By WILSON BUTT
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
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Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s people have been meeting behind closed doors with alcohol retailers and wholesalers, public safety officials and faith-based groups to come up with a way to fulfill the governor’s campaign promises to privatize Virginia’s liquor stores.
The Washington Post carried this statement: “As Gov. Robert F. McDonnell pushes a proposal to privatize state-owned liquor stores, he has reassured the public that problems associated with drinking would be unlikely to worsen if the state government relinquished control over distilled spirits.” Run that by me again. Rather than have his eye on the welfare of the people of the Commonwealth, McDonnell has his eye on $300 to $800 million windfall profit for privatizing the business and he wants to spend that money fixing Virginia’s roads. The easier it is to purchase alcohol, the more drinking problems you have.
Another not-so-obvious problem is that the sale of licenses to the highest bidder is only fair to the highest bidder. Many of those who have attended recent meetings at the governor’s office say the plan to auction licenses has received the most support. The governor is saying that some licenses would be set aside for small, women-owned or minority-owned businesses. Auctioning the licenses may be good for the state, but in reality is an unfair practice. Mom and Pop operations can forget getting into the liquor retail business.
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Years ago there was no such thing as liquor by the drink in the Virginias. Yes, there were “clubs” around that did sell liquor by the drink illegally but they were few and far between. West Virginia first moved to sell liquor by the drink in private clubs. We tolerated that and now we accept the fact that many establishments offer spirits.
Will Virginia’s move to get out of the liquor business be in the best interest of the people or will it be in the best interest of the state? There will be tax revenues, but not the same level of control. Will trading off additional problems be worth the price? There are other groups that will benefit, but not necessarily in a positive way. Virginians need to give this matter serious consideration, there are many ramifications and most of them are far more important than the projects the governor proposes to spend his “one shot” windfall upon.
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The latest buzz near the courthouse is that there is a move to build support for a write-in campaign to elect noted Bluefield attorney Norris Kantor to the House of Delegates in the 24th District. There will not be a Democrat on the ballot because no one wanted to challenge Republican John Shott. Shott removed his name from the ballot in an unsuccessful attempt to be the Republican Party’s nominee for the 10th Senate District race. Marty Gearheart grabbed the Republican nomination for the House seat and the Senate bid went to Phil Stevens of Summers County leaving Shott holding the bag. Now that might seem just plain unfair, but that’s politics.
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The city of Bluefield provides a special trash service for residents. According to the city website, residents can call the Treasury Department to place orders for special trash removal. “This is for items such as large piles of brush, appliances, tires, carpet, etc. Yard waste — grass clippings, leaves, small brush and limbs — must be in bags and placed on the edge of your property.” Orders may be placed by calling the city. The fees are paid up front. The problem is that it takes two or three weeks for them to get around to picking up the trash.
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Congressman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., will be in Princeton today for the 1 p.m. ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the MedExpress Urgent Care near Wal-Mart. Later in the day, from 4 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., Rahall will be at the Brushfork Armory for a Veterans Listening Session.
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There you have it, a few comments on items of interest to the area. September is here, and the last few weeks of summer are ahead. I wish you nothing but blue skies for the coming days.
Wilson Butt, a resident of Bluefield, is a retired Department of Highways official.
