Check Out Our Forum to Discuss the Issues
July 14, 2008
As many of you have noticed there has been a lot of dialog going on regarding some of the issues that have been addressed. I have recently added a forum to this site in hopes that everyone can join in on the discussions and voice their opinions and suggestions.
You can access the forum by selecting the tab at the top of the page or at the bottom of the left column. You are required to register by selecting a user name and password. The register link is at the top of the forum page. You will then login after you register.
You can use the forum to comment on a post or start a new post. You will notice that there are 3 categories, Municiple Issues, Media Interviews and Hot Topics. Feel free to add any topic for discussion under these categories. There is also a poll area where we can poll subscribers and you can see the real time results.
I have started a new topic for discussion under the Municple Issues regarding Countryside. There is also a poll question regarding the purchase by the city. I encourage you to continue the comments and discussion in our new forum.
If you have any questions or problems regarding the forum please direct them to info@davetrinkle.com. I hope you find this means of dialog helpful and I look forward to your feedback.
Dave
What is the vision that the city has for the city of Roanoke? With every thing that is going on downtown. Why hasnt anyone from the City Gov. stepped up to the plate to define to the residents/employers/taxpayers of Roanoke what the plan is? What is the vision and what are the goals. What is the timeline? Are there any? Without a defined vision I find it hard to believe that there are any goals. Is this town to be an entertainment hub? Cultural hub? Outdoor recreational hub? What is the master plan and why haven’t we seen a front page article in the paper stating this is our goal this is the direction we are planning to shape the city?
Im going to be extremely critical about another issue. If you want to attract/keep young people I wouldn’t have a video such as the one at the top right of this page! I felt quite melancholy after watching this video. Does Steppford (sp) ring a bell? I felt like I had just watched an industrial film / advertisement for a gigantic retirement village. Lets see something visually stimulating and exciting.
Dave,
I hope you are reading the Wall Street Journal today. The article about Carilion is frightening in its obviousness about Carilion’s business practices in the Roanoke Valley.
This reminds me of Vistar’s fight with Carilion years ago over the cost of cataract surgery. Going rate at Carilion was in the $3-$5k range. Vistar won the certificate of need for their surgery center and now cataract surgery has fallen by a factor of at least 3.
It would seem we need to start asking harder questions of this monopolistic non-profit and its intentions.
It all fits. Roanoke, if noted for ANYTHING, has gotten positive press for “healthcare”. So under the currents you see are efforts to attract not young professionals but OLD people. And with old people comes the need for medical care and guess who provides it, Yep, I always believed Roanoke was only a good place to “live” because it was a good place to die. As for the good councilmans’ looking into it, YOU MUST BE KIDDING! Dr. dave one said, “when Ed Murphy speak, I listen”.
Kar- you seem pretty aware of the benefits of blogging- one of the reasons I have gotten involved in this is to make sure quotes are not taken out of context and people have the ability to read the entire message. I really do not believe I ever said that about Ed Murphy - this was an early point during my campaign two years ago: I had the permission of my employer to run for public office. Anyone who is hired by a large company and does not check about time issues, conflicts etc ahead of time would probably get worse press and run into lots of issues- I was just dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s as I prepared to run for office. For the record Ed Murphy and I seldom talk with each other and we both know we agree and disagree on several issues. As with anyone highly involved in our community or any citizen for that matter, I welcome the chance to have their input (eg why we are here on this blog), will listen and weigh their input but not necessarily agree with it. If I disagree, I don’t hide that and hope in turns into good dialogue with an improved outcome on decision making.
Dave
I would like to hear your thoughts on yesterday’s city council meeting. The burning question is, why would anyone want so badly to put an end to any effort that our city has paid large funds to examine, RIGHT before the results were due? It just doesn’t make sense. I know that you are very good at considering all sides of an issue. What was that all about?
Please see my post: A Strange Council Meeting
Sharon:
Your questions is probably a good one but it does not reflect a deep understanding of how Roanoke City government…and maybe a lot of other political bodies…operate and you only have to go back a bit to see many examples of studies which cost bundles for things that ultimately wind up in “file 13″ What about the one for the Bourbon Street style renovations to the market? Or the most famous one of all. $160,000 or so spent on evaluation of the renovations of VS and then having that trashed and the stadium torn down. When the powers that be cannot agree on a course of action and the vote to carry a matter to a solution is uncertain, they spend some of YOUR money and call for a study. The rational is that it will give council some time to align the votes one way or the other and then there is always the possibility that the study will support or kill one or the other positions. If, however, the council forges an agreement and a concensus is reached prior to the study being completed, they will proceed to act. Just another way to spend your tax money. You really would think Roanokers would not let Council get away with this again and again and again, but most Roanokers just don’t know and unfortunately, probably don’t care.
I seem to recall Ms Mason’s comments on this subject when she was running. She specifically said she thought council spends too much on studies and such but apparently she has not been able to influence the balance of the Council. BTW, the study was commissioned under the last council not the current one…as if that really matters.