Henrico County becomes the "accommodating whipping boy for...media"

It's disappointing when some of us in the media think we know enough to turn those who actually do that for a living into a punching bag. On Nov. 22, a column by Michael Paul Williams in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD) strongly criticized the Henrico Board of Supervisors for turning down a rezoning request

"If the majority of the board stands accused of religious bigotry, they only have themselves to blame," he wrote.

Williams is beginning the drumbeats for others - including the media - to draw that conclusion.

His article also reports that he believes Henrico and Chesterfield counties are swapping positions, and now Henrico is becoming "an accommodating whipping boy for local media" because "its entrenched leadership grew stodgier and grumpier." We agree that Chesterfield used to be a "whipping boy" for the RTD and occasionally for Style Weekly, but most of the media in town just report the news and don't try to shape what people think through commentaries and editorials.

To buttress his case against Henrico, Williams left out salient facts: both the Henrico Planning Commission and the county planning department recommended denial of the rezoning. Their recommendations came because the 3.2-acre site is in the county's comprehensive plan for an office building. Having an approved plan complicates Williams' narrative, and the omission misleads his readers. In both e-mail and voicemail we asked Williams why he left out those relevant facts, but we got no response. We asked if he has any expertise in land use and zoning, but again, no answer.

Williams also criticized Henrico for changing its mailing address from Richmond zip codes but left out that the voters approved that action. Some $5 million of Henrico tax revenue annually was headed to Richmond coffers because of zip code confusion, and Williams tends to lean toward those things that benefit the city of Richmond. Chesterfield is headed in the same zip code direction, so we should expect a future column from him.

Williams also accused Henrico of withdrawing from the region when it declined to support a regional transportation effort. Late last month, Chesterfield, pointing toward today's uncertain financial outlook, withdrew also, saying now is not the time to raise taxes for roads.

One has to wonder if Henrico is in the RTD doghouse because of the county's recent refusal not to allow the RTD to sell newspapers curbside along county roads. Reportedly, that ordinance outlawing the hawking of newspapers from the median strip means 1,000 fewer papers sell each Sunday at a time when dailies everywhere are fighting to stem the loss of circulation.

Williams calls the rezoning denial "a PR disaster," or at least he seems on making it one. Being a proponent for diversity is a good thing except when you use your column as a club when it's not deserved.