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END FRAT SIGN BANS
NO DATA CENTERS
SAY NO TO CASINOS
RENEW THE PARKS
Take Five: The five minute stump speech
If the city of Radford were perfect, I wouldn’t run for city council. But, as it is, Radford has lots of issues and contradictions. First, it’s a college town that treats college students like third class citizens. Secondly, its in a beautiful location but has had serious environmental problems. Also, it’s an Independent city with its own power company, but it’s been locked into an exclusive contract with Appalachian Power for decades.
Politically, Radford has gone for democratic candidates in the last five presidential elections, and yet city government is dominated by right wing conservatives.
Finally, and most importantly for this election, the city of Radford is approaching an important crossroads. The former city manager and some of the council ignored a looming financial crisis. Its pretty serious – we are short millions of dollars.
So of course, there’s all kinds of wild ideas about how to dig the city out of the hole – Bring in a gambling casino, sell water to data centers or even bring in our own data center. Casinos bring in cash, its true, but ask citizens of Danville or Bristol what comes along with that cash. And nobody loves data centers – We all realize now that they take our water and air quality and just use it to enrich gazillionaires and their AI schemes.
My suggestion is that we build on our strengths. Let’s remember that this is a college town. Let’s treat students like valued citizens instead of pariahs.
To begin with, let’s repeal the unconstitutional ordinance that forbids the display of fraternity and sorority signs, which is not a problem in any other college town in America. We need to encourage students to volunteer and to help in the process of rebuilding the parks and arts in Radford.
It’s well known that Radford citizens show up for each other – we should also show up for our college students. We need their energy and talent.
Win back their trust, and college enrollments will rise. Keep pushing them away, keep losing that trust, and we will lose more tax revenue than any low rent casino or high tech boondoggle could ever bring in.
Revolutions in Communication by Prof. Kovarik is a critically acclaimed survey of media history, with a third edition published in 2025. It is the story of the printers, reporters, photographers, filmmakers, advertisers, PR practitioners, broadcasters, computer geeks, and all the rebels and visionaries who were ahead of their times, who led the times, and who created The Times. The book is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from the publisher, Bloomsbury. For more information, see The book's web site.
Mass Media & Environmental Conflict with Mark Neuzil, published by Sage in 1996, is an award-winning history about the process of social change embodied in the news coverage of issues like smoke abatement, millenary massacres, wilderness preservation and leaded gasoline. The book is an historical exploration of the long forgotten history of the conservation movement through mass media as well as a critical examination of the media’s role in fostering social change.