Norfolk judge unanimously confirmed for bench

Norfolk federal public defender Arenda Wright Allen was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia. She was recommended by Virginia Senators Webb and Warner and is the first African American woman so appointed in the state.

Post poll: support for gay marriage, adoption

The Washington Post has released more data from its recent poll of 1,180 adults in Virginia. The results are hardly surprising: 47% are in favor of gay marriage and 55% are in favor of gay couples being able to adopt. As Waldo Jaquith points out, it is the younger people who are making the difference. … Continue reading Post poll: support for gay marriage, adoption

Daily Press: eliminate constitutional offices

Making the same arguments that I have for some time now, the editorial board of the Daily Press has come out in favor of eliminating constitutional officers. ... stop electing this [commissioner of the revenue] job and make it a staff position in the county finance department, where it — and the treasurer — belong.Every … Continue reading Daily Press: eliminate constitutional offices

Voter information costs

The weekend of April 30-May 1, I was in Blacksburg, attending the League of Women Voters state convention. Among the attendees and the speakers of the convention was Elisabeth MacNamara, national president of the LWV. In her workshop Saturday morning, MacNamara cited information costs as one of the reasons people don't vote. In my op-ed … Continue reading Voter information costs

Site notes

I have been trying for several months to find a theme for the blog. In particular, I wanted one that had the author's name listed at the top of the post. Many of the themes here at wordpress.com assume a single blogger, which was fine when it was just me. But that's no longer the … Continue reading Site notes

Friday fun: where do you fit?

An interesting quiz from Pew Research. Although I didn't agree with most of the choices 100% (things are generally more nuanced than the quiz makes out), I'm not surprised with the result 😉   Solid Liberals 14% of the public What They Believe Strongly pro-government and very liberal on a broad range of issues Very … Continue reading Friday fun: where do you fit?