VPAP Whipple Report Monday, October 17, 2011
Today's Sponsor: Cox Communications/Cox Media - A proud sponsor of government transparency. Offering one-stop political TV advertising.
Compiled by Paul Brockwell, Jr.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
By BOB STUART
News Virginian Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Saturday that the Obama administration has no respect for the rule of law, and vowed to fight on with his lawsuit challenging the federal health care law. The attorney general said he has witnessed the administration's attitude with health care, the efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
By BOB LEWIS
Associated Press The Virginia Senate has been a cemetery for the General Assembly's most conservative legislation for more than a decade. But if Republicans gain three or more Senate seats in next month's decisive legislative elections, conservatives would consolidate their hold on Virginia government and turn state policy hard to the right.
ELECTIONS
By LAURA VOZZELLA
Washington Post Across the Potomac from hyper-partisan Washington, a Northern Virginia Republican running for state Senate counts Bill Clinton, of all people, as his political mentor. Jason Flanary, a former Marine who said he was stationed at Camp David for two years, said the former president once let him in on some of his campaign-trail strategy.
By WESLEY P. HESTER
Richmond Times-Dispatch A vast majority of Virginia voters really don't care much about the upcoming General Assembly elections, according to a new Christopher Newport University/Richmond Times-Dispatch poll. More than 70 percent of voters surveyed said they are paying little (60.3 percent) to no (10.1 percent) attention to the looming November elections in which every seat in the legislature will be decided.
By JULIAN WALKER
Virginian-Pilot Flipping the Hampton-based 2nd District into their column wasn't part of Virginia Republicans' initial election strategy to retake the state Senate this year. The heavily Democratic voting territory seemed an unlikely pickup and therefore a less attractive place to recruit a candidate or spend party resources, they figured.
By CHELYEN DAVIS
Free Lance-Star The Fredericksburg area has more open General Assembly districts than usual for this November's legislative elections. Four House districts in the region have no incumbent. Two of those districts are new to the area, one incumbent retired and another incumbent withdrew to run for another office.
STATE GOVERNMENT
By WES BUNCH
Kingsport Times News The chairman of the Virginia Tobacco Commission said last week that grant funds will continue to come to Scott County, and he downplayed the ramifications of a dispute between county officials that brought the money's disbursement into question. Virginia Tobacco Commission Chairman Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, said there would be no slowdown in funding for local projects and that the completion last week of a mandatory assessment by the Scott County Commissioner of Revenue's Office solved the issue.
CONGRESS
By MICHAEL SLUSS
Roanoke Times Morgan Griffith has high cholesterol, a problem he tries to combat with diet and exercise. A conversation about federal spending can get the freshman congressman so agitated that you might wonder about his blood pressure, as well.
ECONOMY/BUSINESS
By CORY NEALON
Daily Press Already sparring over an aircraft carrier, Florida and Virginia have locked horns on another issue: human spaceflight. NASA announced in July that it would order an environmental review of Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The study will consider current and potential future operations, such as manned missions. The last detail caught the attention of aerospace leaders in the Sunshine State, home to every astronaut launch since Alan Shepard became the first in 1961.
By BILL SIZEMORE
Virginian-Pilot There's a $5 million food fight going on at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. Like many things at the 244-year-old yard, it's steeped in history. In 1914, a group of shop superintendents organized an employees' cooperative association - which became known as the "co-op" - to provide a place where hungry workers could get hot lunches without leaving the shipyard.
By AMY JETER
Virginian-Pilot Recent estimates from the U.S. Census revealed something surprising about people without health insurance in Norfolk. They're not necessarily poor. In 2010, nearly one in 10 Norfolk residents in households earning $100,000 or more were uninsured, compared with about 5.6 percent in the state, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
VIRGINIA OTHER
By FRANK GREEN
Richmond Times-Dispatch In what appears to be the first case of its kind, a Richmond lawyer is challenging the Virginia State Bar's authority to regulate his blog as a violation of his free-speech rights. The issue comes to a head at a public disciplinary hearing Tuesday, when a committee of lawyers and lay people will listen to arguments from the bar and lawyer Horace Frazier Hunter.
By PETER VIETH
Virginia Lawyers Weekly Internet-savvy lawyers are closely watching a Virginia State Bar disciplinary case set for hearing next week involving the right of an attorney to blog about his cases without posting an advertising disclaimer. Richmond lawyer Horace F. Hunter - armed with a brief penned by First Amendment scholar Rodney Smolla - faces a VSB district committee hearing Tuesday to argue the bar is overreaching in trying to regulate what lawyers say about their work.
By MICHAEL MARTZ
Richmond Times-Dispatch The budget outlook for local governments in Virginia has taken a pessimistic turn, as localities continue to cope with falling real estate values, a slow economy, and increasing uncertainty about support from the state and federal government. More than one-third of the 118 local governments that responded to the annual survey by the Virginia Municipal League and Virginia Association of Counties say they expect to be less able to meet their financial needs in the next budget year than they are today. Only 4 percent expect the situation to be better.
By OLYMPIA MEOLA
Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginians are a largely content bunch when it comes to the direction of the state but hold a more dismal view of the course of the federal government - now and looking ahead. Nearly 46 percent say Virginia is headed in the right direction, 30.8 percent in the wrong direction and 17.6 percent are mixed, according to a Christopher Newport University/Richmond Times-Dispatch poll.
By ANDREW CAIN
Richmond Times-Dispatch The White House announced Sunday that President Barack Obama will visit a Chesterfield County firehouse Wednesday during his bus tour of swing-states North Carolina and Virginia. The announcement came two days after Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate told Gov. Bob McDonnell that the president would bypass earthquake- and tornado-damaged Louisa County on the three-day trip this week.
By DANA HEDGPETH
Washington Post Operators of the buses that ferry passengers and employees between parking lots and the main terminal at Dulles International Airport worry that the vehicles they drive are old and unsafe. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees Dulles and Reagan National Airport, says there is a regular repair and maintenance schedule for the vehicles.
By TODD ALLEN WILSON
Daily Press President Barack Obama will highlight portions of his jobs plan that encourage the hiring of unemployed veterans when he visits Langley Air Force Base in Hampton Wednesday during the final leg of his three-day bus tour through Virginia and North Carolina.
By SCOTT HARPER
Virginian-Pilot Virginia is known for many things, from its beaches to its mountains, its farms and universities. But volcanoes? True enough, Virginia has a quirky if still unexplained history with volcanic activity, one of the few East Coast states that can make that claim.
By NICOLE PAITSEL
Daily Press When Carol Masser opened the doors of Menchville House in 2001 to welcome its first residents, the women fit the homeless profile. Now, 10 years later, Heila Walker is the woman you'll find living at the Newport News shelter. The 53-year-old has a college degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology at the State University of New York. An actor, her resume boasts of gigs on the sets of "Guiding Light," "All My Children" and "Ryan's Hope."
By JENNIFER L. WILLIAMS
Daily Press Hispanic citizens make up a small part of the Peninsula's population, but local schools are seeing an increase in their numbers. Schools are natural community focal points not only for educating children for whom English isn't a first language, but for helping non-English speaking parents get information and access to resources. Schools help fill that role locally for the Hispanic community.
By BRANDON SHULLEETA
Daily Progress A new study piles on evidence that many streams in the Rivanna River Basin are in bad health, and much of the water degradation has to do with how the surrounding land is being used. About 70 percent of the streams examined do not meet state water quality standards set by Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality, according to the report, and a third of the healthy streams are on track to become impaired within the next 20 years, based on the current speed of land use developments.
By NIKITA STEWART
Washington Post Federal investigators digging into irregularities in the campaign of Mayor Vincent C. Gray have interviewed several of his associates and election staff members, subpoenaed reams of documents, and granted immunity to at least one witness who testified before a grand jury, according to nearly a dozen people familiar with the probe.
LOCAL
By PATRICIA SULLIVAN
Washington Post In a unanimous vote, the Arlington County Board decided Saturday to require big-box retail stores to go through special scrutiny before they can be built on any of the few remaining sites in the county large enough to accommodate them. Prompted by reports that Wal-Mart was interested in putting a 50,000-square-foot store along Interstate 395 in Shirlington, the board altered its zoning ordinances to require any developments of that size or larger, or ones that require more than 200 parking spaces, to go through its special-exemption-use process.
By JEREMY BORDEN
Washington Post Louis Robertson said he used to earn a good salary working for a construction company in Tysons Corner, but that ended in 2008 when the economy tanked and the jobs dried up. He has a new job, he said, earning half as much. But it has been hard to make his mortgage payments, and he said that Bank of America has been threatening to foreclose on his home in Dale City.
By DAVID PIERCE
News Messenger Virginia State Police will start a parking enforcement campaign at a Woodbridge commuter lot Monday morning. Troopers will patrol the commuter lot at intersection of Interstate 95 and Prince William Parkway on Oct. 17, and they will be looking for cars parked outside of designated parking areas, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Deborah Cox said. Police believe the blitz will help curb traffic hazards in the commuter lot.
By WILL JONES
Richmond Times-Dispatch An international company that has partnered with investors to privately manage toll roads in Puerto Rico is sending representatives to Richmond today to pursue interest in the expressways of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority. Officials with Abertis are due in Richmond as the Richmond City Council meets to discuss its concerns about RMA's plans to refinance and restructure its bonds, in part to pay off a decades-old debt to the city.
By SCOTT SHENK
Free Lance-Star New tolls seem to be in our future. State and federal officials are looking for ways to pay for a national transportation infrastructure that appears to be on its last legs. Virginia officials have been pushing hard in the search for new revenue streams, and tolls have stepped up to the forefront.
By DEIRDRE FERNANDES
Virginian-Pilot Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul Lanteigne often bragged that he never called in sick during his career. That record paid off. When Lanteigne retired last year, he cashed out with $11,760 in unused sick time. Combined with $30,290 in unused vacation time, Lanteigne's final check from the city topped $42,000. Lanteigne's was one of the largest vacation and sick time payouts by South Hampton Roads cities. But he wasn't alone.
By HARRY MINIUM
Virginian-Pilot There's a $5 million food fight going on at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. Like many things at the 244-year-old yard, it's steeped in history. In 1914, a group of shop superintendents organized an employees' cooperative association - which became known as the "co-op" - to provide a place where hungry workers could get hot lunches without leaving the shipyard.
By DAVE FORSTER
Virginian-Pilot The city's fire department is wrestling with a severe staffing shortage as it works to meet the terms of an agreement that ended a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice over its hiring practices. More than 30 openings exist in a department with 222 sworn positions, and that doesn't include those out on military, injury or vacation leave.
By JON CAWLEY
Daily Press As tourist attractions struggle to remain relevant, places like Colonial Williamsburg have introduced new programs to appeal to changing interests. One of those initiatives was the successful introduction of the "RevQuest" interactive spy game that utilizes cellular technology in a treasure hunt-type activity based on a real event. Over 10,000 people participated this summer and organizers expect to re-introduce RevQuest next season.
By GRAHAM MOOMAW
Daily Progress Though Charlottesville City Schools administrators have high hopes for the education innovations the BLAST initiative is intended to bring, officials say they won't have to break the bank to give a tablet computer to every student in grades six and up.
EDITORIALS
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
Politicians rarely pass up an opportunity to stress how opposed they are to mortgaging our children's and grandchildren's future. Sadly, they aren't quite as averse to foreclosing on their children's and grandchildren's health. In recent weeks, House Republicans - along with some Democrats from coal states - have been busy undermining pending Environmental Protection Agency regulations intended to reduce industrial emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin linked by numerous studies to numerous ailments.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
It's standard procedure these days to criticize government for being inefficient, to say it's wasting money, that businesses could do a better job. But rarely do the critics come up with specific ways for government to work smarter. As Virginia's agencies follow the governor's direction to cut their budgets to match declining revenues, a national foundation has produced a road map for the Department of Juvenile Justice to save the state money and help more troubled kids become responsible adults.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
Despite the best efforts of traffic engineers and construction crews, highways in Hampton Roads will be a mess for the next several weeks: "Most every highway has at least one ongoing project that requires daily lane closures," according to The Pilot's Debbie Messina in a story Friday.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
The horrible death of Jerry Holton, Norfolk officials said, came after he violated a city policy and climbed into the back of his trash truck to clear a jam. The unsaid implication of that explanation, of course, is that Holton would be alive if he had followed the rules. The truth, according to a report by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, is that Holton was following city policy when he was crushed on Feb. 3. The agency cited the city for 19 serious safety violations, according to The Pilot's Harry Minium, who uncovered the report after city officials apparently tried to hide it.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
The press release arrived with an unusual combination of names, albeit a welcome one. The dramatis personae featured Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, as well as Republican Rep. Eric Cantor and Gov. Bob McDonnell. The item announced the introduction of the Rehabilitation of Historic Schools Act of 2011 by Warner and Webb. Cantor and McDonnell endorsed the measure. The bill would clarify rules regarding tax credits for public and private entities that rehabilitate aging schools.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
Environmentalists often pitch renewable energy as a zero-downside proposition. But everything carries tradeoffs. Consider the current dispute in Roanoke County over wind. Supervisors there set a wind-turbine noise limit of 60 decibels back in September, along with setback requirements mandating a 1,000-foot buffer between a turbine and the nearest residence or property line. Now some in the county say that's too much noise for adjoining landowners, and they want the limit lowered.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
Gov. Bob McDonnell deserves considerable credit for living up to his "Bob's for Jobs" campaign theme. He has worked to expand business opportunities in Virginia. But the means he sometimes uses to pursue those opportunities is less commendable.
Daily Press Editorial
One small step for a school ... one large step for national education. Done here, it could be a watershed leap for the future of Hampton Roads. As chronicled in this newspaper over the past weeks, our region's long-term economic outlook faces serious challenges. We are over-dependent on the military, suffer from a dysfunctional road system and our children's educational attainment lags well behind many cities competing with us for new business. Some of our largest employers, including Newport News Shipbuilding, say local schools aren't graduating seniors with the requisite mathematics skills to get high-paying jobs at their companies.
Roanoke Times Editorial
Soon after the Class of 2011 entered Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools, the Virginia Department of Education released its annual report of on-time graduation rates -- as disheartening as the year before and the year before that. If nothing changed, 40 percent of those freshmen could expect to drop out or fall so far behind that they'd fail to earn a diploma and walk across the stage with their classmates.
Roanoke Times Editorial
No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus. If you tear holes in the social safety net, people fall through. Into the arms of caring people, you might expect - religious and other philanthropic groups who make it their mission to help the needy. There are many, it is true. The lingering effects of the Great Recession have left holes there, too. In August, the Salvation Army of Roanoke closed its community center in Southeast, including its after-school child care program.
Roanoke Times Editorial
State lawmakers asked the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice this year to examine whether one of its correctional facilities could be closed, with some of the cost savings used to fund regional treatment-oriented programs. The report, released this month, is disappointing. Department officials object to closing any of the state's six juvenile correctional centers, and they advocate for more money to reopen units currently not in use, adding up to 170 beds to the system.
Roanoke Times Editorial
We published an editorial on Wednesday about proposed changes to the State Board of Elections' rules for handling absentee ballots ("Practice penmanship before voting"). In it, we pointed out that an illegible signature could be grounds for throwing out someone's vote under the new rules. Hundreds of people commented on the regulations, and the state board listened. Today, we commend state electoral staff for moving to ensure that will be counted.
Washington Post Editorial
YET MORE HEARINGS were held last week on the District's ability to deal with emergencies. Yet again officials acknowledged missteps and promised changes. No doubt lessons have been learned and improvements made. But the capital area will remain vulnerable until the central gap in disaster planning is addressed: the absence of a regional structure that can direct a response.
News & Advance Editorial
To say that the Greater Lynchburg Transit Co. is in a jam is to put it mildly. GLTC, upon which thousands of Lynchburg residents depend for public transportation, stands at a crossroads, the result of the recession and rising fuel costs but also because of less than stellar management.
News Virginian Editorial
The bad news came Tuesday. The Waynesboro City Council began talking about what could lie ahead for the municipality in fiscal 2013, which will begin in July. That seems like a long time from now, and in some ways it is. For example, don't consider yourself behind if you haven't bought Christmas gifts yet or thought about New Year's resolutions for the calendar year 2012. But it's also not too early for our elected officials to begin pondering how to best invest taxpayers' money. That's unlikely to be a fun job. City Manager Mike Hamp told the council Tuesday that equipment needs replacing and that city employee pay will need to be examined in the fiscal 2013 budget. Depending on the economy, some government services may face the chopping block, too.
Bristol Herald Courier Editorial
The Abingdon Town Council exhibited true service this week when it promised residents of the Country Club Estates that it would take steps to mitigate flooding problems - with or without money from the state of Virginia and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
OP-ED
By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO
Richmond Times-Dispatch It's not a big issue in the legislative elections, unless you're reading mailers from John Watkins, who started pushing to get the state out of the liquor business in the early 1980s, when Bob McDonnell was still in business school. Watkins, a Republican senator from Powhatan County, declares that he "wants to modify the Alcoholic Beverage Control program in Virginia to provide a free-market system that will efficiently serve citizens and consumers, and not be artificially subsidized by a high tax." That's a mouthful. But it's probably music to the ears to David Trone. The Maryland beer-wine-and-distilled spirits retailer - you know him as Total Wine & More - continues pressing for a cause that seems all but lost for the McDonnell governorship.
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