qm_spring_2017

15 / 36

Virginia Capitol Connections, Spring 2017 15
Parking available adjacent to building
Phone 804-644-1702
FAX: 804-644-1703
E-Mail:
Web Site:
hen it comes to events no one
throws a party like David Napier.
Known throughout Central Virginia for his
wonderful food and hospitality, David is
delighted to have opened his catering facility in
the heart of Shockoe Bottom. No event is too
small or large. Delicious Box Lunches delivered.
O ne of Richmond’s most elegant dining
rooms is now exclusively available for your
private parties and special events. Our award
winning chefs produce an array of dishes from
steaks and seafood to vegetarian and
international masterpieces that will satisfy the
most discriminating palate. The Old City Bar
is the perfect place to celebrate.
And while The Extremes of Virginia focused on these three
broad areas, very similar problems and lack of opportunities exist
in communities scattered all across the state. Clearly, we are two
separated and unequal Commonwealths.
In the last 50 years, Virginia has become more urban, more
diverse and wealthier. Different regions have adapted in different
ways, faced with evolving circumstances, growing or shrinking
populations, boom-or-bust business conditions. Now, though,
Southwest, Southside and the Eastern Shore languish, trailing
far behind Virginia in joblessness, education, wealth and health.
Moreover, many people in the Extremes don’t see any real hope for
change on the horizon. The overwhelming majority in the Extremes
is very pessimistic and believes conditions for themselves and their
families will worsen in the near and longer term. This, I suggest, is
something important for policymakers to know and consider, and I
hope will be a focal point for their further consideration.
But our legislative system does work, does at least respond to
crises. In the 2017 regular General Assembly session, a bipartisan
group of delegates and senators paid attention to the differences
within our state and listened to the appeals of school superintendents
both in The Extremes and scattered throughout other poor, rural
areas and reallocated more than $7 million in a very tight budget
year to schools with declining enrollments and reduced budgets.
And, reacting to the dramatic opioid abuse crisis, state law and
Health Department regulations were tightened in an effort to reduce
the current rate of three deaths every day from illegal drugs in
Virginia, thanks to the efforts of Sen. Ben Chafin, Del. Todd Pillion,
Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel and others.
So, the governmental and political systems reacted in positive
ways, for which we should all be grateful. But we must guard
against complacency, as there is much more to be done for our poor,
rural areas.
I think of these helpful government efforts as band-aids:
urgently needed now to address severe crises and problems; to
stop the bleeding. But, for all their good, we know that such band-
aids are temporary fixes, not permanent or long-lasting solutions
or improvements. For example, the legislative scheme to distribute
education money needs overhauling to account for changed
circumstances and demographics. And the efforts to reduce drug
overdose deaths, while desperately needed now, don’t directly
address the reasons more and more Virginians are abusing narcotics.
Even more than before, I am convinced we need what I argued for
in The Extremes: long range strategies to address the root causes of
high unemployment, drug use, lack of healthcare, poor educational
results, hopelessness and despair, all which are pervasive throughout
Virginia’s rural and poor areas. We as a Commonwealth need to
confront these issues directly in order to revitalize these rural and
poor areas, not only for the benefit of the millions of Virginians
living there, but also for the wealthier areas of the state that now
prop up these areas with financial support.
We need to recognize the need for expert help, in the form
of concerted investigations into the problems of our rural and
poor areas, and it needs to be a priority assignment. Outside,
independent, global consultants could study our situations and point
the way to betterment. So, too, could the brainpower within our
magnificent colleges and universities—some located in rural and
poor areas— that could be unleashed to study, probe, investigate,
examine and then recommend and test how different public and
private, business and civic policies could improve the status quo.
We must refuse to believe that the past is prologue, that our
poor and rural areas are forever stuck in a rut without the same
opportunities as wealthier areas. We should be faithful to the true
meaning of Virginia—a Commonwealth, where we all share in the
bounty our state has to offer.
August Wallmeyer’s recent book The Extremes of Virginia,
is available as an ebook on Amazon and in softcover at
V