Author: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Another Murderer Released On Parole!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Parole Board just released a convicted murderer. Yes, this Parole Board. The one that Glenn Youngkin appointed to crack down on the release of all those violent criminals. And not a peep out of Kerry Dougherty or Hans Bader, who ordinarily go on a rant when a convicted murderer is released…
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Let’s Make a Deal
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Gov. Glenn Youngkin earned his spurs (and his money) making deals in the private sector. He came into the governorship with no political experience. During his first two years in office, he showed little inclination to compromise or make deals. He bet big this fall on coming out of the November elections…
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Subsidizing a Billionaire
by Dick Hall-Sizemore If approved by the General Assembly and the City of Alexandria, the deal reached between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the owner of the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals for those teams to move from Washington, D.C. to the Potomac Yards site in Alexandria would constitute the largest public subsidy for a…
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Oh, That Song of Solomon!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A Hanover County parent has submitted a complaint to the school system’s Library Materials Committee about a book in school libraries, writing that its “vulgar and inappropriate” content depicts rape, prostitution, sexual assault, violence, illegal activities and sexual activities. The book: The Bible; specifically, the New International Version of the Bible. To…
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Deja Vu, All Over Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Virginia is trying again to land a sports facility for a national professional sports team, The Washington Post reports. This time it is an arena for the Wizards of the National Basketball Association and the Capitals of the National Hockey League. Both teams have the same owner and are currently located in…
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Stuck in the Secretary’s Office
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Youngkin administration is sitting on regulations needed to implement important legislation enacted by the General Assembly in 2020. The delay constitutes a violation of that law. In its 2020 Special Session, the General Assembly expanded the grounds for decertifying law-enforcement and jail officers. The background of this legislation was described in…
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Musical Chairs
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the most potent powers of the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates is the assigning of members to committees and designating the chair of each committee. He has sole prerogative over this important function. Speaker-designate Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) has broken a little with tradition (in addition to the other…
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Follow-up on Sen. Hashmi
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Kerry Doughtery has evinced a certain amount of outrage on this blog about state Sen. Ghazala Hashni (D-Chesterfield) not living in the district in which she ran and won re-election. (See here and here.) The recent redistricting had placed Sen. Hashmi’s long-time residence just outside the district which she represented. In order…
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Around the Commonwealth: Local Unions and Housing Help
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Some interesting recent actions by local governments: Local employee unions–Many on this blog predicted that local government bodies, especially those in “progressive” urban areas would not be able to resist attempts by local employee unions to enter into collective bargaining. The City of Norfolk has demonstrated that it can and will resist.…
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Another Local Newspaper Shuts Down
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A local newspaper closing down is not really news these days. However, the circumstances surrounding the News & Record in South Boston in Southside Virginia and its shutting down are unusual. In addition, the news is personal to me. For as long as I can remember, the South Boston/Halifax County area has…
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“Parental Rights” Movement Fading?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore When Glenn Youngkin was elected Governor in 2021, largely on a platform of “parental rights” in schools, a national movement seemed to have been born. In Virginia, and elsewhere, school board meetings were packed with fervent citizens shouting at the board members and at each other about banning books in school libraries…
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Just Wondering
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Four Republican Congressmen from Virginia, Wittman (1st District), Good (5th District), Cline (6th District), and Griffith (9th Distict), recently voted against the continuing resolution, introduced by the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives, to fund the government. In effect, they would have shut down the government. I wonder how they will…
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Here and There Around the Commonwealth
Virginia History For those interested in Virginia history, here are two great sources. One is new; one is not new, but I just discovered it. Cardinal News has started a three-year project “to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the march to independence in advance of the nation’s observation of its 250th anniversary,…
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Rumblings Among House Republicans
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), the current Minority Leader in the House of Delegates, seems to be on a smooth glide path to making history by being elected Speaker when the General Assembly convenes in January. The fate of the current Speaker, Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), is less certain. One might logically expect a…