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 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
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
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
Really nice front page story in the Virginian-Pilot today on a green business here in Norfolk. Environmental Resource is among “a handful” of small commercial customers in Dominion Virginia Power’s territory that generate most or all of their own electricity, said Daisy Pridgen, a spokeswoman for the power company. [...] Besides the wind turbine and … Continue reading Going green in Norfolk
LG Bill Bolling does not support arming teachers. Perhaps he really is considering an independent run for governor. Moves like this could make him an attractive alternative to Ken Cuccinelli. But would Bolling run just to spite him? He certainly could get the moderate Republican vote. But he still has a long way to go … Continue reading Mr. Independent strikes again!
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. The General Assembly session starts soon and in this short session, I look at a few topics which will likely dominate the discussion - or, at least, the headlines. When the General Assembly is in session, the emphasis is supposed to be on policy as … Continue reading ICYMI: Transportation, mining and more
Congratulations to the newest delegate from Norfolk, Daun Hester. In a low turnout special election Tuesday, Hester won 93.5% of the vote. The seat in the 89th House district became vacant when former occupant, Kenny Alexander, was elected to the Senate to fill the remaining term of Yvonne Miller, who died in July. Hester will … Continue reading Congratulations, Del. Hester!
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 