Author: JohnS
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Verizon Decision Leaves Powhatan with Tough Internet Choices
By John Szczesny “How they heck can we get broadband internet?” That’s the question being asked in rural Powhatan County, where officials earlier this month held a meeting with frustrated residents living without a vital connection to the world around them. Cable never came to these folks; their neighborhoods weren’t densely settled enough to suit…
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Cycling Rolls through Chesterfield, but Will it Reach the Finish Line?
By John Szczesny It’s official, maybe: 360 new miles of bike paths and trails in Chesterfield County. Whether the plan endorsed this week by the Board of Supervisors in a 3-2 vote ever gets funded (and built) remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt cycling advocates scored a big victory. Given county staff’s initial…
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Striking a Balance on Municipal Broadband
by John Szczesny Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes… towards municipal broadband, that is. As officials in the Roanoke Valley move forward with plans for a municipal fiber network the state of North Carolina is busy suing the FCC to prevent its local governments from doing the same. To be fair, municipal broadband is no…
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No Easy Route on the Jeff Davis Highway
by John Szczesny Kudos to the Richmond Times-Dispatch for putting a human face on Chesterfield County’s plan to revitalize the Jefferson Davis Highway corridor. The RTD’s Pathway to Poverty feature is a sobering look at how poverty and homelessness have made life a daily struggle for so many in the area. It also begs the…