Thursday, June 19, 2008
DGIF problems date to 1973
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: Structural problems and accountability -- or lack of it -- at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries date to 1973 and a Virginia Senate management study, sponsored by Roanoke's William B. Hopkins Sr.
The Hopkins Commission, as the study became to be known, essentially recommended formation of Virginia's current cabinet form of government. At the time, nearly 40 agencies answered to their own independent boards.
The Hopkins Commission recommended that these be brought into the voters' line of fire by placing them under jurisdiction of the governor, and there most of them remain to this day.
Four agencies -- the Virginia Retirement System, the State Council on Higher Education, the Division of Marine Sciences, and DGIF -- were successful in lobbying the House and Senate in retaining their independence, thus remaining, basically, answerable to no one. This, in my estimation, is the Genesis of this trouble.
B.D.
BILL: I haven’t seen Bob Hutchinson’s fishing report recently. Is he still compiling it?
P.C.
P.C. Yes. Hutch, as most people call Bob, does a weekly report for the Cherrystone Campground on the Eastern Shore. It is one of the best reports you will find, because of Bob’s vast experience. He was outdoor editor of The Virginian-Pilot for years and in his retirement spends a lot of time at Cherrystone. Look for his report at cherrystoneva.com under “Hutch’s Fishing.”
BILL
