The Virginia Coalition for Open Government recently reviewed how many clicks it takes for a citizen to get to the budget on his or her locality's website. It seems few make the budget available on just one click. In Norfolk, for example, it takes 5. But that's not all that VCOG looked at. They tried … Continue reading Clicks to budget
The Washington Redskins lost their playoff game yesterday to the Seattle Seahawks, in a game in which we saw star rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III go down. Others have asked if Griffin should have even been playing. My answer? Um, no. https://twitter.com/vpaige/status/288044237000417280 I'm sure I wasn't the only one that saw that Griffin was badly … Continue reading Redskins loss
The debate on uranium mining in Virginia is destined to be a part of the General Assembly session, which opens Wednesday. The Virginian-Pilot had a front page story today about it. Included with the story is a list of the Hampton Roads lawmakers and their stances on lifting the ban, as follows: Against mining Undecided … Continue reading Uranium debate coming
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. The recent release of a report on Virginia's fiscal health, one of six states reviewed by the State Budget Crisis Task Force, starkly lays out the challenges that the state faces going forward. Perhaps the most important piece of the review came in the summary … Continue reading ICYMI: Virginia’s many budget challenges
Great story in the paper today about Washington Redskins kicker Kai Forbath. He has definitely been a wonderful addition to the roster. Even as a football fan, I had failed to appreciate just how much better kickers are today that they used to be. One prerequisite to becoming an NFL kicker is being one of … Continue reading Spotlight on Skins kicker Forbath
Ten of Virginia's 11 members of the U. S. House of Representatives voted no on the fiscal cliff bill last night. Only Gerry Connolly (D-11) voted in favor. https://twitter.com/GerryConnolly/status/286337010283724801 It's really not a surprise. The early details contained enough for Republicans and Democrats alike to agree that this was not a good bill. (And the … Continue reading 10 of 11 Virginia representatives vote no
Happy New Year to all! Each year, since 1973, Pauline Phillips, better known as Dear Abby, has published in her New Year's Day column an essay called "Just For Today." I think it's appropriate. Just for today, I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I … Continue reading Happy New Year!
The Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-18 last night, winning the NFC East. It's been a long time coming: The Redskins last won the division in 1999. For a 'Skins fan, beating Dallas - even when it doesn't matter - is sweet. With so much on the line, this was one of the biggest … Continue reading How sweet it is!
Or, if you prefer, one step forward, two steps back. My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. I was appalled to read that Norfolk has decided to no longer release records of its bar task force, citing an exemption allowed in Virginia's Freedom of Information Act. That we don't even know what … Continue reading Norfolk’s growing lack of transparency
Watching a little TV this morning, I heard the umpteenth example of just how dumb some of the media "experts" are. The host was relaying a story about a dinner at the White House. It was just after Gerald Ford had become president and he and Betty invited their long time friends, Tip O'Neill and … Continue reading The dumbing down of America
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 