Deserving: Judge Eileen Olds

The Chesapeake Clipper has a fascinating story about Juvenile & Domestic Court Judge Eileen Olds. (View in IE - it doesn't display properly in Firefox.) With openings on the Circuit Court, it would seem that this woman would be a lock: UVA & W&M grad, 13 years on the bench, president of the American Judges … Continue reading Deserving: Judge Eileen Olds →

ALERT: HB 3202 deep sixed!

I'm hearing that the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled HB 3202, the transportation bill that created the NOVA and HR Transportation Authorities, is unconstitutional. I'm told that the opinion was written by Bernard Goodwin and the vote was 9-0. I understand the opinion basically said that taxes cannot be imposed on one locality by another … Continue reading ALERT: HB 3202 deep sixed! →

Friday update (02/29): Verifiable voting

Weekly update of my legislative agenda issue. I haven't updated this issue for a couple of weeks because things have been moving along quite slowly. Here's a rundown of the bills that I've discussed in prior posts. SB292 (Herring), introduced as a bill to have random audits of op-scan tabulators within 24 hours after the … Continue reading Friday update (02/29): Verifiable voting →

American Idol Results 02/28/08

DirecTV changed their broadcast of hi-def programming a few months back, requiring me to change out my (expensive) hi-def TiVo box for (a cheap) one provided by them. Since then, I've had nothing but trouble with recording my shows. Tuesday evening, the American Idol guys show started recording 36 minutes in, which meant that I … Continue reading American Idol Results 02/28/08 →

A day late and a couple of votes short

A lawsuit has been filed in Federal Court to overturn Norfolk's elected mayor, according to this article in The Virginian Pilot. The argument? At-large election of the mayor is discriminatory. [Roy] Perry-Bey said he is basing his claim on a 1990 Supreme Court case that ordered Norfolk to abandon at-large elections for council in favor … Continue reading A day late and a couple of votes short →

Stupid Dillon Rule: SB51 fails

One of the first things I checked on upon my arrival in Richmond last night was the status of SB51, which I discussed here. Well, the bill failed and it failed by a much larger margin than expected. I was told last week that 3 Republicans had decided to support the bill, which, with all … Continue reading Stupid Dillon Rule: SB51 fails →

Cuccinelli budget amendment passes thanks to Colgan

Once again, Senator Chuck Colgan has abandoned his Democratic colleagues and voted with the Republicans. This time, it was on an amendment to the budget to prohibit any funds from going to Planned Parenthood. The vote was a 20-20 tie, allowing LG Bill Bolling to cast his first vote of the session. Somebody tell me … Continue reading Cuccinelli budget amendment passes thanks to Colgan →

The battle ain’t over

If you are in Arlington, head to the campaign headquarters and help out with phonebanking to Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. If you want to phone from home, contact me and I'll send you the information to do so, which uses a toll-free number. Hillary Clinton hasn't given up and neither have I.

ODU Alumni GA reception: talking to the legislators

As I have in prior years, I attended the OLD Alumni Association General Assembly reception last night. Typically this event is a little earlier in the session but this year's timing allowed an opportunity to talk to our elected representatives about bills that have either passed or failed, as opposed to lobbying them on behalf … Continue reading ODU Alumni GA reception: talking to the legislators →