The House and Senate presented their proposed amendments to the governor's biennial budget on Sunday. The remarks of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Lacey Putney can be viewed here (pdf) and those of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Colgan can be viewed here (pdf). I had a chance to chat with House conference committee member Johnny … Continue reading Proposed budget amendments presented
Category: Local
Norfolk strong mayor? Um, no
Saturday's Virginian Pilot had an article floating the idea of a strong mayor form of government for the city. Currently, Norfolk utilizes the city manager form of government. According to Wikipedia, this type of government "is used in the majority of American cities with populations over 12,000." In the council-manager form of government, an elected … Continue reading Norfolk strong mayor? Um, no
OTR 2/17/08: Illegal immigration
This Sunday's On the Record continues the conversation on illegal immigration and will feature a lobbyist, a Mexican American and representatives of a major local landscaping company who say this country needs temporary workers and ought to be doing all it can to accommodate them for the sake of the economy. Host Joel Rubin will … Continue reading OTR 2/17/08: Illegal immigration
NTP2 meeting Saturday, 9am
The Norfolk Tea Party 2 is having a meeting Saturday morning (2/16) at 9am at The Banque at 1849 E. Little Creek Road. The results of the recent survey will be presented along with an update on the homestead exemption by Del. Paula Miller and Sen. Ralph Northam. Doors open at 8:30.
Friday update (02/15): Verifiable voting
Weekly update of my legislative agenda issue. Also in the House P&E subcommittee on Elections this morning were some verifiable voting bills. I'm told that SB69, which would have allowed absentee voting without any reason, failed. SB62, which deals with registration receipts, passed the subcommittee as well as the full committee but was referred to … Continue reading Friday update (02/15): Verifiable voting
Voting: why not reprogram the machines?
A couple of letters to the editor today in the Virginian Pilot raise the issue of privacy in voting [1, 2]. I'll ask the same question I asked back in 2005: given that we have computerized voting machines, why can't they be programmed to allow the voter to choose whether they want a Republican or … Continue reading Voting: why not reprogram the machines?
Redistricting bill dead
By a 3-2 voice vote this morning, the House P&E subcommittee on Elections killed SB38, the bipartisan redistricting bill that passed the Senate last week. An attempt by Del. Jim Scott to have the bill heard by the full P&E committee was shot down on a 10-8 vote, which I understand was also unrecorded. Too … Continue reading Redistricting bill dead
Opinion, please: Republicans voting for Obama
I've been hearing about Republicans crossing over and voting in the Democratic primary for Obama. Since I didn't witness such behavior at my own precinct while I was there (and, in fact, my precinct captain called me later in the evening to say he hadn't seen any of the usual Republicans at our precinct), I … Continue reading Opinion, please: Republicans voting for Obama
ALERT: House P&E subcommittee Friday 7AM!
The House P&E subcommittee on Elections meets Friday morning at 7am. On the schedule are a number of bills that I have been following, including bipartisan redistricting, verifiable voting, absentee ballots and recount procedures. These bills have already passed the Senate. It is critical that we contact the members of this committee and ask for … Continue reading ALERT: House P&E subcommittee Friday 7AM!
Thursday update (02/14): Real estate tax relief
Weekly update of my legislative agenda issue. The Virginian Pilot editorial board took on the issue of the homestead exemption in a three-part series last weekend (1, 2, 3). Objections to this method of relief, which is not automatic and the localities will have to adopt, ring a bit hollow to me. Honestly, I don't … Continue reading Thursday update (02/14): Real estate tax relief
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 