AntiBVBL

The Manassas City Council voted Wednesday to spend $100,000 on the upcoming 150th anniversary of the First Battle of Manassas.  The 150th anniversary of the first major engagement of the Civil War will take place around the week of July 21, 2011. 

The City hopes to bring in revenue and position itself for long term tourism.   Creston M. Owen, chairman of the board of Virginia Civil War Events Inc. plans to organize 9 days worth of events.  He came before the board on Wednesday to ask for money. 

According to the News and Messenger:

Owen’s outfit of volunteers is poised to begin organizing the nine-day commemoration that is set to include a Blue and Gray Ball at the Candy Factory, a re-enactment of the First Manassas, breakfast with the troops and concerts on the lawn of the Manassas Museum and at the Battlefield.

Owen told the council that it’s time to get started if the aim is to educate and attract the crowds that will generate income and put the area on the map.

“We’re only 18 months away. If we don’t start beating the drum now, we won’t get people here,” Owen told the council.

Owen has also met with the Prince William delegation of the Virginia General Assembly and hopes to get a million dollars from the state for this 9-day event.  To date nothing has been heard publically about the Prince William County involvement in the commemoration of the sesquicentennial or about their plans to infuse money into this venture.

Already citizens are cheering for their home town.  However, an equally strong set of boos are being heard because of the recession,  extremely tight municiple budgets, and basically, a Tea Party mentality.  Is this something that the local governments ought to be supporting or is this an event better handled by private enterprise?

Saturday Manassas will hold its first ever Veterans Day Parade. The Parade begins at 11:00 am and will commence along the same route as the Christmas Parade.

There is quite a parade line up which you can view at the following website:  Line UP

From Emma:

Additionally, she added: 

[I] Forgot to add that the parade will feature a Blackhawk flyover, a moment of silence and the national anthem right after the WWII veterans arrive at the reviewing stage.

 

It definitely sounds like a fun event full of honor and regalia for our veterans. A big thank you to Emma for the selling points.

Manassas City Police Chief Skinner has changed a few rules for demonstrators along the Sudley Road/Forestwood Corridor. Over the summer, Chief Skinner had several complaints about signs and protestors blocking the line of vision of drivers attempting to pull out onto Sudley Road. As a result, the chief, in conjunction with the city attorney and city manager, devised some new rules, with safety as the main goal.

The demonstration site was moved so no one’s vision was blocked. Additionally “City ordinance limits the number of signs demonstrators may use at any one time to five. The signs must not exceed 24 by 36 inches and may be attached to wooden handles with no sharp ends, Skinner said. ”

Protestors requested to go down onto private property. Skinner explained that the property owner will not permit demonstrations there.

As long as everyone has to go by the same rules, no one should mind these safety conscious rules. Chief Skinner appears to have gone above and beyond the call of duty. He has contacted the people who demonstrate most frequently and explained why he arrived at the decision he did. Some folks have complained to the City Council about first amendment rights. That seems like quite a stretch. I would hate to think someone was in a automobile accident because I just had to exercise my rights.

Full story in the Manassas News and Messenger @ www.insidenova.com

Congratulations to Eric and Anabel for winning the Best Documentary Award at the Charlotte Film Festival last night! The award is the Indy Truth Award for Best Documentary and is a very prestigious award. 

The film will show again at 3:30 on Sunday. Eric and Anabel were featured on two Charlotte NPR radio programs. Check them out at the 9500 Liberty website.

Here are the upcoming plans for these talented film makers:

Next stop, we will be premiering in DC on October 1st at the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival as the opening night film. You can buy tickets here for the screening and reception.

http://www.apafilm.org/festival-2009/9500-liberty/
This is our big hometown premiere screening with the “stars” from the film and a big after party so it is not to be missed if you are in the DC area.

This is the list of scheduled screenings including Prince William County, Honolulu, St. Louis, San Diego, Charlottesville, etc. We are adding more screenings including in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles in the coming weeks. http://9500liberty.com/screenings.html

Thank you for supporting us throughout these months. Some of you have been with us for nearly two years. In fact, the second-year anniversary of the creation of the 9500 Liberty YouTube Channel will be celebrated on October 9th with the residents of Prince William County with a special community screening of the film at St. Paul’s Church in Woodbridge.

 

Please plan on seeing the film. According the the website:

9500 Liberty reveals the startling vulnerability of a local government, targeted by national anti-immigration networks using the Internet to frighten and intimidate lawmakers and citizens. Alarmed by a climate of fear and racial division, residents form a resistance using YouTube videos and virtual townhalls, setting up a real-life showdown in the seat of county government

.

Members of the Weems Neighborhood Watch accept “National 2009 Neighborhood Program of the Year” award at a recent Manassas City Council meeting. What a great job this group has done towards neighborhood improvement.

The entire story is posted from the News and Messenger. Congratulations to all involved!

By Keith Walker

Published: June 14, 2009

Volunteers filled up four city trucks with old mattresses, yard waste, gasoline, used motor oil and old paint from Landgreen Street in the Weems neighborhood in Manassas.

They mowed 12 yards, cleaned the property around six vacant homes, spread mulch around trees at Byrd Park in Manassas, and reinstalled a mail box at a “for sale” property during the “Weems Neighborhood Watch Week of Hope.”

For all of that, members of the Weems Neighborhood Watch won national awards from Neighborhoods USA as the “National 2009 Neighborhood Program of the Year” and “National 2009 Neighborhood of the Year.”

The Manassas City Council recently presented the awards, that came with $300, to members of the neighborhood watch.

Members of the watch organized the cleanup on Landgreen Street in June 2008 because Khawaja Ahmed, a local cab driver, was murdered there in February 2008.

Watch member Cindy Brookshire said the goals of the project were to show the watch’s presence as a crime deterrent, abate the blight that had demoralized the neighborhood and bring neighbors together to solve the problems and build community.

Read more…

Often through the month I receive emails concerning different local events that people would like advertised. From here on out, around the first of the month I’ll put a thread up. Try and keep this thread reserved for events and comments about events. Additionally, we will not advertise for any groups deemed ‘extremist’ organizations by the Anti-Defamation League, namely Help Save Manassas. Otherwise, feel free to post event details including when, where and any additional contact information.

Click on “Read More” for the Calendar Event list.

Read more…