Friday fun: President Obama visits Hampton Roads

President Obama is coming to Virginia this weekend, and his first stop of the day is in Virginia Beach. I'll be there to cover the event. In the meantime, here's a little quiz I found about the Affordable Care Act. It tests your knowledge of the law. I got all ten questions right 🙂 A … Continue reading Friday fun: President Obama visits Hampton Roads

Hirschbiel campaign ramping up

Paul Hirschbiel, the Democratic challenger in the 2nd Congressional District, is ramping up his campaign. In addition to being very visible over the last few months, his campaign released today a series of Congressional reforms he'd work on if elected. Among the items: Cut congressional pay and benefits Ban Members of Congress from being lobbyists … Continue reading Hirschbiel campaign ramping up

Port privatization: happening without us

Editorial writer Shawn Day's column in Sunday's paper returned to a theme that I often espouse, beginning with the very first column I wrote for the paper. Day focused on the poll results provided by the Pew Research Center on the SCOTUS healthcare ruling, in particular, the 45% of folks who "say either that the … Continue reading Port privatization: happening without us

Portsmouth’s charter oops

My latest op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. The Portsmouth charter mistake is one that I think points to a larger problem: the legislature's tight hold on localities. If they weren't so busy voting on such stuff, they might actually have time to consider the larger issues facing our Commonwealth, transportation being at the top … Continue reading Portsmouth’s charter oops

Funeral services for Sen. Yvonne Miller

Funeral services for Senator Yvonne Miller, who died Tuesday, will be held next Tuesday, July 10, at 11am at the New Hope Church of God in Christ, 3232 Brest Avenue in Norfolk. Sen. Miller, who would have turned 78 today, succumbed to stomach cancer. UPDATE: There will be a wake service Monday, July 9 from … Continue reading Funeral services for Sen. Yvonne Miller

RIP Senator Yvonne Miller

Norfolk Senator Yvonne B. Miller passed away this afternoon.  Norfolk and Virginia have lost a tremendous voice. Statements across the political spectrum are pouring in. Posted in the order in which they were received: From Gov. Bob McDonnell: Maureen and I are deeply saddened to learn of the news of the passing of State Senator … Continue reading RIP Senator Yvonne Miller

On U.Va.

My latest op-ed appeared in Thursday's Virginian-Pilot. (I have to say - this editorial from Tuesday, which I didn't see beforehand, really says what I wanted to say. In fact, when I turned in my op-ed to the paper Tuesday night, I titled it "Don't sing Kymbaya just yet.") I figured Gov. McDonnell would reappoint … Continue reading On U.Va.

Cumberland County BOS struggles with $20m loan with derivatives; trying to restructure

For the past two months, the Cumberland Board of Supervisors have been struggling with a loan that was taken out in 2008 with a variable interest rate. In order to deal with the volatility of an adjustable rate, derivatives were used to try and even out the effect of rate increases. The loan is currently … Continue reading Cumberland County BOS struggles with $20m loan with derivatives; trying to restructure

ACA upheld

Like hundreds of thousands of others, I followed this morning's Supreme Court announcements via SCOTUS blog. And, of course, on Twitter. If nothing else, it was exciting. And for CNN to get the verdict wrong was hilarious but quite sad. Such is the state of journalism today. Comments are rolling in from the various folks … Continue reading ACA upheld

Robert Hurt attempts to gut key provision of the Clean Water Act

Let's shorten this: Robert Hurt wants to ruin your water. His bill, HR4278 would remove key provisions of the Clean Water Act so his rich friends can do what they want with the wetlands and waterways in this country. "Preserving Rural Resources Act of 2012" Of course, he has named his bill in terms of … Continue reading Robert Hurt attempts to gut key provision of the Clean Water Act