Wednesday, May 16, 2012
A summary of the 2012 legislative session.
Well, it’s over. The 2012 General Assembly ended on May 15, 2012 at 2:00 a.m. after a 13-hour House of Delegates’ session involving 117 of Governor Bob McDonnell’s amendments and the election of 40 judges. It was a fitting end to a very contentious session. The day was not without controversy. This year, we authorized a bonus and raises for state employees for the first time in five years to be funded with unanticipated revenues. These state employees include state troopers, corrections employees and people who work for the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), Department of Transportation (VDOT), judges, court clerks, game wardens, and colleges. On a zero to 95 vote, the House of Delegates rejected the …
Friday, May 11, 2012
Whether your mom is a designer, a photographer, artist or moviemaker--the right tools are often the best gifts
As a mom myself, I generally don't recommend getting tech tools as Mother's Day gifts. Seriously, unless mom specifically requests a new vacuum cleaner, socket set or ironing board, she want gifts that are more personal and less task-oriented. Giving her a present that allows her to further her skills, or discovering new means of expression can be the most meaningful gift you can give. There are many non-technical tools that can help your mom develop her creative side, of course (flowers and a card), but as more and more artistic expression is digital, giving the right gift means looking to technology. Here are some great ideas for creatives of all sorts--mom or not. For the Photographer While a digital SLR would be an ideal gift for …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Will Obama's announcement hurt his chances to carry Virginia in 2012 as he did in 2008?
Facing pressure to take a stand, President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he supports same-sex marriage. In an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, Obama (D) described his “evolution” on the issue through talks with friends, and reflection on military personnel and members of his own staff who, he said, “are not able to commit themselves in a marriage,” adding that “at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.” Excerpts of the interview are scheduled to appear on ABC’s World News with Diane Sawyer on Wednesday evening. The full interview is scheduled to appear on ABC’s Good Morning America on Thursday morning. …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The new state budget shorts Northern Virginia.
I voted against the final state budget last week because it fails to address our needs and reflects badly-skewed priorities. It was an eventful two days in Richmond. The Senate budget deadlock centered on new funding to “buy down” tolls on the Dulles Toll Road and in Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads is in revolt right now due to a public-private partnership the Governor negotiated for a new tunnel that could cost Portsmouth drivers $1,000 per year. Several years ago, the Dulles Toll Road was transferred to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which assumed responsibility for the construction of the Silver Line. Tolls will double next year to over $4.00 per trip. For someone driving five days per week, fifty weeks per year, …
Friday, April 20, 2012
Data-driven health care information should be available in this information-based economy.
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, April 20
By Senator Linda T. “Toddy” Puller (D-36) and Delegate John M. O’Bannon, III (R-73) The answer is “no.” The Virginia Health Reform Initiative Advisory Council (created by Governor McDonnell) stated the case for change in its 2010 report. “Virginia’s overall quality of care is average, with strengths in cardiac care, hospital care generally, and home health. Weaknesses in Virginia’s quality rankings include nursing home care, diabetes care, and maternal and child health. Specifically, Virginia ranks 41st in the nation in breast cancer death rates, and 35th in infant mortality. None of these statistics measure up to Virginia ranking sixth, nationwide, in median family income.” As health care costs continue to take a larger portion of …
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Some say the new penalty for offenders is too much.
Beginning in July, Virginia will enforce a new drunken-driving penalty that requires first-time offenders to install ignition devices in their cars that will test the their blood alcohol level before the cars will start. The Washington Post has reported that the new requirement — the toughest in the region — will affect more than 18,000 people and has sparked a debate between groups fighting against drunk driving and people representing offenders. The new law will affect people arrested for drunken-driving offenses, regardless of the level of their blood alcohol concentration. That means it affects people who are only slightly above the legal limit. Speak Out: Should first-time drunken-driving offenders be required to use ignition devices…
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Washington, D.C. Council member is quoted as saying the Asian businesses in Ward 8 "ought to go".
Washington, D.C. council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) has come under fire for comments he made Tuesday about Asian-American businesses in the Ward 8 community. According to the Washington Post, Barry is quoted as saying: "We’ve got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses, those dirty shops. They ought to go, I’ll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too.” The Post further quotes Barry as clarifying his comments to say that the restaurants he was referring to "serve high caloric food, bad food, et cetera," and that he specifically mentioned Asians because they own "90 percent of all the small restaurants in Ward 8". In response, Asian-…
Local delegate will sponsor a cleanup of Little Hunting Creek next weekend.
Last week, I received a report from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding Mount Vernon and Lee’s rivers and streams. The annual assessment reports are disturbing and continue to show our rivers and streams are in poor health. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s analysis of the data, 71% of Virginia’s streams violate state water quality standards along with 94% of all estuaries (tidal parts of Hunting Creek/Cameron Run, Little Hunting Creek, Dogue Creek and the Potomac River). Every embayment and stream monitored in my delegate seat violated state water quality standards. Here are the specifics for our local streams. Paul Spring Branch has elevated levels of e-coli on five of 12 samples taken where it …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
A Richmond Report from our local delegate.
- OPINION
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Thursday, March 29
By Delegate David Englin, 45th District The General Assembly remains in special session, and now a handful of House and Senate budget conferees are negotiating the final details of the state’s two-year budget, which I’m confident will be resolved in the near future. In the meantime, I wanted to share some final thoughts on the rest of the General Assembly’s business this session. For the past several years, I have been working with a small group of legislators to change the culture in Richmond when it comes to billions of dollars of tax giveaways that neither legislators nor the public have any real opportunity to scrutinize and evaluate. In committee and on the House floor, we have poked, prodded, questioned, and exposed various tax …
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
You may have to change your outlook.
You may have missed it, but in mid-March Facebook announced that it was updating its “Statements of Rights and Responsibilities.” It had a one-week comment period to discuss proposed changes. While many of the policy updates were minor, perhaps the biggest change was the wholesale change in the language it used to describe its policies. All references to “Privacy Policy” are now changing to “Data Use Policy.” As your English teacher surely tried to emphasize, words matter. Facebook will continue to have “Privacy Settings” but the change from Privacy Policy to Data Use Policy reemphasizes that they use your data as part of the user agreement. You use their product, they use your data. You can adjust how much data they use, but they are not …
Jody
9:59 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Aren't our public employee pension funds underfunded as in so many other states? more ›