You can be my friend too for $170,000, Jonnie

It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place. – H. L. Mencken

Oh bother! Here we are on the threshold of a historic court case involving former governor Robert McDonnell and his wife Maureen. Regardless of the outcome, regardless of how the jury perceives the evidence, and regardless of the letter of the law—the truth is something just doesn’t meet the sniff test with this case.

The prosecution says there is really only one thing they have to prove. They have to show that McDonnell provided Williams and his company Star Scientific an “official act” in promoting his product Anatabloc. So it boils down to what is an official act. The prosecution contends that when the governor hosted a kickoff lunch, or product launch, take you pick, he crossed the boundary and broke the law. The launch, prosecutor David V. Harbach II, would say was the pro quo to Jonnie Williams’ quid.

Of course, McDonnell and his attorney would argue that such a deal did not rise to the standard of being an official act. It was merely conducting the business of his office to work with Virginia businesses. It is indeed a fine line McDonnell is walking.

But Harbach argues that the luncheon was indeed an official act. It was held in the Executive Mansion. That fact alone is enough to lend at least a touch of credence to its being an official act.

What other businesses get to hold a luncheon at the executive mansion? And that doesn’t even take into account the other doings that surround this case.

McDonnell has repeatedly tried to establish that he and Jonnie Williams were friends. That friendship was what prompted all of the gifts and loans and freebies.

Oh really? Mmmmmm-I’m not so sure about that.

Well I have friends too, and one or two of them are really good friends, but never have they offered me a loan at the drop of a hat. And trips, and flights, and wedding receptions, and clothes, and a Rolex—not to mention use of a Ferrari if only to drive it home from a free weekend at Williams’ Smith Mountain Lake estate.

The McDonnell’s have done well to establish a smokescreen to blind the public from the truth. Their marriage was on the skids, or at least it is for sure now. They hardly talked, life was difficult, the screaming, the yelling, the late night’s staying in the office to keep from having to face your spouse.

Sure all of that creates high drama. All of that creates a sense of sympathy for the former governor. Yes, I am sorry that his marriage was on the rocks. But it doesn’t change the basic facts. And the basic facts are what this case is all about.

How many of your friends would step out and do the kinds of things that Jonnie Williams did and not expect something in exchange. Truth be known, even paying some of the stuff back wasn’t part of the deal till the whole case went public. Golf clubs, vacations, flights on his private plane, and the wedding reception catering. How much of that would have actually been paid back had not all of this come to light?

It’s a shame to see the former Attorney General being prosecuted for the very things for which he used to prosecute others. Good luck Bob McDonnell—life and the pursuit of happiness seem to have fled already. As to liberty, a few more days ought to answer that question.

Finally the old Firestone Plant is back on the tax rolls in Hopewell

Back in 1987 I nabbed a position as the reporter for a paper to be named later and became what they called the Hopewell Branch chief. My job, as it were, was to record the doings and some sayings of Hopewellians and report them in a journalistic fashion. I served in that capacity for more than a year, and while that was some time ago I try to keep in touch with what’s going on to some extent.

During my entire time in Hopewell, the skeleton of the former Firestone plant lay in disarray on 55 acres of untended property. Several times over the years, the Hopewell powers that be tried to resurrect the property. But time after time, for one reason and another, every venture turned to nothing gained. The property continued to sit in the middle of the city, looking more like a ghost town than a productive entity.

It seemed to be on its way a few years ago when Osage Bio Energy LLC bought the property and built the plant. But as way leads onto way, it wasn’t meant to be. The plant never really got going, and the old eyesore became the new eyesore.

But what the hey, it’s Hopewell right? The city where nobody cares.

And yet, that’s not true. Plenty of people care. So when a new company, Vireol Bio Energy LLC saw the opportunity to pick up an Ethanol plant at rock bottom prices, they thought it would be a great way to build up their UK infrastructure. But what happened instead was that they saw an even better deal. Open the plant right here in Hopewell and fulfill the promises and dreams of the people who really care in the city.

Get rid of a 30-year old eyesore and turn it into a shining example of how Hopewell can get things done. The plant is on its way. They estimate 70 jobs with salaries in the $50,000 range. An area that was a keystone landmark to the demise of the city will now be a keystone to reuse and forward thinking.

How much better can it get?

More jobs, an open business, and a viable company to add to the tax base. The Vireol plant is like any other business, working for a profit. But like many businesses today, the plant was looking for a little assistance. They applied for and received an Agricultural and Forestry Industrial Development grant for $250,000. A matching grant, it required that Hopewell chip in a like amount.

New plant, new jobs, new tax base, no brainer—right? Maybe it should be called a resurrection grant. This request should have passed by acclamation. And yet. And yet. And yet, there are some who would like to hold off on approving the request or kill the whole deal.

One comment stated that the person “had not seen the commitment from the company to stay here.” The $13 million it cost to purchase the plant; the change in plans from moving the plant to the UK and instead opening it here; the amount of work it takes to push a grant through the process ought to count for something like commitment, I would think. Remember, the property sat vacant for nearly 30 years.

Another complaint was that the local citizenry wouldn’t get the jobs. Really. By that sentiment, Hopewell ought to try to own all the places where its residents hold jobs—like Richmond or Chesterfield, or even Prince George or Sussex. Even so, the plant management said 15 to 20 percent of the workforce lives in Hopewell, as does their Human Resources coordinator.

Some councilor resurrected the problems they had with the former owner, Osage. But all of that is water over the dam. Vireol is not Osage, and just because you have problems with one doesn’t mean you will have problems with the other. Basically, someone needs to get over it.

Still, here you have a company that is ready to get to work. Everything appears to be a go, and low and behold a minor issue, an issue of $250,000 is going to stop it? That seems silly to me.

All I can say is kudos to City Council for passing this request. The money will be well spent. The plant will come on line, and Hopewell and its citizens will benefit from the plant.

But he really loves me, I know he does!

Earlier this summer I spent some time at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. While I was there, we trekked all the way to the back of the zoo property to check out the giraffe pen. The pen was split into two sections and contained four giraffes.

Three smaller giraffes were in the smaller section of the pen. The attendant explained that they were all females, but not quite ready to be introduced to the male giraffe. The male giraffe was in the other section of the pen and was enormous. The smaller giraffe’s, which ranged up to two years old, huddled together eating grass and otherwise just hanging out.

The male giraffe didn’t care too much about their age. He was, I think, pretty much aware of the three youngsters. In fact, at one point he came storming down from the top of the pen getting up to a full gallop. It is a strange, interesting, and somewhat funny thing to see a giraffe at top speed. The legs are all over the place, and the feet clomp down on the ground leaving small puffs of cumulous dust in his wake. As he progressed down the hill, I started to wonder if he would ever stop. But suddenly he put on the brakes, and turned his head toward the three girls and leered at them with a sort of “see what I can do” expression.

I suppose giraffes have to make their presence known too. But the experience I had from that guy trundling down the hill in his pen was enough to make me realize how lucky I was to have the fence between us.

Apparently not everyone has the same appreciation for the giraffe’s abilities that I do. According to a recently published Associated Press story, Amanda Hall, a 24-year-old California resident, thought it would be cool to climb into the giraffe exhibit at a zoo in Madison Wisconsin.

She probably should have seen what I saw in Maryland. Needless to say, the giraffe was not in favor of Hall being in the pen and promptly kicked her in the face.

But like most relationships, it didn’t start out that way. It seems Wally, a two year old giraffe, at first licked her face. It was only after the licking encounter that he turned and gave her a kick.

The keepers told police that Hall was pretty fortunate, since giraffes were known to kill lions by kicking them. To my recollection, I’ve never seen any animal footage of a lion attacking a giraffe, and my history of watching shows like Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom is well documented. Jim, I know for sure, would not mess with a giraffe. In one show, I recall the whole crew running from a giraffe that actually bumped into their Range Rover.

Still, that’s a different story and there is some good news to this story.

Unlike many places, like Richmond, where the animals are punished for the actions of the visitors, the Wisconsin authorities got this one right. Hall was charged with harassment of zoo animals, with a fine up to $686. The police said Hall told them that she climbed into the pen because she loved giraffes.

For me, I am just glad the zoo authorities didn’t take an extreme position. God knows it would have been a horrible solution to merely kill the offending giraffe. I’m not totally sure why people feel the need to get close to these animals. And why anyone would resort to teasing them is beyond me. At some level, I suppose they are just trying to evoke some movement from the brutes. But ultimately they are wild animals and prone to attack. People should enjoy the critters, even if the critters aren’t exactly enjoying themselves.