Change is in the Air By Tommy Smigiel With the arrival of spring in the next few weeks, Norfolk’s new city manager has already started some spring cleaning. The addition of Marcus Jones to city hall has added a new and refreshing approach to the way business is conducted. In the few short weeks he … Continue reading Norfolk City Council: 3/8/11
Category: Politics
Not a bad year, all things considered
By Steve Vaughan The 2011 regular session of the Virginia General Assembly is in the books. Compared to recent years, I'd say the legislature did pretty well. Sure, they took an extra day to get the budget worked out, but that happens more often than not these days. And it's not really partisan gridlock that … Continue reading Not a bad year, all things considered
Norfolk informal meetings recorded
The fine folks at AltDaily have decided to record and post videos of the informal meetings of the Norfolk City Council. Most of the work gets done in these sessions, but so far, council has refused to broadcast them. I hope the headline from The Virginian-Pilot story is true - that AltDaily will be streaming … Continue reading Norfolk informal meetings recorded
Power instead of governance
A tip of the hat to Del. Albert Pollard, whose resignation (pdf) provided some much-needed inspiration for my latest op-ed. And congratulations to the General Assembly, whose unanimous passage of the budget gave me hope that it is possible to put politics aside and do what is right by the people.
Throwing out the baby with the bath water
OK, so the news side of The Virginian-Pilot let an article slip through that read more like an opinion than news. Mistakes happen and the editor acknowledged it. But that's not enough for some people. As I read through the comments over there, I was surprised at the folks who said they didn't subscribe to … Continue reading Throwing out the baby with the bath water
Monday this and that
Been one of those days 😦 Time for a few links. Seems the General Assembly managed to pass a budget yesterday. The vote was, amazingly enough, unanimous. I'm not so sure what to think of that. I'd like to think it means that the negotiators actually compromised to do the best they could by the … Continue reading Monday this and that
Retirements
I mentioned in my earlier post today that we needed to focus on November's General Assembly elections. As if on cue, two legislators - both Democrats - announced their retirements today. First up was Del. Albert Pollard. Recall, if you will, that Pollard "retired" in 2005. At that time, it was, according to this, to … Continue reading Retirements
Friday ruminations
In tax season full tilt so this will be quick. We're #1! Too bad it's at being the first in the nation to have a law (governor will sign) that puts abortion clinics in the same category as hospitals. With "friends" like Chuck Colgan and Phil Puckett, who needs enemies? We're #50! Well, not yet, … Continue reading Friday ruminations
Fiscally irresponsible through any eyes
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. The topic, of course, was the now-failed effort to build an office tower. Despite all of this, there was something else going on with this project, an invisible hand pushing it as it rose, phoenix-like, from the ashes for the third time. In various reports … Continue reading Fiscally irresponsible through any eyes
Norfolk news: more spending
Let's see: Norfolk is facing a $32 million budget deficit, $53 million if the schools are included. So what austerity measures did the newspaper report today? How about more spending? The beleaguered Community Services Board, which is funded by a combination of city, state and federal funds, gave their executive director a bonus of $21,700 … Continue reading Norfolk news: more spending
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 