Author: Vivian J. Paige

A former candidate, I've learned a lot about politics, both good and bad. I'd prefer more of the former and a lot less of the latter and I'm trying to do my part!

Civil disobedience in the face of tyranny

Virginia House Democrats participated in an act of civil disobedience today by refusing to vote on a bill that House Republicans brought to the floor even though its sponsor, Del. Adam Ebbin, had requested it be withdrawn. This behavior on the part of the majority resulted in a refusal by the minority to vote. Assembly … Continue reading Civil disobedience in the face of tyranny →

It’s the economy

I missed yesterday's Economic Club of Hampton Roads meeting - been fighting a cold for the past few days. The first part of the event is a presentation by the ODU Economic Forecasting Project. In it, the team presents its "scorecard," which compares the actual economic indicators to those projected by them for the previous … Continue reading It’s the economy →

Thursday update (01/24): Real estate tax relief

Weekly update of my legislative agenda issue. I've updated the bills for the most recent information publicly available. Note that committee reports for the last few days are not yet available. There is a report from the Virginian Pilot which says that a Senate subcommittee approved a 20% homestead exemption bill; however, the report does … Continue reading Thursday update (01/24): Real estate tax relief →

Wednesday update (01/23): restoration of voting rights

Weekly update of my legislative agenda issue. The only remaining bill on this issue, Del. Frank Hall's HJ182, was continued to 2009 in last Friday's meeting of the House Privileges and Elections Committee. As the result, there will be no more updates on this issue. Technorati Tags: Restoring felons right to vote

CNU survey part 2

The CNU Center for Public Policy released part 2 of its recent survey of Virginia voters. The poll of 700 registered voters was conducted January 8-10 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7%. The poll found: Most (56%) prefer to balance to budget by cutting spending without raising taxes or dipping into the … Continue reading CNU survey part 2 →

Senators reach bipartisan compromise on redistricting reform

As expected, the Senate Privileges and Elections subcommittee Constitutional Amendments, Reapportionment, Referenda met this morning and combined the four remaining bills on redistricting into one. The bill that survives is SB38, now patroned by Sens. Deeds, Cuccinelli, Howell and Stolle, and it will be heard by the full committee next Tuesday. From the press release: … Continue reading Senators reach bipartisan compromise on redistricting reform →

Tuesday update (01/22): Payday lending

Weekly update of my legislative agenda issue. There has been no action on any of the payday lending legislation I previously listed. According to The Daily Press, both sides of the debate were supposed to have had a meeting last Saturday to try to hash out some compromise. Of course, having the second largest payday … Continue reading Tuesday update (01/22): Payday lending →

Bill highlight: Massie’s HB1522 eliminates Dept

Del. Jimmie Massie (R-72) has submitted HB1522 that will eliminate the Department of Business Assistance. The bill would transfer the department's duties to the Economic Development Partnership. It seems to me that the only thing to be gained by such a move is that there will be one director instead of two. After all, the … Continue reading Bill highlight: Massie’s HB1522 eliminates Dept →

Harlem pastor endorses Hillary

The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president. The church is the oldest black church in New York and one of the oldest in the nation, having been founded some 200 years ago by Ethopian sea traders. According to reports, [1, 2] Rev. Butts received … Continue reading Harlem pastor endorses Hillary →