(6/4) PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION INVITED: THE
ARMY WILL BE HOLDING PUBLIC FORUMS
in connection with "Section 106" of
federal historic preservation law
on Saturday, June 7, 10 A.M. in
Hampton at the Hampton
Roads Convention Center and on the
evenings of June 12 in
Richmond and June 13 in
Washington. Please come
out, and please ask others to do so as
well. It is not necessary to comment
at the meeting, though the Army will
welcome it. The Army will also be
welcoming comments by e-mail until
July 7 -- and we will soon offer a
report and recommendations about that.
(5/29) PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION INVITED: THE
ARMY WILL BE HOLDING PUBLIC FORUMS in
connection with "Section 106" of federal historic
preservation law on Saturday, June 7, 10 A.M. in
Hampton and on the evenings of June 12 in Richmond
and June 13 in Washington. (More information
coming; the Section 106 process is legalistic and
complicated, but it's important -- and the key
truths are simple.) CITIZENS FOR
A FORT MONROE NATIONAL PARK WILL BE COMMENTING
SOON ABOUT THESE IMPORTANT PUBLIC DELIBERATIONS
INVOLVING FORT MONROE'S
ACTUAL OWNERS: YOU. IF
YOU ARE NOT ON OUR E-MAILING LIST -- WHICH WE
SHARE WITH NOBODY AND WHICH WE ONLY USE
OCCASIONALLY -- PLEASE CONSIDER
SIGNING UP. Thanks.
(5/29) TWO BRIEF TV NEWS
REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE: Mike
Gooding's
report
from Channel 13 and Dan Rubin's from
Channel 3, which you get by scrolling through
the video offerings near the top right of
their
home page.
(Please note that in Dan's report, one line
may possibly mislead: "The fort does hold
great potential as a tourist destination and a
moneymaker, and for some, that's still the
problem." In case there's any
misunderstanding, Citizens for a Fort Monroe
National Park in fact advocates a
self-sustaining national park, innovatively
structured to provide a substantial revenue
stream and to stimulate the region's economy
in multiple ways. We want
to see money made -- to pay for a Grand Public
Place, but not to enrich developers. We think
the reference was actually to developers, but
the point is a crucial one to clarify.)
(5/27) CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE
KEITH HUMMEL STRONGLY ENDORSES NATIONAL PARK
CONCEPT. Dr. Hummel, of Virginia's First
District, responded to an e-mail query from CFMNP,
and in quoting it below, we inserted the red font.
He wrote:
As a former Naval Flight Surgeon and strong
proponent of historic preservation I consider Ft.
Monroe to be a National Treasure.
I would strongly
support Ft. Monroe's designation as a National Park.
I am in favor of a development plan which provides
initial federal funding but ultimately leads to a
self sustaining entity.
Ft. Monroe is indeed a national treasure on the
order of the Presidio. The taxpayers of the United
States have been the stewards of Ft. Monroe for
centuries and as such deserve nothing less than the
perpetual enjoyment of the entire facility.
Please let me know how I might help insure that
the full measure of historic, scenic, recreational
and environmental aspects of Ft. Monroe are enhanced
and preserved for all Virginians and Americans.
Regards
Keith Hummel M.D.
Democratic Nominee, 1st Congressional District of
Virginia
(5/22) SEE NORFOLK PBS STATION'S FT MONROE
DOCUMENTARY online. A
27-minute masterpiece.
(5/22) PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION INVITED:
* FT MONROE AUTHORITY MEETING, WEDNESDAY,
MAY 28, 1 to 4 P.M., Bay Breeze Center,
Ft Monroe (agenda).
* Also on Wednesday, May 28:
PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FT MONROE AUTHORITY'S
"REUSE PLAN," 6:30 P.M., Bay Breeze Center, Ft
Monroe. Links to the Reuse Plan's
Introduction and other sections appear in
the left column on the Fort Monroe Authority's
home
page. Public comments will be gathered
through June 11.
* THE ARMY WILL BE HOLDING PUBLIC FORUMS
in connection with "Section 106" of federal historic
preservation law on Saturday, June 7, 10 A.M. in Hampton
and on the evenings of June 12 in Richmond and June 13
in Washington. (More information coming; the Section 106
process is legalistic and complicated, but it's
important -- and the key truths are simple.)
CITIZENS FOR A FORT MONROE NATIONAL
PARK WILL BE COMMENTING SOON ABOUT THESE IMPORTANT
PUBLIC DELIBERATIONS INVOLVING
FORT MONROE'S ACTUAL OWNERS: YOU. IF
YOU ARE NOT ON OUR E-MAILING LIST -- WHICH WE SHARE WITH
NOBODY AND WHICH WE ONLY USE OCCASIONALLY -- PLEASE
CONSIDER
SIGNING UP.
Thanks.
(5/11) DAILY
PRESS EDITORS CALL FOR SENSIBLE PREPARATIONS FOR SEA-LEVEL
RISE AT FT MONROE: They write, "It doesn't make sense
to put in place anything that's likely to be at risk in
another generation." Please see the May 11 entry at
Articles & op-eds.
(5/10) KEY
CONSERVATION GROUP, WETLANDS WATCH, CALLS FOR SENSIBLE
PREPARATIONS FOR SEA-LEVEL RISE, including
at Fort Monroe: "The whole low-lying coastal system along the
Chesapeake Bay shoreline is going under water ... [including
at] Old Point Comfort." Please see
the May 10 entry at
Articles & op-eds.
(4/29) HERE
ARE THE
DATES OF FUTURE FT MONROE AUTHORITY MEETINGS.
(4/27) PUBLIC
INVITED: ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP HEARING, THURSDAY, MAY 1, at
the Bay Breeze Community Center, 490 Fenwick Road,
Fort Monroe, 6 P.M. According to the Daily Press, there'll be "an
opportunity to see and comment on a plan and timeline" and "Fort
Monroe's environmental chief, Jennifer Guerrero, will discuss a
draft version of the cleanup strategy and [the] proposed timeline."
\(4/22) PUBLIC
INVITED: FORT MONROE AUTHORITY MEETING, MONDAY, APRIL 28, at
the Bay Breeze Community Center, 490 Fenwick Road,
Fort Monroe, 1 P.M. Agenda.
(See also the dates
of future meetings, May through December.)
(4/13) DEVELOP, DEVELOP ...
Henry Collar of Newport News published this Daily Press letter to the
editor: "I must put in my two cents. Fort Monroe, Deep Creek,
Buckroe and others. No one wants to listen to the everyday
person-on-the-street. I may be way off base here, but these areas all
have a very high 'curb appeal' that any developer would just love to get
their hands on to make a sizable personal fortune –– with no real value
to the average citizen on the Peninsula. But who am I? I just live here
and have seen this happen time and time again."
(3/19) FORT MONROE AUTHORITY MEETING, FRIDAY, MARCH 21, BAY
BREEZE CENTER, 1 P.M., PUBLIC INVITED.
Agenda
(2/18)
PLEASE WRITE TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE as requested and
explained in the Feb. 18
update message that went to everyone on our e-mail update list (and
please join our e-mail
list if you are not already receiving occasional update messages).
(2/8) FORT
WOOL A CONTINUING STEWARDSHIP CHALLENGE FOR HAMPTON, some of
whose leaders -- ready to place city taxpayers at risk -- nevertheless
aspire to some sort of city stewardship of Fort Wool's many-times-bigger
sister, Fort Monroe. Please see Feb. 8 at
Articles & op-eds.
(2/6) WHRO TV-15's FORT MONROE
DOCUMENTARY "KINGDOM BY THE
SEA," a
27-minute masterpiece, is available
online. At
Citizens
for a Fort Monroe National Park,
we believe it's a must-see for anybody
who cares even remotely about Fort
Monroe or the history of liberty itself.
ALSO, do you know anybody to
send to
its Friday, Feb. 29 New
York International Independent Film &
Video Festival screening?
It's important for Fort Monroe for this
film to get noticed nationally.
(1:50 P.M. at the ImaginAsian Theatre,
239 East 59th St. between 2nd and 3rd
Avenues on the Upper East Side.)
(2/4) FORT MONROE AUTHORITY
MEETS IN RICHMOND, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13,
1-3:30 P.M. at the Science Museum of
Virginia, 2500 West Broad Street. (Directions) (Agenda)
(2/1) WHRO
TV-15's FORT MONROE DOCUMENTARY "KINGDOM BY THE SEA," a
27-minute masterpiece, is available
online. At Citizens for a
Fort Monroe National Park, we believe it's a must-see
for anybody who cares even remotely about Fort Monroe or the history of
liberty itself. It was shown at the
New York
International Independent Film & Video Festival and will
also appear at Cannes.
(1/23) RICHMOND
TIMES-DISPATCH REPORTS ON FORT MONROE. Please
see Jan. 23 at
Articles & op-eds.
(1/23) HALF-HOUR RADIO INTERVIEW WITH
CFMNP's
Steve Corneliussen, 6:30 A.M. this Sunday,
Jan. 27, on FM stations Eagle 97.3, 92.9 The
Wave and 100.5 Max FM, and also on 1310 ESPN
AM. (We'll try to post the audio
afterwards.)
(1/20) RALEIGH NEWS AND OBSERVER
COLUMNIST CALLS FOR A FORT MONROE NATIONAL
PARK. Please see Jan. 20 at
Articles & op-eds.
(1/20) ARMY "SECTION 106"
MEETING OPEN TO PUBLIC, Thursday, Jan.
24, 1 to 4 P.M., Bay Breeze Community Club,
Fort Monroe. The Army has announced three
themes that citizens have emphasized by
far the most in public responses: no
development or privatization, make it a
national park, and protect the landmark
(i.e., the National Historic Landmark, which
is nearly all of the post, not just the
moated fortress). Agenda
(1/7) CITIZENS FOR A FORT MONROE
NATIONAL PARK PRESIDENT H. O. MALONE REBUTS
PRESIDIO CRITICISMS from
a Dec. 20 Daily Press letter to the editor.
(1/5&6) THREE DAILY PRESS ARTICLES
ON THE FT MONROE CLOSURE-COSTS FIASCO.
The
fiasco shows yet again that the common-sense
solution is to transition Fort Monroe to a
Grand Public Place having not only
revenue-producing assets but lots of green
space -- green space that doesn't cost a
large chunk of a billion taxpayer dollars to
clean up, as it would for the financially
unnecessary development that some advocate.
Please see Jan. 5 & 6 at
Articles & op-eds.
(1/5) HAMPTON CITIZEN'S OP-ED
CRTICIZES LOSS OF PUBLIC ACCESS TO
WATERFRONT -- a vivid reminder that
the stakes at Fort Monroe are not just about
history. Please see Jan. 5 at
Articles & op-eds.
(1/5) THE ARMY WANTS YOUR OPINION ABOUT
GUIDELINES FOR FORT MONROE'S FUTURE. The
deadline is Jan. 9. It doesn't take long.
You can do it by e-mail. It really matters.
Please see the Jan. 5 entry at the
Updates
archive. Thanks.
(1/1) ANOTHER LETTER ADVOCATES
NATIONAL PARK. Please see Jan. 1 at
Articles & op-eds --
and please see below on this home page about
submitting your own letter to the editor.
(12/13) GOVERNMENT COST ESTIMATE FOR
CLOSING FORT MONROE SUDDENLY QUADRUPLES.
WHY? What are the chances for
further increases?The Daily Press (please see
the Dec. 13 entry at
Articles & op-eds)
was unable to find out from Brian J. Lepore of
the Government Accountability Office. Most
unclear is the cost of environmental and
ordnance cleanup. Still, government
estimates continue to say that closing Fort
Monroe as planned will still save taxpayers
lots of money in the long run. But here's a
question that ought to be asked more often: Why
are we apparently planning to spend perhaps
many hundreds of millions of federal dollars
to clean up the post for development that is
inappropriate anyway? Surely it costs far less
to ensure the safety of land that is not going
to be built upon. So why not instead use just
a fraction of that federal money to cover
transition costs en route to making Fort
Monroe into a grand public place with lots of
green space, under some sort of permanent
federal stewardship?
(12/12) FRIDAY, DEC. 14, 1 P.M.: FORT
MONROE AUTHORITY ("FMFADA") MEETS AT RUPERT
SARGENT BUILDING, 1 FRANKLIN STREET, DOWNTOWN
HAMPTON. The public is welcome to
attend and to comment. (Agenda)
(12/7) VIRGINIAN-PILOT
REPORTS OVER 150 FROM AROUND TIDEWATER ATTENDED NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PUBLIC MEETING
-- and Sabine Hirschauer of the Daily Press published a comprehensive article.
(12/6) WAVY TV-10's
OREN LIEBERMANN aired a nice interview piece about the Dec. 6 meeting where
National Park Service officials and over 130 people from around Tidewater engaged
in a discussion of the possibilities for a Fort Monroe National
Park. (See the 2-minute
video at WAVY.com.)
(12/6) WHY WERE THE DAILY PRESS EDITORS SO GLOOMY ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE'S
MEETING? Please see Dec. 3 at Articles &
op-eds for an annotated version of a gloomy editorial about the
Dec. 6 National Park Service meeting, which ended up drawing over 130 people from around
Tidewater to discuss a possible Fort Monroe National Park. The discussion turned out to justify
the kind of enthusiasm CFMNP's Scott Butler had
brought to the topic in his very brief Daily Press op-ed -- Dec. 1 at Articles &
op-eds.
(12/4) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WILL HEAR CITIZENS ON FT MONROE'S FUTURE: Please
see CFMNP's Scott Butler's very brief Dec. 1 Daily
Press op-ed at Articles & op-eds
-- and please attend and speak up at the National Park Service's public
meeting, 6:30 P.M., Thursday, Dec. 6, at the Northampton Community Center, located
directly behind Jefferson Davis Middle School. (Get detailed directions.) Now
is the time for Americans in general -- Fort Monroe's actual owners, from across Tidewater and
elsewhere -- to make plain that a self-sustaining Fort Monroe National Park
is the answer, not only for the financial enrichment sought by Hampton, but for wider general
enrichment in multiple senses starting with the financial one. CFMNP's
Louis Guy has offered some additional
thoughts concerning the meeting.
(12/3) PUZZLING: DAILY PRESS EDITORS GLOOMY ABOUT NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MEETING.
Please see Dec. 3 at Articles & op-eds.
(11/25) WASHINGTON
POST CARRIES FORT MONROE OP-ED by Steve Corneliussen of
Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park:
Park-in-Waiting That Needs a Push. The
piece asks people to voice their opinions at the Army's public forum on
Thursday, Nov. 29, starting at 6 p.m., at the National Trust for
Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington.
(11/25) THE
ARMY WANTS YOUR FT MONROE OPINIONS at a public forum on Thursday, Nov. 29, starting at 6
p.m., at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington -- or
you can comment by e-mail any time before January 9 at monr.106public@us.army.mil .
Participation by Fort Monroe's true friends is crucial. Section 106 of federal
historic-preservation law does not empower the Army to dictate in detail what's to be done
with post-Army Fort Monroe, but it does empower the Army to set general guidelines. At
CFMNP, we believe the most important point to be made to the Army about
those general guidelines is this: In fashioning Fort Monroe's future, we must respect the fact that
all of Fort Monroe, not just the moated fortress, is a
National Historic Landmark. For more information, please see the BRAC link
at www.monroe.army.mil.
(11/14) RICHMOND
TIMES-DISPATCH CARRIES FORT MONROE OP-ED by Steve Corneliussen of Citizens
for a Fort Monroe National Park: National
Treasure Needs Richmond Voices for Preservation.
(11/2) WVEC TV-13's MIKE
GOODING ASKS CANDIDATES ABOUT FORT MONROE. Either Tricia Stall or John Miller will join
not only the Virginia Senate, but the panel deciding Fort Monroe's future. In brief sound
bites, Mrs. Stall warns energetically about the threat of inappropriate development, while Mr.
Miller advocates awaiting re-use study results. (Note: While it must be said that Mike
Gooding stands out among journalists in treating Fort Monroe as a serious issue, it must be noted that
his question factually misrepresented what's historic at Fort Monroe. The entire post,
not just the moated fortress, was designated a National Historic Landmark a half-century ago.)
(10/31) WHRO TV-15's FORT
MONROE DOCUMENTARY "KINGDOM BY THE SEA," a 27-minute masterpiece,
is now available online. At
Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, we believe it's
a must-see for anybody who cares even remotely about Fort Monroe, the history of liberty, American
history, or Tidewater Virginia.
(10/31) SEN. JIM WEBB SEEKS
"DIRECTION" FROM "LOCAL OFFICIALS" CONCERNING FORT MONROE. On Cathy
Lewis's noontime talk show "HearSay" today on 89.5 FM from Norfolk, Dr. H. O. Malone, president
of Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, phoned in to
ask Virginia Sen. Jim Webb a question. (Read
more)
(10/27) OLD POINT COMFORT, FT
MONROE, THE SLAVERY ERA, AMERICAN HISTORY: Please see CFMNP's
Scott Butler's Oct. 27 Daily Press op-ed at Articles &
op-eds.
(10/23) SARA PICCINI'S LATEST FORT
MONROE ARTICLE covers the Oct. 15 premiere and panel discussion of the WHRO documentary. Please see
Oct. 23 at Articles & op-eds.
(10/23) THE ARMY WANTS
YOUR FT MONROE OPINIONS at public meetings: Hampton
Oct. 30, Norfolk Nov. 8, Richmond
Nov. 15, Washington Nov. 29. Participation by Fort
Monroe's true friends is crucial, and CFMNP believes the most important point for you to make at the
meetings is this: In fashioning Fort Monroe's future, we must respect the fact that all
of Fort Monroe, not just the moated fortress, is a National Historic Landmark. Details
(10/23) WHRO's FORT
MONROE DOCUMENTARY "KINGDOM BY THE SEA" WILL AIR THREE TIMES THIS WEEK. The
half-hour film gives many from across the commonwealth a chance to speak about post-Army Fort
Monroe. On WHRO-TV15 and WHRO HD 15.1, it will air on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at
8:30 P.M., again on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 9:30 P.M., and yet again on Sunday,
Oct. 28, at 2:00 P.M.
(10/21) THE ARMY INVITES YOU TO A "SECTION
106" MEETING
ON TUESDAY, OCT. 23 from 1 to 4 at the Bay Breeze Center at Fort Monroe. (Please note that
this is not the same as the Fort Monroe Authority meeting on Monday, Oct. 22.) The main topic is the Draft
Programmatic Agreement. Please see also our announcement
about directly related Army meetings coming up soon for the public.
(10/14) "FORT MONROE
UNDER ATTACK" CFMNP's Steve Corneliussen has inserted
annotations into our copy
of the Daily Press's article on Fort Monroe as a Virginia senate campaign issue. See also Steve's
summary of
the campaign mailer in question.
(10/11) SIERRA CLUB DISCUSSION OF
HAMPTON'S COASTLINES. The public is invited. Sandy Bottom Nature Park, 7:00-8:30
p.m., Wednesday, October 17. The areas to be discussed are Fort Monroe, Buckroe Beach, White Marsh and
Grandview. Among the questions: How can citizens help ensure protection in the face of pressures from
development? See the Sierra Club's announcement.
(10/7) WHRO's FORT MONROE
DOCUMENTARY "KINGDOM BY THE SEA" WILL AIR THREE TIMES IN OCTOBER. The half-hour film gives
many from across the commonwealth a chance to speak about post-Army Fort Monroe. On
WHRO-TV15 and WHRO HD 15.1, it will air on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 8:30 P.M., again
on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 9:30 P.M., and yet again on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2:00
P.M. The public is invited to a premiere showing and a panel discussion with audience Q&A at
7:30 P.M. on Monday, Oct. 15, at the American Theater in Phoebus, the section of Hampton next to Fort
Monroe. Admission is free, but seating is limited, so WHRO asks that you register in advance. See WHRO's
announcement; see also CFMNP's
Sept. 29 announcement in our Updates
archive.
(10/7) PRESIDIO EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR CRAIG MIDDLETON WILL SPEAK AT THE OCT. 22 FORT MONROE AUTHORITY ("FADA") MEETING. Agenda
(9/30) THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF CHESAPEAKE
BAY MAGAZINE is well worth finding because of Paul Clancy's fine feature article on Fort Monroe. It's
better to see the actual magazine because of the equally fine photos by Steve Earley, but the main
text, with sidebar texts appended, is easy to find on the Web via the "Past
Table of Contents" link.
(9/19) THE COAST ARTILLERY CORPS CENTENARY
CELEBRATION at Fort Monroe, Oct. 6 & 7, will offer living history interpretations and hands-on
experiences. Free admission. Read more.
(9/4) PUBLIC
WELCOME TO ATTEND -- AND SPEAK AT -- FORT MONROE
AUTHORITY MEETING, Thursday, Sept. 20, from 1 to 4
at the Bay Breeze Center at Fort Monroe. See the agenda.
(8/29) ON CATHY LEWIS'S
"HEARSAY," FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR L. DOUGLAS WILDER DISCUSSED FORT MONROE WITH TWO KEY
AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL LEADERS: Gerri Hollins, who presides over the Contraband Historical Society
(and is a vice president of Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park), and Sheri
Bailey, who leads efforts for Juneteenth, the annual celebration of slavery's end. Gov. Wilder expressed no
opinion about what Fort Monroe should come to look like, but he emphasized that in his view, the post should remain
completely in the hands of its owners, the public. And he agreed that the Contraband story should be a
major American memory instead of a little-known one. The local NPR broadcast on 89.5 FM later included
some discussion with CFMNP's
Steve Corneliussen about the proposal for a Historic Quadrangle
having a Civil War component made up of Fort Monroe augmented by the Mariners' Museum's Monitor Center. For a link
to four brief audio segments, please see our Multimedia
page for August 29.
(Also: You might want to read the report
and analysis that Steve Corneliussen wrote about this radio discussion.)
(8/20) A CHARLOTTESVILLE RADIO TALK SHOW
HAS HOSTED AND POSTED THREE INTERVIEWS -- SO FAR -- ABOUT FORT MONROE. Please see our Multimedia
page for links to audio
* for June 26 with Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Preston Bryant, chair of the Fort Monroe
authority, who never once mentioned the national park option;
* for Aug. 13 with CFMNP's Steve Corneliussen, who pointed
out that omission and explained why and how it seems that the Kaine administration may very well have a
preconceived bias about developing Fort Monroe in a narrowly envisioned way, rather than treating it as a national
treasure and as a robust economic engine for Virginia's economy; and
* for Aug. 15, when Secretary Bryant briefly responded about the national park option, but ignored the other
questions from Aug. 13.
Note that you can post written comments at the pages where the audio is found. True friends of
Fort Monroe: in your postings, please encourage the Charlottesville radio host, Coy Barefoot, to continue conducting
the Fort Monroe conversation. He is leading in making Fort Monroe the wider issue that it ought to be.
(8/23) KAINE ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIAL TO DISCUSS THE GOVERNOR'S LAND CONSERVATION HOPES AT CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION PUBLIC MEETING IN NORFOLK on
Saturday, Sept. 8, at 8:30 A.M. at the Norfolk Wellness and Fitness Center, 7300 Newport Avenue. Will Deputy Secretary
of Natural Resources Nikki Rovner -- a close colleague of the Fort Monroe authority chairman -- engage the question of
conservation of Fort Monroe's threatened green space? Norfolk area friends of Fort Monroe can ask her about that during the
Q&A. Read more in the meeting announcement.
(8/22)
MONDAY, AUG. 27: PUBLIC WELCOME TO ATTEND AND TO COMMENT AT FORT MONROE AUTHORITY'S NEXT MEETING -- AT
THE HAMPTON CONVENTION CENTER, NOT AT FORT MONROE AS WE WERE PREVIOUSLY SUPPOSING. The meeting begins at 1
in Room 106 and, according to the agenda, is
scheduled to last three hours, with time at the beginning and again at the end for brief public comments. This will be a
good chance to tell authority members your views about Fort Monroe's post-Army future. The Hampton Convention Center is
easy to find, near I-64, next to the Hampton Coliseum.
(8/12) WHRO PUBLIC TELEVISION CHANNEL 15 FORT MONROE DOCUMENTARY COMPLETE; WILL
AIR IN OCTOBER. The half-hour film gives many from across the commonwealth a chance to speak. The film's
makers hope they have painted an impartial picture that nevertheless includes one huge bias, one with which all
already agree: Fort Monroe is an absolute treasure. More about this telecast when we know more.
(8/13) SECRETARY BRYANT INTERVIEWED ON CHARLOTTESVILLE RADIO: FORT
MONROE WILL DEFINE THE LEGACY OF GOVERNOR KAINE'S ADMINISTRATION. NUMBER OF SECRETARY BRYANT'S MENTIONS OF THE
NATIONAL PARK OPTION FOR THAT LEGACY IN THE 17-MINUTE INTERVIEW: ZERO. This would
be less alarming if the secretary, who chairs the Fort Monroe Authority that is mainly controlled by Governor Kaine, had
not recently referred to the Washington study of the national park option as an impediment blocking progress. Listen for
yourself via a link from our Multimedia page.
(7/31) PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRESIDENT
ABRAHAM LINCOLN THIS SUNDAY AT FORT NORFOLK.
Hear what President Lincoln, portrayed by renowned
interpreter George Buss, has to say about the Civil War
occupation of Norfolk, the war itself, and the
importance of Fort Monroe. Sponsored by The Norfolk
Historical Society and the Fort Monroe National
Park Foundation. Where: Fort Norfolk, 801 Front Street,
Norfolk. When: Sunday, Aug. 5 at 1:00 P.M. Free and open
to the public. Picture I.D. required to enter Fort Norfolk.
Read the press
release. Here's a map
to Fort Norfolk.
(7/30) THE 9th ANNUAL CONTRABAND
SLAVES MEMORIAL CELEBRATION is set for Aug. 11
and 12 from 1 to 4 P.M. at the First Baptist Church of
Hampton, 229 North King Street.
(7/24) FORT MONROE PLANNING PANEL MEETING OPEN TO PUBLIC AT
FORT MONROE ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 25. See the Fort
Monroe Federal Area Development Authority agenda. NOTE:
BECAUSE OF SUMMER VACATIONS AND A WEDDING, THE MAIN PAGE OF
THIS CFMNP.ORG WEB SITE NEEDS A BIT OF UPDATING, WHICH OUR
ALL-VOLUNTEER GROUP WILL BE DOING IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO.
(6/26) VIRGINIAN-PILOT HOSTS ONLINE FORT MONROE DISCUSSION. You
can visit their "guestbook"
and add your comments about the future of Fort Monroe.
(6/25) CFMNP
ran a newspaper advertisement
for the June 24, 2007, public reception at the Waterman's Museum in Yorktown.
(6/21) NATIONAL PARK RECONNAISSANCE STUDY
REQUESTED. The new state law about planning
post-Army Fort Monroe contains a paragraph
asking for a federal national park study. Virginia
Secretary of Natural Resources Preston Bryant, who chairs the
new "FMFADA" planning panel, has reflected that
paragraph's language in duly requesting that Congresswoman
Drake ask the Department of the Interior for the study to
start. You can read Secretary Bryant's letter
to Congresswoman Drake and her subsequent letter
to the secretary of the interior. Question for you, and
please send comments to Contact[[["at"
sign]]]CFMNP.org: Does Mrs. Drake's letter contain any actual
mention of the question of the prospects for national park
affiliation -- the phrasing from the Virginia law and from the
secretary's letter? To what extent does her letter seem
to portray the National Historic Landmark as merely the central
historic area, rather than as nearly the entire post, as in
fact is the case? To what extent does it portray the stakes at
Fort Monroe as being history only, rather than as history
intrinsically embedded in one of urban, coastal Virginia's
last big strategic opportunities to realize Governor
Kaine's hopes for more green space in the commonwealth?
NOTE: CONGRESSWOMAN DRAKE'S STAFF TOLD CFMNP
THAT THEY LATER FIXED THIS PROBLEM BY SENDING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AN
AFTERTHOUGHT ADDENDUM THAT INCLUDED BOTH THE NATIONAL PARK PARAGRAPH AND SECRETARY
BRYANT'S LETTER.
(6/19) HOW
ABOUT A HISTORIC QUADRANGLE? In a Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed piece marking the
"Juneteenth" celebration of the end of slavery, Citizens
for a Fort Monroe National Park's Steve Corneliussen argues that we have not properly
understood Fort Monroe's Civil War "Contraband" story, and that when we see it more clearly, we'll also see that
Fort Monroe has enormous importance in the history of freedom itself. The piece proposes that Virginia's Historic
Triangle should become a Historic Quadrangle having Fort Monroe as the fourth corner, linked with the Mariners'
Museum's Monitor Center. Please see June 19 at Articles
& op-eds.
(6/19) "FORT MONROE INCORPORATED? The state
development authority suggests that the key to Fort Monroe's future
is finding somebody to pay for it." So say the
headline and subheadline on a Daily Press news article that we've
posted at Articles
& op-eds. There's no mention of an idea
that state and national preservation leaders have endorsed: the
possibility of an innovatively self-sustaining national park along
the lines of San Francisco's Presidio. But then again, reporter Jim
Hodges is only being accurate, for the national park idea was
seldom mentioned at the June 18 meeting of the new
18-member Fort Monroe planning panel. That "development
authority" includes a disproportionate number of private
citizens from Hampton -- seven -- as well as five Kaine
administration officials. The panel contains zero
private-citizen members from outside Hampton -- and three of
the panel's four legislator members were absent. True
friends of Fort Monroe need to speak up now to insist on a fair and
comprehensive hearing for the national park option, in particular
its economic advantages over narrower visions.
(6/16) DELEGATE
TOM GEAR CALLS FORCEFULLY FOR A COMPLETELY OPEN FORT MONROE
PLANNING PROCESS in a Daily Press op-ed appearing on
the same opinion page with a nice letter from Adrian
Whitcomb, a steadfast friend of Fort Monroe. Please see the
June 16 entries at Articles
& op-eds.
(6/17) SuperFADA
MEETING DETAILED AGENDA:
The second Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority
(FMFADA) meeting will be held at the Bay Breeze Community Center
(490 Fenwick Road) at Fort Monroe on Monday, June 18, at 1:00 p.m.
The meeting is open to the media and general public. Access to the
base is available through the main gate, where visitors should be
prepared to produce a driver's license and vehicle registration to
enter. Note also that the FMFADA Bylaws
Subcommittee will meet at noon. That meeting too is open to
press and public.
(6/14) The National Trust for Historic
Preservation did not list Fort Monroe as one of America's Most Endangered Historic
Places, so we removed the following from the top of the home page, though the
"Read more" link remains live:
Old Point Comfort with
Fort Monroe has also been nominated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation
as one of America's Most Endangered Historic Places (Read
more)
(6/11) CHANNEL 13's MIKE GOODING INTERVIEWED CONGRESSWOMAN
DRAKE ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY requested in
a special
paragraph in the new state law about Fort Monroe. Please
see Multimedia to
watch this June 11 video segment. (NOTE PLEASE:
Mike Gooding does a great job reporting about Fort Monroe, but it
must be stipulated that the National
Historic Landmark comprises almost the entire post, not
just the moated stone fortress.)
(6/10) CHANNEL 15 WILL TELEVISE ITS FORT MONROE
DOCUMENTARY THIS FALL, NOT ON JUNE 20 AS THE STATION ANNOUNCED
EARLIER. More when we know more.
(6/6) HISTORY
TOURISM AS REGIONAL EFFORT? Why not make the Historic
Triangle into the Historic Quadrangle? Read
more.
(6/2) JAMESTOWN AND OLD POINT COMFORT WITH FT MONROE are
bookends in slave-era history, argues CFMNP's
Scott Butler in a Daily Press op-ed available via the June 2 link at
Articles & op-eds --
with a link as well to an interesting comment sent in by Mr. Calvin
Pearson of Hampton, who argues that evidence proves that the first ship
carrying Africans did not just stop at Point Comfort in 1619, but landed
there.
(5/30) PORT
FOLIO WEEKLY "SuperFADA" COVERAGE by Sara Piccini -- who
is, as has been said, a standard-setter when it comes to in-depth reporting
on Fort Monroe's future -- is available via the May 30 link at Articles
& op-eds.
(5/28) YOU
CAN READ THE BYLAWS
OF THE NEW FORT MONROE FEDERAL AREA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY --
a companion to the memorandum of agreement linked from the May 23 blurb
below. Please send observations and comments to Contact@CFMNP.org.
(5/26) DAILY
PRESS EDITOR DOWNPLAYS "MOST
ENDANGERED" STATUS AS "NOT SHOUTING NEWS." What's
your opinion about that? Read
more.
(5/23) A MEMORANDUM
OF AGREEMENT ("MOA") BETWEEN THE KAINE
ADMINISTRATION AND HAMPTON was hastily approved at Monday's
inaugural meeting of the newly reconstituted Fort Monroe Federal Area
Development Authority -- the SuperFADA. (For news about the SuperFADA
meeting itself, please see the May 22 entry at Articles
& op-eds, as well as another entry that will be posted in late
May when, as well as another entry that will be posted in late
May when, as well as another entry that will be posted in late
May when Port Folio Weekly runs Sara Piccini's report.) The
MOA is a lengthy agreement between Hampton and the Kaine administration,
crafted -- apparently somewhat painfully -- over the course of more
than a year. It's based on the continuing, unfortunate presumption
that Fort Monroe really belongs mainly to Hampton and not to its
actual owners -- all citizens. Though the MOA was not made
public or distributed before the meeting, its proponents insisted that it
be approved on the spot, even though panel members had not yet
read it. Will you please read it and send your
observations and comments to Contact@CFMNP.org?
Thanks.
(5/21) NEW
YORK TIMES PRAISES BUSH ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL PARK FUNDING REQUEST as "$208
million more than last year, and ... among the largest dollar
increases proposed in the agency’s 90-year history." Please
see May 21 at Articles
& op-eds.
(5/20) AGENDA
AND DIRECTIONS
FOR THE MONDAY, MAY 21, MEETING OF THE NEW PLANNING PANEL AT FT
MONROE from 1 to 4 in the Army Community
Services (ACS) Building 206. Please attend if you can, for as the agenda
implies, the same old unfortunate presumption could continue to
dominate: the presumption that
Fort
Monroe
is mainly
Hampton
's economic windfall, ripe for narrowly envisioned, short-term,
gated-community-without-the-gate planning. Also
unfortunately, the public comment period has been segregated to the very end,
so that citizens may not speak until after various
actions have already been taken. For example, the agenda calls for
approving a working agreement, apparently between the city and the Kaine
administration, that has not even been made public yet. Here's
another example, verbatim from the agenda: "Appoint subcommittee to
consider re-engagement of
Hampton
FADA consultants." It was those consultants who worked with a
parochial but powerful handful of Hamptonians last summer to promote transforming
potential Fort Monroe green space into a gated community without the gate,
despite the clear public desire for expansive green space and for an
economically strategic plan to boost the entire region for the long term.
Note, please, that to get onto the post, it is mandatory to have a valid
car registration and driver's license, and that it is wise to arrive way
before 1 o'clock, because the security folks at the gate can only process one
car at a time.
(5/19) PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR: CFMNP
TO HOLD "FRIENDS OF
FORT
MONROE
" EVENT JUNE 24, 4-6 P.M., AT WATERMAN'S
MUSEUM
ON
YORKTOWN
'S WATERFRONT. More information to come.
(5/18) SEN. WEBB ADVOCATES FORCEFULLY FOR CIVIL WAR SITES,
BUT REMAINS SILENT ON FORT MONROE
. As far as we know at CFMNP,
the senator has never commented substantively on Fort Monroe’s future. However, his comments
on Civil War battlefields from the April 18 Congressional Record
give hope that he will eventually support our patriotic national treasure. He
spoke of "sites [that] would have been lost forever to
commercial and residential development. Now they have been
protected for future generations to enjoy and learn about our Nation's
history. They are islands of green
space in a seemingly endless sea of commercial
sprawl." Calls to mind Fort Monroe,
doesn't it? So it's ironic, given
that the Civil War Preservation Trust has declared Fort Monroe at
risk, that this senator and war hero included the following in
his comments, but did not mention Fort Monroe: "Just last month, the
Civil War Preservation Trust released its list of the 10 most threatened
battlefield sites. Among them:
Gettysburg; Fort Morgan, Alabama; Marietta,
Georgia and three sites in the Commonwealth
of Virginia.
In 5 years there may be little left to protect." Indeed, Senator! Five
years from now is 2012, the year after the Army is slated to leave. So Citizens
for a Fort Monroe National Park respectfully requests that the senator
consider what leadership he can contribute toward ensuring that our
patriotic Civil War national treasure at Old Point Comfort -- green
space and all -- is treated with the
respect it deserves, and that it is substantially saved from, as he put it,
being "lost forever to commercial and residential development."
(5/17) DAILY PRESS
EDITORIALIZES ABOUT NEW PLANNING PANEL'S FIRST MEETING. Please see Articles
& op-eds.
(5/16) FT MONROE POST
COMMANDER EXCLUDES PRESS FROM PUBLIC MEETING. And the meeting was
important. At one point, attendees even discussed Hampton's renewed
insistence that somehow it was the public that actually called for last
year's plan to fill the potential green space at Fort Monroe with upscale
houses. In fact, that plan was produced by an out-of-state consulting firm
paid with federal money and acting on the instructions of a powerful handful
of Hamptonians. Concerning the public's actual wishes, please see Scott
Butler's first and second
white paper reports from 2006. Concerning Col. Jason Evans's exclusion of the
press from the recent meeting, please see Articles &
op-eds for May 16.
(5/15) ARMY
TO CELEBRATE CONTRABAND STORY, THURSDAY, MAY 24, 6 TO 8 P.M. AT FORT
MONROE, though without any involvement by the Contraband
Historical Society or its president, Gerri Hollins, who is also a vice
president of Citizens for a Fort Monroe
National Park. See an annotated
announcement.
(5/13) CONGRESSWOMAN
DRAKE'S BROCHURE
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RECONNAISSANCE
STUDY is great to see, though
it mistakenly calls only "a portion" of Fort Monroe a national
historic landmark. In fact, most of Old Point Comfort has carried that high
designation for half a century.
(5/11) READ A
PITHY RECENT LETTER
FROM MR. RALPH RUEDY OF STAUNTON TO CONGRESSWOMAN DRAKE.
(5/11) GOV. KAINE APPOINTS TWO TO NEW FORT MONROE PANEL: Catharine
M. Gilliam, Virginia Program Manager for the National Parks
Conservation Association, and Dr. Rex M. Ellis, Vice President
for the Historic Area at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The Senate
has added Hampton Sen. Mamie Locke to the panel as well. (Apparently
Speaker Howell has not yet named his appointee.) Please see Articles
& op-eds for a pair of May 10 news reports. A press
release quotes the governor
calling for "an economically sustainable future for
Fort
Monroe
that protects its special qualities." Precisely!
The release also says the panel "will hold its first meeting Monday,
May 21 at 1:00 p.m. ... at the Army Community Services Building 206
Conference Room at
Fort
Monroe
." According to the Virginian-Pilot, that meeting will be open to the
public.
(5/6) CFMNP
PRESIDENT H. O. MALONE'S RECENT LETTER "RETHINKING THE FUTURE OF FORT
MONROE" appears on our Vision for
Fort Monroe page.