Bluefield Mayor Linda Whalen’s proposed tax on prepared meals apparently has not set too well with everyone. A considerable number of people have voiced their opposition to the tax hike proposal. The total taxes on prepared food in neighboring Tazewell County add 10 percent to the bill. Some tout that the food tax is one advantage that Mercer County has over Tazewell County and are unhappy that Whalen wants to destroy that one advantage.
Bluefield City Board member Mike Vinciguerra is adamantly opposed to the tax proposal. “I will vote against it. I can’t speak for the rest of the board but I do not think any of them have indicated that they are in favor of the tax either,” Vinciguerra said.
Actually the city already taxes your meal, indirectly, with the B&O; tax at a 0.5 percent (half percent) rate.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist threw out two members of the Florida Public Service Commission. It seems that the Florida PSC has come under fire for cuddling up with the Florida utilities they regulate. According to an editorial in the Miami Herald, “Mr. Crist rejected new terms for PSC Chairman Matthew Carter and Katrina McMurrian, which bodes well for consumers because the current five-member commission has made a mockery of rate-setting amid charges of unethical behavior.”
Gov. Crist asked the PSC to postpone any additional rate increases requested by Florida Power & Light, and Progress Energy. Both want to raise base rates by about 30 percent. Some folks down in Florida think that their Legislature should be going over this bunch with a fine tooth comb, closing loopholes and clarifying rules following a series of potential ethics violations involving commissioners and their staffs. The NAACP is also on the offense and wants all Florida State Agencies “to have a code of conduct with clear rules about dining, wining, texting, and all the other questionable palsy-walsy offenses between regulators and those they regulate.”
It might not be such a bad idea to closely examine the activities of the members of the bodies in both Virginias that regulate utilities. If there is nothing wrong there is nothing wrong, but if there is something wrong, it should be uncovered and no one will find out if no one looks. The Herald said “During these difficult economic times, the PSC should be making decisions based on what’s best for Floridians, both in improving service and protecting ratepayers’ bottom line — not simply to fatten the wallets of their utility pals.”
West Virginia PSC’s vision statement states: “We will work tirelessly to assure - that utilities receive an opportunity to earn a fair return on their investment in regulated services.” They certainly made good on that one.
“All aboard! Climb on board Chance Morgan’s replica of the famous 1863 C.P. Huntington.” The little Ridge Runner is one of the world famous scale replicas of the locomotive named after Collis Potter Huntington — one of four men who were instrumental in building the Central Pacific Railroad as part of that first U.S. transcontinental railroad.
Bluefield’s scale C.P. Huntington is a detailed recreation of the 4-2-4T steam locomotive that played an important role in building that railroad. The C. P. Huntington, built by Danforth, Cooke & Company of Paterson, N.J. in 1863, was originally purchased by Central Pacific Railroad and was sold to the Southern Pacific in 1871 It is presently on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
The Ridge Runner, as the replica train is known locally, is now in the able hands of the craftsmen at R.J. Mine Service in Glenwood where it will undergo a complete restoration. Shop foreman Jamie Clark (son of the late Drew and grandson of Andy Clark) is overseeing the project. The engine and cars are now disassembled. Local photographer Mel Grubb furnished the shop with photographs of the Ridge Runner that were made when the train was new and first used atop East River Mountain. Those photos will aid immensely in the restoration. Several local parts and equipment repair businesses have donated needed parts and materials. We need to show our appreciation to Ronnie Jones and the R.J. Mine Service employees for taking this restoration project.
There you have it, a few comments on items of interest to the area. I hope you are warm, healthy and that you have a great big blue sky above you today. Mercer Democrats want to remind folks that their Annual Bean Dinner is this Saturday Oct. 19 from 4-6 p.m. at the Glenwood 4-H Camp. Sure be nice if they would fix ’em on a coal stove ... for more tan one reason.
Wilson Butt, a resident of Bluefield, is a retired Department of Highways official.
Columns
October 6, 2009
Is meals tax to Mercer’s advantage?
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