Friday, May 17, 2013
Chopra spoke with Patch Thursday afternoon after a campaign appearance at the Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield.
Aneesh Chopra, one of two Democrats running for Virginia's Lt. Gov. seat, wants to reverse controversial legislation backed by Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli - the Republican gubernatorial nominee for Governor. "We would turn back on the ultrasound bill, on the TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) regulations, the voter ID Bills," said Chopra in an interview with Patch Thursday. "I would actively work with the Governor and Attorney General to institute the executive order on anti discrimination at the workplace based on a whole range of issues, including your sexual orientation," he said. Chopra spoke with Patch for about 20 minutes after making a campaign appearance at the Grenspring …
Friday, April 26, 2013
"Virginia's got to have the ability to collect all sales tax revenue," says Sen. Mark Warner, who is co-sponsor of a bill that would allow local government to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases.
Consumers across the country increasingly are buying things online, in some cases doing so to avoid paying sales tax. When that happens, local governments like Fairfax County miss out on much-needed revenue to help pay for roads, schools and police. One group estimates Virginia is missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars each year — $422 million in FY2012 — according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The group says in all, states will lose $23 billion in 2012. That could change soon. Virginia's two Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine voted in the majority (70-24) this week to proceed with a vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013. The legislation will allow state and local governments to require …
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Virginia’s junior senator calls sequestration ‘abdication of responsibility.’
The looming sequester slated to cut military spending across the board will also cost Virginia about $48 million in federal funds for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade education, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine told educators Friday in Alexandria. Speaking to local school officials and state education advocates at the Campagna Center in Old Town, Kaine, a Democrat, said the cuts would also eliminate 7,000 Head Start slots in the state. If the March 1 sequester goes through, 10,000 teacher jobs would be at risk nationwide, as well as funding for up to 7,200 special education teachers, aides and staff, according to Kaine’s office. Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said he maintained hope sequestration could be avoided. “I hear a number …
Monday, January 21, 2013
No rest for the weary: Democrats gear up for tough 2013 state races.
An estimated 1,100 people attended the Virginia Inaugural Ball on Sunday at the Westin Arlington Gateway to celebrate the second inauguration of President Barack Obama — and gear up for key statewide elections in 2013. "Everybody is happy. Everybody is excited. It's a feel-good moment for everyone who worked on a campaign," Arlington County Democratic Chairman Mike Lieberman told Patch before speaking to the crowd. "The president is right to feel good about this weekend. You can't help but be optimistic. There's a lot of criticism of our government out there, and some of it is deserved. But there's also a lot of reason for optimism. And coming out of the last election, we see a lot of opportunities." [See photos from the Virginia Inaugural…
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Kaine said he is "rested and ready."
Tim Kaine was sworn in Thursday as the newest Senator from Virginia. Vice President Joe Biden presided over the mock ceremony after the official one on the Senate floor, and Anne Holton, Kaine's wife, proudly held a bible as her husband was sworn in as Virginia's junior Senator at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. "I feel wonderful — rested and ready," Kaine said at a reception in his honor at the Hart Senate Office Building. "With this beginning of the 113th Congress, the Senate has 15 newcomers...and I've watched group dynamics just as you have, and when you have that much change it opens the windows and rescrambles assumptions." Kaine then quoted from Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural addresss: "We are not enemies, but friends. We …
Friday, December 28, 2012
It was a busy year!
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- James Cullum
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Friday, December 28, 2012
The year 2012 is nearly over, and as we look back, it truly was a remarkable period for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The presidential election, a hurricane, and so many other events kept us busy, and there was always reason to celebrate and find happiness. So, with thousands to choose from, here are my favorite photos of the year. It really was tough eliminating some from the group! Enjoy the pictures, and Happy New Year! - James Cullum, Local Editor, Patch
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Soon-to-be Senator will serve on three committees important to Northern Virginia.
Democratic Senator-elect Tim Kaine, who will be sworn into office Jan. 3, will serve on three Senate committees important to Northern Virginia. His office announced he will serve on the following committees: Kaine had asked to join Armed Services, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Foreign Relations and Small Business and Entrepreneurship — in that order, according to a recent blog post on The Washington Post Web site. "I am excited to tackle these meaningful committee assignments," Kaine said in a news release. "Because of Virginia's deep connections to the military, through active duty personnel, veterans, military families and the private sector, Virginia needs a strong voice on the Armed Services committee as Congress makes …
Monday, December 24, 2012
Soon-to-be Senator will serve on three committees important to Northern Virginia.
Senator-elect Tim Kaine, who will be sworn into office Jan. 3, will serve on three Senate committees important to Northern Virginia. His office announced he will serve on the following committees: Kaine had asked to join Armed Services, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Foreign Relations and Small Business and Entrepreneurship — in that order, according to a recent blog post on The Washington Post Web site. "I am excited to tackle these meaningful committee assignments," Kaine said in a news release. "Because of Virginia's deep connections to the military, through active duty personnel, veterans, military families and the private sector, Virginia needs a strong voice on the Armed Services committee as Congress makes decisions …
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Warner says he wants to continue his work in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., announced Tuesday that he will not run for governor in 2013, saying that he wants to continue the work he was sent to do in Washington. Warner, in a statement issued shortly after 3 p.m., said Virginians of all political stripes have approached him over the past year to make the bid — which he said he would consider and then make a decision after the November election. "I’ve talked to a lot of Virginians I respect, and I’ve talked about it with my family," Warner said in a statement. "But when I asked Virginians to hire me as their Senator, I made a promise to come to Washington to try to be a problem solver. I have to admit, it’s been tougher than I expected. But I’ve tried to keep at it." Warner's decision…
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Senator tells Associated Press he'll announce decision before Thanksgiving.
Sen. Mark Warner plans to announce before Thanksgiving whether he'll run for governor again, according to the Associated Press. The former governor, a Democrat, served as the Commonwealth's chief executive from 2002 to 2006. Virginia is the only state in the country where a governor cannot succeed himself. Former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe has already thrown his hat in the ring and will face Republicans Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. If Warner walks away from another run for governor, he'll be teaming up in the Senate with the state's soon to be junior senator, Senator-elect Tim Kaine, who served as Warner's lieutenant governor and is himself a former governor of Virginia. In a poll conducted Nov. 8-12 by …
Crash Froelich
2:05 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013
The threshold of $1 million is sales is pretty low. A shoestring operation with a couple of employees wouldn't be making much. Trying to do bookkeeping for nearly one thousand local tax entities nationwide is a non-trivial burden, which explains why Amazon is pushing for it. It will drive a lot of their competition out of business or into partnership and insure campaign contributions for those … more ›