Gov.
Terry McAuliffe was in the wrong town at the right time last week
warning us that the apocalypse of a hurricane is imminent.
Terry
the Talker gabbed in Tabloid Town (Portsmouth) when he should have
bedazzled in Bipolar on the Bay (Norfolk).
If
a hurricane hits, bye, bye Norfolk.
At
a press conference, McAuliffe reminded us, once again, that he said
"I have always said it's not a question of 'if,' it is a
question of 'when.”
Every
governor for the past 15 years has used the same quip. Yes, we got it
Terry. If a hurricane hits, half of Hampton Roads will be wiped from
the data base of the Census Bureau. His
remarks were redundant, his warning even more redundant.
A
year ago Terry, a Clinton clone, ordered a study of Virginia's
hurricane preparation plans. The study recommended 50 improvements. In
the final analysis, evacuation isn't the major problem, emergency
shelters are the problem, the study noted.
Bear
with me, the end nears.
My
understanding is that it will take an hour or more for the Va Dept Of
Talking-heads to prepare for people to evacuate Norfolk. Prepare, not
leave. Imagine
thousands of cars and trucks waiting at the tunnels.
But
you have an option.
Escape
to Portsmouth. Now, before the mother of all hurricanes hits. If
Mayor Kenny Wright would stop posting on Facebook and firing everyone
and face reality, he would see the hurricane as a chance to redeem
himself and his city.
Escape
to Portsmouth, the slogan should say.
Not
Escape from Portsmouth, the slogan now
says.
Wright
couldn't block egress from the tunnels, but he could charge Norfolk
residents a fee to enter Portsmouth.
Portsmouth
could become the city of first refuge. Wright could sell or lease
city properties, or even some he owns, to refugees from Norfolk. High
St. would finally boom. He wouldn't have to worry about a recall, his
recall, because everyone would love him or pretend to love him.
Add
Tabloid Town's 96,000 residents to the 246,000 fleeing from Norfolk,
give or take a few thousand, and Portsmouth could challenge any city
in the region for dominance. It could be the capital of craft beer,
the Hottentot of hipsterdom, the Mecca of Millennials...
Instead
of the most dangerous city in which to live, Portsmouth could become
the most delightful city in which to live, work, play. Or People of Portsmouth can dream, can't they?
Kenny,
this could work.
Question
of the day:
Should
Portsmouth
City jail prisoners be isolated from the general population because
they have dreadlocks?