The Virginian-Pilot
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VIRGINIA BEACH
Some cities want bridges and schools from the federal stimulus plan.
Virginia Beach wants all of that and sand, too.
Beach officials are concerned the Obama administration will disqualify sand replenishment projects from receiving stimulus cash and have launched a pre-emptive lobbying effort.
Mayor Will Sessoms sent a letter to members of the city's congressional delegation asking that Virginia Beach get $10 million to replace sand at the Oceanfront.
The city needs the sand as protection against hurricanes and to lure tourists, said Phillip Roehrs, the city's water resources engineer.
Operation Big Beach, the city's and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' last major beach replenishment effort, ended in 2002. Since then, parts of the Oceanfront have eroded by 70 feet to about 200 feet wide, Roehrs said.
"It's now slightly less than it should be," Roehrs said.
Virginia Beach is one of several coastal communities that are upset about reports the White House Office of Management and Budget pulled the Army Corps' list of beach renourishment projects. Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and Rep. Glenn Nye of Norfolk were among 30 members of Congress who signed a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to reconsider the decision.
The OMB is looking at whether to fund sand replenishment and may have a decision by the end of the month, said Tom Gavin, spokesman for the office.
The dust-up over this stimulus money is part of a long-standing debate about whether the federal government should pay for any beach replenishment efforts. Both the Clinton and Bush administrations didn't think so and argued it was a local expense.
"The question is who should pay for it," said James V. Koch, an economist and former Old Dominion University president.
A big beach helps Virginia Beach bring in more tourists and prevents flooding, Koch said, but should Midwest taxpayers pay for the sand?
With the stimulus money, there may be "bridges and dams and all the other kinds of things" that could generate jobs and that the Army Corps should be building instead, Koch said.
Virginia Beach's sand replenishment project will directly employ about 60 people, including crews of dredge workers and surveyors, Roehrs said. The city also plans to contribute $5 million to the cost, he said.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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Nope
Clinton actually managed to get us on the right track
Nope. That was what was know as the "Internet Bubble" which is what initiated the problems now. After the dot-bombs, the federal reserve started pushing down rates to stop the resulting unemployment (bad for getting elected after all). That started the mortgage rush which then exposed the problems with government policy about mortgages. The borrowing from the future does not necessarily come in the form of federal debt.
Paying for sand?????
This is so Virginia Beachish. I like VA BCH. I spend money in VA BCH. Yes, I know I am not from VA but if North Carolina's OBX asked for stimulus money, and they very well may, I would say ABSOLUTELY NOT. Pump in sand one day for the mighty Atlantic to reclaim it the next. I care more about my child than to ever fall victim to the line of thinking that seems so prevalent today of spend, spend, spend.
God I wish people would get
God I wish people would get off of this "The administration is doing this or that" kick. Washington has done this, both Republicans and Democrats. Cater was a joke, Regan borrowed from Bush, Bush borrowed from Clinton, Clinton actually managed to get us on the right track, Bush II borrowed from Obama and now Obama is borrowing from somebody else. It's the system that's broken not the administration, and I accept that that's how it works. Every aspect of American society works on credit and borrowing, from the everyday homeowner to the federal government. The simple fact is we are 3 months into the new Administration yet everybody has an opinion on it's success or failure. To use terms that my southern brethren can relate to, do you determine who wins the Daytona 500 after 3 laps? Things may very well change yet or they may stay the same, but at least wait a year or two before spewing all the anger.
Fighting with each other over a Win
What is shocking to me is that so many posters want to fight with each other over a "win for the good guys." We won one! Enjoy it.
Seems you all would rather attack each other over who gets "political credit" than enjoy the rescue of an American by our Navy. Nice...
Go Navy!!
Hey BBWolf, Did you not notice?
"Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and Rep. Glenn Nye of Norfolk were among members of Congress who signed a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to reconsider the decision." THIRTY members of Congress are the reason for the long thread. Fact is this administration is being reckless with our tax dollars. They are being reckless by borrowing money to give away. They are reckless by getting our kids further and further in debt. They are reckless by trying to spend or buy our way out of a depression/recession. They are reckless by increasing our taxes to give to companies that have earned the right to fail. They are reckless to pick our pockets to give our hard earned dollars to companies that overpaid their executives with huge salaries and bonuses, to allegedly "keep the talent". We'll if that's the best talent, they're not to good, are they? This administration is the most reckless administration in history and they are just getting started. We have made a bad, bad mistake by electing this guy.
"attack mode "get a clue ,
If you drive down lynhaven parkway day after day , or witchduck road , or independence blvd every day /three of the main roads connecting (va beach taxpayers with their homes ), and have to sit in hours of traffic wondering when the city will get off the fence and fix the road problems , day after day for years , and then read articles like this about spending ten million dollars on some sand and see if you are in attack mode ,, articles like this , are the exact reasons that va beach taxpayers are fed up with our government , lets see our city attack some real problems that mean something to city taxpayers , ten million dollars would put a serious dent in all three of those road projects
False dichotomy
The article says that both Clinton and Bush opposed projects like this and the current administration has signaled they will continue that trend.
Maybe all the politicians are wrong? There isn't only two choices for an issue even though national politics promote two banner letters for almost identical parties.
I'm confused as to why this
I'm confused as to why this generated such a long thread. It seems clear that we've stumbled across an issue that isn't in debate. The article says that both Clinton and Bush opposed projects like this and the current administration has signaled they will continue that trend. So why is everybody in attack mode as normal. This just proves that people on here aren't interested in dialogue so much as lashing out blindly.
That's the catch
And, these would be temporary jobs.
That's the catch. 100% of jobs from government borrowing and spending are temporary. A job is only permanent if it generates revenue to pay for itself.
Another Mistake By a Politician!
The headline is laughable enough and hearing it from the Mayor of Virginia Beach is even better. Mayor Will Sessoms needs to get his head out of the sand and see the light. Why should the taxpayers of this country pump money into a useless project that is a revolving door. Mother Nature is going to win in the end. Put a sand tax on the tourists' room rental bills, businesses, and the hotel owners and wealthy homeowners with their multi-million dollar homes that chose to live along the beach to get their suntans and enjoy the sunsets. Stop the bloodletting of the taxpayers who have trouble rubbing two nickels together to make ends meet and exist in the real world we live in today. Put the burden on the ones who stand to benefit the most.