BRL's Scrabble Tournament Draws Record Crowd

Shannon and Dan Radmacher talk over a word at the Scrabble tournament.

A full house of 130 players got a good dinner and a good game.

Getting ready to start the competition.

Lucy Lee of Roanoke's Big Read looks for a word.

That's Christina Koomen in the middle with teammates Jeanne Bollendorf (right, in blue) and Carolyn Payne.

The Housewives of Chapparal Drive had the lowest score and quirkiest name.

Working on words.

These old friends showed up dressed in red and black.

They're having fun. Look at the faces.

Judge George Kegley walked around with his rule book, telling players, "That's not a word!"

Blue Ridge Literacy's annual Scrabble tournament did itself proud today, drawing 12 teams at lunch and filling the Jefferson Center's Fitzpatrick Center with 130 players at the dinner hour. It was the largest turnout yet for the tournament, one of the the organization's primary fund-raisers each year.

Republican Government in Virginia Takes a Poll Hit

Women protesting Republican actions arrested in Richmond demonstration.

In what could hardly be termed a "surprise," approval ratings for Virginia's Virginia Assembly, dominated by Republicans, and its Republican governor are heading south following a contentious session dominated by social legislation and what has been termed "a war on women."

A Quinnipiac University poll, released yesterday showed that the legislature's numbers fell to 38 percent approval and 47 percent disapproval. Gov. Bob McDonnell, meanwhile,fell to a "53 percent approval rating, with 32 percent disapproval, is the lowest since Quinnipiac began polling in the state ..." according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The approval of McDonnell by women fell from 54 to 48 percent and disapproval rose from 25 percent to 34 percent. Men liked him a little better, but not much and that approval was down four points.

According to a story in the Times-Dispatch Steve Farhsworth, a political science professor at Mary Washington University, said, "When your state government is being ridiculed nightly by the late-night comedians, that's not going to help your approval numbers. It does not help Virginia's approach to getting new business to be a national laughingstock."

The T-D quoted Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Brian Moran as saying, "This experiment in united Republican government has been an abject failure and today's poll indicates that Virginians are starting to realize it." Even Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins said the poll shows voters have tired of what he called "the tantrum."

The poll surveyed 1,034 registered voters from March 13 to March 18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

(Photo: c'ville)

River Laker Fights Back: Files Grievance, Goes to Court

River Laker (right) and his mouthpiece, Melvin Williams

River Laker, the sometimes controversial, always-entertaining Roanoke City library employee who got in trouble about a year ago for dropping trou at a fund-raising event, is fighting the city over a grievance he filed recently.

River, whose British sense of humor is sometimes at odds with conservative Roanoke, was rebuked for taking off his clothes at a singles fundraiser. Riv says he was protesting the meat market approach. I never heard that before today, but I'll take River's word for it until something else comes along.
Anyhow, he has hired a lawyer named Melvin Williams and Williams has hit the PR circuit, providing the narrative below and the photo with this post. Here's what Mel has to say (I'm waiting to hear from the city, which I suspect will not comment): 

River Laker has requested that the Circuit Court for the City of Roanoke determine the grievability of his grievance concerning retaliation by the City against him in his employment as a result of his exercise of free speech at the Valentini Bachelor and Bachelorette event sponsored by The Square Society at 202 Market on February 4, 2011.

As you know, Mr. Laker was a participant in the event by invitation from The Square Society.Mr. Laker used the opportunity to protest against the event: while being auctioned he disrobed but for a strategically-placed bicycle helmet. (Contrary to media characterizations, the act was not a “striptease”.)

Mr. Laker objected to the event because it demeans people and places a value on how provocatively the participant performs at the auction.The event has now been dropped from The Square Society’s annual fundraising events.

Mr. Laker is an employee of the Roanoke Public Libraries. Despite the City publicly stating that Mr. Laker’s protest was on his personal time and was not something that it could comment on, since the event the City has targeted and severely restricted him in his employment in retaliation for what he did on his own time on private property. This treatment culminated in January 2012 when the Director of Libraries issued a Written Reprimand to Mr. Laker accusing him of insubordination.

Mr. Laker had never before received any type of disciplinary action in his employment with the Roanoke Public Libraries.He vehemently denied the allegation in the Written Reprimand and filed a grievance.Instead of addressing the merits of Mr. Laker’s grievance though, the City only broadened the allegations of misconduct from that set forth in the initial Written Reprimand.

The Written Reprimand is merely the next step in a pattern of retaliatory conduct visited upon Mr. Laker by the City because of his 202 Market protest. Therefore, his grievance seeks to address all of the various ways that he has been targeted.The City has refused to address all retaliatory conduct except the Written Reprimand, which ignores the ongoing pattern of conduct and focuses only on the incidents individually. Consequently, Mr. Laker has appealed to the Circuit Court for a determination of whether he can grieve the entire course of conduct.

A hearing has yet to be scheduled on the matter, but we anticipate that the hearing should occur within the next few weeks.

Stay tuned for the entertainment value, if nothing else.

Photo(s) of the Day: Backyard Fashion Show

Sometimes the back yard is trip enough to discover the season's latest and brightest outfits. This morning, my cherry tree wore what you see--in the mist. Pretty stuff.

Steve Brown Named Music Director at Roanoke Public Radio

Steve Brown, new music director at WVTF

WVTF Public Radio in Roanoke  has named Steve Brown as its new music director. Since October 2011, Brown has been host of the weekday "Morning" and "Afternoon Classics" from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., “a lengthy announcing schedule by any broadcasting standards,” says WVTF Program Director Rick Mattioni.

In his role, Brown now programs all the classical music for the weekdays and Saturday afternoons. In addition, Brown updates the playlists that appear on the WVTF website and maintains the music library. He posts to the station’s Facebook page and takes calls from listeners. He is also the producer and host of the live broadcasts of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra (RSO) and “Inside the Music” podcasts. He will also continue to serve as the director of public service announcements.

Before joining WVTF ub 2991, Brown worked in the Office of Sponsored Programs at Virginia Tech. Brown served 21 years in the U.S. Navy. During his time in the service he worked in broadcasting and served as a choir director. He also did a stint at WUWF Public Radio in Pensacola, Fla.

Brown is active in local theater and serves as associate conductor and unofficial composer in residence for the Blacksburg Community Band. His original body of work in music and theatrer includes five musicals, three plays, and hundreds of compositions that have been performed by orchestras and bands both locally around the world. He lives in Christiansburg with his wife, Maureen, and children.

Quote of the Day: Just Worn Out

"Sometimes I get as tired of writing about stupid zealots as you tire of reading about them. So I'm taking today off, even if Rush Limbaugh says something thoroughly outrageous or another Republican nutjob introduces another absurd bill. I'm tired."

--Dan Smith, blogmeister

A Brief Review of the Republican War on Women

Republican view of American womanhood of the future

Soraya Chemlay, writing here in the HuffingtonPost, takes a breath and pauses briefly to review the fast-occurring events of recent days wherein Republicans are attempting to re-define the rights of women in the United States by taking them away.

Almost everything being talked about in these 10 points is happening in states where Republicans have a majority in one or both general assembly houses or in the U.S. House of Representatives where Republicans rule. In Virginia, the house is Republican and the Senate is split, but Republicans don't share power there and, because the Lt. Governor is a Republican, they have tie-breaking power, so they rule (on everything but the budget).

What we are seeing with these extreme bills is the true color of the Republican Party. These are the social contracts the far right wingers have made with each other, promising that some day ... Today is some day. More moderate voices have begged these people to slow down and to avoid overreaching, but they don't know what moderation means and soon, Virginia women could well be draped in burqas.

Here's a summerized breakdown on the Republican attempts to strip women of rights (all from Ms. Chemlay's column):

1. A bill would require women to carry still-born fetuses to full term "because cows and pigs do." The Georgia House has passed this and the Senate is looked at as a 50-50 possibility.
2. A number of bills would sentence women to death to save a fetus.
3. In Mississippi, there is an effort to criminalize pregnancy and miscarriages. Women would be arrested and imprisoned, charged with murder for miscarriages.
4. In several states, notably Pennsylvania (Virginia backed down after introducing a similar bill, mostly because of the governor's political ambitions) women would be forced to undergo involuntary vaginal penetration with an ultrasound probe.
5. Women could be disabled or killed by either withholding medical treatment or forcing them to undergo involuntary medical procedures.
6. In Virginia and other places, there have been efforts to give zygotes "personhood" rights. The zygote would, in effect, have more rights than the woman.
7. Bills have been introduced inhibiting, humiliating and punishing women for their choices to have an abortion for any reason by levying taxes specifically on abortion (including abortion in case of rape and threat to the mother's life). In Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Virginia, Colorado and Arkansas are among those states.
8. An Arizona bill would allow employers to delve women's private lives and only pay for insurance when they agree, for religious reasons, with how she choses to use birth control.
9. There is an effort to refuse funds that would help make low-income money healthier (Texas just turned down $35 million that would help 300,000 poor women with preventive care).
10. Some of the bills would deprive women of their ability to earn a living and support themselves and their families.

If you think this is not serious or doesn't concern or is being exaggerated, you're not looking closely. These zombies are coming for you and they are on the run.