ACLU asks FBI offices for records on race, ethnicity

The ACLU of Virginia has asked the FBI field offices in Richmond and Norfolk to turn over records related to the agency’s collection and use of data on race and ethnicity in local communities. According to an FBI operations guide, agents have the authority to collect information about “ethnic-oriented” businesses, behaviors, lifestyle characteristics and cultural…

Ken Plum: Transportation progress?

Ken Plum

Column by Ken Plum www.kenplum.com   Gov. Bob McDonnell ran for office as the only candidate with a “transportation plan,” a multi-page, single-spaced document that was good for waving to political crowds but which critics who read its content said had little substance. A report from the governor’s office last month on the progress of…

Rail Compact holds first meeting

Contributors

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   The newly formed Virginia-North Carolina Interstate High Speed Rail Compact held its inaugural meeting Monday at the NCDOT Transportation Building in Raleigh. The compact, which was authorized by Congress and established through legislation enacted by the Virginia and North Carolina state legislatures, will work to advance high-speed rail initiatives…

UVa. football tickets on sale

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   Single-game ticket sales for 2010 Virginia home football games begin Friday, July 9 at 5 p.m. online at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can purchase tickets in-person or by telephone beginning Monday, July 12 at 9 a.m. Single-game tickets are available for all home games and most away games for the 2010…

Still losing farmland, but not as quickly

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   Good news for farming, sorta, kinda: The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported today that loss of farmland to development appears to be slowing in the Commonwealth. According to the recent numbers from the Farmland Information Center, between 1997 and 2002, Virginia lost 81,500 acres of agricultural…

Court hears arguments in Cuccinelli health-care suit

Chris Graham

With audio from Ken Cuccinelli press conference Story by Chris Graham [email protected]   A federal court on Thursday heard arguments in the suit brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to strike down the federal health-care reform legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama in March. The suit alleges that the law violates the…

McDonnell signs charter-school legislation

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   Nine days before Virginia’s new laws take effect, Gov. Bob McDonnell today ceremonially signed legislation that will facilitate the expansion of charter schools in the Commonwealth. The legislation, HB1390, sponsored by Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge, and SB737, sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, was part of the governor’s 2010…