Williams
5/15- Gin Blossoms and TONIC
5/22- Toad The Wet Sprocket/Eddie From Ohio
5/29- Little Feat
6/5- Dark Star Orchestra
6/12- TBA
6/19- ZOSO