THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502180483
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
The people may have spoken, but they probably didn't know what they were speaking about, two Virginia Beach senators argued Friday.
So they might have to speak again.
Plans to divide Virginia Beach into seven equal councilmanic wards - and elect a City Council member from each one - were stalled in the legislature Friday. The panel instead passed a bill ordering a second referendum to ask voters if they like the plan.
The new bill still must be approved by the House of Delegates.
At issue was a May 1994 referendum in which Virginia Beach voters approved a plan to create seven council districts with each one electing its own council member. The plan passed with 53 percent of the vote.
Virginia Beach Sens. Kenneth W. Stolle and Clarence A. Holland say voters might have misunderstood the question, however. So the duo quashed a bill that would have changed the city's charter and put the plan into effect.
Stolle and Holland amended the bill so the makeup of the council would be put to the voters again.
``This is simply a matter that needs verification,'' said Holland, a Democrat. ``We've done this before, and it won't be any difficulty to do it again.''
The amendment would put two questions on a May 1996 ballot: Should the city's seven councilmanic boroughs be redrawn to make them the same size, and should each district get its own seat elected by its own voters?
Stolle, a Republican, said many voters thought they were voting simply for equal-sized districts last year and did not realize they had approved a ward system of representation.
In a rare public disagreement over local affairs, Stolle and Holland sparred briefly with other Hampton Roads senators who called it presumptuous not to heed the message of the voters.
``None of us know exactly what the voters are thinking,'' said Sen. Mark L. Earley, R-Chesapeake, whose district covers part of Virginia Beach.
Also Friday, the Senate approved a bill making it illegal to molest dead human bodies. Members were quick to make it illegal when they learned it was not.
The bill sparked a reluctant debate Friday when senators had to amend one critical flaw - it did not specify that coroners and morticians would not be guilty of molestation.
Other action Friday included:
The Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services voted 9-6 to advance a House of Delegates bill that would allow private stores to sell low-alcohol beverages now sold only at state-run liquor stores.
The Senate voted 39-0 to pass a House bill that would give mining companies a subsidy of up to 60 cents for every ton of coal they mine. If the House approves an amendment, the bill will go to the governor.
The Senate voted 34-5 to pass a House bill that would make causing a telephone or digital pager to ring ``with the intent to annoy'' a crime. If the House approves an amendment, the bill will go to the governor.
The House voted 70-27 to approve a minor Senate amendment to a bill that would heighten penalties for a second or subsequent conviction of blocking access to an abortion clinic. The bill now goes to the governor. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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