AntiBVBL

Press release:

Manassas Gets First Look at “9500 Liberty”
Award-winning Documentary Recounts 2007-2008 Immigration Culture War

MANASSAS, VA — Jan. 22, 2010
Mid-way through a national tour that has netted two film festival awards and two city proclamations, “9500 Liberty” returns to the place where it began when George Mason University’s Verizon Auditorium hosts a Tuesday 6:30 PM screening on Jan. 26.

This is the first time the feature length documentary has screened in Manassas, home to several of the film’s primary figures, including Greg Letiecq, a blogger and political activist who helped engineer the passage the nation’s most aggressive local ordinance designed to “crack down” on illegal immigration, and Gaudencio Fernandez, a building contractor who protested the law by erecting a series of banners on his property near the Old Town Manassas train station. The film reveals in dramatic detail how and why the controversial “probable cause” mandate for immigration status checks was repealed in April, 2008 by the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
6:30 PM
Verizon Auditorium, Occoquan Building
George Mason University, Prince William Campus
10900 University Boulevard
Manassas, VA 20110-2203
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Directors Eric Byler of Gainesville, VA and Annabel Park of Silver Spring, MD have traveled with the film to ten states in recent months, with a host of upcoming screenings that include Hampden-Sydney, VA, Ohio, Montana, and Nebraska. In February, “9500 Liberty” will be presented to Members of Congress at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Tuesday’s screening, presented with Spanish subtitles, is the opening night for the Immigration and Human Rights Cinema series, hosted by George Mason University and the local interfaith group Unity in the Community. It will be followed by a Q & A discussion with the filmmakers and representatives of the Prince William County Police Department, including a Spanish speaking Officer.

“9500 Liberty” won Best Documentary at the Charlotte Film Festival last September, and the Audience Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival in November. The Mayor of Austin, Texas and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors both issued proclamations commending the film prior to public screenings. The filmmakers expect to announce a cable television premiere and a DVD release date in coming weeks.

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During the Tuesday BOCS yesterday, many citizens came forward during Citizens Time to urge the supervisors to restore  a transportation system for the seniors of Prince William County.  Last July 1 the county ended a bus program that  transported  senior citizens between Woodbridge and Manassas senior citizen centers, to doctors and hospitals , and to  other spots around town.  Economic downturn and shortage of revenue was given as the reason.

 The senior centers provide a hot lunch and companionship for those who participate.  Many seniors go to the centers to see friends, do activities and to be with people their own age.  Replacement vouchers have been allocated for those seniors who don’t drive and who make less than $30,000 a year.  Unfortunately, the vouchers only cover about 6 outings.  According to News and Messenger:

As county revenue continues to decline, the county’s staff slashed more than $150,000 from its $254,116 senior center and adult day care transportation budget. The move forced officials to eliminate four positions, as well as sell a small fleet of 15-passenger vans used to transport seniors.

With the remaining funds, the county created a pilot voucher system that allows seniors to use taxi cabs or local transit buses to do routine tasks, such as go to the doctor, get prescriptions filled or go grocery shopping.

The board allocated $30,000 in additional funding to the new program, for a total of $130,000. Officials limited voucher recipients to those over age 55 who cannot drive, and to those who make less than $30,000 per year, or couples that make less than $40,000 annually.

The vouchers, ranging in value from $1 to $5, are few, many said. And once they are gone, there is no way for them to get to the senior center.

  Read more…

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

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10 Prince William County schools will get 35 trailers. Trailers absorb student overflow when there aren’t enough classrooms for the given amount of kids. This practice has gone on for years in Prince William County.

Prince William County will soon have 400,000 residents so the need for additional school space comes as no surprise. What does cause surprise is the fact that several members of the planning commission of Prince William County took it upon themselves to admonish the school system for not holding public hearings over putting in classroom trailers.

HUH?

Either a school has enough classroom space or they don’t. If they don’t, and all closets and cubby holes have been filled with desks/kids/teachers, then trailers go in. Shouldn’t the planning commission be planning and not overstepping its bounds with the school system? Here is the first affrontery as printed in Manassas News and Messenger:

“

I think the schools would do itself a favor to solicit and encourage as much public input as possible, so those decisions are made with the highest level and highest degree of public information,” said chairman Gary Friedman, who was the lone dissenter on the 10-trailer request for Glenkirk Elementary School.

“Citizen input is an invaluable part of this process,” said Brentsville District commissioner Ronald K. Burgess. “I have seen this commission turn on a dime as a result of citizen input.

Read more…

Breaking News: Craig Gerhart Resigns!

STAFF
Published: June 3, 2009

Longtime county executive Craig Gerhart has resigned.

His announcement comes a day after indictments in a corruption scheme involving Prince William County’s Office of Information Technology. Gerhart has not indicated the bid-rigging case has anything to do with his decision.

Gerhart’s last day with the county government will be on Friday, July 3. Gerhart will start work for Amtrak on Monday, July 6.

Gerhart will work for Amtrak as a full-time independent contractor as the Organizational Strategist for Amtrak’s Policy and Development.

Stay with insidenova.com for a full story on the county executive’s resignation.

Washington Post, Tuesday, June 3, 2009

In one of the largest embezzlement cases in county history, prosecutors secured indictments Monday on 153 charges against Gupta, 45, of Woodbridge; Roessler, 50, of Woodbridge; Roessler’s brother Vernon, 42, of Dale City; and Richard Billingsley, 41, of Springfield. Charges include racketeering, bid rigging, forgery, obtaining money by false pretenses and money laundering over a five-year period.

Law enforcement sources close to the investigation said yesterday that Gupta and Roessler set up the company and arranged for it to win lucrative bids with the IT office. Two sources, both of whom spoke anonymously because of the ongoing probe, said the scheme involved submitting fake bids in the names of legitimate county contractors so that Praetorian could then compete with and undercut those bids.

Gupta was able to hide his actions because he was in charge of the process, authorities said. Officials said yesterday that there were 26 cases in which the men gave themselves contracts and made up bids from other companies.

Commonwealth Attorney Paul Ebert, Police Chief Charlie Deane, and County Executive Craig Gerhart discussed the 153 indictments handed down yesterday in a press release. The FBI is also involved because approximately $500,000 in federal grant money was tied to the scheme. This appears to be only the beginning.

This story seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Phony companies, phony presidents of companies, fake company letterhead all are components of this tale of intrigue, graft and corruption.

Read more…

Hot off the email press from Delegate Jackson Miller. I don’t see anything that howls at me for attention. At any rate, this is the lazy woman’s thread. I cut and pasted straight from Delegate Miller’s own email. I don’t see anything I object to. I hope he sends out email about how he voted on other people’s bills.

This year’s session is usually referred to as the “short session”. That’s because it only lasts 46 days as opposed to sessions in even years, which last sixty. Odd-year sessions are shorter because the General Assembly is only required to make amendments to the existing biennial budget. In long sessions, an entirely new budget must be constructed and approved.

Usually, amending the budget is a task that takes significantly less work than constructing one from scratch. But, the state’s budget shortfall makes amending the existing budget a lot more challenging than usual this year. Still, the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn for this year on February 28.

As I noted last week, there will be many other issues before us during this session than the budget. Among the hundreds of bills that will be discussed are several that I am submitting.

Here are just a few of the bills that I am submitting or co-sponsoring this year:

Read more…

Many of us were left confused and baffled by the recent events with the Gainesville Fire Department several weeks ago. Most of us, unfamiliar with the hierarchy involved with the Prince William County hybrid system of firefighter, were left scratching our respective heads over how a chief could move his family into the firehouse, set up his own fiefdom, use county funds to support the fiefdom, and basically have no accountability to the taxpayers via the county employees or BOCS.

Similarly, some of us wondered how the BOCS could not have known about the apparent violations of power and authority going on at Gainesville Fire Department. How accountable are they for this mess? How come the Gainesville Supervisor knew nothing about these rather unconventional practices, or did he?

Read more…

Check out this precise and elucidating story filed by Dan Genz in The DC Examiner outlining the changes to the Immigration Resolution as they apply to real life. Dan also reports that we are now engaged in a new round of fighting, this time a “spin” war over who gets to declare victory.

Also, Channel 7 aired a story last night that communicates a lot despite its brevity.

The modification of the “Probable Cause” portion of the Immigration Resolution is good for Prince William County. A unanimous vote last night by the Board of Supervisors means that law enforcement here is no longer fundamentally unfair.

PWC Police Officers will no longer be required to check documentation status for minor traffic stops. Therefore equal protection under the law has been restored to citizens and legal residents who fit “probable cause” indicators such as language proficiency.

Police Officers are no longer in needless danger of being accused of racial profiling. Like most other counties in the United States, we will again check legal status only after arrest. Furthermore, legal status will be questioned for ANYONE who is arrested, thus dispelling the appearance of prejudice.

It is a great relief not to have to worry about a nightmare scenario where one of Prince William County’s Finest finds him or herself dragged into court, forced to explain that, “It wasn’t because of her skin color that I arrested a legal citizen who forgot her drivers’ license, it was the way she pronounced the letter ‘L.’”

High praise for Frank Principi and Martin Nohe for working together to outmaneuver Corey Stewart and John Stirrup. High praise for John Jenkins for bringing to bear on this contentious debate his years of experience working out the details of budgets and negotiations in the best interest of the county. High praise for Maureen Caddigan and Mike May. I’m sure it took long hours of soul-searching and ultimately, personal courage for these moderate Republicans to go against their conservative colleagues, Stewart and Stirrup. This progress would not have been possible without moderate Republicans and Democrats working across party lines for the common good. Thank goodness Wally Covington came around to join the moderates and abandon extreme partisan ideology. I will sleep tonight knowing that Corey Stewart and John Stirrup’s last stand has ended.

Thank you to everyone who spoke out on this issue, whether for or against the Resolution, whether for or against the change that was made tonight. I actually had some friendly conversations with people who supported the Resolution. Overall, the mood was much more civil, even neighborly, than the spectacle in October. I saw glimmers of the community that we once were before we became so divided. I get the feeling that many people, including some HSM members, would like to stop fighting and move on.

Some questions remain.

1) Will this change be enough to help Prince William County avert economic consequences of the Immigration Resolution that have already begun to set in?

2) Will immigrant communities, both documented and undocumented, and the net economic benefit they bring with them return to our county?

3) Will the reputation of Prince William County be restored, allowing us to successfully compete with other counties in the DC Metro area for new businesses and new investment?

Only time will tell. But this is an encouraging and significant step.

Our very own Elena is quoted in this article in the Washington Post which captures the sinking spirits of the PWC business community:

County business leaders have created “image committees” to examine the direction Prince William is heading. Now, some analysts said, the economic downturn makes it a bad time to carry out the immigration measures.

“It undermines the image of the county as a good place to invest,” said Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. “The political environment has made people feel unwelcome.”

Richard L. Hendershot, who chairs the Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce, said it has been hard to sell Prince William as progressive, dynamic and thriving.

“There’s been a challenge. The only way that we can counteract the image, and I’d say it is a false image, is to continue to look for opportunities to share the positive messages of the county,” he said. “There’s clearly been some controversy over the immigration stance that the board of supervisors has taken.”

Many blame Stewart (R), who put the county on the map nationally for its tough approach on illegal immigration. As the top elected official, Stewart is the most visible face of the county and nominally its biggest cheerleader. But his colleagues and some residents are starting to question his leadership.

THIS NEW VIDEO by 9500Liberty interviews the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) “Mad Scientist” who seems to look at the citizens of Prince William County as laboratory mice for new legislation.

What I find even more insulting in this new information is that Supervisor Stirrup and Letiecq apparently went to Chairman Stewart with a political game plan for the 2007 election built around illegal immigration as a hot-button issue. Once the three of them decided there were “election related” advantages, ONLY THEN did they go about finding enough facts to fit FAIR’s policy.

If we are indeed a laboratory for the rest of the nation, Prince William County’s on-going ordeal only proves something we already knew: that Washington DC lobbying firms should not control public policy at the local, state, or Federal level. FAIR’s grand scheme as a lobbying entity is impacting Federal immigration law, as Mr. Mad Scientist admits. This means that the tragic economic consequences for the people of Prince William County may actually be part of their plan. After all, they presented us with this legislation with full knowledge of the economic downturn in Riverside, New Jersey that caused a similar resolution to be rescinded. Sure, racial tension unfolding here and around the nation serves to recruit more email sign-ups for FAIR, but what do they have to gain by destroying our local economy? If current conditions prove anything to the Federal government, it’s that FAIR is the last place to look for answers when it comes to immigration policy.

Take note my fellow Republicans, according to Jeb Bush being incorrect and stupid is very dangerous in politics.

Politicians that use this as a wedge issue, it’s a loser.  And if you believe in conservative principles and you want Conservatives to win to implement those principles, to totally dis on a group, that is the only group that is growing in our Country, and is as American in their pursuit of the traditional dreams that people pursue here, as any other group, I think we do it at our peril.

It’s wrong and it’s stupid, and the combination of being incorrect and stupid is just very dangerous in politics.

Chairman Stewart repeatedly claims that the resolution is intended to capture criminals who have committed crimes on top of violating federal immigration law.  No problem with that right?  Deport the criminals.  But what about police inquiring into the status of someone playing music too loud?  Surely that couldn’t happen, but yet according to the DC Examiner it has.  Claims that there would be no Gestapo knocking on your door asking for your papers are now suspect.

It will really start to get interesting this coming Tuesday, February 26th when the discussion of the 2009 budget begins. It will be interesting to see how Chairman Stewart proposes to fully fund the resolution without raising taxes and while facing a $51 million shortfall. He has publicly stated that he will not vote for a budget that doesn’t fund the resolution but yet campaigned on not raising taxes.

For those interested, the agenda can be found here –  http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/agendas/currentagenda.pdf

Also, there is an organization – Prince William Citizens Action Alliance where individuals can participate in sending emails to the Supervisors. Visit PWCAA.com for more information.