Media Release: National, State and Regional Citizens Groups Join Suit To Block Massive I-81 Widening

For Immediate Release
February 15, 2008

Contact:
Megan Gallagher, Shenandoah Valley Network, 540-253-5162
Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth, 703-599-6437
Virgil McDill, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 202-588-6218
Leighton Powell, Scenic Virginia, 804-363-9453
Elizabeth Kostelny, APVA/Preservation Virginia, 804-648-1889, x 306
Joe Szakos, Virginia Organizing Project, 434-984-4655, x222
Roger Diedrich, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, 703-352-2410
John Eckman, Valley Conservation Council, 540-810-2258
Barbara Walsh, Rockbridge Area Conservation Council, 540-463-2330

National, State and Regional Citizens Groups Join Suit To Block Massive I-81 Widening

Seven citizens' organizations -- National Trust for Historic Preservation, Scenic Virginia, APVA Preservation Virginia, Virginia Organizing Project, Valley Conservation Council, Rockbridge Area Conservation Council and Sierra Club -- Thursday joined a federal lawsuit to block plans to widen I-81 to eight or more lanes throughout most of western Virginia.

The new parties to the lawsuit join Larry Allamong, a Shenandoah County farmer, the Shenandoah Valley Network and the Coalition for Smarter Growth in a legal action lodged on December 17, 2007 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville. The 10 plaintiffs are asking the court to prevent the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) from allowing the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to move forward with the I-81 expansion project until the agencies have corrected the plan's fundamental flaws.

"Expanding I-81 would bury some of the nation's most important historic and cultural resources -- including some 1,238 acres of Civil War battlefields -- under a sheet of asphalt, and would also lead to dramatically increased heavy truck traffic through the pristine landscape of the Shenandoah Valley," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "The National Trust for Historic Preservation encourages the Virginia Department of Transportation to reopen its planning process and take a closer look at less costly, less destructive alternatives to massive widening," he said.

The plaintiffs object to the plan's emphasis on widening the highway to the exclusion of less costly and more efficient alternatives that have been endorsed by local governments and citizens groups throughout the corridor. VDOT's plan would widen I-81 to eight to 12 lanes through most of the state, a project that would cost Shenandoah Valley residents, businesses and American taxpayers an estimated $11.4 billion. VDOT plans to use tolls to pay for the project.

"We believe that the tiered planning process for improving I-81 has been deeply flawed," stated Elizabeth Kostelny, Executive Director of APVA Preservation Virginia. "By refusing to examine all of the impacts now, as required by federal law, the plan limits improvement options and forecloses on alternatives that would be less destructive to the region's unique historic and cultural resources," she said. In 2006, APVA Preservation Virginia named the I-81 corridor one of Virginia's Most Endangered Sites.

The lawsuit asserts that the plan's concept for I-81 "will result in significant, irreversible, adverse effects on natural, scenic, cultural, historic and ecological resources, communities and property owners." It notes that VDOT's plan for I-81 would destroy 7,400 acres of developed land; 1,062 acres of prime farmland; between 1,600 and 2,400 residences; 662 businesses; 1,238 acres of Civil War battlefields; 33 acres of wetlands; 361 acres of floodplains; 23 miles of streams; and 13 threatened or endangered species.

"The I-81 corridor contains acres and acres of our Commonwealth's most beautiful vistas and viewsheds," said Scenic Virginia Executive Director Leighton Powell. "We oppose the sacrifice of these valuable scenic resources for a road plan based on incomplete information that fails to consider rail options and other thoughtful alternatives. The last thing Virginians need or want is a tolled highway on the scale of the New Jersey Turnpike roaring through the cities, towns and countryside of the Shenandoah Valley and southwest Virginia."

The I-81 expansion plan remains very much alive, despite VDOT's announcement in January that it had broken off contract negotiations with Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the primary contractor behind the $13 billion "STAR Solutions" proposal to build a tolled truckway on the corridor.

VDOT filed a "Toll Pilot Application" with the FHWA in 2006 that is now pending. If approved, it would make I-81 the only existing interstate in the country built with tax dollars that was later subject to tolls for routine maintenance and improvements. The threat of unreasonably high I-81 tolls led state lawmakers to approve legislation this month to prohibit any tolls on the corridor without express approval from the General Assembly.

Virginia Organizing Project Chairperson Janice "Jay" Johnson said, "Opposition to the wasteful plan for I-81 is diverse and broad-based. Shenandoah Valley legislators, local governments, business and farm groups, conservation and community groups all reject the $11 billion widening project as much too large, costly and destructive to the region's economy and environment."

At the Valley Conservation Council, "the I-81 plan represents the largest land use issue of our time in the Shenandoah Valley," said Executive Director John Eckman. "It impacts everything we care about, our communities, farms, forests, open space, battlefields and other cultural resources," he said.

Plan Forecloses on Less Costly, More Efficient Alternatives

A series of low-cost, low-impact alternatives for improving I-81, dubbed "Reasonable Solutions," was endorsed in 2006 by localities and civic organizations throughout the region, including Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Clarke and Albemarle counties, the city of Roanoke, the towns of Front Royal, Toms Brook, New Market, Edinburg and Mt. Jackson, and 22 civic groups. Reasonable Solutions advocates a balanced mix of improvements to I-81, including spot safety improvements for the roadway's trouble areas and greater freight diversion from trucks to rail.

In July, Norfolk Southern announced plans for a $2 billion rail upgrade along the Crescent Corridor from New York to Texas that will divert one million trucks from I-81, including 750,000 trucks in Virginia, up to 25 percent of the current total in the state. A state study of the potential for diverting up to 60 percent of I-81 through truck freight to rail, mandated by the General Assembly, is due this spring.

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Plaintiff Organizations:

The Shenandoah Valley Network links citizens groups in seven counties working on land use, land protection and transportation issues. (www.shenandoahvalleynetwork.org)

The Coalition for Smarter Growth works to ensure that transportation and development decisions accommodate growth while revitalizing communities, providing more housing and travel choices, and conserving our natural and historic areas. (www.smartergrowth.net)

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, with headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, including Belle Grove Plantation in Frederick County, and partner organizations in all 50 states, provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America's stories. (www.nationaltrust.org)

Scenic Virginia is the sole statewide organization working to preserve, protect and enhance the scenic beauty and community character of the Commonwealth. (www.scenicvirginia.org)

APVA Preservation Virginia is dedicated to preserving and promoting the state's irreplaceable historic structures, landscapes, collections, communities and archaeological sites, ensuring the vitality of Virginia's distinctive heritage, resulting in cultural, economic and educational benefits for the public by providing leadership, expertise, influence, policy, programs and services to the public and special audiences. (www.apva.org)

The Virginia Organizing Project, a statewide social justice organization, has three offices and more than 1,500 members on the I-81 corridor. VOP works to empower local people to challenge injustice and improve the quality of their lives. (www.virginia-organizing.org)

The Valley Conservation Council, based in Staunton, serves 11 counties along the I-81 corridor and works to promotes land use that sustains the farms, forests, open spaces, and cultural heritage of the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. (www.valleyconservation.org)

The Sierra Club is the oldest conservation organization in the U.S. The Virginia Chapter has approximately 17,000 members throughout Virginia working to build healthy, livable communities, and to conserve and restore our natural environment. (virginia.sierraclub.org)

Rockbridge Area Conservation Council promotes wise stewardship of natural and cultural resources through education, advocacy, and action in order to protect and enhance the quality of life for present and future inhabitants of Rockbridge County. (http://organizations.rockbridge.net/racc/)

Also on the web:
Reasonable Solutions: A Six Point Plan for the Future of I-81: www.shenandoahvalleynetwork.org/images/i81/reasonablesolutions.html
Virginia Department of Transportation I-81 website: www.i-81.org

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Virginia Organizing Project Media Advisory 02-09-07

MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release: February 9, 2007

For more information, contact:

Joe Szakos
Executive Director
(434) 984-4655 x222
szakos@ntelos.net
www.virginia-organizing.org

Virginia Organizing Project and other groups to hold media
conference to support an increase in the minimum wage

WHEN: Monday, February 12, 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Quality Community Council, rear of 327 West Main Street
(434) 977-3045

Over the past year, the Virginia Organizing Project and other organizations throughout Virginia have collected more than 36,000 signatures on petitions and garnered more than 180 endorsements from businesses and organizations to encourage state legislators to increase the minimum wage.

Low-wage workers will join with representatives of the Virginia Organizing Project, Quality Community Council, and the Monticello Area Community Action Agency to make a presentation on why an increase in the minimum wage is needed on Monday, February 12, at 10:00 a.m. at the offices of the Quality Community Council.

Senate Bill 1327, sponsored by Senator Charles Colgan, passed the Virginia Senate 31-8 on February 5, 2007, and will be heard by the House of Delegates Commerce and Labor Committee next week. Senate Bill 1327 increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $5.15 per hour to $6.50 per hour effective July 1, 2007, unless a higher minimum wage is required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

For more information about the minimum wage issue in Virginia, please see www/vafairwage.org.

The Virginia Organizing Project is a multi-issue organization committed to engaging grassroots Virginians to work on social justice issues.

Media Release: VOP Announces Legislative Agenda 01-04-07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 4, 2007
Contact: Joe Szakos, Executive Director (434) 984-4655 x222

Virginia Organizing Project announces its 2007 legislative agenda

The Virginia Organizing Project announced its 2007 legislative agenda today in Richmond. The statewide citizens group also introduced Ben Greenberg as its new Legislative Director.

?We are real people, dealing with real problems, working for real solutions,? VOP Chairperson Janice ?Jay? Johnson said.

?During the past year, we have had constituent meetings with 60 of our state legislators across the Commonwealth,? Johnson said. ?We talked to them about racial profiling, fair tax reform, predatory lending and increasing the minimum wage.?

The Virginia Organizing Project is focusing on four major legislative efforts:

? Increase the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour in 2007 and $7.25 an hour in 2008.
? Fund training for law enforcement personnel to prevent biased policing.
? Make the state tax system fair for low- and middle-income Virginians.
? Repeal the Payday Loan Act and prevent interest rates higher than 36 percent.

?Every working person needs to make more than $5.15 an hour,? said Rudy Washington, a student at Virginia State University. Reflecting on the growing number of bills to deal with an increase in the minimum wage, Washington said, ?It?s really exciting to hear these legislators are working to change this situation.?

?The Virginia Organizing Project supports Senator Ken Stolle?s proposed budget language that would provide Virginia?s law enforcement academies with the funding they need to provide adequate bias-based policing training,? said Rev. Millard Boone III of Suffolk.

The Virginia?s tax system is regressive and outdated, David Jarman of Williamsburg said. ?The Virginia Organizing Project strongly endorses and supports passage of Governor Tim Kaine?s proposal to raise the filing threshold for low-income Virginians. This action would remove more than 300,000 low-income Virginian?s from the state?s income tax rolls.?

Retired military veteran Kimberly Davis said, ?As a Command Sergeant Major, I spent many valuable hours helping soldiers out of the debt trap set by predatory lenders. I hope Virginia will make the state ?off limits? to these lenders, just like the post commander did while I was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.?

Introducing Greenberg as the new Legislative Director for the Virginia Organizing Project, Johnson said, ?Ben joined VOP last October to help us make an even greater commitment to advocating for fair and equitable public policies for all Virginians. He has more than 25 years experience lobbying with the Virginia General Assembly on behalf of public and non-profit agencies and organizations.?

?I am so proud to be part of the Virginia Organizing Project and its work on behalf of such important issues for hundreds of thousands of Virginians,? Greenberg said. ?I believe it is time for the leaders of Virginia to renew their commitment to address the needs of all Virginians, including those who traditionally have had too little voice at the Capitol. It is time to recognize all Virginians who contribute to the well-being of the Commonwealth.?

Virginia Organizing Project Press Release 01-03-07

Media Release: January 3, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact: Joe Szakos, Executive Director (434) 984-4655 x.222

Harold Folley Jr. joins Virginia Organizing Project staff

The Virginia Organizing Project (VOP), a statewide citizens group, announced today that Harold Folley Jr. has joined its staff as a Community Organizer. Folley will work out of VOP's Charlottesville office.

We are really excited to have Harold working with us. He brings a lot of grassroots organizing experience working with youth and as an organizer with the Public Housing Association of Residents," said Janice "Jay" Johnson, chairperson of the Virginia Organizing Project. "Harold is very aware of the problems of marginalized communities and the real need for social and economic justice.

"I am really excited that VOP! has hir ed me," Folley said. "This is a great opportunity for me and my family. I look forward to working with a diverse group of people throughout the state to raise the voices of those who have not been previously heard in Virginia."

"Harold is the first of three new organizing positions we are adding this year," Johnson said. "The others will be in the northeastern and southwestern part of the state. We will then have nine organizers in Virginia. We believe that having more organizers across the Commonwealth will get more people active in their communities to make the changes they want to improve their quality of life."

* * *

The Virginia Organizing Project, founded in 1995, is a statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives. VOP especially encourages the participation of those who have traditionally had little or no voice in our society. By building relationships with diverse individuals and groups throughout Virginia, VOP enhances their ability to work together at a statewide level, democratically and non-violently, for change.