VCN
E-NEWS: August 06, 2004
 |
| NEWS
ITEMS |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| MEMBER
ORGANIZATIONS REQUESTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS |
|
|
|
|
CALENDAR/EVENTS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS
ITEMS
VOP
ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO REGISTER TO VOTE!
The Virginia Organizing Project encourages everyone to
make sure that their voter registration is current and
accurate. In order to vote in the November election you
must be registered to vote in Virginia by October 4, 2004.
We hope that you will encourage others to check their
voter registration and to get them to register if they
have not done so. To get more information on voter registration,
go to: http://www.sbe.state.va.us/
VOP has developed an 8-page voter guide (tabloid size)
that includes information about the General Election on
November 2, 2004, how to register to vote, absentee voting,
voting rights and responsibilities and restoration of
voting rights for former felons. The voter guide will
be printed the week of August 2. Please let us know if
you want to help distribute the guides. Special thanks
to many of you who have already said you would help!
The voter guide will also be on the VOP web site, in PDF
format, soon. The VOP web site is www.virginia-organizing.org
The Virginia Organizing Project is a non-partisan organization
and does not endorse candidates.
--
Laura A. Ramirez, Office Manager
Virginia Organizing Project
703 Concord Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22903-5208
(434) 984-4655 - - (434) 984-2803 fax
lramirez@virginia-organizing.org
http://www.virginia-organizing.org
$15M
IN NEW TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT GRANTS ANNOUNCEMENTS
This program was started a dozen years ago and annually
invests millions of dollars in environmental, land conservation,
community improvement “enhancements” to the Virginia transportation
system. Here is the list we approved this month. I commend
the program to you and hope you will encourage community-based
groups to investigate the program to see if they can participate
next year.
http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/resources/2004EnhancementProjects.pdf
Gerald P. McCarthy
Commonwealth Transportation Board Member
Richmond District
UPDATE ON VIRGINIA'S TRANSPORTATION
ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM, AUGUST 1, 2004
On July 15, VDOT's Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded
$14.8 million in FY05 federal Transportation Enhancement
funds to 107 new and ongoing projects throughout Virginia.
See (http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/resources/2004EnhancementProjects.pdf)
for a complete list of the awarded projects.
The deadline for submitting locality-endorsed applications
to VDOT for FY06 Transportation Enhancement funds has
been advanced to November 1, 2004. This will allow the
CTB to announce tentative project selections in March
2005. With this impending application deadline, those
seeking FY06 TE funding should immediately solicit local
support and endorsements for such project applications,
including a commitment for the required 20% local funding
match.
VDOT also recently announced several workshops around
Virginia to review the Transportation Enhancement application
format, eligibility requirements, and scoring criteria
with potential project sponsors and other interested parties
(see http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/resources/Public%20Workshops%20Summer%202004.pdf).
Two of these workshops, in Marion and in Salem, were held
in late July. Workshops in Colonial Heights, Harrisonburg,
Fredericksburg, and Suffolk are scheduled for August 3,
5, 10, and 12, respectively, and no workshops have been
announced for VDOT's Culpeper, Lynchburg, or Northern
Virginia Districts.
Localities and citizens can call 1-800-444-7832 for more
information.
VDOT's website has considerable information on Virginia's
Transportation Enhancement Program at the following links:
Transportation Enhancement Project Facts
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhance-7-15-04.asp
Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhancegrants.asp
Overview
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhance.asp
Eligible Enhancement Project Categories
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhance-cat.asp
Project Funding, Submission, and Selection
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhance-funding.asp
Additional Information, Assistance, and MPO Contacts
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhance-assist.asp
2004 (FY05) Enhancement Project Allocations (also provided
above) http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/resources/2004EnhancementProjects.pdf
Allen Muchnick, President
Virginia Bicycling Federation
PO Box 5621, Arlington VA 22205
muchnick@capaccess.org
703-271-0895
http://vabike.org
REQUESTS FROM VCN MEMBER
ORGANIZATIONS
PARTICIPATE
IN DEQ COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT MEETINGS IN YOUR AREA: From
VCN Staff
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
has established a Public Participation Task Force of environmental
group representatives and DEQ staff – including the DEQ
director, Bob Burnley. Earlier this spring, VCN wrote
to all member organizations prior to participating in
this Task Force, asking for input and guidance.
The Task Force has been working for four months to identify
policy changes that will improve public outreach and participation,
key matters identified by VCN member organizations. With
guidance from member organizations VCN Board members and
representatives from member organizations have been active
participants in this Task Force.
This fall, Director Burnley will be taking this reform
effort to each of the seven regional DEQ district offices.
He has set up meetings in each of the seven DEQ district
offices providing an opportunity for him and the regional
DEQ director to meet with local and regional environmental
groups. This is an important initiative and an important
set of meetings. The meeting schedule will be finalized
in the next few months.
Over the last decade, Virginia’s environmental community
has faced a DEQ that was perceived as distant at best
and sometimes hostile. This reform initiative is a welcome
first step toward fully engaging the energy and expertise
of Virginia’s concerned environmental community.
Some of the reforms being discussed are:
• meetings scheduled in the evening and weekends
when busy citizens can attend,
• earlier involvement in regulatory decisions,
• improved citizen guides and explanations of environmental
laws and regulations,
• greater access to DEQ reports, data, and information
in forms useful to the average citizen, and
• outreach and regular meetings at the regional
level between the regional directors and the environmental
community.
Even if you or your organization has not been active with
DEQ’s regulatory processes, we encourage you to attend
the meeting in your region. It is through meetings like
this that the environmental community gains visibility
and respect. The dates will be posted soon (meetings will
be in the early evening, after work). They will be disseminated
in a future issue of VCN E-NEWS and will be posted on
the VCN Website. Please encourage others to attend.
Also, please let us know (email to vcngeneral@aol.com
or call 804-644-0283 if you would like to attend the meeting
in your region. If you are unsure which region you are
in, you can go to the DEQ regional map on the web at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/regions/homepage.html
or your can call us at the above number. David & Ellen
at VCN
CALENDAR
BACK
BY POPULAR DEMAND: ALLIANCE FOR JUSTICE ELECTION ACTIVITY
WEB TRAINING
Due to overwhelming demand we are offering a 4th Election
Activity Training on the Web for Nonprofits
Want to know what your 501(c)(3) organizations can do
in an election year but don't have time to attend a training
outside of the office? Sit at your desktop in your office
or home and join the Alliance for Justice for a virtual
election law training.
This one-hour web-based training will cover the rules
for 501(c)(3) election-related activity including candidate
elections, voter guides, voting records, and candidate
debates and forums.
WHEN: Monday, August 16 at 2 p.m. EDT
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO PARTICIPATE:
You will need a computer with internet access and working
computer speakers in order to participate. Questions will
be taken through an online chat mechanism, but not through
voice, so you do not need a microphone. Once you've registered,
we'll email instructions on how to log in to the training.
To register online, click on or paste in the following
link: http://www.afj.org/nonprofit/workshops_events
If paying by check or AMEX, register directly with Ann
Allegra at aallegra@afj.org
or 202/822-6070. After August 6th, contact Liz Towne
at ltowne@afj.org.
RICHMOND TREE STEWARDS
A course on the proper methods of planting and maintaining
trees
Did you ever want to learn how to identify trees? Or how
to properly prune a young tree to insure good development?
Are you interested in taking care of the trees in our
community? Tree Stewards training may be for you!
Class Topics include Tree Identification, Tree Biology,
Selecting Planting Sites, Selecting Trees, Planting and
Care, Health and Maintenance, and Proper Pruning Methods.
Classes will be taught by area professionals in the tree
care industry.
Registration is $75.00. Each participant is also asked
to commit to 40 hours of community service upon completion
of the program. The participant will receive approximately
22 hours of training, a manual and a set of hand pruning
tools. Community service opportunities will be provided
or students may design their own with approval from the
City Coordinator.
Classes will meet Tuesdays 6:30 – 8:30 at the Round House
in Byrd Park beginning September 14, 2004 and ending October
26, 2004 (with one exception - the September 28 class
is moved to Thursday Sept 30). Three Saturday classes
will also be scheduled for field training (tentatively
Oct 2, Oct 9, and Nov 13.)
For more information, contact Rebecca Pokorny at (804)
359-TREE (8733) or reapokorny@mindspring.com
________________________________________________________________________
Tree Stewards Registration Form
Checks should be made payable to Richmond Recreation and
Parks Foundation. Please send completed form and registration
fee to Tree Stewards, 1601 Brookland Parkway, Richmond
VA, 23227. Your registration will be confirmed via email
or by phone.
Name __________________________________________________________________
Company/Organization __________________________________________________
Address ________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip __________________________________________________________
Phone (_______)_______________________________________
Email _________________________________________________
Please return by September 7, 2003
WORKSHOP ON VOLUNTARY
WETLAND RESTORATION OPPORTUNITIES IN VIRGINIA
Salem Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Announcing the last in a series of four workshops on Voluntary
Wetland Restoration Opportunities in Virginia, to be held
on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at the Salem Civic Center
in Roanoke, Virginia. The main purpose of the workshop
is to encourage voluntary wetland restoration and enhancement
on private and public lands through the education of Virginia
citizens on available technical and financial opportunities.
This workshop is part of on-going efforts to establish
a Virginia Citizen Wetland Education, Outreach, and Monitoring
Initiative, funded through a grant from the EPA to the
DEQ and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (Alliance).
This initiative will provide public education and outreach
concerning wetland restoration in Virginia and wetland
assessment monitoring of created, enhanced, and restored
wetland areas.
Leaders of natural resource associations and organizations
including watershed, civic, land trust, state, federal,
and local governments have been invited to participate
in the workshop. Additionally, we strongly encourage private
landowners who are interested in a wetland creation, restoration
or enhancement project on their land to attend this workshop.
Although the workshop is free for all participants, registration
is required no later than Friday, September 17, 2004.
(Firm Deadline!). Please visit the calendar of events
page on the Alliance web site at www.AllianceChesBay.org/events.cfm
for a workshop brochure containing registration details
and a current agenda. Please check the website occasionally,
as the agenda will be updated. Agenda highlights include:
• Defining Wetland Restoration and Enhancement
and the tools available for identification of sites with
restoration potential
• Technical and Financial Assistance available
for Voluntary Wetland Restoration and Enhancement within
Virginia
• Case Studies
For specific questions regarding the workshop, please
contact Hadley Milliken (hmilliken@acb-online.org)
or Stacey Moulds (smoulds@acb-online.org) of the Alliance
at 804.775.0951.
2004
MENDOTA FALL HAWK FESTIVAL
The 2004 Mendota Fall Hawk Festival will be held on Saturday,
October 2, from 9am to 4PM at the Mendota, Virginia Community
Center and you are cordially invited to join us for this
year’s festival. Admission is free. The Fall Hawk Festival
is organized by the Friends of the Mendota Medical Clinic
and spotlights the annual hawk and raptor migration along
the Appalachian Flyway, celebrates the Mendota community,
and raises funds to support the rural Mendota Medical
Clinic. Mendota is on the North Fork Holston River.
Space for an informational table or booth will be offered
at no charge to non-profit environmental, conservation,
and wise land-use organizations at the Festival’s Environmental
and Conservation Fair. Even if you do not wish to have
a table, please join us and enjoy the Hawk Festival events.
In addition to the Environment and Conservation Fair,
the 2004 Mendota Fall Hawk Festival will feature a live
hawk lecture; traditional music and crafts; display of
local Native American relics; a photography contest; story-telling;
games, magic, and balloons for children; the Miss Mendota
pageants; a flea-market; blacksmithing demonstrations;
apple butter making; bird watching tours to the Mendota
fire tower conducted by the Bristol Bird Club; delicious
home-cooked food; and many other family activities.
Please join us at the 2004 Mendota Fall Hawk Festival.
In case of rain, the festival will move indoors.
If you have any questions, or to reserve a space, please
call the Mendota Medical Clinic at 276-645-6710.
Cordially, John Maeder, Event Co-chairperson
***************************
VCN's mission is to protect the Commonwealth's air, lands,
and waters for the benefit of the people, as guaranteed
by the Virginia Constitution.
If
you have an item that should be included on this list,
please send it to Jim Wamsley at jwamsley5@comcast.net
. VCN E-NEWS is emailed the second and fourth Friday
of every month, except during the session when it is weekly.
Deadline for submissions is Thursday.
|
home
