Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 28, 1994 TAG: 9409280054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Synapse13 spoke out against Gov. George Allen's proposal to abolish parole.
And JohnD70706 said the state should stop "shafting" federal retirees and hand over the checks they deserve.
These Virginians didn't wait around for someone to organize a public hearing. They didn't spend a cent on postage. In some cases, they didn't even leave their homes. But they made their views known, logging on to America Online under their user names and posting public messages.
Some call it the information superhighway. More simply, it's democracy made easy; and last week, the concept came home.
On Thursday, Virginia quietly became the fourth state in the nation to set up computer access to government information and establish a forum for citizens' comments. Following the lead of Massachusetts, Michigan and Utah, state officials negotiated with America Online, a Virginia-based computer information services company, which will offer Virginia Online as a part of its listings.
"Virginians can now log on and download all kinds of information, like the speech that the governor made to the legislature last week, information about historical sites and even various types of road maps," said Melissa Herring, spokeswoman for the governor.
Although it has been up and running since Thursday, the service was not unveiled officially until the Virginia State Fair on Tuesday.
"It is my pleasure to welcome Virginia Online as a new service for the commonwealth," Gov. George Allen said. "Virginia Online will allow for greater citizens' participation and access to their state government."
Users will find three features on line: the Virginia Forum, which allows them to browse news releases, events calendars and fact sheets; the Download Library, where larger documents, such as speeches and employment listings, can be copied; and the message board, a public forum where they can voice and exchange ideas on various issues. A fourth feature, e-mail to the governor's office, is in the planning stages.
So far, more than 25 state agencies have provided information on-line, Herring said, and more ideas are pouring in.
"We're the baby, the newest state to try this," said Richard Olsen, director of the Department of Information Technology. "Every day we're getting new information from state agencies that we are trying to format and get on line."
Considering the low-key beginning, the response has been impressive. In the first five days, a Virginian logged in and downloaded information once every 25 minutes, Olsen said, and the public message forum received 123 messages.
"I spoke with America Online, and their sense is that, since ours went up, Virginia is the hottest forum of any of them," Olsen said.
The most popular topics for citizen feedback have been parole reform and the proposed Disney theme park.
"I had one man - a disabled veteran from Roanoke - send me a message while I was logged on to to say thanks. He was confined to his home," Olsen said. "We just opened the doors of state government to him."
The state is responsible for maintaining and updating Virginia Online, but it did not have to pay to set up the service, Herring said.
America Online subscribers can access Virginia Online by typing "Virginia" in the keyword field.
For subscription information, contact America Online at (800)827-6364. The company charges $9.95 for the first five hours each month and $3.50 for each additional hour. Nonsubscribers can send a message to the public forum via e-mail VaGovROaol.com, but cannot access Virginia Online directly.
by CNB