ALERT: Whipple’s SB51

When I see bills like SB51, I am reminded once again why I so dislike the Dillon Rule. In this case, we have self-insured localities who want to be able to extend health insurance benefits to whomever the locality and the policyholder agree. Instead of simply being able to do so - after all, there … Continue reading ALERT: Whipple’s SB51 →

American Idol: The 12 guys

Last night, we got a chance to see performances by the 12 male finalists, including Colton Berry, from Staunton VA. Colton may not be going home in Thursday's results show, but he wasn't the best performer of the night. For me, the best one was Jason Yeager. The theme of the night was 1960s music … Continue reading American Idol: The 12 guys →

DMV to collect titling fee

According to The Virginian Pilot, HB649 passed the Senate yesterday on a 39-0 vote. The bill would shift the burden of collecting the new 1% car titling tax fee, imposed by the last year's transportation bill, from the car dealers to the DMV. The change required by HB649 would increase collection costs for the DMV … Continue reading DMV to collect titling fee →

45

Congratulations to Al Pollard, who won the special election held today in the 99th House district. With this win, the Democrats now have 45 seats. From the DPVA: "Albert's win tonight is just one more sign that Virginians are looking for the kind of commonsense leadership our Democratic candidates are offering," said DPVA Executive Director, … Continue reading 45 →

Oh, no they didn’t!

Last Friday, the House P&E committee killed HB38, the bipartisan redistricting bill. I understood that Del. Jim Scott planned to try to revive the bill this coming Friday at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Rather than wait until Friday, I'm told that the committee called a meeting Monday afternoon with 15 minutes notice to hear … Continue reading Oh, no they didn’t! →

A Rotten Way to Pick a President

The Washington Post had article in the Sunday edition with the above title. In it, the authors give a bit of history on how we came to choose presidential nominees by the system of caucuses and primaries: The old ways [of allowing party bosses to chose the nominees] were unfair and autocratic, of course. But … Continue reading A Rotten Way to Pick a President →

Survey says: only one Norfolk council member gets passing grade

The Norfolk Tea Party 2 provided the results of its recent survey at Saturday morning's meeting, according to this article by the Virginian Pilot. The group sent out 10,000 surveys (the survey form is here (doc)) and approximately 1,000 of them were returned. Seems the only person the respondents felt was doing a good job … Continue reading Survey says: only one Norfolk council member gets passing grade →

Bill highlight: SJ23 – celebrating the life of Herbert M. Collins Sr.

WHEREAS, Herbert M. Collins, Sr., of Norfolk, revered citizen, former city council member, and noted voting rights activist who helped bring about the ward system in Norfolk, died on June 17, 2007; and WHEREAS, a lifelong resident of Norfolk, Herbert Collins grew up in the city, attended Norfolk Public Schools, and was a graduate of … Continue reading Bill highlight: SJ23 – celebrating the life of Herbert M. Collins Sr. →

Proposed budget amendments presented

The House and Senate presented their proposed amendments to the governor's biennial budget on Sunday. The remarks of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Lacey Putney can be viewed here (pdf) and those of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Colgan can be viewed here (pdf). I had a chance to chat with House conference committee member Johnny … Continue reading Proposed budget amendments presented →