Saturday, May 25, 2013
Virginia's hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday begins Saturday.
Virginia is offering a sales-tax holiday on certain goods that can be used during natural disasters such as hurricanes. Virginia’s hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday runs Saturday, May 25 through Friday, May 31. The holiday exempts 22 categories of smaller items, including batteries, flashlights, bottled water, tarps, duct tape, cell-phone chargers, smoke detectors, and first aid kits. As long as each item costs $60 or less, it is exempt from sales and use tax. Portable generators and inverters priced at $1,000 or less are also exempt during the holiday. For a full list of tax-exempt products, answers to frequently asked questions, and guidelines for consumers and retailers, visit www.tax.virginia.gov. More on the 2013 hurricane …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Moving the FBI headquarters from downtown D.C. to Fairfax County is a possibility, as the County has offered its optimal site, the Springfield warehouse, for consideration by the General Services Administration.
Based on earlier reports and comments by those involved, indications pointed to a summer Request for Proposal (RFP) date for the General Services Administration (GSA) for the new FBI headquarters. However, that decision is entirely up to the GSA, according to the Office of Supervisor Jeff McKay. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has offered the Springfield warehouse for consideration for the new FBI headquarters location. Governor Bob McDonnell also recently endorsed Springfield for the new headquarters. In late 2011, the Government Accountability Office determined that the current FBI headquarters was in need of so many repairs that the government's best option was to move the bureau into a new building, according to the Washington …
Monday, May 6, 2013
McDonnell recently wrote a letter addressed to the director of the FBI and the acting administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration.
In a recent letter, Gov. Bob McDonnell urged FBI Director Robert S. Mueller and U.S. General Services Administration Acting Administrator Dan M. Tangherlini to carefully consider the GSA Warehouse located in Springfield for the FBI's relocation. McDonnell wrote: We know that as you seek to save over $44 million in lease payments per year, locating the FBI headquarters at the GSA-owned warehouse property will allow the FBI to save the expense of purchasing a considerable parcel of land. Because the GSA owns the warehouse property, the transaction mechanism that guarantees federal government ownership of the campus is both clean and easy. Finally, the GSA Warehouse property satisñes Interagency Security Committee guidelines for Level V …
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Virginia's legislature passed an amendment prohibiting some insurance companies from providing abortion coverage.
This week, Virginia’s legislature approved a measure by Gov. Bob McDonnell that prohibits certain health insurance companies from providing coverage for women seeking an abortion. The exceptions to the insurance coverage rule are in cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in danger. While the new Virginia legislation isn’t as restrictive of abortions as recent legislation passed in North Dakota and Alabama, critics are concerned about the financial effect the legislation may have on a woman’s decision. Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) said, “Women should be able to make decisions about their own health care without interference from politicians here in the state Capitol.” The Virginia Society for Human Life, an anti-abortion group, …
Friday, April 5, 2013
Local Delegates Ebbin, Saslaw, Puller and Barker voted against amendment that will prohibit certain health insurance companies in Virginia from providing coverage for women seeking an abortion.
By Mark Robinson Capital News Service The General Assembly on Wednesday narrowly approved an amendment by Gov. Bob McDonnell that will prohibit certain health insurance companies in Virginia from providing coverage for women seeking an abortion. McDonnell added the anti-abortion amendment to House Bill 1900, sponsored by Delegate Thomas Davis Rust (R-Herndon). Delegates Adam Ebbin (D), Richard Saslaw (D), Toddy Puller (D) and George Barker (D) voted against the amendment. The assembly passed the bill in February to comply with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under the system, Virginians who cannot afford health insurance will participate in a federally operated health insurance exchange. McDonnell’s amendment will …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Gov. Bob McDonnell's task force releases recommendations to the General Assembly.
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Wednesday, February 6
By Blake Belden, Capital News Service Gov. Bob McDonnell is urging state legislators to approve recommendations from his School and Campus Safety Task Force that would increase sentences for illegally buying guns, require mandatory lockdown drills at schools and establish more comprehensive suicide prevention programs, among other suggestions. Northern Virginia State Sen. George Barker (D-39th) serves on the task force. Read: Police to Discuss School Safety Feb. 13 at Sully District Governmental Center McDonnell sent the General Assembly a letter outlining initial recommendations from the panel, which the governor established in the wake of December’s school shootings in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The amended package would eliminate Virginia's gas tax and hike sales taxes to raise $3 billion over five years.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s controversial transportation bill passed the House of Delegates Finance Committee Wednesday, moving past its first hurdle in the state's 2013 General Assembly session. In a 14-8 vote along party lines, the committee passed McDonnell’s package, which calls for eliminating the state’s 17.5 cents per gallon gas tax and raising the state sales tax from 5 percent to 5.8 percent. The plan would also keep the 17.5 tax on diesel fuel and increase vehicle registration fees. It would also raise the amount of the state’s sales tax that goes to transportation from 5 to 75 cents over a five-year period. McDonnell said the bill would raise approximately $3 billion in that time, including $1.8 billion for new construction. …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Educators don't support arming teachers or principals, but would welcome more trained, armed School Resource Officers "if money was no issue."
A group of educators from one of Fairfax County's largest teachers' unions says it doesn't want guns in schools, according to a survey released Thursday morning by the union, which goes on to say security personnel "can help address a portion of the issue (of school security), but they cannot fix the entire problem." The results come after nearly 500 members of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers responded to a survey on school safety and security — in an effort to make teachers' voices a larger part of state and nationwide conversations about gun control and schools, according to the federation's president, Steve Greenburg "The issue of guns being brought to schools and the issue of making our schools more secure is a complex effort…
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Members tasked with reviewing, making recommendations about safety in Virginia schools.
State Sen. George Barker (D-39th) will serve on a state task force designed to review school safety procedures and make recommendations for any improvements at Virginia's schools, a group formed by Gov. Bob McDonnell in the wake of the December shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Shortly after the shootings, which left 26 students and educators dead, Gov. Bob McDonnell issued Executive Order 56 establishing a multidisciplinary task force to review school and campus safety. Barker is among the task force members the governor announced Wednesday. In addition to several state legislators, law enforcement officials and mental health and safety experts, it also includes k through 12 and university-level educators and …
Governor's five-year, $3.1 billion transportation overhaul aims to fund major road and infrastructure needs. Tell us: Do you think the governor's plan is a sustainable option for road maintenance and new projects?
Virginia residents could see a higher sales tax — and the state could become the first in the country to shed its gas tax — if a transportation plan unveiled by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell passes the state's General Assembly during its 2013 session. The five-year, $3.1 billion transportation overhaul is the governor's attempt to address some of the state's major road and infrastructure needs in coming years; $14 billion in projects are already underway across Virginia. McDonnell said the 17.5 cent tax on gasoline — which accounts for more than 30 percent of Virginia's transportation revenues — was "dated," blaming inflation and better mileage on the dollar for making it a stagnant funding source. Raising sales tax from 5 to 5.8 percent, …
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10:47 am on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Would the FBI contribute to improving the transportation around Springfield or would they (like the DoD with BRAC) just add 10,000+ new workers and leave it up to the tax payers to fit the bill for transportation improvements? more ›