emmett hanger

Chris Graham: Disappointed in ya, Emmett

Contributors

It took a minute for me to realize it. The State Senate voted 20-19 in a party-line vote on Monday made possible by the one-day absence of State Sen. Henry Marsh to attend the presidential inauguration to redraw Senate district lines. Ostensibly the move was done to increase the number of majority African-American districts, but go figure, the plan adopted by the Senate GOP also created more Republican-friendly Senate districts. This is what it took me a minute to realize: my own state senator, Emmett Hanger, had to have voted for the plan for it to have passed.

ACLU urges McDonnell to act on restoration of voting rights for ex-felons

Contributors

The ACLU of Virginia on Monday sent a letter to Gov. Bob McDonnell urging him to issue an executive order restoring the voting rights of Virginians with felony convictions. The civil liberties group has recently praised the Governor for showing support for legislation that would automatically restore civil rights for nonviolent offenders, and becoming an advocate for rights restoration reform.

vmi

VMi winning streak comes to an end at Coastal, 72-47

Contributors

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to break open a four-point game, and went on to defeat the VMI Keydets 72-49 in Big South basketball action Saturday afternoon at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. With the setback, VMI’s five-game winning streak comes to an end as the Keydets (9-8, 4-1 Big South) suffer their first conference loss of the season.

Creigh Deeds: Session update

Creigh Deeds

The 2013 Session of the Virginia General Assembly is moving rapidly toward the crossover, the date when each house has to finish work on its respective bills. The short, 46-day session does not leave much time for delay or maneuver. Things move fast, and many issues of importance have already come up for debate.

Pam Solo and Grant Smith: The Myth of Energy Independence

Contributors

The definition of “energy independence” is evolving. Up to recently, it has meant the U.S. producing enough of our own oil so that we were not dependent on other nations for our energy needs. But now we’re in a world of oil interdependence. Oil markets know no national allegiance. Globalization and profit motive are altering a once patriotic concept into this: Producing enough oil and gas so that we export more to our trading partners than we import. While this new energy independence framework may help some companies’ profits, it stands to hurt many Americans’ pocketbooks, water supply, and overall health.

Non-discrimination bill signs 46 legislative co-patrons

Chris Graham

State Sen. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) and State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) announced on Thursday that they are co-patrons of a bill to add non-discrimination protections for state employees. Senate Bill 701 protects state employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in addition to current federal standards. “This is about fairness,”…