Something to consider:
Never before in the history of the United States of America have the voters and delegates of a major political party had to choose their nominee for President from a field that did not include a white male. - DailyKosThat folks, is tangible progress. There is still a ways to go, but that is progress.
Loudoun County and Purcellville are locked in a massive legal struggle over the Fields Farm high school. To date, Purcellville alone has spent over a million dollars of the taxpayer's money fighting the high school which the town itself planned in the mid 1990s. And in the ultimate twist of irony, Purcellville residents are not only paying to fight the County, they are paying for the County to defend itself, since Purcellville residents pay County taxes too. Here we have millions of tax dollars going for the county to, in effect, fight itself.
Talk about schizophrenic government.
A local Democrat has stepped up and united with concerned Republicans in Purcellville to present a united front, and end the madness.
As widely anticipated, former Purcellville Councilman Karl R. Phillips made official his decision to run for the mayor's seat yesterday. - Leesburg TodayKarl spoke to the LCDC this week about his candidacy. The remarkable thing was how this Democrat came before fellow Democrats and explained that he would be campaigning as hard for his allied Republicans as he would for himself. The issue of Mayor Lazaro's tilting at the high school windmill is more important than partisanship to Karl Phillips.
The election promises to be hard-fought, with the planned Woodgrove High School at Fields Farm being the core issue. According to Phillips' release, the four candidates support the construction of the high school and the immediate cessation of the town-county litigation concerning the development of Fields Farm. The slate calls for open government, a pro-business environment, lower taxes, reduced spending and improving the working relationship between Purcellville and Loudoun County. - Leesburg TodayThe question of millions of tax dollars wasted on lawsuits insists on a strong answer, and Mayor Karl Phillips will provide it.
We all know that Virginia's budget is tightening thanks to declining revenues. We also know that another huge gap has recently been introduced, as the abuser fees were abolished without any revenue plan to take the place of that money. Virginia also faces a looming potential gap as future SCHIP funding remains at risk.
Virginia needs more revenue. It is not a matter costs and better management of existing government functions, Virginia is among the most efficient, best-run states in the nation. The need for basic government functions (roads, schools, basic safety net, etc.) is growing with our state and our economy. Virginia is among the lowest-tax states in the country, and that is a good thing. It is an important element of our quality of life. However, in order to maintain our lifestyle and the quality of our government, we need to find a way to raise more money without negatively impacting that quality of life.
One of the tenets of good government is well-targeted taxes and programs, like gas taxes going for transportation improvements, or early-education programs with which a little spending now reduces the need for a lot of spending later. An important driver of government costs is the health of the population. The less healthy people are, the less they work and the more they use government services. This is among the reasons for cigarette taxes. Cigarettes cause health problems, so the government needs money to pay for the effects of cigarette use.
Today, a very similar argument can be made for trans fats. Research has shown that trans fats are remarkably unhealthy, linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, even belly fat. The impact of this unhealthy element of our diet is felt directly in the costs of public health, as more people need help managing and controlling chronic health problems, and the emergency healthcare system is strained with more acute problems resulting from untreated conditions.
Virginia should implement a trans fat tax. The state should tax the sale of foods that contain trans fats at between 1% and 1.5%, depending on how much it costs to implement the tax at the point of sale. Businesses should not have to bear the cost of implementation, so the tax must pay for itself. This money would be designated towards the state's healthcare costs (FAMIS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) in the same manner that the gas tax is designated to transportation improvements.
By creating a dedicated source of revenue for the cost of public health care, Virginia's citizens would be somewhat insulated from the vagaries of government funding which come from unpredictable budget cycles. Furthermore, such a tax would create an incentive to eat healthier, which would reduce the state's long-term costs for care of conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Furthermore, Virginia should pass legislation allowing localities to introduce their own trans fat tax, of up to an additional 1% (depending on the cost of implementation, as above). In this manner, places that want to reduce the use of trans fats, like Arlington, would have a tool available, while other localities which might prefer not to introduce another tax would have that option. In light of revenue shortfalls in County budgets resulting from the mortgage crisis, an alternative source of revenue which is linked to a cause of county government costs makes sense.
A trans fat tax splits the difference between an outright ban on trans fats, which may raise the questions of liberty and choice, and ignoring the fact that these foods lead to direct costs for all taxpayers down the road. It creates an incentive to eat healthier. It is a tool for closing budget gaps without cutting back on the education of our children or the well-being of our most at-risk populations. Finally, a trans fat ban would emphasize the link between cause and effect in our everyday choices, and help capture the costs that some decisions impose on society.
Perhaps one day America will figure out that I am not an Asian-American, or an ethnic American, or some kind of bloc. I am an American that happens to care about the same country as the rest of you. Hopefully the same will go for everyone else. - Kenton Ngo, 750 Volts
In the late fight over SCHIP spending, which puts 80,000 Virginia kids at risk of losing their health insurance, one voice has been notably silent. Former Governor Jim Gilmore, the presumptive Republican nominee for Senate took credit for SCHIP when he signed a a bill for the program in 2001, but not before vetoing the same program in 1998. Here is what Jim Gilmore had to say in 2001.
"When faced with mounting medical bills, many low-income families simply can't afford to wait for coverage," said Governor Gilmore. "My administration is committed to providing timely and affordable health insurance for working families in Virginia who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but do not have private health insurance." - Jim Gilmore, 2001Remember, Jim Gilmore said this in 2001. Since then, health insurance premiums in Virginia are up 40% and 191,000 more Virginians have gone without health insurance.
The three SCC judges are the state's supreme regulators. The odds are you can't name a single one of them, but outside of the governor, the House majority leader and the Senate majority leader, they may be the three most powerful men (and/or women) in Virginia. - Jim Bacon, Bacon's RebellionThe SCC is Virginia's public regluator. That means they are responsible for monitoring and overseeing state-licensed corporations. In last year's 33rd District Delegate election, SCC reform was part of Marty Martinez's platform. Since then, no one has picked up the torch of reform, and we are living with the consequences.
Edge.org has an interesting essay question up: "What have you changed your mind about?"
This inquiry really does get to the heart of public discourse, politics and generally who societies progress. At its heart, all political discussion and debate is about convincing people and changing minds, but one must be truly willing to change their mind in order for the system to work.
This was the subtext of the 2004 critique of The Executive, who could find nothing he had ever done which was a mistake. The first step to changing your mind is admitting that you might have been wrong (or, at a minimum, misinformed) in your previous position.
The Edge.com question has essay contributors varying from Alan Alda to J. Craig Venter. I wanted to share the comments of noted skeptic, Michael Shermer.
When I was a graduate student in experimental psychology I cut my teeth in a Skinnerian behavioral laboratory. As a behaviorist I believed that human nature was largely a blank slate on which we could impose positive and negative reinforcements (and punishments if necessary) to shape people and society into almost anything we want.It is wise to ask ourselves whether we would be as willing to set aside an ingrained belief in light of compelling contrary evidence?
...
The data from evolutionary psychology has now convinced me that we evolved a dual set of moral sentiments: within groups we tend to be pro-social and cooperative, but between groups we are tribal and xenophobic.
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I have thus changed my mind about this theory of human nature in its extreme form. Human nature is more evolutionarily determined, more cognitively irrational, and more morally complex than I thought. - Michael Shermer, Edge.org
With the widespread confirmation that Tom Davis will retire from the House of Representatives this year, 13% of the entire Republican Caucus in the House is retiring. And this could be just the beginning.
It should be noted that at this point in the 2006, there were only 13 announced retirements by GOP House incumbents. February and March still offer some time for more House crumb-bums to cut their political careers mercifully short, and I expect that a few will follow the recent example of Reps. McCrery, Baker, and Walsh. - Swing State ProjectThat compares with five Democratic openings, three of whom are running for Senate, and one of which died while in office. Larry Sabato at UVA's Center for Politics has speculated that 2008 will be a "consolidation election" for the Democratic party, which will show gains in its majorities, confirming the Party as the majority for some time to come.
By the way, the 2008 House GOP exodus is quite normal. When a party loses control of the House, some senior members of the new out-of-power party miss their perks and chairmanships, and they decide to call it a day. - Sabato's Crystal BallThe get-the-heck-out-of-dodge trend is not limited to Congress. Republicans are fleeing state legislatures, too.
A dozen Republicans - eight in the House and four in the Senate - have announced they will not seek re-election. Two Democrats from the House are seeking Senate seats this fall while one Democratic senator is not seeking re-election.And there are Republican retirement trends in Minnesota and Pennsylvania as well.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Des Moines Democrat, told reporters Thursday that "there are indications there will be anywhere from five to 10 more Republicans announcing their retirement" in the House this session. McCarthy declined to give names but said he made the estimate judging from the relative inactivity some Republicans have had in fundraising during the past year. - The Des Moines Register
Jim Webb's initiative to create a modern-day Truman Commission has been signed into law. The issue of fraud and corruption in our military contracting is an important one. (Alan Grayson is running for Congress on it.) Every dollar these contractors take illegitimately is a dollar not spent defending our country and supporting out troops. Every illegitimate dollar adds to our debt and deficit.
This is a small step towards transparency and accountability in a trillion-dollar, global war effort. The fact that it took six years and Democratic control over the Senate to get this done is further evidence of the abandonment of fiscal accountability by the Republicans. During WWII it was a member of the President's own party, Harry Truman, who aggressively held war contractors accountable. Today, accountability of war spending is apparently a partisan issue. As a friend in Minnesota has said, "for my entire life, I thought of myself as a Republican because of fiscal responsibility, but the only time the budget was ever balanced was under a Democratic administration!"
From war contracts to earmarks, it is only when the Republicans are out of power that they suddenly get religion on the question of fiscal responsibility.
Even as the General Assembly buries further work on gun show background check legislation, the debate in Virginia over the question of gun rights continues. On the Washington Post's "Virginia Politics" page, a story by Anita Kumar on the latest compromise efforts has sparked an intense discussion in the comments over rights and reason. Here is a small sampling.
The VA Tech killer obtained his guns and went through a background check - why is it people keep forgetting that??? The issue is the availability of mental health data, not with private sellers who may want to sell their shotgun to a friend or relative. Criminals do not obtain firearms legally. This proposal will not help, nor would the one which was defeated. - Posted by: VA native
Responsible gun owners, like me, support responsible gun laws. We don't need felons and psychos buying firearms. The opposition to closing this loophole is nothing less than cowardly pandering by a bunch of spineless politicians. - Posted by: Oakton, VARegardless of your position on the question, the growth in online debate and discussion on these important issues is a good thing. It is too infrequent that people from northern Virginia and people from southside, for example, have a forum to talk, citizen-to-citizen. While our elected legislators interact and debate in Richmond, our prespective on those debates is only strengthened by direct conversations between places like Herndon and Roanoke. In the comments section of the Washington Post, Not Larry Sabato and Raising Kaine, this happens, even though all of those sites originate within a few miles of Washington DC. Through blogs and the Internet, Virginians are being tied together in debate, discussion and ideas. In the end, the result can be a stronger Commonwealth, and that is good for everyone.
The impact of the housing downturn is starting to be felt among the most at-risk in our region.
Organizers at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, who expect to release results of the survey in June, said they will be studying the information for insights into the effects of the troubled housing market. Slowing construction has taken a toll on workers in service, building and landscape jobs. According to the Arlington County Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, nearly 20 percent of all home loans in the region are high-cost subprime loans.And the problem is not limited to the inner suburbs. Here in Loudoun, the second-richest County in America, the fight over what to do about shelters simmers. The managers of the County's leading service provider for those in need, the Good Shepherd Alliance, have proposed a community advisory board, to help mitigate local concerns over the impact of their shelter.
At the same time, dramatic increases in utility, gas and food costs are compounding the difficulties for residents trying to hold on to their homes.
"I am seeing more families with children," said Rose Powers, who runs Streetlight Community Outreach Ministries in Woodbridge. Many have turned to her in recent weeks for help paying for a motel room, she said, "because the shelters are full." - The Washington Post
"We felt that having a continuing dialogue on a month-to-month basis wasn't just something that was necessary to earn trust, we felt it was also good for the long term," Graham said.It is admirable that the GSA is willing and able to spend its time and energy on a community advisory board in the interests of being a good neighbor. It is truly sad that they have to. The time and energy spent on this Board is time and energy that could be spent helping our neighbors in need. A wealthy county like Loudoun has a responsibility to be compassionate to its homeless population, especially in a time of growing economic displacement. In a time of growing need, it is remarkable that Loudoun County appears to only have housing for thirteen families who are without homes.
Graham said the organization hopes the advisory council will evolve into a forum in which residents not only discuss the center's effect on the neighborhood but also focus on community volunteering — planning food and clothing drives for the homeless and recruiting volunteers for the thrift store. - LoudounExtra
"The only purpose for the building being renovated on-site will be to house our consolidated administrative offices and thrift store. There will be no change of course in view of this announcement," Graham said. "We urge the Ashburn community to join us in accepting closure on the zoning issue, and placing it behind us. There are far more daunting and timely issues for us to address together, and we look forward to rallying hand-in-hand with the Ashburn community to help us make the daily lives of the homeless and indigent better, safer, and more humane." - Leesburg TodayAlso, LCPS has joined with Wegmans to try to mitigate some of the effects of economic dislocation. It's good to see some local companies and institutions reaching out a helping hand.
Washington And Lee holds a mock convention every presidential cycle, and they have been remarkably successful at predicting the eventual nominees of the two major parties.
Since 1908, the Convention has correctly selected presidential primary candidates 18 out of 23 times, with only one error since 1948. The Washington and Lee campus is looking forward to yet another successful selection during its centennial meet in 2008. - Washington And Lee
Most Accurate Student Mock ConventionThere hasn't been a Presidential race like this one in many generations, as there is no incumbent and no heir apparent in either party. It will be very interesting to see if W&L continues its successful prediction streak. If there is a year in which they might be wrong, this is it. Opinion polls have been remarkably wrong throughout the race. And the voters seem to take pleasure in defying expectations.
Predicts Clinton as Democratic Nominee
LEXINGTON, Va. – After two days of political events at Washington and Lee University, the 2008 Mock Convention selected Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee. The prediction marks the 100th anniversary of the most accurate student-run mock convention in the nation.
Students at W&L, a historic liberal arts college, have picked the correct presidential nominee for the party out of power every time but once since 1948, and have a perfect record since 1972. Since its inception in 1908, the overall record stands at 18 correct predictions out of 23.
More than 90 percent of the student body is involved in running the convention. They spend over two years planning, researching and organizing the quadrennial event, which has consistently featured prominent political figures and received national media attention. - Washington and Lee Press Release
Frank Wolf does love the ceremonial. From swearing-in firefighters to speaking on Martin Luther King day, our Congressman makes the rounds being seen in the community, doing ceremonial things. He is a master of the photo op and the three-line blurb. His skill in this area allows him to maintain a strong level of mild approval and name recognition. However, a rational look at both his record and his influence demonstrates that Frank Wolf is all style, and no substance. He is a ceremonial Congressman, with only the efficacy of a figurehead.
We could start with SCHIP. On this important issue, Frank Wolf was against it before he was for it. Like a figurehead, he only points in the direction other people turn him. As the dean of the Virginia delegation to Congress, it should be his responsibility to not only vote for SCHIP, but to convince his Virginia colleagues to do so as well. If it is good enough to vote for, it should be good enough to fight for. But Frank Wolf has done no fighting on behalf of Virginia's uninsured kids. His silence stands in sharp contrast with his claim to be one of the most important Republicans in Congress (he's a member of the Appropriations Committee, after all).
This raises the question of Frank Wolf's influence and effectiveness as a Representative. While Wolf has railed against tolls on the Greenway and tried to fund rail to Dulles, his record of success in these signature areas is remarkably slim. He took credit for adding money to the Dulles Rail project in 2007, when he also spoke out strongly against a tunnel, so surely he must also take blame for the near-collapse of the project today. For a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and a twenty-six year veteran of Congress to have a Federal agency controlled by his own party thwart the most important project in his district, without his advanced knowledge is a demonstration of irrelevance, not influence. It is as if the President of his own party knows that Frank Wolf has no real power, and can thus be ignored.
If Frank Wolf is not showing leadership in his caucus or among the Virginia delegation, and there is little recent evidence of any kind of influence he may wield over issues that are important to Loudoun and the 10th District, is he at least looking out for us in Congress?
On this final issue, the answer remains "no." In a time of economic uncertainty and mortgage catastrophe, Frank Wolf's attention has been elsewhere. Even as Congress works to mitigate the foreclosure crisis, Frank Wolf spends his time dealing with Connecticut Indian tribes. While our neighbors are losing their jobs, Frank Wolf is employing people in other states to look at porn. And while our troops have been fighting in Iraq, Frank Wolf claimed credit for a memorial to the Civil War.
On the Iraq issue, Wolf's lack of effectiveness is incredibly stark. He was a major sponsor of the legislation creating the Iraq Study Group, but when the time came to implement the Group's recommendations, Frank Wolf abandoned his own solution and voted against the recommendations.
Former Congressman Mark Siljander was recently indicted for his participation in a fundraising ring that allegedly sent more that $130,000 to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a supporter of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Congressman Frank Wolf is listed prominently on Siljander's lobbying company's web site as a reference. Global Strategies, Inc. - NLS
Talk about a paradigm-shifting technology. One dollar ethanol could revolutionize transportation, power generation, and a wide variety of other industries.
A biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol from just about anything organic for less than $1 per gallon, and it wouldn't interfere with food supplies, company officials said.We would be a lot better not generating our ethanol from food, especially when the technology at hand is an American technology (not, say Brazilian) and can use "just about" any organic material. Of course, the whole thing could be vaporware.
Coskata, which is backed by General Motors and other investors, uses bacteria to convert almost any organic material, from corn husks (but not the corn itself) to municipal trash, into ethanol.
"It's not five years away, it's not 10 years away. It's affordable, and it's now," said Wes Bolsen, the company's vice president of business development.
...
The end result will be E85 sold at the pump for about a dollar cheaper per gallon than gasoline, according to the company. - Wired
The end result will be E85 sold at the pump for about a dollar cheaper per gallon than gasoline, according to the company. - Wired(With a tip-o-the-hat to Slashdot.)
Digby writes about a citizen waging a campaign against the frauds and corruption emergent from the Bush administration and the GWOT(tm). Alan Grayson of Orlando Florida is running for Congress. He has spent the past few years pursuing civil court cases against the companies and people who have defrauded the American taxpayer over the past six years. While Sen. Webb and the Senate Freshmen have called for a new Truman Commission, Mr. Grayson has been implementing one on his own through the courts.
Alan Grayson has spent the last four years of his life combating some of the worst abuses of the war. He has filed dozens of citizen lawsuits against crooked contractors who have cheated American troops and taxpayers. He is the prosecuting attorney in all five fraud cases currently pending against contractors in Iraq. He won a $10 million jury verdict last year, the second largest False Claims Act verdict in history in a case that the Justice Department refused to prosecute. - Alan Grayson for CongressThere is a lot that could be written about Mr. Grayson's candidacy, but as ever, Digby says it best.
I like it. I like it a lot. We need people in congress who understand that the last seven years weren't some bad dream from which we can awaken and simply carry on relieved that it wasn't real. It happened and it has to be dealt with. - Digby
Dave Butler held his campaign kickoff this afternoon at the Thomas Balch Library. Kelly Burk and Susan Horne introduced him, and Councilmembers Kevin Wright and Katie Hammler were in attendance along with many friends and neighbors.
There is a lot of discussion on the Dulles Rail fiasco all over the Virginia blogosphere right now. If you are looking for a good article generally summarizing the situation and circumstances that led to our current condition, LoudounExtra did a great job today: Contradictions Surface in Dulles Rail Talks. Here's a taste.
At several points in the past two years, Federal Transit Administration officials said the project was doing fine on cost and construction management, according to the correspondence and phone calls with Virginia officials.Since we have reached a point of total boondoggle, it makes sense to revisit the entire project. Elements like dedicated funding, competitive bidding, a tunnel and better project management and control should be fundamental issues addressed in a comprehensive project review. Once that is completed, we will have a much better idea of what is involved in getting this transformative project done right. The last thing our area needs is a Big Dig.
But Thursday, the tone changed. FTA chief James S. Simpson declared the project unfit for federal funding. And he pointed to many of the issues that project officials and Virginia politicians had thought were settled and done with. - LoudounExtra
Jackson over at Rule .303 puts up some thoughts on economic stimulus.
Step 1. Build things, roads, schools, bridges. American things.
Step 2. Start with things already designed, but unfunded. "Have the first phase of the thing be solely the construction of projects that have already been planned and prepared by state governments."
Step 3. Watch the effects flow from construction to steel and American industry.
Step 4. Keep the money in America, not spent on things made elsewhere.
Throwing money at people and asking them to piss it away on consumer junk that came from overseas only reinforces what is going horribly wrong in the American economy. We have got to make things. A society that builds, has. Economic stimulus needs to not only be rapid but it needs to focus on encouraging the employment of Americans to build things. - Rule .303The whole thing is worth a read by everyone. This is the right idea, and the best idea heard in a long time. It's too bad Congress and The Executive aren't listening.
Webb: Invest in Infrastructure to Stimulate the EconomyThanks, RaisingKaine.
Urges Senate Finance Committee to Invest in People and Job Creation by Investing in Vital Construction Projects
Washington, DC-Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) said today that the best way to spur job creation and economic growth is to prioritize investment in infrastructure projects. In a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley, Webb urged that a large portion of the stimulus package be devoted to infrastructure development, "putting people to work and at the same time benefiting the nation's capital needs.
Last year, some of our neighbors were sent to Iraq. Since they left, the 109th Virginia family was visited by tragedy resulting from war, the 3910th American was killed in Iraq, and Sen. Jim Webb called for a modern-day GI Bill.
Now, there is word our neighbors may be coming home.
About 30 Leesburg Army National Guard soldiers soon will return from deployment to Iraq.To all the families who will be reunited, thank you for the service of your mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. To all the service members who spent the past year Over There, thank you for your service. We sincerely hope your experience abroad will be brought home, and your voices will be added to the great discussion about our future as a County and a Country.
The National Guard sent notice Jan. 24 that about 160 soldiers would be returning home. Of this number, about 30 are from the Leesburg Army National Guard unit (C Company 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry).
Many of the returning soldiers departed for training or Iraq in early January 2007.
Some members of the Leesburg C Company -- about 120 -- left for Iraq in late August and were told they would be spending the following 11 months in active duty. - Loudoun Times-Mirror
Dave Butler is kicking off his campaign for Leesburg Town Council tomorrow.
Come to Dave's Campaign KickoffIf you would like to support a good neighbor and consensus-builder for Council, come join Dave tomorrow at 2.
Where: The Thomas Balch Library 208 W. Market St.
When: 2:00 pm, Saturday, January 26, 2008
What: Campaign Kickoff with light snacks
Who: Everyone!
"My family and I moved here six years ago. While driving down to my job interview in Sterling, we passed through Leesburg. Almost immediately, my wife Pam turned to me and said, "This is where I want to live. It feels like home." She was right. We looked at a lot of houses, many in other places, but all of our top choices were here."
Deciding to live in Leesburg was an easy choice for my family. However, Leesburg continually faces many, much harder, choices. With my experience on the Planning Commission, Traffic Committee, Water Rate Committee, and Trails Committee, as well as my background in engineering, security, project management, and process improvement, I can find solutions and make the choices that will be the best for Leesburg and that will improve your quality of life.
We have choices..how we choose determines our future.
I need your help to help you. Please support me in the upcoming election for Town Council." - Dave Butler
Loudoun's own Sen. Mark Herring has sponsored a bill to provide random audits of elections in Virginia. SB292, "Optical scan tabulators; random audit after each election to take place within 24 hours," specifies that:
The State Board of Elections will establish procedures for the audits, hand counts, and evaluating discrepancies between hand counts and tabulator tallies. The bill also requires that recount officials select a random sample of at least five percent of the optical scan tabulators used in the election being recounted and that the paper ballots counted by those tabulators be recounted by hand. If the hand count detects machine errors, then the recount officials may designate additional machines to hand count. SB292, Richmond SunlightThe bill goes before a Senate committee on January 30th. Virginia is lucky to not have had the voting problems of Florida, Missouri or Ohio, but there is a difference between problems with voting and problems with vote counting. This bill attempts to stave off vote counting problems by introducing a mandatory audit step aimed and enhancing the verified accuracy of vote totals. The State of Maryland did a comprehensive analysis of voter verification, and one of its key recommendations was implementing post-count audits of a selected sample of systems and ballots to verify results. Sen Herring's bill effectively implements this recommendatoin for Virginia. This is the kind of technical, but practical legislation which causes minor impacts in the short-term, but yields major results in the event of a problem. Kudos to Sen. Herring for sponsoring this bill!
In an Action Alert I received this week, the Verifiable Voting Coalition of VA made me aware of HB638 (May) which not only seeks to overturn the legislation on DREs, like SB685, but also changes the process of securing voting equipment. This bill needs to be defeated. This bill is assigned to the Elections subcommittee of the House P&E committee. The coalition expects that the committee will take up this bill at its next meeting and is requesting that you contact the subcommittee members by 5pm Wednesday, January 30, and let them know that you are opposed to this bill. - Vivian J. PaigeMay's bill would lift the prohibition in Virginia on electronic-only voting machines (aka, "DREs"). These kinds of systems have caused dozens of voting problems throughout the country, so it is unfathomable why Del. May would deem it appropriate to free localities to buy DREs in Virginia. May's bill would invite lawsuits and the necessity of replacing entire voting infrastructures in the event of any kind of problem. In a time of budget limitations, Del. May should not be introducing legislation which could lead to significant and unnecessary future costs for the Commonwealth. Especially when optical-scan systems are cheaper. (Incidentally, Loudoun uses a mix of touchscreen DRE and optical-scan systems.)
Del. Rust has introduced a bill which would secure representation for towns on the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. The bill was requested by Rust's constituents in Herndon, and is supported by the Leesburg Town Council.
Leesburg Town Council members voted last night to endorse HB 451, now under review by the General Assembly, which would increase the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's membership from 16 to 17 by adding one town representative with full voting rights. - Leesburg TodayThis is a generally good adjustment to the NVTA. Towns are the one local government form not represented on the NVTA, and increasing the number of voting members from 16 to 17 will insure no tie votes. Towns have unique transportation circumstances, without the authority of independent cities, but often expected to handle their own problems by the Counties of which they are a part. Leesburg, for example, invested its own money in completing Battlefield Parkway when potential problems arose.
Last year, the project hit a speed bump when it was discovered that it was nearly $14 million over budget. Town Manager John Wells and members of council decided to borrow money from other projects to cover the shortfall, and plans for the link continued. - Leesburg TodayWith representation on the NTVA, Towns would have a forum to address their unique burdens with other Authority members.
The motion to endorse HB 451 passed 4-0-3, with Mayor Kristen Umstattd, Councilwoman Katie Sheldon Hammler, Councilman Kevin Wright and Reid in favor and Councilman DavidWrightSchmidt [sic, I a pretty sure they meant David Schmidt -P13. UPDATE, the author has updated the article, and it was David Schmidt who was absent. -P13], Vice Mayor Susan Horne and Martinez absent. - Leesburg Today
Here's a novel idea, instead of paying per pill and per prescription, consumers could pay to "license" the use of the prescription drugs they need.
Researchers propose that consumers pay an annual "license" fee that would entitle them to a year's worth of medicine for each prescription they take on an ongoing basis, with a very small or no co-payment for each monthly supply.In the long-run, this could significantly help the health care system by making drug regime compliance easier. It could reduce the emergency and urgent care necessary for people who go off life saving drugs because of costs, then wind up in need of acute medical care, the costs of which are often shifted to hospitals and taxpayers.
Such a system could be used to pay for medicines that treat chronic conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes or asthma without increasing the cost to consumers and may reduce the periods when patients go without such medicines because of the cost, according to a study published in the journal Health Affairs. - Science Daily
Researchers propose that consumers pay a $195 fee for an annual license for the statin drugs -- equal to what most consumers now pay out of their own pockets each year if they have insurance plans that require $25 per-prescription co-payments. Insurance companies would pay an additional $374 to drug companies for each statin license.An interesting idea, in any case.
Because there would be no monthly out-of-pocket payments for consumers, researchers suggest that patients would be more likely to take their prescriptions. Analyzing past research about the impact of rising co-payments on patient compliance, researchers suggest the average annual use among patients taking statins would climb from 7.8 months to 9.8 months under the new pricing plan.
The increased use of the medication among patients may result in fewer long-term health problems and lower overall costs to insurance providers, according to the study. - ScienceDaily
Loudoun is a county with lots of children and ubiquitous use of technology. As such, we are especially vulnerable to scams and shady practices which prey on children and technology, even while the same technology helps parents and children stay in touch in emergencies.
I strongly urge readers to surf over to Loudoun Force and read their discussion of the latest questionable cell phone bill practice.
As soon as I got my child a cell phone, I noticed these two itemized charges, under the “Downloads and Premium Content” section:In our world of prevalent and inherent connectivity and technology, it is ever more important to pay close attention to our bills and the companies with which we do business.
257 Subscription Surfpin Alerts $9.99
258 Subscription Surfpin Alerts $9.99
I spoke with a rep from the cell company, who indicated that I needed to turn off web access to make these go away. I immediately did. However, recently I noticed the charges where still there.
I called the cell company again, a bit incensed this time. I found that Surfpin had apparently underhandedly signed my kids up for some monthly subscription service. Something my child had no idea he did. - Loudoun Force
Del. Tom Rust (R-86th) is championing legislation in Richmond which would guarantee the authority of Loudoun's County Chairman. This bill was introduced in reaction to the actions of the previous Board of Supervisors, which removed much of the authority from the Chair at the start of the previous session and gave that authority to a Vice-Chair of the majority's choosing.
York asked Rust to propose the bill to prevent a repeat of 2004, when the board, in usurping his authority, essentially ignored the wishes of the voters who elected him, he said.Given the change in the affiliation of the majority on the Board, this bill would preempt any similar usurpation of authority in the future, without the consent of the Chair themselves.
“I kind of suspected that they would try something, but I didn’t think it would be as draconian as what they did,” York said of the former board, which voted to transfer his agenda-setting power to then-Supervisor Bruce E. Tulloch (R-Potomac). “For that and other things, they paid the political price for it this past election,” York said, referring to the four board members who were ousted in November. - LoudounExtra
While in committee, Rust’s bill was amended to say that the chairman’s powers could be modified by only a unanimous board vote, meaning York, and his successors, would have to consent. - LoudounExtraIt is interesting that Del. Rust's legislation is limited to Loudoun County's Board of Supervisors, in spite of the fact that there are four counties (Loudoun, Prince William, Fairfax, Frederick) with similar systems, in which the Board Chairman is elected at-large from the entire County. It would seem more logical to structure the bill to apply to all these counties than limit it to Loudoun. This point is especially valid considering that Del. Rust also represents parts of Fairfax county.
Attention all public officials: You are being recorded.
From Macaca to "get over it kid, and go to school!" public officials and their families have been rudely awakened to the YouTube revolution. Whether you like it or not, the public knowledge of your semi-public comments is here to stay.
It started with Thursday's snowfall, estimated at about three inches near Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke. On his lunch break, Lake Braddock senior Devraj "Dave" S. Kori, 17, used a listed home phone number to call Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for the county system, to ask why he had not closed the schools. Kori left his name and phone number and got a message later in the day from Tistadt's wife.The pandora's box was opened by the Republican Congress in 1998, when the Lewinsky scandal centered on questionably taped phone conversations and uncleaned dresses. The semi-private-as-public standards of that moment in time were indelibly seared into the heads of a generation just beginning to come to terms with its role in society. The validation of this practice came in the 2006 Senate campaign of George Allen, when a remark about a member of that generation, then taping the Senator, set off a firestorm that may have cost him re-election. Now, the practice of retaining and distributing the recorded comments of officials and their families is part of the mainstream, whether the folks in charge realize it or not.
"How dare you call us at home! If you have a problem with going to school, you do not call somebody's house and complain about it," Candy Tistadt's minute-long message began. At one point, she uttered the phrase "snotty-nosed little brats," and near the end, she said, "Get over it, kid, and go to school!"
Not so long ago, that might have been the end of it -- a few choice words by an agitated administrator (or spouse). But with the frenetic pace of students' online networking, it's harder for grown-ups to have the last word. - The Washington Post
Leesburg Mayor Kristin Umstattd is running for re-election.
Umstattd said she decided to run again because she thinks it is "important to have someone on council who is a strong voice for the taxpayers in the town and for citizens and neighbors that often need an advocate on the council."
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If re-elected, Umstattd said she would also like to continue to hold down real estate taxes for residential property owners, work to complete the transportation network in town and complete town storm drainage projects. Umstattd pointed out the completion of Battlefield Parkway and the Sycolin flyover and storm drainage problems on Wage Drive and Fort Evans Road as priorities. - Leesburg Today
Leesburg so well for the past six years.One of her proudest accomplishments as mayor, she said, has been working with Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-VA-10) to get funding for construction of Battlefield Parkway between Kincaid Boulevard and Rt. 7, as well as working with representatives from the Virginia Department of Transportation "to ensure they were fully supportive." - Leesburg TodayWhile the Mayor is a Democrat, she is Mayor first and always puts Leesburg first. Her opponent this year, David Tevis, appears to be more against things than for Leesburg. The Mayor (along with candidates like David Butler) is running for Leesburg (supporting transportation improvements, expansion of the tax base, infrastructure maintenance, etc.), while many candidates are running against the success the Town has had in the past six years. If opponents are advocating a change in leadership, they must explain how they will fulfill the responsibility of governing well and providing what the Town requires (roads, services etc.) in a time of declining budgets and growing needs. Without an answer to that question, the voters of Leesburg are better off re-electing and reinforcing the leadership which has served us so well.
One of the arguments for retaining Joe May in the House of Delegates was his seniority in the House Republican Majority. In theory, a more senior Delegate gives Loudoun's issues and concerns more weight in Richmond. That argument, however, has been proven at least partially false by recent developments.
Dels. Joe T. May (R-Loudoun), R. Steven Landes (R-Weyers Cave) and Chris Jones (R-Suffolk) - The three Republican delegates on the Appropriations Committee were passed over as budget conferees, even though they have more seniority than Del. Clarke Hogan (R-Charlotte), who was selected. - The Washington PostIn the arcana of the Assembly, this means that Del. May will not be in the final group of legislators to decide what will and will not be in the ultimate state Budget. That may have significant import for issues critical to Loudoun, like education funding, power lines and transportation. In a time of strapped county budgets, every dollar from Richmond counts and Joe May's reduced influence could translate into larger budget deficits or reduced services for our neighbors.
The Town of Leesburg is offering a training session to help parents understand how to use text messaging to contact their children in emergencies.
Leesburg IT Commission to Host Public Forum on Text/Alert Messaging Technology on January 29, 2008Given the criticality of communications in today's world, and the ubiquity of text messaging has the communications technology of choice among the under-25 population, it is important for parents, teachers and other community leaders to understand and use text messaging.
Children's Safety Through Text/Alert Messaging Technology
The Information Technology Commission of the Town of Leesburg will hold a forum on the topic of Textual and Alert Messaging Technology for the benefit of the public on Tuesday, January 29th at the Ida Lee Park Recreational Center at 7 PM. The featured speaker will be Robert Jones. A short networking session will precede the forum starting at 6:30 PM.
In light of the of the Virginia Tech tragedy of last year, the Leesburg IT Commission decided to seek out speakers with expertise in the Textual and Alert Messaging field to provide the public with a better understanding of the technology, its use, and its possible future. Three speakers will be presenting at the Forum: Robert Jones, Director of Marketing, Rave Wireless, Inc; Ara Bagdasarian, co-founder and President of Omnilert, LLC; and Jill Stelfox, Chief Executive Officer, Defywire. An earlier news release provided background information on Mr. Jones. This news release will provide background information on Mr. Bagdasarian and his portion of the presentation.
Mr. Bagdasarian is the co-founder and President of Omnilert, LLC the leading mass notification communication provider for Higher Education in North America and will be presenting on the possible future of Text and Alert Messaging technology. Prior to Omnilert, Mr. Bagdasarian worked as national sales manager for Vcall, founded web(((RESONANCE))), worked in channel sales at technology distributor Ingram Micro, Inc., and founded XNETIX Internet Technology Group in Buffalo, NY in 1996. He also managed business development with the McBride's web services division.
Currently Mr. Bagdasarian is involved with Ominlert's "e2Campus" service. The e2Campus service was conceived in late 2003, when the company founders read a story about a female student who was horrifically raped and murdered in her Lehigh University dormitory in 1987. The article revealed one key factor in the incident was the fact that the tragedy may have been prevented if the student had been informed about the criminal activity on campus.
This sparked the idea that became the e2Campus service, "there must be a better way to communicate with the campus community”. The basic premise for the service being, “Since most students carry mobile phones, we can alert them via text messages". The founders ran this new idea by a local community college (Anne Arundel Community College) and they agreed to pilot the program. In the Fall of 2004, AACC launched e2Campus and became the first campus in North America to use a text mass notification system. Three years later over 300 colleges and universities (including Lehigh University) are using e2Campus in a mission to make their campuses safer through instant mass communications.
Information Technology Commission
Town of Leesburg, Virginia
25 West Market Street
P.O. Box 88
Leesburg, VA 20178
(703) 737-7003
ITCommission@leesburgva.gov
Forum Contact: Commissioner David Kirsten
dkirsten@leesburgva.gov
Happy Birthday Dr. King.
LoudounCounty Democratic Committee
Celebrates Martin Luther King's Birthday
Leesburg, Virginia -- The Loudoun County Democratic Committee will be joining families, friends and community organizations of Loudoun plus the Douglass Alumni Association, Loudoun NAACP, Bluemont Concert Series, and the Baha'I Community of Loudoun, the sponsors of the Martin Luther King Birthday 16th Annual March and celebration on Monday, January 21st, 2008.
LCDC member and former candidate for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Broad Run District, Phyllis Randall will be this years keynote speaker. Phyllis authored the first resolution recognizing African American History Month in Loudoun, was the first African American to seek the office of Supervisor is Loudoun's 250 year history.
The celebration includes a march from the Old Loudoun Courthouse beginning at 10 AM to the Douglass Communiy Center, formerly the Douglass High School. After the march, refreshments will be offered at the center followed by a program of music and short messages.
Participants in the faux debate of "science vs. religion" might be mistaken in the approach to the fundamental question at hand. Is it possible that we do not need everyone to believe in all well-established scientific theories as long as they understand them? Perhaps the entire frame to teaching evolution (for example) should allow students to refrain from belief in one side or the other, as long as they demonstrate understanding of the nature of the idea.
As an illustration, in the time of slavery and abolition, the fundamental causation and economic properties which underlie that peculiar institution were not really at issue. It was understood that chattel labor was inherently necessary for the southern plantation economy and class system. The fundamental operating processes were not at issue, it was the moral and social values implied by that system which were at issue.
Similarly, should it not be possible to reframe the teaching of something like evolution so that students can understand how and why it works without having to attach a moral or social value to that process? In political science, one can understand Marxism-Leninism without believing in it. In law enforcement, it helps to understand the mind and impulses of a criminal, but that does not excuse the criminal. In comparative religion itself, one can understand and explain the Buddhist concept of nirvana without believing in it. In all three cases, an understanding of the idea or process illuminates the greater debate and allows for a more complete experience of our world, without creating an obligation to believe or act in one manner or another on the person doing the understanding
The requirement for a functional citizen is an understanding of how the world works, not a value judgment that it should work that way. The fight for Americans to understand evolution can be a battle separate from, though related to, the fight for Americans to accept evolution.
And reframing the debate in this way may have many significant, long-term benefits. I would submit that if pollsters were to ask whether people understood evolution, rather than whether they accepted or believed it, the nature of the debate over the question itself would change. If headlines read that 80% of Americans understood how evolution is supposed to have brought us into being, our standing in comparison with other countries would be much different. There is already anecdotal survey evidence that evolution is understood among the creationist population, it is acceptance of human evolution which is the difficult barrier.
A change in how we approach this divisive question would also allow us to achieve the ends of wider acceptance of evolution. After all, with understanding comes acceptance. We can achieve a kind of herd immunity from irrational thought if we can spread the understanding of science, while - for now - ignoring the question of whether those who understand truly accept it. After all, without manifestation in irrational action, disbelief inflicts no harm on society. This is the essence of the separation of church and state, "believe what you want, but understand these are the rules."
Thus, it may be a good long-term plan to attack ignorance instead of belief in our current tilt with those who would deny evolution, because it creates a path for the knowledge of evolution to seep into uninformed corners: In order to know thy enemy, you must first understand their motivations and tactics. In order for them to know how to "defeat" evolution, they must first understand it.
And since it is supported by logic, upheld by observable evidence, and tested by experimentation, I will put my money on evolution in that battle, every time.
It turns out kids today are no different than our parents were at the same age.
“Today’s youth seem to be no more narcissistic and self-aggrandizing than previous generations,” write the authors. “We were unable to find evidence that either narcissism or the closely related construct of self-enhancement has increased over the past three decades.”The fact is, every generation grows into itself, and makes choices the previous generation questions as "the decline of civilization." And then it turns out they could handle those choices just fine. After all, mankind is extremely adaptable.
The findings run counter to previous research and media reports claiming that narcissism has been steadily increasing among college students, leading some behavioral scientists to dub today’s youth as “generation me.”
But it appears, at least for now, that the youth of American have won a reprieve from being scolded as more aloof and self-involved than previous generations. - ScienceDaily
The idea that “young people don’t vote” is patently ridiculous. In 2004, 49% of all voters 18-29 went to the polls. That’s millions of voters. In fact, a report by the Harvard Institute of Politics stated that more voters 18-29 went to the polls (20.7 million) than did voters over 65, the so-called reliable seniors (19.4 million). - FutureMajorityIt is far too easy to underestimate and dismiss any activity that is not easily characterized or categorized, and all too often that is why the true impact of young people is missed and glossed over so frequently.
Hugo stood up on the House floor and criticized House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry) for the attacks against him during the November election when he was accused of working for a lobbying firm that overcharged the government, represented abusers at Abu Ghraib prison and profited from the war in Iraq. - Anita Kumar, The Washington PostThere, of course, is a simple way to avoid such aspects of a campaign - decline to work for such an lobbying firm.
Karen S. Johnson-Cartee, a political science professor at the University of Alabama who has written several books on negative television ads, said Hugo's ad "means we have sunk to a new low."Those who live in glass houses...
"To me, it is like quoting graffiti off the underside of an underpass and using it in a political ad," she said.
Gary Nordlinger, a Democratic consultant and past chairman of the American Association of Political Consultants ethics committee, said unnamed comments on blogs should be off-limits.
"The AAPC code of ethics says don't run anything misleading, and arguably this could be misleading," Nordlinger said. "All a candidate has in his campaign is his or her own personal credibility, and when you run advertising that can be easily revealed as baseless, the attacking candidate puts their credibility at risk." - The Washington Post
The common carrier doctrine is what prevents companies like AT&T from being sued when illegal content (like child porn) flows over their networks. As long as a network carries all traffic equally, network operators are not liable for the nature of that traffic.
However, AT&T may be putting its designation as a common carrier at risk.
Today, in its daily Internet operations, AT&T is shielded by a federal law that provides a powerful immunity to copyright infringement. The Bells know the law well: They wrote and pushed it through Congress in 1998, collectively spending six years and millions of dollars in lobbying fees to make sure there would be no liability for "Transitory Digital Network Communications"—content AT&T carries over the Internet. And that's why the recording industry sued Napster and Grokster, not AT&T or Verizon, when the great music wars began in the early 2000s.The whole article is well worth the read. (With a tip-o-the-hat to Slashdot.)
Here's the kicker: To maintain that immunity, AT&T must transmit data "without selection of the material by the service provider" and "without modification of its content." Once AT&T gets in the business of picking and choosing what content travels over its network, while the law is not entirely clear, it runs a serious risk of losing its all-important immunity. - Slate
The Tally Ho was not closed long.
The Tally Ho Theatre in Leesburg will be up and running again Jan. 11. David Wright, David Sly and Steve Heaton of Market St. Productions are the proud new lessees of the historic theater, which originally opened in 1931. - Loudoun TimesAnd best of all, not only will there be movies, there will also be an open mic and comedy improv.
The first live performances will run Friday and Saturday, Jan. 11 and 12. On both days, the Pickle Punks magic act, a combination of mentalism and sleight of hand, will begin at 8 p.m.; and Last Ham Standing's improv show will begin at 9 p.m. Tickets include both shows and are $10 for regular seats and $15 for VIP seating. - Loudoun TimesImprov is a ton of fun, and Leesburg is trying to reinvent its nightlife.
Del. Joe May has proposed a bill that would cap Greenway toll increases in exchange for a cap on the property taxes paid by the road's owners.
But the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors isn't buying it.In a time of fiscal tightening in Loudoun, Del. May is seeking to score political points at the expense of the County budget. An analysis of the proposed toll increases demonstrates that the worst-case-scenario has consumers spending an additional $68/month in tolls. The potential budget shortfall in Loudoun could be as high as $251 million. That works out to about an extra $109/month in taxes and fees for each adult in Loudoun. If Richmond removes the Board of Supervisor's property tax flexibility for one of the largest landholders in the County, the potential bill to the remaining taxpayers could be even higher.
On Tuesday, the board passed a motion opposing the bill in its current form. Supervisors said that although they favored limiting toll increases on the privately owned highway, they could not support a measure that would hamstring the county's ability to raise funds. - LoudounExtra
May said that he had not formally briefed the Board of Supervisors on his bill but that its opposition was not surprising.It is unclear who else, other than Loudoun County, is sharing in the pain under Del. May's bill. The current bill would let the proposed increases through 2013 go into effect ("Effective January 1, 2013"), only introducing the cap after that year. The pain of both the toll increases and County revenue shortfalls is carried entirely by the residents of Loudoun County, Del. May's own constituents. Joe May is, in effect, asking Loudoun residents to trade lower Greenway tolls for higher local taxes. And you can be sure he will join Republican candidates in the next Supervisors race in decrying those higher local taxes that his own bill made necessary.
“I understand the situation, and as I said, this is a compromise . . . and we're asking Loudoun [County] to at least share in part of the pain,” May said. - LoudounExtra
The SCC only exercises as much authority as the Assembly grants it. For the past eight years, the Republicans have been in control of both houses of the Assembly, and have had numerous opportunities to give the SCC direction and authority to look more deeply into the companies that own the enities that provide Virginia public goods such as insurance, power and roads. The Republican Assembly, in their wisdom, has chosen to keep the SCC limited in its oversight powers, and not incidentally, the Republican Attorney General, Bob McDonnell is able to use his independent authority to investigate the Australian parent company.An empowered SCC could more directly manage the tolls issue, without unnecessary linkages to property taxes and without bringing the corporations themselves in to help draft bills. An empowered and reformed SCC could serve as a watchdog to make sure that corporations are not profiting on the backs of taxpayers without those taxpayers getting just value in return.
In fact the Republican Assembly has previously sought to eviscerate the important oversight function that the SCC provides, and was only prevented from doing so by a veto from Governor Kaine earlier this year.
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The SCC should be given the flexibility and authority to broaden its oversight and investigation of the companies that deliver public goods and services to Virginians. Health insurance, electrical power and transportation are critical issues facing Virginia, and the state needs more, not less, information about the companies that drive so much of the action in these areas. This is not a call for more regulation, merely more transparancy and more information on which rational and effective public policy an be based. Transparency and disclosure only come from active legal tools and entities dedicated to informing the public. - "Reform the SCC", Leesburg Tomorrow, October 23, 2007
The Town of Leesburg stands to directly benefit from the NVTA, specifically with two projects within Town limits, and one just outside. The NVTA has proposed to help fund the widening of Rt 15 between Evergreen Mills Road and the Town Limits and the general fixing of the 15 Bypass at Ft. Evans Road and Edwards Ferry Road. The first project will help manage traffic flow in and out of south Leesburg, while the second will greatly improve safety and traffic flow on the congested Bypass at rush-hour.
Grow said that construction of the interchange will also eliminate the intersection at Fort Evans Road and the bypass; it will instead become a right in right out. The interchange project is also included in VDOT's Six Year Plan, which estimates a construction date of 2015 for the project. - Leesburg TodayThe improvements to the 15 Bypass by Ft. Evans and Edwards Ferry are long overdue. These intersections are among the most dangerous and congested in Leesburg, and fixing that stretch of road will have immense benefit to safety (fewer accidents), quality-of-life (faster transit through the area means shorter commutes and trips to the store) and the environment (less time stop-and-go means less idling car pollution and litter).
Leesburg means faster and smoother transit through and around town. It means the reduction of Leesburg as a significant regional bottleneck, and resulting improvement in all of our lives.Councilwoman Katie Hammler will be running for a second term on the Town Council in May.
The main theme of what Hammler hopes to achieve if re-elected is "creating a more sustainable balance for the future of Leesburg." This includes looking at some key infill development opportunities in the town, continuing the town's partnership with the Downtown Improvement Association and protecting the historic core and preparing it for future generations, Hammler said. - Leesburg TodayCouncilwoman Hammler led the fight to deny the Festival Lakes development, a denial which the Council later reversed. Councilwoman Hammler advocated using the land for town needs, like a school, instead of residential development. The Council decided to reverse the denial on grounds that the Festival Lakes application was in line with the Town Plan, and should be approved for that reason.
Martinez made a motion to approve the rezoning and Burk recommended that the proffer language make it clear that Capretti's schools proffer not be diverted for the widening of Riverside Parkway, and be used solely for the schools.Katie Hammler is also the Council representative on the Cable Television Commission. It may be noted that she has been absent from at least three recent meetings (though Councilman Martinez stood in for her at one of them). The general policy is that appointed Commission members are asked to step down from the Commission if they miss more than two meetings. Council representatives, however, are not appointed, and have more town business to address than appointed Commission members.
The PMW Farms application was approved by a 4-3 vote, with Martinez, Burk, Wright and Horne voting to approve, while Hammler, Umstattd and Reid voted to deny. The final approval stipulated Burk's recommendation that the schools proffer be used solely for the schools. - Leesburg Today
Criminal rehabilitation begins and ends with a reason to rehabilitate. Today, Virginia's senate takes up the question of restoring the right to vote for ex-convicts who have served their time and paid their debt to society.
Richmond, VA – The Privileges and Elections Committee of the Virginia Senate will likely vote this afternoon on a constitutional amendment to allow non-violent felons who have completed their sentences to be able to vote. Under existing law in Virginia, all felons are permanently disenfranchised, and may have their right to vote restored only by the Governor.America is the land of opportunity and second chances, but for reasons more closely related to repression than Democracy, Virginia does not extend a second chance at full citizenship for her ex-convicts. This is an artifact of a Virginia whose values are no longer valid. It is a travesty that the state that was the cradle of American democracy denies the very right to vote to one in fourteen of her citizens.
There are approximately 380,000 Virginia residents who cannot vote because they have been convicted of a felony. About 300,000 of them have completed their sentences. - The ACLU of Virginia
A convoluted surfing route through The New York Times leads to a blog with a UVA PhD and medical student as a primary contributor: Denialism. On said blog is found a wonderful and entertaining summary of the kinds of arguments used to offset convincing scientific evidence, the Denialsts' Deck of Cards.
I'm very proud to be on Scienceblogs with Mark, and for my first posts, I'm going to be introducing the Denialists' Deck of Cards, a humorous way to think about rhetorical techniques that are used in public debate. Those who pay attention to consumer protection issues, especially in product safety (especially tobacco, food, drugs), will recognize these techniques. The goal of classifying them in this way is to advance public understanding of how these techniques can be used to stifle reform in consumer protection or on other issues. So, the Denialists' Deck is extremely cynical. But it is a reflection of and reaction to how poor the public policy debates in Washington have become. - Denialism BlogThe entire entry is well worth the read, covering techniques like denying the problem or blaming it on a few bad apples to the wonderfully oxymoronic combination of individual responsibility and industry immunity.
What Vivian said.
Today - Monday, Janaury 14 - is the last day to register to vote in the February 12 presidential primaries. 17-year-olds, who will be 18 by Election Day, November 4, are eligible to vote in these primaries and any other primaries or special elections held between now and then.Details on where to register, and how, can be found here.
If you haven’t registered or know someone who hasn’t, please head on down to your local registrar’s office and do so by 5pm today. You can print out the application and mail it as well. It has to be postmarked today. - Vivian J. Paige
Political campaigns are typically covered as a "horse race." This construction is used to describe how the media typically reports on the "who's ahead, who's behind" of politics, more than the meat of policies and outcomes. In this political season, however, I think the horse race is the wrong metaphor for the race for President.
It's not a horse race, it's a pennant race.
Before explaining this idea in detail, it should be noted that the important things are ideas and leadership not sports metaphors. Ultimately, our President is responsible for stewardship of our future and leadership in times of opportunity and crisis. Metaphors are gateways to deeper understanding, not substitutions for the understanding itself. We must be cautious and clear in the use of any metaphor lest we add to the confusion that is political debate in America. With that, here is how the race for President is like the baseball season.
First, the campaign may seem to be between individuals ("horses") but in reality, it is a competition between entire organizations ("teams"). It is irrelevant how bright a candidate's ideas may shine, without a strong and dedicated organization behind them, there is no chance to win the nomination. It is more accurate to say that organizations, lined up behind the vision and personality of their candidates, are competing. They are teams, not horses.
Second, the contest is more reminiscent of the baseball season than the horse racing season. The racing season is defined by three major events, each of which lasts only a few minutes. The baseball season is defined by one hundred and sixty two games, then the playoffs, before a winner is decided. The race for the White House includes over one hundred separate contests (a primary or caucus in each state and the District of Columbia, not to mention the "money primary" before election year even begins) before the actual race between the candidates themselves even begins. The primaries and caucuses are like the regular season, and the post-nomination race the playoffs. A horse racing season can have three equivalent winners, the political, and baseball season, only one.
Third, horse races, ultimately, are about speed. Yes, there is strategy and tactics in the race, but fundamentally, the fastest horse wins. Political campaigns are about strategy and depth, just like baseball. The team must have a plan, a good manager and have the depth to handle injuries and other unforeseen events. Like baseball, a well executed plan, good management and the organizational depth to handle adversity is what it takes to become President.
Finally, in baseball and politics, but not in horse racing, there is a score. There are runs in baseball and delegates in the nomination race. In both baseball and the nomination battle, a team can be mathematically eliminated. That is not possible in a horse race.
The interesting thing about the metaphor of baseball for the political season is the fact that it can be taken fairly far. And extending the metaphor can actually extend the explanation and understanding of the process. We could talk about each nomination being a pennant, each party being a League, with their own biases and history. Different positions on the baseball field could be analogous to different roles in a campaign. Heck, one could even call the moving of advisors and consultants from one campaign to another "trades to make a run for the pennant."
In the end, metaphors are only good if they illuminate instead of obscure. The Horse Race metaphor does more to obfuscate than to explain.
Play Ball!
Telecommunications companies have repeatedly cut off FBI access to wiretaps of alleged terrorists and criminal suspects because the bureau did not pay its phone bills, according to the results of an audit released yesterday. The report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said that more than half of nearly 1,000 FBI telecommunications bills reviewed by investigators were not paid on time, including one invoice for $66,000 at an unidentified field office. - The Washington PostThis yields a classic case of ambiguous feelings. On the one hand it is frightening to think that critical evidence in criminal cases is being missed because the accounts payable department at the FBI is not able to do their job. On the other hand, it is nice to know that for all the assaults on our liberties brought about by The Executive, we can depend on plain old telecom company greed to act in favor of the bottom line, and our freedoms as a result. Americans should not have to depend on the incompetence of the government bureaucracy for the protection of our liberties, but hey, when it happens that way, I guess we'll take it.
The audit is the latest in a string of reports from Fine's office over the past seven years to detail chronic financial and inventory management problems at the bureau, including a persistent failure to account for hundreds of guns and laptop computers. - The Washington PostBroken Government indeed. It is frightening the breadth and depth of the flaws introduced into our system under the current administration. There is no middle ground left. Either the government is too invasive and overbearing, with an arrogance that is both unprecedented and unconscionable; or the government completely abdicates its responsiblilities, ignoring things of critical import like a small child putting his hands over his hears and shouting "la la la" when being told something he doesn't want to hear.
"There's a lot of moving pieces in Virginia politics." - Gov. Tim Kaine
The Republican speaker of the House of Delegates, the only elected branch of the Commonwealth government still in Republican control, has extracted some payback for his party's losses in November. He has stripped senior Democrats of long-standing committee assignments, thus reducing their input and influence over key legislation. At the same time, he has assigned Democratic leaders to committees on which they will need to make votes that may become 2009 campaign fodder.
The two highest ranking Democrats in the Republican-controlled House were removed from two of the three committees they had each spent a dozen years or more on.At the same time Speaker Howell put Brian Moran, likely Democratic candidate for Governor, on committees which handle tax and gun issues, thus potentially creating a circumstance where Del. Moran is asked to cast votes which could divide his support (ROVA vs. NOVA, in the standard, if inaccurate, construction) in various parts of Virginia.
Del. Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry), House minority leader, was left on Courts of Justice and taken off General Laws and Counties, Cities and Towns. Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria), House Democratic caucus chairman, was left on Courts of Justice but taken off Transportation and Health, Welfare and Institutions. - Anita Kumar, The Washington Post
Moran's spokesman, Jesse Ferguson, wasn't quite so diplomatic. He speculates that Howell is paying back Armstrong and Moran, who helped Democrats increase their numbers in the House this year.Of course, Del. Howell s the same man who helped stop some of the subcommittee votes that Del. Moran would have to make from being recorded publicly. In effect, Howell may have handed Moran transparency in the Assembly as a campaign issue.
There is a lot of debate about which candidate on the Democratic side represents real change. The truth is that any of our candidates would usher in an era of significant difference from what has gone before in America. Leesburg Tomorrow is not taking a position on the nomination campaign this year. A few days ago, I posted a local Democrat's endorsement of Barack Obama. Today, I want to offer a link to an incredibly insightful essay on Hillary Clinton by Anonymous Is A Woman.
But at some level, JC, and many others, miss completely that for boomer women, they did not see themselves as voting for the status quo in New Hampshire yesterday. They were fighting for somebody whom they viewed as a genuine change agent who had fought 40 years of battles for them, and with them. And those women were deeply offended that men and young people, both male and female, neither recognize nor acknowledge that fact.The entire essay is well worth the read. If you are debating whom to support this year, you would do well to read this and other opinions on the candidates.
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If she’s now the Establishment, it’s a very different Establishment than the one she and I found. Not always better, but different and more equitable. There’s still miles to go before it’s truly just or equal. We still see the double standard all the time. We still see injustice, war and poverty. And it may take a new generation to lead us out of it. And Obama may be the one to do it because he is so inspiring.
But today’s progressives stand on the shoulders of those who came before so they can achieve even greater things. But do remember those whose shoulders you stand on. - Anonymous Is A Woman
Three candidates have announced intentions to run for the four Town Council seats up for election in May. They are David Tevis, Frank Holtz and David Butler. David Tevis is running to unseat Mayor Umstaddt, Frank Holtz and David Butler are running for seats on the Council. Here is what they each said about their candidacies.
Butler said he sees himself as a consensus builder, seeking and implementing solutions that will improve Leesburg residents' quality of life.
"Whether it's improving our roads and trails, lowering taxes through economic development, or making our town more environmentally friendly, I always try to bring people together to make the best decisions for Leesburg," Butler said. - Leesburg Today
"They've turned into a spending organization, not representation for the citizens," the 32-year town resident said.
Tevis -- who owns Dominion Pest Control -- said he will announce his mayoral run at a press conference at noon next Thursday on the Town Green. He said he plans to run on a reform ticket and wants to be a fiscally conservative representative body to town council. Tevis added that he chose to run for mayor because he didn't think he could affect the change he wanted to at solely the council level.
"I don't think a council member could push through any ideas unless they were part of a reform coalition," Tevis said. "There's times I've talked to people and even they're afraid of the machine in place." - Leesburg Today
"It's so burdensome for businesses to come to Leesburg," Holtz said. "It's a very, very complicated process. I want to join those on town council who want to take the charge and make this town friendlier to businesses so we can attract more jobs and business tax revenue."
Holtz also wants to take the charge on an issue that has not been addressed by the town council - illegal immigration and overcrowding.
"Town council hasn't brought forward a serious discussion on illegal immigration and overcrowding," Holtz said. "There hasn't been any information about what this is costing us now. It's like they want to wait and see what the county is doing." - Leesburg Today
As of Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, at least 3,910 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,178 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. - The Associated Press, with a tip-o-the-hat to HullabalooHow do we get our heads around that number?
On February 12th, Virginia holds its Democratic Presidential Primary. After Sen. Clinton's victory in New Hampshire last night, Virginia's primary begins to loom large in the nomination battle for the Democratic Party. The conventional wisdom is that the nomination will be tied up on "Super Duper Tuesday," February 5th. But that same conventional wisdom had Obama winning handily last night, and Hillary Clinton "inevitable" in late 2007. As has been said many times this morning, now we have a race on our hands.
Primaries and caucuses do not directly select nominees, just like votes for President are not actually cast for President. In both cases, the voters are actually voting for a slate of people who themselves vote directly for the candidate. In the case of primaries, they are voting for delegates to each Party's national convention. In the case of a Presidential election, the votes are cast for electors - people whose votes actually count and are committed to voting for a given candidate for President. Thus, the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary selected a series of delegates to the Democratic National convention, those delegates are generally committed to voting for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton (or John Edwards, Bill Richardson, etc, depending on how the delegates are allocated in the state) on the first ballot for the nominee at the national convention.
With a mixture of wins and losses in the various states during the nomination battle, such as differing, close wins for Obama and Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire, delegate counts matter.
While this win for Clinton makes her the favorite once again, and while much the same can be said about McCain, another lesson from tonight as that no one has anything locked up. This could go on for a while. Big McCain vs. Romney showdown in Michigan next Tuesday. Next Saturday, huge Obama vs. Clinton matchup in Nevada, and Huckabee vs. McCain matchup in South Carolina. There is plenty of time for movement in both directions in all three of those states. This isn't over by a longshot.You'll note that even with her victory in New Hampshire, Sen. Clinton has not yet taken the delegate count lead. That's because the calculus of delegate allocation in Iowa vs. New Hampshire means that her 6% win in New Hampshire did not yield as many delegates as Obama's 8% win in Iowa.
Also, I can now do something I have always wanted to do as a blogger and a political junkie: keep a meaningful delegate count. Here are the preliminary numbers:
Democrats
Obama: 25
Clinton: 24
Edwards: 18
- Chris Bowers, OpenLeft
In a development that has flown under the radar, it now seems to me that, as long as Clinton wins Florida and California, she will be ahead in delegates after February 5th no matter what happens in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.This is why Virginia now counts. Virginia, Maryland and DC could be an Obama firewall in the same manner that Arkansas, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York are for Sen. Clinton. Obama can and should have an advantage in Maryland and DC, with their large African-American populations. This brings us to Virginia. While Hillary Clinton has been working the elected officials in New Hampshire and Nevada and similar states, Barack Obama has tied up many important officials in Virginia. And it's not just the elected officials on board for Obama here, it's important bloggers as well.
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Collectively, Clinton's advantage in Super Delegates, Michigan, and February 5th home states provides her with roughly a 500 delegate advantage on Obama. If she were to also win Florida and California, which combine for 555 pledged delegates, it would be impossible for Obama to be ahead on delegates after February 5th. He could win every other state between now and February 6th, and never make up that sort of delegate deficit. - "The Delegate Count: Clinton's Firewall and a California Showdown," Chris Bowers
Given this, I've decided to join with Tim Kaine, Bobby Scott, and Doug Wilder in supporting Barack Obama. I have the greatest respect for John Edwards and Hillary Clinton, and will enthusiastically support either if he or she is the nominee. Having said that, I am now firmly and enthusiastically in the Obama camp. - Lowell, RaisingKaineMaryland (99 Democratic delegates) and Virginia (103 Democratic delegates, thanks Wikipedia!), are the biggest prizes between February 5th (Super Duper Tuesday) and March. Victories in these states will have the potential to change the dynamic coming out of February 5th if the race is still fractured. Thus, it really does matter, thanks to New Hampshire, who we go vote for on February 12th. (It's good to be wrong sometimes.)
There is a great series of photos of the campaign in New Hampshire up on BagnewsNotes: Our Man In New Hampshire
With a Tip-o-the-hat to Digby (who else?)
Law And Order is one of the better shows on television.
I am not talking about production quality, I am not talking about popularity, and I am not talking about the actors. I am talking about the contributions Law And Order makes to the national dialog and the public good. Law And Order is a television show that presents real controversies and issues in an entertaining way, and allows the viewer to consider their own positions on the subject matter during the course of an episode.
It typically takes my wife and I an extra half-hour to watch any episode of Law And Order because we pause the show any number of times to discuss and debate the issues and questions presented by the episode. In this manner, we have learned a lot about each other, evolved our positions on many issues, and even reached agreements on important ways we want to live our life.
This is a television program that actually creates positive and healthy debate over important issues of the day (torture, stem-cell research, suicide, our very system of justice itself). Nevermind the fact that the verdicts are often contrived or unrealistic, the show presents important issues in a relatively balanced way, and asks the viewer to consider their own opinions of important issues.
Whenever people say "there is nothing good on television," or decry the state of popular entertainment, I smile. The is more, better entertainment today than there ever has been. We live in a golden age of satire and current events programming. All we need to do is pay attention to what we are watching, and we will be able to make more informed decisions about our world than any generation that has ever gone before.
During the 2006 campaign, I worked for all our Democratic candidates. I was proud to hand out Webb and Feder materials at the Farmers' Market here in Leesburg. In 2007, I volunteered for Kelly Burk's campaign, and worked for our other fantastic candidates, like Mike George and John Flannery. In 2008, there is remarkable Democratic energy around the Presidential campaign, energy which may translate downticket to the Congressional race against Frank Wolf.
Got this in my Inbox today. It's from the local Democratic District Chair here in Leesburg.
Happy New Year All,Now, I have not made a decision about the Presidential nominee, I'm focused on the Congressional race and Town elections. However, a lot of people whose opinions I trust are supporting Barack Obama, and the message of inclusion he is bringing reflects a key ingredient of Democratic success in Loudoun: Outreach to independents and Republicans with whom we can form coalitions on important issues like growth and the economy.
Hope you all are well rested because this year will prove to be rather busy. First off we have a priamary on February 12th!
The state party has qualified SIX of the Democratic candidates for the presidential primary in the Commonwealth:
* 1. Joe Biden
* 2. Hillary Clinton
* 3. John Edwards
* 4. Dennis Kucinich
* 5. Barack Obama
* 6. Bill Richardson
*Chris Dodd did not file with the State Board of Elections by the December 14, 5:00 pm deadline.*
The LCDC has not nor will it endorse a candidate prior to the primary. The Democrats of Loudoun County as a whole will help choose the nominee and thus the endorsement of our party on the 12th of February. I encourage you to organize and campaign for the candidate of your choice!
I want to express at this point that I am speaking for myself and not as the Leesburg District Chairman.
It probably comes as no surprise to some that I am supporting Barack Obama. I have not made my support of Obama a secret, but I have not explained why I support him. I support Obama because I see in him the echo of JFK. I think highly of his sincerity for running and his message of change. I believe that he more than any other candidate can reach out to independents, moderate Republicans as well as Democrats. If you feel as I do and want to do something about it, I want to announce that there will be a door to door canvass for Barack Obama this coming Saturday at 13:00 at the LCDC HQ.
Regards and may the best candidate win!
Regards,
Dave K.
Over at RaisingKaine, Lowell has a post up on environmental legislation introduced for the coming General Assembly session.
These all look to be promising bills on energy and environment. Tomorrow, Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) will unveil his Virginia Clean Energy Future Act. Is Virginia going "green?" It's starting to look that way, and not a moment too soon! - LowellIncluded in his roundup are two bills introduced by Loudoun's own Del. Dave Poisson. Del. Poisson has a canny knack for introducing bills directly addressing important issues of the day. For example, last year Del. Poisson introduced a bill providing educational benefits to veterans' families.
Finally, here are two good, green bills from a Democrat, Del. David Poisson (D-32). First, HB153:Both bills reflect the recipie which has brought so much success to Virginia under Democratic leadership: simple, practical solutions. For example, HB153 allows for simplified billing management for people who use solar-powered water heating in their homes. The idea is to remove bureaucratic obstacles from the adoption of a technology that will help reduce the demand for power and gas to heat water.Solar water heating system pay-as-you-save pilot program. Directs the State Corporation Commission to analyze, and if appropriate, to establish, a pilot program whereby residential customers who install a solar water heating system will be able to pay for the system as an item on their monthly electricity bill.Second, HB164:Department of General Services; Division of Engineering; use of compact fluorescent light bulbs in state-owned and occupied buildings. Requires the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs in state-owned and occupied buildings by January 1, 2011. Under the bill, all state-owned and occupied buildings shall discontinue the use of incandescent light bulbs by December 31, 2010, and in the intervening period replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs.
There is a loud debate in the Virginia blogosphere over the wisdom of a new coal-fired power plant in Wise county that Dominion wants to build. Given where the Leesburg gets our power, and the need for more reliable power in our area, it is probably the case that we need more power to be generated. The question is whether the Wise power plant is the right idea.
There are many arguments against the plant. From the environment, to economic wealth transfer, to the local economy.
In light of this, it is a good idea to critically examine the opposition to the plant, if only to make sure the criticisms are valid before condemning the plant. We are lucky to have such a critique from someone who has credibility on energy and economy issues, Virginia's own Jim Bacon.
While Dominion proposes loading up the power plant with virtually every new clean-coal technology known to man -- which prompted my questions of whether the plant could possibly be a cost-effective means of generating power -- it's still not clean enough for the greenies. As Galuszka summarizes their fears, the plant "would generate huge volumes of greenhouses gases, inflict pollution that causes potentially fatal respiratory disease, employ heavy coal trucks that will crumble highways, and encourage mountaintop removal, a method of surface mining on a vast scale that Virginia has so far largely escaped."The entire post is well worth the read.
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Meanwhile, opponents overlook a major environmental positive. The Dominion plant would use a technology that could burn waste coal found in the "gob piles" that litter the coalfield counties. These piles of coal dust and pulverized rock, which is refuse of mining that often took place decades ago, leach acidic water into local creeks and rivers. By recycling gob piles, the new plant would help address one of the region's worst environmental problems. - Jim Bacon, Bacon's Rebellion
David Schmidt is the newly appointed member of the Leesburg Town Council, filling out Kelly Burk's term of office. He is a former Town Council Member (2000-2004) and President of the International Food Information Council. His experience on the Council is definitely applicable to a caretaker role in filling out Kelly Burk's seat. The unanimous support for Schmidt from the Council gives him a firm mandate to serve in the full capacity as a Council member through June.
There is no dispute that David Schmidt is experienced, qualified and well prepared to serve Leesburg on the Town Council. However, the change from Burk to Schmidt may have implications for town policy. So it is appropriate to ask whether Councilmember Schmidt represents a continuation or a divergence from Councilmember Burk.
Kelly Burk is a Democrat of long standing, who was a strong advocate for the arts and the needs of the community while on the Council. When she announced her resignation from Council in light of her election as Supervisor, she expressed hope that the seat would be filled by someone of similar views, in the interest of retaining the current balance on the Council through the May elections.
The Town Council (appropriately) retains the right to appoint whomever they deem appropriate to fill out the unexpired term, regardless of Kelly Burk's own wishes. In America, elected officials are (generally) not allowed to select their own replacements. In the case of David Schmidt, it appears that the Council has decided to replace a strong Democrat with a strong Republican.
A glance at the public records shows that David Schmidt has a history of giving money to the current Republican establishment.
While there are a number of good, valid critiques of the role of religion in government, there are many equally good reasons to believe that religion itself has benefits for the individual. New research has come to show that one of the fundamental teachings of Christianity and Islam, Judaism and other faiths: Forgiveness, has significant health benefits.
Holding a grudge appears to affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems. In one study, people who focused on a personal grudge had elevated blood pressure and heart rates, as well as increased muscle tension and feelings of being less in control. When asked to imagine forgiving the person who had hurt them, the participants said they felt more positive and relaxed and thus, the changes dissipated. - ScienceDailyIt is nice when science validates some of the values we live our individual lives by.
We are one meeting into the new Board of Supervisors in Loudoun County, and they are already exercising leadership. All along, our Democratic candidates were running on a platform of restoring sanity to the Board of Supervisors, and in their first act, they did so.
As one of its first acts, the board gave Chairman Scott K. York (I) a host of powers that the previous board had stripped from him four years ago. In November, voters ousted four Republicans who had been supportive of growth and development and often clashed with York because of his slow-growth stance.Scott York may be a nominal Republican (granted, one who has disowned the local Republican committee), but it was our Democratic victories that ensured the return of his authority, though the new Democratic Majority could have cited the precedent set by Bruce Tulloch and installed their own powerful vice-chairman. It is an important symbol of cooperation and progress that Democrats restored the powers of a (formerly) Republican Board Chairman, because that Chairman was duly elected by all of Loudoun to hold those powers.
The board, now made up of five Democrats, two Republicans and two independents, voted unanimously and without comment yesterday to restore York's powers, including the right to set the board's agenda.
"A return to normalcy doesn't require a lot of comment," said James G. Burton (I-Blue Ridge). - LoudounExtra
For starters, the board's monthly batch of public hearings will move from Tuesday to the Monday following the board's first business meeting of each month.In doing so the new Board has signaled that they serve the people, and will listen to the people before getting to business. It is the residents of Loudoun county who will be heard first, literally, before this Board of Supervisors.
Meanwhile, residents will no longer have their own time to address the board during its twice-a-month business meetings. Instead, residents can make comments on whatever issues they like during new public input meetings to take place the Monday night before each Tuesday business meeting.
The change will allow the board to increase the amount of time a resident can address supervisors from 3 to 5 minutes, while freeing up additional time for the board on Tuesdays to dedicate to matters at hand. - The Loudoun Times-Mirror
Supervisor Susan Klimek Buckley (D-Sugarland Run) was the only new supervisor to vote in favor of the request, citing concerns she had heard from her constituents. - Leesburg TodayIn the first major policy vote of the new Board, the vice-Chair sided with the rump Republican caucus on the Board. This may have been a tactical vote for Buckley, however, as the Democrats had the votes necessary to withdraw the anti-migrant request to Richmond without her. By voting against the Democratic majority, Buckley may have been trying to not only appease some constituents who fear change, but also demonstrate her independence as vice-Chair. It is interesting politics, but incorrectly blaming migrants for our ills remains bad policy.
Formation of an ad hoc committee on energy efficiency in the county government was support unanimously. Supervisors Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac), Stevens Miller (D-Dulles) and York were assigned to committee with McGimsey serving as its chair. The committee will look into the county's energy practices, what needs to be done and how the county can control its energy consumption. - Leesburg TodayGiven the problems we have had in Loudoun with power and energy, (not to mention the creeping horror that is the power lines issue), an initiative for County government to lead by example in the area of energy efficiency is both welcome and overdue. Energy efficiency is all of our responsibility, it is a public good. Thus, it is right and fitting that our guardians of the public interest and public goods, our elected officials, take a leadership role in promoting and establishing energy efficiency as a priority.
County Attorney Jack Roberts will review the National Association of Counties discount drug prescription card program and return with a report at the board's Feb. 5 meeting whether it can be implemented locally. The program assists uninsured and underinsured people in saving money on prescriptions not covered by insurance. It offers an average of 20 percent savings on prescriptions. More than 57,000 pharmacies nationwide accept the card. - Leesburg TodayThe best local governments show how simple and efficient solutions can be implemented and run, serving as models for other communities as well as Virginia and the nation as a whole. The simple action of investigating and potentially implementing some mechanism for managing prescription costs is a commendable, if limited, effort on the part of a government entity already greatly constrained by Virginia's Dillon Rule. Here's hoping that something will come of this effort.
Last night the Leesburg Town Council made a safe decision to appoint a former Council member with no intention of running for a seat in May to complete Kelly Burk's Council term. David Schmidt was appointed unanimously, leaving the ten other candidates to consider running for a full term in May. David Schmidt is a caretaker appointment, given his past history on the Council and his emphasis on experience with the budget process. We can expect he will make no waves in the remainder of the term and allow the Council's actions managing Leesburg to be the issue at hand in the May elections.
As of right now, there are a potential four to seven candidates for Council in May. According to The Loudoun Times, three candidates are considering runs from among the 11 applicants (Dave Butler, John Drury, Weaver Samuel), two might be (Steve Axeman and Mary Haberl) one candidate has not completely ruled it out (Benjamin Burk Keay). There is one definite candidate: Frank Holtz, Jim Clem's former campaign manager. These candidates will vie for the four seats up for election (Mayor Umstatdd, Vice-Mayor Horne, Councilwoman Hammler, and Councilman Schmidt).
There is the potential for a significant shift on the Council with the Mayor and three other seats up for grabs. In 2006, two of the three non-Mayoral seats went to Republicans (Ken Reid and Kevin Wright). It is not yet clear whether the Council members other than Schmidt (who is not running in May) will be seeking re-election. If they are not, the makeup of the Council will be changing dramatically, with potential impacts to the significant issues facing the Town in 2008 and 2009 (water rates, the Ida Lee county negotiations, development, traffic projects, taxes).
In an environment of declining public revenues and increasing public needs, the Council elections matter this year. We should all be paying attention. Hopefully our excellent local papers will provide regular and expansive coverage of the Town elections in the face of so many other stories to tell.
Everyone should know that 2008 is an election year. There is a Federal election on November 4th, 2008, during which Leesburg will elect people to represent us in the U.S. House (Virginia, 10th District), U.S. Senate (Virginia, Class II), and Presidential Electors. But you might not know that there are three other votes to be cast throughout the year here in Leesburg. Virginia is a land of elections every year, but Leesburg in 2008 will be a town of elections nearly every quarter.
The four votes that can be cast here this year are:
Leesburg, so get out and vote this year!
There have been fewer updates here than I would have liked. The past few weeks have been very hectic here at home in Leesburg, between additions to the family and some encounters with our excellent quality, but horribly administered health care system.
Now that we are into 2008, the year of four elections in Leesburg (more on that later) Leesburg Tomorrow will again be updated daily, as best as I am able.
Thanks for everyone's patience. 2008 is going to be fun!
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