Moonhowlings

The telephone has rung off the hook today with tidbits and rumors.  The email box has been chock full.  Where to begin….

The Lion and Bull in Haymarket  was the place of Carl Genthner’s kick off campaign for Gainesville Supervisor.  There was a welcoming committee for all who came to meet Mr. Genthner.  It seems that some of the current Gainesville Supervisor’s staff were sitting right outside the meeting room to check out who all was going in and to give a little stare down to the guests.   Fans (Thanks you Mr. Supervisor, thank you) were also there for the official stare down.

correction: there were NO CURRENT staff members from Supervisor’s Stirrups office at Carl Genthner’s kick offevent

Like minded political support was there for Mr. Genthner.

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Corey Stewart proposes to use addition county funds for his pet projects to curry some favors.  More information should be forthcoming.

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A Dark Blog–A certain blogmeister removed an inflammatory but sizzling exposé about a certain senate macaca candidate and a past RNC chair from his blog.  Did he out-sleaze himself or is there a touch of chivalry still alive?   Do Republicans really practice cannibalism?  It seemed like it reading that exposé.  Now should that person win the party nomination for the Senate, how does one undo the image planted in the minds of Virginians that the gentleman is a home-wrecker and an adulterer?  White-out just won’t cut it.

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BOCS–What former BOCS member might be challenging the remaining lady on the board?  Rumors abound.

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BOCS (2)–What supervisor needs to prepare outgoing email more carefully?

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Residents- Some residents think that the new magisterial district boundary lines are going to split up families.  Are some lines running right through the middle of someone’s home?

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Updates:

Blogosphere:  A local blogger has announced his/her candidacy for House of Delegates.

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Feel free to add to the rumor mill.  Things are getting interesting for sure.  We might just need a bookie before election day rolls around.

Family and Friends Night at the New Sudley Manor Starbucks!

Come out Thursday night, April 14,  from 5-8 pm and  visit  the new Starbucks at 10638 Sudley Manor Drive in  Manassas Crossroads.  The new Starbucks is near Chick Filet and Walgreens and features a drive through.  The new store is also the first Starbucks to be Leed Certified:

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED^® certification program as a benchmark for success. (LEED^® is short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

Family and Friends events are very nice and a good way to sample new treats at Starbucks.  The store manager extended a very special invitation to Moonhowlings contributors so make sure you stop by.  Once the store is open, patrons will have improved laptop hookups, a patio, and a drive through for those who don’t have time to go in. 

See you there.  (pppssssssst  no meals tax in the county)

Insidenova.com:

DALE CITY, Va. –

By the end of this week, more than 80 individuals in Woodbridge will literally have nowhere to call home.

On Thursday morning, Virginia State Police are closing down a long-time homeless campsite located near the Dale Boulevard exit off Interstate 95 for safety and legal reasons. In an email sent Wednesday, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord stated that residents will have an hour to move their belongings off that property once police arrive.

Technically, these residents have been trespassing on state property, stated McCord. And because of the nature of the camp setup, McCord said it’s potentially dangerous for both campsite residents and the motorists on the interstate.

“This is a difficult situation and while we are sympathetic to anyone who is homeless, VDOT cannot allow these shelters on its right of way,” stated McCord.

Approximately 35 people are living at the site, said Bonnie Schrader, director of the Drop-In Center program at the nearby winter shelter. To make matters worse, another 46 single adults are officially outdoors after Thursday when the nearby winter shelter closes for the season

This is a story that has no answers.  There are also homeless camps on this end of the county.  What do you do when people have no where to live?  I understand that some of the people in the Dale City camp are children.

Read more…

The dreadful story of the neglected children in Bristow continues.  Interviews with the father of the first set of neglected kids reveal even more information.  Apparently the mother, Christina Dawn Moore, does have visitation with the twins who were found wandering in diapers at a junk yard  when they were toddlers.  Their father is Daniel Tinchard who now has custody of his children.  He reported that he has made several calls regarding abuse and neglect,

According to News and Messenger:

In the past few years, Tincher estimates he made three or four complaints to Social Services – including one alleging physical abuse – regarding his twin boys. The boys live with their father in Bealeton but go to Moore’s house on selected weekends due to a visitation agreement.

A friend of the family has also made numerous complaints. 

The family friend, who attended Brentsville High School with Moore in the early 2000s, said she made close to 10 calls from 2007 to 2010 to the Prince William and Fauquier Social Services departments regarding the situation. She said she heard nothing from anyone other than a brief phone conversation with a social worker.

Read more…

Call it fate, destiny, coincidence, whatever word you like,  but sometimes life is just too bizarre.  I met Erik Finley a few years ago during a paving job Finley Asphalt was hired to do for my community.  I can tell you, from first hand experience, he, and his company are top notch.  They are what makes small business America the best in the world.  He and other small business owners like him ARE the backbone of our economy.  The treatment he received from Corey, his office, and Wally was unconscionable. 

It was happenstance that Erik and I ended up talking.    Here is what Erik shared with me and his story, in three years, has remained consistent.

Somehow, the foreman and I began discussing PWC politics and county government, one topic lead to another and he asked if I would be willing to talk with Erik who was having some issues with the county.  I said, “sure, I would love to”.

Read more…

What is going on around Manassas and Prince William County?  Did someone put something in the water? 

We have had a young man murdered on the way home from school.  He wasn’t a gang member or anything other than a popular kid, according to all I have read.  The murder took place a block from Baldwin Elementary School, not in some remote area, surrounded by his peers.   What is going on around here?

We had a strange white powder substance come out of an envelope at the courthouse.  The courthouse was locked down and 5 people underwent decontamination.  Others are being watched for signs of illness. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force  has been called in to help with the investigation.  There is no confirmation of what the substance in the envelope was.   What is going on around here?

The Manassas Park Community Center was under lockdown today also.  No one was allowed in or out.  A warrant was being served in the vicinity.  What is going on around here?

The Gainesville Lazy Boy had a sniper on the roof and there was a suicide in the Hampton Inn in Gainesville. What is going on around here?

Some driver strung out on PCP and booze careened across the median strip just south of Gainesville and killed 2 innocent people and seriously injured others.  What is going on around here?

Last week a young bear was mutilated and its gall bladder had been removed.  Supposedly the bear gall bladder is used in Chinese medicine.  That hardly explains something that happened in Prince William Forest Park.  Animal cruelty is animal cruelty.  What is going on around here?

There are bad things going on.  Sadly, people still clamor on about KK’s in the newspaper while children are being killed by gang violence.  Bloggers myopically focus on immigration status rather than looking at the big picture.   The Manassas area needs a break.   I feel like I missed something.  What else has been going on out of the ordinary?

OOooopppsss…I forgot to hit send.  Better late than never.

Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 3-9, 2010

From the Prince William County Website:

With all the recent fires, I thought theh PWC website sure wouldn’t mind if I lifted their announcement:

In a fire, smoke spreads fast, leaving you only minutes to escape. Smoke alarms provide an early warning, giving you the time you need to get out quickly and safely. In fact, they cut your risk of dying in a home fire nearly in half. Of the approximately 2,800 home fire deaths each year, roughly two-thirds result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or with smoke alarms that don’t work. That’s why smoke alarms belong in every home and why they are “A Sound You Can Live With!”

If you cannot afford smoke alarms or are unable to install them, the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue will supply and/or install them free of charge. Remember, if you are renting, your landlord is responsible for providing smoke alarms. You may call your local fire and rescue station or 703-792-7736 for assistance.

I didn’t know that Greg Letiecq sent Eric and Annabel to Mr. Fernandez and that sign. I never asked. I assumed they had just stumbled on it.

In the radio, Eric asks the people to not be judgemental of the people of Prince William. He explains his position and presents himself as a moderate. Having talked to Eric at length, many times, he isn’t too far off the mark.

See what you think. It is a totally different perspective from that which you have been led to believe.

Meanwhile, those in Manassas City who continue to blame Eric and Annabel might want to send a thank you note to Mr. L. It seems he got things going. 

As we prepare for this film to go national, into millions of households, it is good to know these things.

[note:  this thread is about 9500 Liberty and not about other organizations. ]

From News & Messenger:

Prince William County, Va. – Individual supervisor budgets have become a hot topic among the board since a 5-to-3 vote in favor of a $712,000 increase to the supervisors’ office budgets last week.

That breaks down to approximately $89,000 per office.

The budget item was passed as part of a much larger carryover budget, in which items from the previous fiscal year get carried over to the new fiscal year. According to county spokesman Jason Grant, the $712,000 increase should have been included in the fiscal 2011 budget process, but was accidentally omit-ted.

The intent of the additional money was to allow the supervisors the opportunity to hire a third full-time staffer. According to Grant, hiring a third assistant was “based on the growth of citizens being served by each magisterial district and the complexity of issues being resolved.”

“The supervisors have seen an 83 percent increase in the number of citizens served per district since 1990, from 30,812 per district to 56,497 today,” Grant said.

Supervisors Michael C. May, R-Occoquan, Martin Nohe, R-Coles and Maureen S. Caddigan, D-Dumfries, voted against the budget increase.  The three agreed that this wasn’t the time to add money to the budget when county employees haven’t received a cost of living adjustment the last two years.

Suerpvisors May, Nohe and Caddigan are aware of how things look.  When did regular county employees last receive a raise?  How much overtime to they all get when there is some emergency or when one of the supervisors makes demands?  

Meanwhile, the chairman, Corey Stewart has gone $7500 over budget.  He complains that one of his staffers needed a raise.  Probably everyone needs a raise who works for Prince William County.  Many county employees work long hours that extend beyond the regular day.  Those same employees often take work home over the weekend or go back in to the office to get things done. 

When everyone can get a little bit more of the pie, then the budget should increase to include the supervisors budgets.  Until then, everyone needs to make due with tightening their belts–even the chairman.

From the Manassas News & Messenger:

Prince William County, Va. – Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will release to Prince William authorites the identities and final disposition of every convicted criminal illegal immigrant apprehended in the county and turned over to ICE, said Chairman Corey A. Stewart on Saturday.

Stewart indicated that this reversed three years of “stiff-armed” responses by ICE to the same question. “They’ve also said they will increase detention center space in Virginia to hold illegal aliens until deportation. It won’t solve the problem, but it will help alleviate the problem.”

Read more…

The above pledge was signed by Chairman Corey Stewart on 9/4/07, when he was running for election for chairman. 

He obviously chose to break his pledge.  Was it all about an election, Corey?

This is what citizens think of Corey’s “reaffirmation” of the Rural Crescent! An all time Eastwood favorite!

Finally, another look at PWC, three years later, without editorializing by Corey Stewart. Hear an immigrant, Latino businessman Carlos Castro, and Chief Deane three years after the Immigration Resolution was first introduced.

While this video shows the Prince William County story from a perspective that doesn’t involve Corey Stewart making a name for himself, we still aren’t seeing the whole story.

What is still missing from the discussion is that the initial Immigration Resolution is NOT in affect and it is NOT the same as sb 1070. Until this fact is brought out, the conversation really goes no where and the story is only half told.

Corey Stewart apparently is hollering ‘Bring it ON!’ to the feds, specifically to DOJ regarding state and municipality created laws involving  immigration. He seems to be running a one-man campaign to enact laws similar to those due to go into effect July 28, 2010 in Arizona, after dissing local state legislators.  Yesterday, the Washington Post printed the following:

If anything, said Stewart (R-At Large), he will push harder to get legislation passed at the state level that would enhance police officials’ power to capture, detain and deport illegal immigrants and create specific Virginia penalties for illegal immigrants.

“I think the Obama administration has made a strategic blunder,” Stewart said. “The Justice Department is going to have egg on its face when its case is dismissed. Arizona is on very firm legal footing, and the administration is just trying to intimidate Arizona.”

Last month, Stewart launched the Virginia Rule of Law Campaign to rally support for Virginia immigration legislation. Stewart said Virginia needs to follow in Arizona’s footsteps, even if it sends President Obama’s administration after the commonwealth.

“I hope the Justice Department sues Virginia, as well,” he said. “I hope they have so many targets that they are unable to focus on Arizona. . . . Every state that supports Arizona should implement a similar law to make it impossible for the [federal government] to focus on any one state or jurisdiction.”

Prince William has received national attention for its crackdown on illegal immigration. The county’s law, enacted in 2007 and modified in 2008, requires that police officers check the immigration status of all people arrested on suspicion of violating a state or local law. Stewart said his campaign for a Virginia law is his own, not something he is doing as chairman of the board.

Corey has not said who is sponsoring the legislation. Obviously he is not because he is not a state legislator. He also has not said who is going to pay for this lawsuit that he is goading the feds with.

Read more…

Concrete Bob and Cargo Squid of United Conservatives of Virginia (see UCV link) have requested that we publish the following public service announcement:

Next Wednesday, June 16th, there is a planning commission hearing for the Wartime Museum and we’re trying to gather as many supporters to attend as we can.

Obviously, the more Prince William County supporters we can gather the better, but support from any of you would be greatly appreciated.

The hearing is at 7pm at the McCoart Building in Woodbridge Virginia.

If you are unable to attend all I ask is that you forward this information to friends you think may be able to go. Again, if you live in or know a lot of people in the PWC area please ask them to come out and support the Museum.

The Museum is going to a great educational tool. They are planning to make it interactive, with docents acting as members of the armed forces from different time periods.

Hope you can support it. If so, please spread the word.

County supervisors email links are in the top tabs. If you have questions, leave a note here for Cargosquid.

The Washington Post printed this story over a week ago. Elena and I are not sure how we missed it. We believe the parallels are important. We have reprinted the entire article by Tara Bahrampour:

By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 7, 2010

Three years after the Prince William County board approved an ordinance similar to the controversial immigration legislation passed last month in Arizona, county residents are still arguing about whether it has achieved its intended effects. The results might offer some insight into how Arizona’s new law will play out.

Special Report: The Battle Over Immigration

The Prince William ordinance, which initially required police to check the status of detainees they suspected of being undocumented immigrants, raised ire among immigrant advocates and drew sharp criticism from the county police chief, who said it would cost taxpayers more, lead to allegations of racism and erode police-community relations — predictions now being made by opponents of the Arizona law.

The Prince William ordinance was modified in 2008 amid charges that it was unconstitutional and could lead to racial profiling. In the end, rather than questioning only people they suspected of being undocumented immigrants, officers were directed to question all criminal suspects about their immigration status once an arrest was made.

The county also participates in the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement “287(g)” program, in which a cadre of police officers are trained and deputized to act as ICE officers in making status checks and referring individuals for deportation.

Read more…