Sunday, March 25, 2012
Virginia’s proposed budget to hit the Senate floor Monday morning.
Mark Keam shined some light on a dreary Saturday morning for constituents at the Vienna Town Hall Chambers. The 35th District delegate brought news of a likely budget after the General Assembly ended its regular session without one. Keam said Virginia runs on a biannual budget, which will begin July 1 and end June 30, 2014. “One unusual thing is we were unable to pass a budget,” Keam said during the town hall meeting stating he would not have definitive numbers until Tuesday at the earliest. “We’re in a special session now and we’re back on track to pass a budget.” The town hall meeting served as a debriefing from the General Assembly, which ran from January through March. Keam spoke with constituents about the backdrop for many of the …
Monday, March 5, 2012
Tell us: Were riot police, SWAT teams necessary for safety around Richmond or was it an overreaction?
At Monday's Virginia Senate session, Sens. Janet Howell (D-32nd) and Chap Petersen (D-34th) denounced the use of riot police, SWAT teams carrying automatic weapons, police dogs and helicopters in response to what they called peaceful protests in Capitol Square. Protest groups have gathered several times at the square this session in the wake of legislation aimed at limiting abortion rights. On Saturday, 31 protesters were arrested — mostly for trespassing or unlawful assembly — on the state capitol steps following a women's rights rally. Prior to some of the arrests, protesters were monitored by a fully armored police SWAT team carrying automatic weapons, riot police, and police dogs, the senators said. "They were chanting, 'Tell me what …
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Falls Church Councilman Webb calls clause unconscionable.
The Virginia Senate passed a bill Thursday that would allow adoption agencies to deny placements based on sexual orientation and other factors but not to discriminate based on other characteristics, such as race, color or national origin, which are protected under federal law, according to a Washington Times story. Senators approved House Bill 189 by a vote of 22-18. Senators Charles J. Colgan (D-Prince William) and Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) joined 20 Republicans in voting for the measure, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The bill is known as the “conscience clause.” In a statement Tuesday, City of Falls Church Councilman Lawrence Webb said it’s unconscionable that people are putting their personal beliefs in front of …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Opponents of repealing the requirement say it is necessary preventive care for girls, but tell us: Is the General Assembly infringing on parental rights?
State senators postponed a bill Monday that would have repealed the law requiring sixth-grade girls to be immunized from the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The Senate voted 22-17, with two Republicans joining 20 Democrats, to send the bill back to the Education and Health Committee for consideration in 2013. House Bill 1112, sponsored by Del. Kathy Byron (R-22nd District), passed the Republican-heavy House of Delegates 62-34 on Jan. 27. Byron also submitted a similar bill in the 2011 session, which the Democrat-controlled Senate rejected. "I am extraordinarily glad that the Commonwealth will continue to immunize young people against this deadly disease," Del. Barbara Favola said in a statement. "The best way to eradicate cervical cancer is …
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Gov. Bob McDonnell retreats from past statements, says mandating invasive procedure "is not a proper role for the state." Tell us: Is the amended bill better?
Republican lawmakers and the governor backed down from supporting a bill Wednesday that may have required women seeking an abortion to undergo an invasive ultrasound. After previously indicating his support for legislation that called for ultrasounds to determine the gestational age, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) said he would not sign a bill that would require women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound if it could not be obtained through an external one. "Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state," McDonnell said in a statement. "No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure." With the …
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Fairfax teachers union wears black Friday to protest General Assembly's actions this session
Across Fairfax County on Friday, teachers who belong to the Fairfax Education Association (FEA) dressed in all black as a symbol of unity against what they call the Virginia General Assembly's "attack on education." "We are in mourning," read a flyer about the local teachers union protest, part of a larger, statewide Virginia Education Association initiative "to lament the lack of commitment to public education and the loss of respect accorded teachers by our elected officials." "There's no question that we are under attack," FEA President Michael Hairston said in a phone interview Friday. Gov. Bob McDonnell has touted education reform as one of the cornerstones of his budget plan, but the teachers say more than a dozen bills have been …
Sunday, February 5, 2012
House Bill 405 would have restricted activities of members of local planning commissions.
A bill that would have restricted the activities of local planning commission members was passed by indefinitely this week before it reached a full committee vote. House Bill 405 would have expanded the part of the Virginia State Code that addressees conflict of interest, saying people who are employees or board members of organizations that lobby for or against the environment and land use could not serve as planning commission members, Inside NOVA reported. The proposed bill said no citizen could serve on local planning commissions if they were also "a compensated employee or a compensated member of the board of a nonprofit association or organization where such organization advocates for or against the environment and land use policies …
Mike James
10:08 am on Thursday, March 8, 2012
What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? ~Thomas Jefferson more ›