House restores full funding of Alicia’s Law

Contributors

On Thursday afternoon, Del. Mark Sickles (D-Franconia) introduced a budget amendment that restores full funding for the critically important Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Act.  The budget amendment was necessary to restore $1.3 million in funds raised by the $10 court fee imposed on those convicted of misdemeanor and felony crimes.  Del. Sickles was joined…

Elevations All Stars take VCU by storm

Contributors

The Elevations All-Stars were not worried about the snow; they were worried about hitting amazing routines against tough competition at the Cheer and Dance Extreme competition in Richmond this past weekend. They started the morning early with their Tiny Imagine squad consisting of 3- to 5-year-old cheerleaders. The Mini Dreams (ages 6-9) had an excellent…

JMU baseball rips Bucknell, 12-1, in series opener

Contributors

A balanced offensive effort tallied 20 hits and senior left-hander Sean Tierney (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill) surrendered one run in six innings as James Madison defeated Bucknell 12-1 on Friday afternoon at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.; JMU improved to 2-2-1 overall while Bucknell dropped to 1-2. Each member of the starting lineup recorded a…

Republicans cave to pressure, block personhood measure in Senate vote

Contributors

Six Republicans joined Senate Democrats in effectively voting down legislation that would define “personhood” at conception and could in turn outlaw all abortions and some forms of FDA-approved birth control. A 24-14 Senate vote returned the bill to a Senate committee for consideration in the 2013 General Assembly session. The vote was another defeat for…

Media General explores sales of newspapers

Contributors

Media General announced on Wednesday that it is exploring the sale of its newspaper operations, including the Waynesboro-based News Virginian. The Richmond-based company said it has received inquiries from third parties regarding the potential sale of its newspapers. Media General’s newspapers include The Richmond Times-Dispatch, The (Charlottesville) Daily Progress and The (Lynchburg) News and Advance.

Radtke raises issue with IRS actions

Contributors

U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Radtke has asked the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to launch a formal investigation into abusive actions by the Internal Revenue Service toward Tea Party and Patriot organizations. On Friday, Radtke sent a letter to Congressman Darrell Issa describing IRS actions toward conservative organizations currently seeking…

Chris Graham: Is McDonnell’s point moot?

Chris Graham

Republican voters continue to toy with the idea of nominating a social conservative to run for president this fall. The GOP establishment, meanwhile, is trying to position itself to be able to take advantage of the only thing that may be working in their favor. “I am extremely concerned by recent reports that oil and…