Virginia Interfaith Center

General Assembly Briefs for Feb. 9
Senate Bill 329, sponsored by Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R-Westmoreland, is designed to raise additional funds for sheriff’s departments and clerks offices, which face cuts in excess of 20 percent in the proposed 2010-12 budget. Gov. Bob McDonnell “has put us in a box,“ said Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax, during a floor speech. “He has said he will veto any tax increase. He insists the car-tax reimbursements continue. He knows the Virginia Constitution requires a balanced budget…

Change in formula may mean less money for area schools
Richmond-area school systems are facing millions of dollars less in state education funding, after Gov. Bob McDonnell said yesterday that he will support updating the index that determines how much state money each school system receives.

Federal grants to expand Internet service in rural Va.
A $21.5 million handout from Washington will pay for expanded broadband Internet service across a southern swatch of rural Virginia. The White House is issuing grants under the economic-stimulus program to finance improved service in Southside as well as portions of Southwest Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The awards were announced yesterday by Aneesh Chopra, President Barack Obama’s technology chief and a former Virginia secretary of technology; the state’s two U.S. senators;…

McAuliffe bids to buy Franklin mill
Terry McAuliffe, an unsuccesssful candidate for governor in 2009, is in the running again—this time, to buy a soon-to-close Southside paper factory he wants to convert to a wood-fired power plant. McAuliffe and other investors are pitching to International Paper Co. to purchase the firm’s giant Franklin mill in Isle of Wight County, which is to be closed this year, throwing 1,100 people of work.

Lawmakers to get per-diem payments despite snow day
Collectively, legislators will be paid about $20,000 for their Friday lodging and eating expenses in Richmond even though they went home because the day’s session was canceled due to the snowstorm. The clerks of the House of Delegates and the state Senate said the Appropriations Act requires that the legislators be paid for 60 days. That includes weekend days, too, when they normally return home, House Clerk Bruce Jamerson and Senate Clerk Susan Schaar said yesterday.

Senate votes to add sexual orientation to anti-bias policies
The Virginia Senate yesterday passed a bill that would add sexual orientation to existing anti-discrimination policies in state hiring. The vote for Senate Bill 66, sponsored by Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, was 23-17, with each of the chamber’s 22 Democratic senators supporting the legislation, and every Republican but one—Sen. Frederick M. Quayle of Chesapeake—voting against it.

General Assembly Notebook: Monday, Feb. 8
- State Senate backs extended job-training benefits - McDonnell supports update to composite index Edited by Chris Graham freepress2@ntelos.net State Senate backs extended job-training benefits: Virginia’s Senate - led by a unanimous vote among Senate Democrats - passed a bipartisan bill Monday to help put unemployed Virginians back to work by providing extended benefits for job training programs. SB239 [...]

UPDATE: Rep. John Murtha, Iraq war critic, dies at 77
The tall, gruff-mannered former Marine became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War.

Officers to retrieve Edwards sex tape
A North Carolina judge wants security officers to accompany a former John Edwards aide as he goes to retrieve a sex tape of his former boss.

Senate backs placing gays under anti-bias policy
The Virginia Senate today passed an anti-discrimination bill that would add sexual orientation to current anti-discrimination policies in state hiring.

Stimulus funds boost broadband in Southside, SW Va.
The Obama administration this afternoon announced an additional $21.5 million in federal stimulus funds for Virginia—this time to expand broadband Internet service in rural Southside and portions of Southwest Virginia and the Blue Ridge. In a conference call, Virginia’s two U.S. senators, a member of the House of Representatives and the White House’s chief technology officer disclosed two grants—$16 million for southern Virginia and $5.5 million for the other regions.

Change in school funding formula may cost Richmond area millions
Richmond-area school districts could lose millions of dollars in state education funding after Gov. Bob McDonnell announced today that he will support updating the formula that determines how much state money each school system receives. It’s a departure from the proposed budget left to him by outgoing Gov. Timothy M. Kaine who proposed freezing the formula, called the local composite index, for one year.

Lawmakers get per-diem for snow canceled session
Legislators will be paid for their Friday lodging and eating expenses in Richmond even though they went home because the day’s session was canceled due to the snowstorm. The clerks of the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate said the Appropriations Act requires that the legislators be paid for 60 days. That includes weekend days, too, when they normally return home, House Clerk Bruce Jamerson and Senate Clerk Susan Schaar said yesterday.

MAIN STREET BLOG: The new sheriff
Tim Kaine never missed an opportunity as governor to appear before elected officials from localities across Virginia who gather every winter for Legislative Day in Richmond.  After all, he was a former Richmond mayor and councilman

MAIN STREET BLOG: The art of subtraction
One local school budget is approved and three others are on the table, but the decisions made by superintendents and school boards now could be obsolete in a matter of weeks.

Some recipients of pardons in Virginia
Here’s a sampling of Virginians to whom then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine granted pardons in 2009: Simple pardons (53): Angela Denise Brown Was sentenced in Richmond Circuit Court in 1989 for improperly accepting a welfare payment. The pardon came after she had a clean record for 20 years and was named Foster Mother of the Year in 2007. Glen Kelly Colston As a 20-year-old college student, was convicted in Colonial Heights in 1976 of obstruction of justice for not telling police his roommate was home…

Assembly seeks budget guidance from McDonnell
The General Assembly’s money committees are scheduled to adopt budget bills two weeks from today, but legislators say they are not close to agreeing what to do. “It’s going to take divine intervention,“ said state Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, the Senate Republican floor leader. During the federal health-care debate, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., faulted President Barack Obama for leaving key decisions to lawmakers, rather than publicly setting the course from the…

Assembly seeks budget guidance from McDonnell
The General Assembly’s money committees are scheduled to adopt budget bills two weeks from today, but legislators say they are not close to agreeing what to do. “It’s going to take divine intervention,“ said state Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, the Senate Republican floor leader. During the federal health-care debate, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., faulted President Barack Obama for leaving key decisions to lawmakers, rather than publicly setting the course from the…

Webb, Boxer seek stiff tax on bonuses by TARP banks
Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., have introduced a measure to impose a 50 percent tax on bonuses in excess of $400,000 paid by Wall Street banks that took $5 billion or more in TARP funds last year. “This is not class warfare,“ Webb said. “This is not something that’s going to run the gamut of all executive compensation and bonuses. This is a one-shot deal.“

Obama says he isn’t abandoning health reform
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama told Democrats at their party meeting yesterday that he isn’t willing to abandon health-care reform, his top domestic priority. “Let me be clear: I am not going to walk away from health-care insurance reform,“ Obama said, bringing the audience in the hotel ballroom to their feet. Republicans, though, made clear the Democrats’ current health proposals must be scrapped.

Sunday talk-show lineups

Kaine granted flood of pardons, commutations in 2009
The last year of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s term brought a recordsetting flood of gubernatorial forgiveness. The former Virginia governor granted 53 “simple” pardons, three “absolute” pardons and eight “conditional” pardons and restored the voting rights of more than 1,300 felons in 2009. The “Pardons, Commutations, Reprieves and Other Forms of Clemency” are detailed in the 420-page “Senate Document No. 2” that Kaine submitted to the…

Palin tells ‘tea party’: It’s revolution time
Sarah Palin declared “America is ready for another revolution” and repeatedly assailed President Barack Obama on Saturday before adoring “tea party” activists, a seemingly natural constituency should she run for president.

Obama pushes Congress on small business loans
Republicans sparred with President Barack Obama over proposals to create jobs in dueling radio addresses Saturday, highlighting the difficulty of reaching bipartisan solutions in a political climate marked by partisan bickering.

VIDEO: Capitol Talk - Snow day at the General Assembly
The General Assembly took the day off, but not our political team. Get insight on state budget woes and a proposed increase in the speed limit.

First lady says McDonnell is right man for the job
In these austere times, Maureen McDonnell knows her husband is the man for the job. She knows it because he gave her a sewing machine as her wedding present. Because they passed over china, silver and crystal on their wedding registry in favor of dur able Corelle plates. And when Bob McDonnell was to report for Army duty, he plunked clippers in front of her and asked for a haircut.

Assembly disposes of hundreds of bills
The two marijuana bills have gone to pot, as have hundreds of other bills as the General Assembly approaches its Feb. 16 crossover deadline. That’s when the House and the Senate must finish considering most of the bills that originate in their chamber so they can cross over to the other body. Because of the snowstorm, the assembly took a rare day off yesterday. The Senate, with only two members present, met for three minutes to meet a procedural obligation. With more legislation before it,…

First lady says McDonnell is right man for the job
In these austere times, Maureen McDonnell knows her husband is the man for the job. She knows it because he gave her a sewing machine as her wedding present. Because they passed over china, silver and crystal on their wedding registry in favor of dur able Corelle plates. And when Bob McDonnell was to report for Army duty, he plunked clippers in front of her and asked for a haircut.

First lady says McDonnell is right man for the job
In these austere times, Maureen McDonnell knows her husband is the man for the job. She knows it because he gave her a sewing machine as her wedding present. Because they passed over china, silver and crystal on their wedding registry in favor of dur able Corelle plates. And when Bob McDonnell was to report for Army duty, he plunked clippers in front of her and asked for a haircut.

Obama admits health-care overhaul may die in Congress
WASHINGTON - After insisting for a year that failure was not an option, President Barack Obama is now acknowledging that his health-care overhaul might die in Congress. Even while saying he still wanted to get the job done, Obama bowed to new political realities. Democrats no longer command a filibuster-proof Senate majority, and voters and lawmakers are far more concerned with jobs and the economy than with enacting expensive changes to the health system.

Obama admits health care overhaul may die on Hill
No, maybe he can’t. President Barack Obama, who insisted he would succeed where other presidents had failed to fix the nation’s health care system, now concedes the effort may die in Congress.

Obama says unemployment drop ‘cause for hope’
President Barack Obama says an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate is “cause for hope but not celebration.“

General Assembly Notebook
ACLU pushes GA to authorize pro-choice specialty plate, Subcommittee endorses two Bell bills improving protective orders, State gets big fat F on voter-initiative-rights report card Edited by Chris Graham freepress2@ntelos.net ACLU pushes GA to authorize pro-choice specialty plate: The ACLU of Virginia is urging members of the Virginia General Assembly to support Senate and House bills that authorize [...]

Richmond Reports
Featured: Del. Ken Plum, Del. David Englin Ken Plum: The LCI takes center stage www.kenplum.com Virginia’s formula for funding public schools is very complex. Theoretically the average school district would be funded half by the state and half by local government. In actuality, the split in spending for public schools is closer to 55 percent local government [...]

Abortion-rights supporters want specialty license plate
Last year’s anti-abortion “Choose Life” specialty license plate could soon have its political counterpoint in aluminum: A “Trust Women/Respect Choice” license plate.

Lawmakers taking a snow day today
The weather is doing what some people only hope for: chasing legislators out of town. With heavy snows predicted for Northern Virginia and the western mountains, the General Assembly is taking a rare snow day today. The legislature’s senior member, Del. Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford, said he could not recall the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate going dark because of bad weather during his 48 years in Richmond.

Abortion-rights supporters want specialty license plate
Last year’s anti-abortion “Choose Life” specialty license plate could soon have its political counterpoint in aluminum: A “Trust Women/Respect Choice” license plate. The Senate Transportation Committee yesterday heard testimony from abortion-rights groups seeking approval of Senate Bill 704.

Lawmakers taking a snow day today
The weather is doing what some people only hope for: chasing legislators out of town. With heavy snows predicted for Northern Virginia and the western mountains, the General Assembly is taking a rare snow day today. The legislature’s senior member, Del. Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford, said he could not recall the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate going dark because of bad weather during his 48 years in Richmond.

Abortion-rights supporters want specialty license plate
Last year’s anti-abortion “Choose Life” specialty license plate could soon have its political counterpoint in aluminum: A “Trust Women/Respect Choice” license plate.

Va. technology chief leads VITA talks with Northrop Grumman
Virginia’s new secretary of technology is taking command of negotiations with Northrop Grumman in the latest attempt to salvage relations with the company hired to run the state’s computer network. Jim Duffey is in talks with the defense contractor, attempting to forge an agreement that could mean more money for Northrop Grumman while improving services, which legislative investigators have derided as spotty, costly and behind schedule.

Panel votes down Henrico delegate’s effort to ban plastic shopping bags
A subcommittee has sacked Del. Joseph D. Morrissey’s effort to ban plastic shopping bags. The measure would have blocked stores from giving out plastic bags unless they are durable ones with handles or specifically made for reuse. The Henrico County Democrat argued that the bags harm the environment and can take a quarter-century to degrade. But lawmakers at a dinner time subcommittee meeting Wednesday tabled the bill after listening to a string of lobbyists from the retail and chemical manufacturing…

Speaker Kilgore?
Del. Joe Morrissey was testifying before the House Commerce and Trade Labor Committee Thursday when he made a slip of the tongue as he addressed the panel chairman Del. Terry Kilgore. The Wise Scott County Republican is the twin brother of former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore and a emerging power broker in his own right especially on business issues. Morrissey, D-Henrico, was attempting to make a point about his bill on gift cards when he stumbled on his words and inadvertently…

Smithfield Police Officer Kurt Beach prepares to testify….
Smithfield police officer Kurt Beach doesn't look like a man who was near death last year waiting on a liver transplant. Beach got that liver last year and he's in Richmond right now getting ready to speak before a House sub-committee in hopes of extending the ability for Virginia's first responders to file workers' compensation claims. You'll remember Beach was a rookie on the force when he performed mouth-to-mouth on a dying infant in 1988. Beach didn't know he had contracted hepatitis c until…

HAMPTON ROADS BLOG: Shucet to the Rescue (Again)
Phil Shucet, who brought accountability reforms to the Virginia Department of Transportation a few years back, assured lawmakers Thursday he will do the same to the embattled Hampton Roads Transit.

UPDATE: Virginia House cancels Friday session
The Virginia House is taking a day off Friday because of a foul weather forecast.

Virginia House cancels Friday session
The Virginia House is taking a day off Friday because of a foul weather forecast.

House lawmakers planning to skip Friday session with winter weather en route…
House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith is explaining to fellow lawmakers that the looming winter storm is going to force the House to skip its normal Friday floor session. Weather maps suggest that as much as 20 inches of snow could get dumped on sections of western Virginia, and places like Hampton Roads could see as much as 6-inches of snow, sleet and freezing rain. Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency late last night because of the forecasts. Griffith, a Salem Republican, said that…

Panel scraps bid to ban plastic shopping bags
An effort to ban plastic shopping bags was sacked in a dinner time subcommittee meeting yesterday. The measure was introduced by Del. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Henrico.

Big Brother and local education
Column by Chris Graham freepress2@ntelos.net Big government has no place in local education. Does us no good to be sending dictates down from Washingon and Richmond with all manner of strings attached. No Child Left Behind - bad idea. Standards of Learning - bad idea. Freshman State Del. Dickie Bell’s proposed state mandate that local school boards allocate [...]

How big is $1.9 trillion? Very
A 1.9 trillion-mile trip is about the same as 8 million trips to the moon.

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