Category: Hampton Roads

An effort in futility

Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald wrote an interesting article on futility, opening with this: This will be a futile column. Experience dictates that it will change no minds, inspire no reconsideration among those who disagree. It will sit on the computer screen or the newspaper page taking up space, affecting nothing, until another column … Continue reading An effort in futility →

Quick links 3/22/11

By the time I got home from work today, wordpress.com, where this blog is hosted, was having some kind of meltdown, which made the backend inaccessible. In any event, here are a few posts that caught my eye as I waited for it to get back up: VLBC calls for second Congressional district with high … Continue reading Quick links 3/22/11 →

Northam: P.E. bill would fight obesity

Senator Ralph Northam wrote an op-ed for Thursday's Virginian-Pilot in which he discusses his bill, SB 966, which provides for 150 minutes of physical education each week for grades K through 8. The bill does not require schools to hire more teachers. All teachers in grades K-8 are already certified to teach P.E., so hiring … Continue reading Northam: P.E. bill would fight obesity →

Women’s History Month: A long, ongoing journey

My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot today. Two of the women mentioned are Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Norfolk acting (hopefully soon-to-be permanent) police chief Sharon Chamberlin. I managed to get through an entire column without once mentioning Gloria Steinem, one of the leaders in the women's movement from the 1970s, … Continue reading Women’s History Month: A long, ongoing journey →

Rigell Town Hall meeting Monday

2nd District Rep. Scott Rigell is hosting his second town hall meeting this coming Monday, March 21st, at 7pm at Norfolk's Azalea Garden Middle School. The Congressman held his first town hall meeting in Virginia Beach about six weeks ago. That event drew an overflow crowd. At the same time, the Governor's Independent Bipartisan Advisory … Continue reading Rigell Town Hall meeting Monday →

Quick links 3/15/11

Stealing the idea straight from my friend, Waldo, here are a few links that caught my eye today: Documents reveal efforts to control Goochland's ex-treasurer. "As a constitutionally elected county officer, Grubbs answered to voters, not auditors, and was virtually untouchable — barring criminal conduct." And the General Assembly, so far, refuses to correct this. … Continue reading Quick links 3/15/11 →

Let’s shift to a full-time legislature

My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. (Newspaper version here.) Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that this isn't the first time I've suggested a change to both the pay of the legislature and the calendar. Nor will it be the last 😉 I recognize that there … Continue reading Let’s shift to a full-time legislature →

Catching up

A few quick items: Former Del. Bobby Mathieson has been nominated to be the U.S. Marshall for the Eastern District of Virginia. Mathieson will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Best wishes to Bobby. I hope he gets the appointment. (And I'll bet Chris Stolle Ron Villanueva hopes so, too 😉 ) ~ Sen. … Continue reading Catching up →

ODU wins CAA tournament

Congratulations to my alma mater, Old Dominion University. The team won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament tonight, defeating Virginia Commonwealth. The CAA has an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and with this win, ODU is in! The game got close at the end. If my Twitter feed is any indication, Monarch fans across the … Continue reading ODU wins CAA tournament →

ICYMI: Pilot editorials on GA ethics

The Virginian-Pilot editorial board wrote a couple of editorials Sunday and Monday on the problem of General Assembly members policing themselves on ethical issues. Good stuff.