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VPAP Whipple Report Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Compiled by Paul Brockwell, Jr.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
By PETER BACQUÉ
Richmond Times-Dispatch Gov. Bob McDonnell chided the federal government Tuesday for standing in the way of developing energy resources he called vital to the country's future. Speaking to about 400 people at the second annual Governor's Conference on Energy at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, McDonnell said, "We unfortunately have erected too many impediments, too many roadblocks at the federal level."
By JIM NOLAN
Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's protracted battle with the Environmental Protection Agency over its process for regulating greenhouse gases took another legal step this week. On Monday, the AG's office filed its response to the EPA related to its appeal of the agency's 2009 ruling that carbon dioxide and other gases are pollutants that pose a threat to humans.
By JOANNE KIMBERLIN
Virginian-Pilot What's the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony? What kind of crime can send a teen to adult prison? What consequences come with a criminal record? Name one law that applies to boys but not girls. "Pay your child support!" shouted one teen, which got a laugh out of Ken Cuccinelli.
ELECTIONS
By JULIAN WALKER
Virginian-Pilot Republicans seem more excited than Democrats about President Barack Obama's bus tour in Virginia this week, seeing it as another chance, weeks before the state legislative election, to link opponents to the president's weak poll numbers and the slumping economy. Obama will speak at a Hampton military base today on the final leg of a three-day tour to promote elements of his jobs plan. As he arrives, Republicans say, members of his party in Virginia are retreating.
By VICTORIA ROSS
Connection Newspapers The third debate between Republican Jason Flanary and Incumbent Sen. Dave Marsden (D-37), which took place Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church, began politely. The candidates shook hands, and the audience gave a round of applause when Marsden announced that it was his wife Julia's birthday. But what started with a whimper ended with a bang when simmering tensions and allusions about ethical breaches spilled over into the candidates' closing comments.
By AARON MARTIN
Richmond Times-Dispatch Politifact Virginia rated House of Delegates Minority Leader Ward Armstrong's (D-Henry Co.) ad on Appalachian Power's finances as "pants on fire," for being misleading and overstating the facts. Armstrong stated in the ad, and repeated in Tuesday's interview, that Appalachian Power is bringing in $136 million, which he calls record profits. Armstrong added the company has raised rates nine times over the last four years.
By MASON ADAMS
Roanoke Times The candidates in the 17th House District and 21st Senate District races sparred Tuesday over issues including health care and economic development during a candidates forum in northwest Roanoke. Nearly 75 people - including pastors, neighborhood leaders and community activists - attended the forum at William Fleming High School, hosted by Roanoke's NAACP branch and alumnae chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
By MICHAEL SLUSS
Roanoke Times The fight for control of the Virginia Senate had money pouring into key races in Southwest and Southside Virginia during September, according to campaign reports filed this week. Senate Democrats, trying to maintain their 22-18 majority, had $3.2 million in the bank as of Sept. 30, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. Republicans had $3.1 million on hand. Major party candidates in three Southwest and Southside Virginia districts raised six-figure sums in September with help from state parties or partisan caucuses.
By CHELYEN DAVIS
Free Lance-Star Republican state Senate candidate Bryce Reeves reported receiving $140,516 from the Republican Party of Virginia in September, all in the form of in-kind donations, which means they weren't cash; the party has been paying for a lot of mailers for Reeves' campaign.
By WESLEY P. HESTER
Richmond Times-Dispatch Against the backdrop of a GOP push to take control of the state Senate, the clash between two incumbent state senators in Southwest Virginia has become one of the most hotly contested, high-stakes affairs in this year's legislative elections, and the money is pouring in. Because of redistricting, Sen. William F. Stanley, R-Franklin County, is taking on fellow incumbent Sen. W. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Henry, in Senate District 20.
By BEN PERSHING
Washington Post Del. Barbara Comstock and Pamela Danner are making different bets on what Northern Virginia voters want in the state House. Is the 34th District looking for a woman with two years' head start in Richmond, a solidly conservative record and a Rolodex full of national contacts? Or a self-described moderate lawyer who brags about not being an incumbent?
By RAY REED
News & Advance Democrat Bert Dodson and Republican Tom Garrett disagreed about school vouchers, the best means of creating jobs, and the Virginia Education Association during a forum in the 22nd District state Senate race Tuesday night in Fluvanna County. The two Senate candidates faced a crowd of 100 or more residents of Fluvanna County during a candidates' forum that was sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
By AMY TRENT
News & Advance Two of the three candidates for the 59th House of Delegates district differed on everything from invasive wildlife to constitutional amendments Tuesday evening in a candidate forum hosted by the Campbell County Farm Bureau. Matt Fariss, a Campbell County farmer and the Republican candidate endorsed by the Virginia State Farm Bureau, was not present at the debate
By MICHAEL LEE POPE
Connection Newspapers Should business owners be able to recover lost profits when government takes land through eminent domain? That's a hotly contested topic that will be considered in the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly, and the candidates on the ballot this November in Arlington have starkly different viewpoints. At issue is a proposed amendment to Virginia's Constitution that supporters say would strengthen the rights of property owners when government takes their property for public use, compensating businesses for lost profits if a government reduced public access to their locations. Republicans tend to support the amendment, and Democrats are divided.
By BEN PERSHING
Washington Post After three incumbents lost their seats and a fourth - Rep. Gerald Connolly (D) - narrowly escaped defeat in 2010, Virginia's congressional incumbents are building solid financial firewalls ahead of next year's elections, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings. The redistricting process has yet to be completed in Virginia, but the final map is likely to make most - if not all - of the state's incumbent lawmakers safer. That includes the 11th district of Connolly, who reported raised $228,000 from July through September and had $607,000 in the bank as of Sept. 30.
By OLYMPIA MEOLA
Richmond Times-Dispatch Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney will make a couple of stops in Northern Virginia next week, including a visit to the Fairfax County Republican headquarters to meet with volunteers. The former governor of Massachusetts will meet with volunteers working on legislative races Wednesday morning and then hold an availability with Gov. Bob McDonnell and Lieutenant Gov. Bill Bolling, according to Bolling's chief of staff.
STATE GOVERNMENT
Leesburg Today
A recent Virginia Municipal League newsletter caused quite a scare among local municipal governments when it was reported that a proposal had surfaced to significantly slash road maintenance funding for VML member governments. But, according to VDOT, there is no proposed legislation to do any such thing
By PETER FROST
Daily Press The Virginia Port Authority's new board of commissioners will go behind closed doors again on Monday in a special meeting in Richmond to discuss a host of issues, including a performance review of the port's top executive, Jerry A. Bridges. The meeting, hosted by Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton, marks the fourth time the board will hold a closed session since Gov. Bob McDonnell replaced 10 of its 11 members in July.
By JULIAN WALKER
Virginian-Pilot State election officials Tuesday delayed adoption of rules clarifying which errors on absentee ballots would disqualify a vote.
CONGRESS
By BEN PERSHING
Washington Post A criminal justice reform bill long-championed by Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) is inching forward on Capitol Hill. The measure, The National Criminal Justice Commission Act, would create a blue-ribbon panel to conduct a comprehensive review of the nation's criminal justice system and report back with recommendations for reform. The bill passed the House in 2010 and also cleared a Senate committee, but never became law.
VIRGINIA OTHER
By LAUREN KING
Virginian-Pilot A Virginia State Police trooper suffered minor injuries when his motorcycle crashed at an exit ramp on Interstate 95.
By JULIE PACE AND KEN THOMAS
Associated Press Three years after his surprising wins in Southern states, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is doubling down in the region, hoping to turn changing demographics into electoral wins and offset potential losses in traditional swing states next year. Obama's Southern strategy is at the heart of his three-day bus trip this week through North Carolina and Virginia. In 2008 he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win in those Republican strongholds in a generation.
By STAFF REPORT
Daily Press President Barack Obama ended a day of campaign-style, town-to-town barnstorming with an after-sunset drive across the James River Bridge, up Mercury Boulevard and into Hampton Tuesday night. Two dark-colored buses carrying the president, his entourage and the national press corps followed a string of 25 State Police motorcycles, blue lights blazing, to the SpringHill Suites, the hotel where the president would spend the night.
By OLYMPIA MEOLA
Richmond Times-Dispatch This afternoon at Greensville County High School in Emporia, President Barack Obama renewed his push for his American Jobs Act before a vocal and supportive crowd. "It doesn't seem like your voices are heard enough in Washington," he said. "They don't seem to be listening," he said, mocking Senate Republicans for scuttling the $447 billion measure last week by refusing to debate it.
By ANITA KUMAR
Washington Post President Obama arrives in the state Tuesday as part of three-day North Carolina and Virginia bus tour to talk about the economy, but it's not clear how many Virginia Democrats will be with him. As we reported today, Democratic state legislators are none too eager to support Obama, let alone be seen with him. The state's top Democrats will be not be around, either.
By MARK ST. JOHN ERICKSON
Daily Press During the past century, especially, the Peninsula has become an unusually popular destination for America's chief executives. They've come to visit so many times that it's easier to note the single president of the modern era who didn't make at least one trip - John F. Kennedy - than to rack up all the others who have passed through such places as Colonial Williamsburg, Newport News Shipbuilding and the Yorktown National Battlefield.
By MICHAEL MUSKAL
Daily Press A van containing presidential communications material has been recovered and is awaiting the arrival of President Obama, who is bringing his bus tour in support of the jobs program to Virginia. A spokeswoman for the Defense Information Systems Agency confirmed the theft and recovery in an email on Tuesday. The incident, which is under investigation, was first reported by NBC12 in Richmond, Va.
By RUSTY DENNEN
Free Lance-Star Civilian aircraft flying over much of Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County can go no lower than 5,000 feet. Now the Army wants to be able to raise its restricted airspace to 9,000 feet at certain times to enhance its training activities, according to post spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson.
LOCAL
By FREDRICK KUNKLE
Washington Post The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declined to endorse legislation before Congress that would boost Virginia's representation on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's board, with several supervisors expressing fears that the measure would only aggravate regional tensions. But the Board also asked its legislative staff to draft a letter that would thank its sponsor, Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), for his efforts and perhaps pursue other ways for Congress to address the concerns of political leaders in Northern Virginia's about oversight of the airports authority.
By ASHLEY HALSEY III
Washington Post Washington's regional planning board on Wednesday will consider a proposed application for more than $29 million in federal funding to improve pedestrian and bicyclist access to rail stations. The proposal also would pay for safer sidewalks and street crossings, a cycling track and new Capital Bikeshare stations at Army Navy Drive in Arlington.
By ERIKA JACOBSON MOORE
Leesburg Today Following the urging of surrounding residents, the Board of Supervisors voted Monday night to deny the application to place a cell tower on Lovettsville Road. T-Mobile had proposed to build a telecommunications tower with interior antennas and ground-mounted equipment at a height of 90-feet, with space for up to five carriers on less than half an acre along Lovettsville Road, but neighbors and supervisors said the height was too much for the area and that the tower itself was not needed.
By STEVEN G. VEGH
Virginian-Pilot Among the nefarious items considered contraband in Norfolk's schools is something Jennifer Palmer says she wants her children to carry: a cellphone. Norfolk is the only division in South Hampton Roads that bars students from having cellphones at school. Palmer said she and other parents will beseech the School Board at its meeting tonight not to penalize students for simply possessing phones on campus.
By JEREMY SLAYTON
Richmond Times-Dispatch To boost the city's lagging graduation rate, Richmond education leaders are putting a strong focus on the middle-school level. On the heels of a 70.2 percent on-time graduation rate for the Class of 2011, Richmond Public School officials revealed Tuesday the four-pronged Middle School Renaissance initiative aimed at increasing the number of students who graduate on time.
By RAY REED
Richmond Times-Dispatch Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood went to Kanawha Plaza on Tuesday to reiterate his request that protesters with the Occupy Richmond movement remove their tents from the city park. Later in the day, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia issued a statement asking the city to allow the demonstrators to camp overnight and express their First Amendment rights.
Daily Progress
Even as Louisa County officials complained strenuously about the lack of federal disaster aid, the county's Board of Supervisors voted to pass tax relief for homeowners whose homes suffered damage in the 5.8-magnatude earthquake that hit the county Aug. 23.
EDITORIALS
Washington Post Editorial
SINCE THE 2007 ELECTIONS, when they gained a narrow majority in the upper house of Virginia's General Assembly, Senate Democrats have been the grown-ups in Richmond. The role was forced on them by House Republicans, who have sent over waves of reckless legislation. Senate Democrats defeated a House attempt to force Virginia colleges and universities to allow students and faculty to carry guns on campus and a bill to repeal the state's 20-year-old law limiting individuals to one handgun purchase a month. They killed legislation targeting illegal immigrants that would have plunged Virginia into the same bitter debates and federal litigation that have ensnared Arizona and Alabama.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
If the Virginia Senate election ranks as the marquee campaign in the 2012 cycle, then the Massachusetts race likely comes in second. Next year Republican Scott Brown will defend the seat he won in the special election to fill a vacancy caused by Ted Kennedy's passing. Elizabeth Warren is expected to receive the Democratic nod. Warren was slated to be the first head of the commission regulating the financial sector, but Republican opposition derailed her.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
President Barack Obama is cruising through Virginia, which resembles his second home. It seems he appeared at the University of Richmond only yesterday yet already has returned. Today Obama will visit a Chesterfield fire station. Tuesday's Times-Dispatch described efforts to spruce up the site. The firefighters looked forward to greeting the president. Indeed, a presidential stopover is an event to be welcomed.
Daily Press Editorial
Hello, Mr. President, and welcome to Hampton Roads! We appreciate your visit, and we hope you enjoy your time on the Peninsula. We have some of the most breathtaking shoreline sights in Virginia and we encourage you to take some of them in along the way. Fortunately, with your Secret Service escort and presidential motorcade, you are not forced to endure the incessantly bottlenecked traffic our dysfunctional road system has wrought on the rest of us. Our transportation problems are plaguing our local economy, so if you can put a good word in for us with your incoming Secretary of Transportation, we'd be very grateful.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
There are thousands of stories in any big cemetery: tragedy, drama, intrigue, all of it written in stone. Norfolk's Elmwood Cemetery is no different. Wander around the place, and there are narratives everywhere, including where there are only fading numbers carved in marble: 187, 188, 189, 190, standing in rows like crooked teeth around a rusty anchor, occasionally interrupted by a taller marker telling the tale of a soldier who died too young.
Roanoke Times Editorial
The word most often used to capture the essence of a proposed City of Alleghany Highlands is "unique." The consolidation of Alleghany County and the city of Covington would create Virginia's largest city in geographic terms, at 450square miles, but its 22,000 residents would place it among the smaller cities in the state. It would be the only city in the commonwealth with an elected sheriff as its chief law enforcement officer. It would be the only Virginia city in which the state would have responsibility for maintaining some of its roads indefinitely, at least in theory.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
It's not clear who, specifically, should bear the blame for the 18 longtime employees abruptly fired, without explanation, in August from their positions with a federal contractor. It is clear, however, what was missing from the process: common sense. As The Pilot's Kate Wiltrout recently reported, the employees worked for LB&B Associates.
Roanoke Times Editorial
Elmwood Park is a lovely, secluded oasis in Roanoke's downtown. It could be more. Today and tomorrow, the public can suggest modern updates for the century-old park by stopping by an open house at the Main Library on South Jefferson Street from 3to 6p.m.
OP-ED
By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO
Richmond Times-Dispatch Ahead of Barack Obama's latest swing through Virginia, Republicans played the guilt-by-association card, linking targeted Democratic legislative candidates to a president whose popularity here - like the economy - is sagging. This is the outside game in the GOP drive to restore one-party control after a decade of divided government. It is almost entirely focused on the Democrats' last bulwark of power, the state Senate.
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