Category: Politics
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The Cooch and the Pope
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in Business and Economy, Demographics, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Federal issues, Gun rights, Immigration, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time,” says Pope Francis, leader of the globe’s Roman Catholics, regarding abortion, gays and contraception. One wonders if Ken Cuccinelli gets the message. Or maybe even Bob McDonnell. The attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate and the sitting governor have worn…
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Virginia Does NOT Say Yes to Nuclear
By Peter Galuszka In his typical business-only fashion, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has named several nuclear energy industry executives to the new, 17-member, non-profit Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority set up this year just as the move to end the uranium mining moratorium was augering in for a crash. Hmm. Let’s check this out. State…
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Now You See It, Now You Don’t
by James A. Bacon Henrico County government officials, who have campaigned in support of a 4% meals tax referendum in every way conceivable short of actually saying, “Vote for the meals tax,” have released a list of “expenditure cuts, absorptions and efficiency savings” to document their claim that the county has “cut $115 million and…
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Whatever Happened to Virginia Uranium?
By Peter Galuszka A big effort to mine uranium in Southside Virginia seemed stymied when the General Assembly failed to end a moratorium on such activity in the last General Assembly. It would seem that exploiting a large deposit of ore in Pittsylvania County by a wealthy local family and some obscure Canadian investors had…
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Questions of the Day
Now that Ken Cuccinelli has agreed to donate $18,000 to charity, expunging the intolerable stain of having accepted lodging, dinner and transportation from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams Sr., will the drum beat begin for other elected officials to return their gifts? Have we set a new standard that applies to all? Will cries now…
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University Coalition Bereft of New Thinking
by James A. Bacon Virginia’s higher ed lobby is brandishing a new economic-impact study as it pushes an agenda for more state spending on… higher education. The state’s $10.8 billion system of public colleges, universities and affiliated hospitals is an economic engine of the commonwealth, contends a new report issued by the Virginia Business Higher…
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Report Lobbyist Activity, Not Compensation
by Stephen D. Haner “Code of Virginia §2.2-419. Definitions” includes the following: “Lobbying” means: 1. Influencing or attempting to influence executive or legislative action through oral or written communication with an executive or legislative official; or 2. Solicitation of others to influence an executive or legislative official. “Lobbying” does not mean: 1. Requests for appointments,…
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The “GiftGate” Cast of Characters
By Peter Galuszka GiftGate appears to approaching its dramatic conclusion with attorneys for Gov. and Mrs. Robert F. McDonnell scheduled to appear before federal prosecutors again before Sept. 15. A decision about whether to indict them is expected soon. The plot, while delicious, is a bit hard to follow in what is the worst ethics…
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The McDonnells’ “He Said, She Said” Defense
By Peter Galuszka The latest in the months-long GiftGate soap opera engulfing the governor’s executive mansion has been revealed. The federal probe of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, his wife Maureen and businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., has been slowed down as prosecutors mull over new evidence McDonnell’s team was legally forced to surrender. Lawyers for…
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Sarvis a Credible Libertarian Party Candidate
As Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe grapple in a gouge-your-eyes-out campaign of character assassination, an increasing number of Virginians are adopting a Shakespearean philosophy of “a plague on both your houses.” That undoubtedly explains why Libertarian Party candidate Robert Sarvis is climbing dramatically in voter esteem. In a Public Policy Polling survey, 9% of respondents…
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Let the Sun Shine In
by Stephen D. Haner Whether real changes are made next year to Virginia’s disclosure and conflict-of-interest laws will depend largely on public and journalistic interest. The process responds to public pressure. The current situation exists because people haven’t pushed. Understanding fully that one should be careful what one asks for, I’m going to describe some of…
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GreenTech Auto: Lots of Smoke, Little Fire
By Peter Galuszka This year’s bizarre gubernatorial race has had stories beyond belief. There’s Jonnie, Maureen, Todd, Ken and Bob. And there’s also Terry, Xiaolin and Benjamin. The tantalizing tales of the first group need not be repeated. They, of course, involved tardily disclosed stock holdings, a wife not telling husband about stock buys, big-time…
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Ethics Issues Go Far Beyond McDonnell
By Peter Galuszka The major focus of speculation in Richmond these days may be on whether or not Gov. Robert F. McDonnell will be indicted, but there are plenty of other, lesser situations involving public officials that show just how badly Virginia’s ethics rules need fixing. State and local officials have a long history of…
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Innuendo vs. Substance In the Governor’s Race
By Peter Galuszka Virginia’s nasty gubernatorial race fills television screens and Web sites with suggestions of corruption by both candidates, involving everything from gifts to natural gas rights to a struggling electric carmaker in Mississippi. There’s anything but a smoking gun, but no shortage of innuendo. And I think it is important to point that…
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“Near Certainty” on Humans and Global Warming
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in Business and Economy, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Energy, Environment, Land use & Development, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka Here’s some red meat for global warming deniers: A draft report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says there’s “near certainty” that humans cause global warming. This is the group of hundreds of scientists and other experts who review global warming data under the auspices of the United Nations and are…