Senate Republicans pulled a fast one this afternoon with a "technical corrections" bill in which they completely redrew the Senate districts. As this map shows (click to enlarge) the red lines represent the plan that was approved in 2011, after the redistricting. The green lines represent the districts approved by the Senate 20-19. The power … Continue reading This is no ‘technical correction’
Senate Republicans just passed a bill that changes the lines that have already been agreed upon by the Justice Department. The bill, only available in paper form, passed on a party-line 20-19 vote. Democratic Sen. Henry Marsh was absent today, attending the inauguration. It seems the bill would eliminate Sen. Creigh Deeds' seat, as a … Continue reading Senate Republicans’ power grab
I participated in a panel discussion last night entitled "The State of the Dream," a reference to the now famous "I Have A Dream" speech of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The event, held on the campus of Old Dominion University, was sponsored by the Virginia Beach chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority … Continue reading The State of the Dream
Democratic members of the General Assembly have sent a letter to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli asking him to resign. The letter below says Virginia deserves a full-time AG. Virginia Democratic House Caucus 1710 E Franklin St. Richmond, VA, 23223 The Honorable Ken Cuccinelli Office of the Attorney General 900 East Main Street Richmond, VA 23219 … Continue reading Delegates & Senators ask AG Cuccinelli to resign
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in Thursday's Virginian-Pilot. We are early in the General Assembly session yet a number of initiatives have been summarily dismissed, primarily at early morning meetings of subcommittees. Lacking notice - not unlike the situation in Suffolk, I might add - the ability of citizens to have a voice in … Continue reading ICYMI: Limiting citizen involvement
I have mentioned before about the documentaries the Naro shows on Wednesdays. They usually are followed up by a speaker from the area of the film who talks and answers questions. Sometimes, like last night, they are about things I know quite a bit about, but sometimes they are topics I know nothing about. However, … Continue reading Chasing Ice
Virginian-Pilot reporter Julian Walker has the scoop. Things are looking mighty interesting on the Republican side this year. Grab some popcorn and watch the show 🙂
Columnist George Will appeared at the Norfolk Forum Tuesday night. I was there. And no, I didn't have much fun. Will is a decent speaker, although he sounded like he had a cold. He started out with some fairly general themes that most could agree on. As time went on, though, he couldn't help himself … Continue reading George Will at Norfolk Forum
At 7:30 this morning, the Elections subcommittee of the House P&E committee met. Today's docket included most of the early voting bills that have been introduced so far, including HB 1520 by Republican Del. Ron Villaneuva of Virginia Beach. No matter. Just as we saw yesterday, even when it comes from members of their own … Continue reading Another early morning meeting, same result
A farmer, "less than 10 miles" from the site of the proposed uranium mining operation, has penned this piece on the subject. "We are being treated like a mere economic colony of Northern Virginia and Richmond." Indeed. That's one of the many problems of the Dillon Rule: those legislators who represent places outside of the … Continue reading Uranium mining: a local farmer’s perspective
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 