Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
Though neither item was on the Town Council's agenda Tuesday night dozens of people came out to speak of their support or opposition to Herndon's 287(g) program and street solicitation ordinance.Oh, right, the evil union conspiracy to reopen the day labor center and put its own members out of work by an influx of cheap labor. We almost forgot!
After an hour of regularly scheduled presentations the Town Council opened up the floor for public comment. The town's 287(g) program allows local police to perform immigration law enforcement functions. The street solicitation ordinance keeps people from soliciting goods and services from public right-of-ways within the town.
Lisa Hernandez said she has heard rumors that the Virginia New Majority has been seeking "puppets" to spread their message throughout the town. She said she wants the Town Council to know she is not a puppet and prior to joining VNM she felt she didn't have a voice in Herndon.
The two ordinances in question were approved by the previous members of the town council who were voted out in the spring, but softened after the council got a nasty note or two from those other evil no-goodniks at the ACLU, who for some crazy reason -- maybe all that fluoride in their office water cooler -- seemed to think an ordinance that prohibited Latinos from doing anything resembling soliciting work but still allowed high school cheerleaders to parade around advertising car washes might be a teensy bit discriminatory. What is this, Russia or Fire Island?
Now, after all this suspicious agitation from these community organizers, it seems the political tide may be shifting in our neighbor to the west:
Multiple members of the audience brought forward petition cards, which they said included more than 500 signatures in support of repealing the street solicitation ordinance.Or maybe not!
Sherry Blanton said she is concerned that the street solicitation ordinance makes Herndon seem unfriendly to outsiders. She said the town seems to only be known for its stances against immigration. Julius Bradley said he feels the ordinance is "mean-spirited" and negative for the community.
While a large number of the more than 75 people who attended the meeting were there to speak against the ordinance, many audience members who supported the town's efforts also spoke out.Others aren't quite so sure:
Herndon resident George Taplin said he has been very pleased with the performance of the council over the past four years. He said most of the council members have kept their promise that they would work for the betterment of the town. He asked the new members to make sure their service is to the town and not to their own agenda or outside groups.
Joel Scalzo said he has seen a lot of change in his 10 years in Herndon and feels much of it has been positive. "Herndon is a welcoming community," he said. "This is an old argument and I'm sick of it." He said the town is a very welcoming community as long as residents are willing to live inside the law.
Don Owens, who serves as the vice president of the Herndon Chamber of Commerce, said while the Herndon Chamber has no official position on the matter they do have anecdotal evidence that there does seem to be an image problem in Herndon, and they do encourage open dialogue.Will the new council decide to abolish the regulations? Will the ACLU sue, requiring town residents to hire day laborers to carry them across the 7-11 parking lot to purchase Big Gulps? Fortunately in the wake of the loss of the town's only "news paper," we now have a way to find out.
Owens said the town's image impacts local businesses and home values and that is something that concerns the chamber. He said Realtors have a hard time selling or leasing residential and commercial properties in Herndon and many feel Herndon has ended up with a bad reputation in recent years.
From where I'm sitting, most anything that inspires an illegal to do the right thing and leave the country -- even if that means making life for the illegals and their families uncomfortable and inconvenient -- is a good thing. We need to keep our eye on the fact that it's the ILLEGAL that violates US law everyday with their continued presence and takes jobs from citizens, permanent residents and others holding work and residence visas.
ReplyDeleteDeport the illegals now.
It's the carbon footprint for me. You have illegals coming from a country where they use a lot less energy. Here, they use energy at a much higher rate. How is this good for Mother Gaia?
ReplyDeletePlus they clog an infrastructure here scaled for a smaller population. Has anyone been stuck behind a school bus loading on Colts Neck? There sure seems to be a lot of kids there.
replying to a current Patch editorial: Justin van Engen the average person sympathetic to the deer will upon colliding with one in a vehicle instantly change their opinion. Furthermore anyone who actually knows someone who has contacted Lyme will want more control of the deep population. A single female tick will lay 3,000 eggs. Lyme is almost epidemic in Fairfax County. For some reason the deer in Northern Virginia have ticks not so in Central Virginia. Reston with it's 50 miles of walkways, many of them overgrown with no one to care for them are maybe more at risk since we do not have like the county recomends a two foot barrier of wood chip but instead limbs (visit South Reston) projecting onto the walkways.Justin van Engen the average person sympathetic to the deer will upon colliding with one in a vehicle instantly change their opinion. Furthermore anyone who actually knows someone who has contacted Lyme will want more control of the deep population. A single female tick will lay 3,000 eggs. Lyme is almost epidemic in Fairfax County. For some reason the deer in Northern Virginia have ticks not so in Central Virginia. Reston with it's 50 miles of walkways, many of them overgrown with no one to care for them are maybe more at risk since we do not have like the county recommended two foot barrier of wood chip but instead limbs (visit South Reston) projecting onto the walkways.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the issue with the Herndon immigrant codes is that illegal immigration shouldn't be controlled. The issue is that enforcement should not include harassing legal immigrants that happen to fit some profile for illegal immigrants. These new laws will lead to many misunderstanding and unfortunate mistakes, as police try to figure out how to enforce them without seeming threatening to minority communities. Police already have enough responsibilities without having to be INS officers.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Anon, that's the world we live in. The federal government is failing to enforce federal law. That's leaving the problem up to local officials.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, no matter how stringent or lax the police enforcement activities may be, the illegals and their sympathizers are going to scream "racism", "racial profiling" and "bigotry" in an effort to play off our guilty consciences. Frankly, I say let them. They're just words, after all. If the illegals won't leave voluntarily, we're going to have to root them out and that's going to mean that some non-illegal might be inconvenienced.
Remember, if there were no illegals in the Town of Herndon, there would be no need to take measures to rid the town of illegals.
"enforcement should not include harassing legal immigrants that happen to fit some profile for illegal immigrants"
ReplyDeleteLOL, like all those guys hanging around the 7-11? I am suuuuure legal immigrants do that all the time.
"Police already have enough responsibilities without having to be INS officers."
Gee, when the police swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, does it end "except for those pesky immigration laws"? Or are they supposed to uphold all laws?
In any event there is no conflict between their "other responsibilities" and enforcing immigration laws. Getting rid of illegal immigrants would get rid of a major source of other crimes (you know, nun-killing and all that).
Thanks for the love Restonian! Told you I'd find a way back to local news somehow. Also, the Herndon Town Council is now looking at their 2011 legislative agenda and it includes the topic of human smuggling. Semi-related.
ReplyDelete