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City Council debates transparency, and transparency isn’t faring too well right now Column by Chris Graham [email protected] Let’s just say it like it is. Government is supposed to be of the people, by the people, for the people. I had no heartburn when the critics came out of the woodwork to criticize President Obama and…
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– Guns, guns, guns! – Transparency Guns, guns, guns! Letter from Linda Bartlett, Farnham Have Virginia lawmakers gone crazy? Where were they when Virginia Tech students were slaughtered? Guns, guns, guns! I am so tired of being in a state that approves gun laws that were prevalent in the old west. We took…
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Featured: Mary Margaret Whipple, Rob Bell Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple: Crossover www.vasenatedems.com Tomorrow is “crossover day” down here in Richmond, meaning each chamber must act on all pending legislation if they want it considered by the other. Consequently, your Senate Democratic Caucus is working hard to pass our priority legislation and send it to our…
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Featured: Jim McKelvey, Bill Bolling, Creigh Deeds Jim McKelvey: Senate Bill 481 www.mckelveyforcongress.com Once again politicians at every level of government do not get it. State Sen. Robert Hurt introduced SB 481; this bill essentially lowers the number of new employees a business must hire to be eligible for a tax credit. We need to…
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Howard Dean, Tim Kaine, Vince Lombardi, and a guy named Phil Bengston Story by Chris Graham [email protected] When the football team starts losing games, the fan base tends to start getting antsy, and when the losses compound into a losing season, you can start hearing calls for the coach’s head. Politics isn’t unlike football in…
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Featuring: Randy Forbes, Tom Perriello, Robert Hurt, Kaye Kory Randy Forbes: National Dialogue www.forbes.house.gov Ask a teacher, and they will most likely tell you that one of the quickest ways to kill classroom discussion is for one strong-willed student to monopolize the conversation. A long-winded or uncomfortably impassioned monologue inevitably polarizes viewpoints. Conversation shuts down,…
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Featured: Sen. Creigh Deeds, Sen. Mark Obenshain Creigh Deeds: Weekly Update www.creighdeeds.com The third full week of the General Assembly session ended in unusual fashion. For the first time in recent memory, the General Assembly took a snow day. Granted we have had difficult weather this winter, beginning with the snow storm in the middle…
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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…
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Column by Chris Graham [email protected] 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…
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Story by Chris Graham [email protected] A new Public Policy Polling survey seems to buttress the case that Democrats might be well-advised to go ahead and pass a health-care reform package – because the majority party seems destined to at least lose seats and possibly its upper hand in Congress whether they pass a reform…
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