Thursday, April 25, 2013
The Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General also bashed Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinnelli Wednesday in Springfield.
Virginia State Sen. Mark Herring (D-33rd), one of two Democrats vying for the state Attorney General seat, accused two Republican contendors as being "Cuccinelli clones," and to expect an extreme conservative ideology should one of them get elected. "Del. Rob Bell (R-Charlottesville) and state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) — they would be Cuccinelli clones," said Herring on Wednesday to about 40 members of the Greenspring Retirement Community Democratic Club in Springfield. "They think Ken Cuccinelli has done a great job. I think the only complaint they have with him is that he wasn't extreme enough." Greenspring is home to 1,800 registered voters, and since 89 percent of them voted in the last presidential election, the retirement …
State Sen. Mark Herring, attorney general candidate, has a new support group.
Virginia Democratic Attorney General candidate, state Sen. Mark Herring (D-33rd), is working to capitalize on the women voters that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli may have upset over the last several years. On Wednesday, Herring announced the formation of "Women for Herring" — a group of more than 100 female elected officials, former politicians and leaders from across Virginia. Herring was quick to criticize Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. "In Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli and Bob McDonnell have shown us the opposite approach in the form of attacks on women's reproductive rights, from the unnecessary regulations that will force healthcare clinics to …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Fairfax City Sen. Chap Petersen voted against amendment that will prohibit certain health insurance companies in Virginia from providing coverage for women seeking an abortion.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, April 4
By Mark Robinson Capital News Service The Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday narrowly approved an amendment by Gov. Bob McDonnell that will prohibit certain health insurance companies in Virginia from providing coverage for women seeking an abortion. McDonnell added the anti-abortion amendment to House Bill 1900, sponsored by Delegate Thomas Davis Rust (R-Herndon). The assembly passed the bill in February to comply with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under the system, Virginians who cannot afford health insurance will participate in a federally operated health insurance exchange. McDonnell’s amendment will prohibit insurers participating in the exchange from covering abortion except in the case of rape or …
Tell us what you think.
Over the weekend Patch asked for opinions on new voter identification laws in the Commonwealth. The story garnered more than 350 comments. Virginia voters will need a photo ID when they're heading to the polls beginning in 2014 under new requirements signed into law by Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell. Democratic say the law are a form of voter suppression - that many Democratic voters, particularly seniors and college students, do not have a photo identification. For more local news, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter! The new law will need approval by the U.S. Justice Department, a requirement for any voting changes in most Southern states because of a history of voter suppression. If approved, McDonnell has called for free …
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Does the commonwealth need another name on the ballot?
Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling took himself out of Virginia's race for governor last week, leaving, at least for now, what's shaping up to be a two-person race. The choice for the Old Dominion's next governor, seven months before Election Day, seems to have boiled down to presumptive Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli, the state's socially conservative attorney general, against likely Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a McLean businessman. The Republican Party of Virginia will hold its convention on May 17 and 18 in Richmond to formally select its nominee. Democrats go to the polls on June 11 to cast their ballots in several races, including governor and lieutenant governor. …
Friday, March 15, 2013
Tell us what you think!
The Commonwealth of Virginia has a choice - expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) or not. Doing so would provide $21 billion over seven years and health insurance for at least 400,000 of Virginia's uninsured, and the program would be fully funded by the Feds for the first three years and then decline to 90 percent in 2020. Governor McDonnell recently wrote to the Obama administration that no agreement has been reached to expand Medicaid. “Some media outlets and elected officials have labeled this [the compromise agreement] as approving Medicaid expansion in Virginia. This is absolutely incorrect,” he wrote. McDonnell appointed a bipartisan panel of 10 Virginia legislators to determine the issue…
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Puller says Gov. McDonnell appears to be backing out on his agreement with Senate Democrats on Medicaid expansion.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, March 12
During the final week of the General Assembly Session this year, the Virginia State Senate Democrats worked with Governor Robert McDonnell to reach a compromise to pass a transportation plan - a plan that is funded in part by funds not yet appropriated from Congress. Funds unlikely to ever materialize for Virginia. In return for the Senate Democrats’ votes for the transportation plan, the Governor signed an agreement on Medicaid expansion. We thought this agreement was made in good faith. We are disappointed that Governor McDonnell appears now to be backing out on this agreement, choosing to pacify the right wing of his party instead of working for the health and well-being of our Commonwealth. In a letter to the Obama Administration, …
Friday, March 1, 2013
Medicaid expansion would provide for more than 400,000 Virginians to have health care and provide some 30,000 jobs.
The Virginia State Senate passed a transportation plan after Governor Robert McDonnell agreed to sign off on a Medicaid expansion conference committee to come up “with a concept to ensure that significant reforms are attained prior to any potential expansion of Medicaid.” The committee will be made up of five members of the House of Delegates who serve on the House Appropriations Committee and five members of the Senate Finance Committee as well as the Secretaries of Finance and Health and Human Resources. At least three members of the House and three of the Senate members on the Committee must vote to approve the recommendations. The two secretaries will be ex-officio, non-voting members. Medicaid expansion would provide for more than …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Terry McAuliffe said he disagreed with parts of bill but thought supporting the compromise that passed the Senate on Saturday was crucial.
Terry McAuliffe, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, came to Arlington Tuesday to praise the work of Virginia's Republican Governor Bob McDonnell. McAuliffe, the Democrat hoping to succeed McDonnell, said he spent hours on the phone calling members of both parties urging them to support a transportation compromise, which ultimately passed this weekend in the hours before the 2013 General Assembly session ended. "When you work on these major projects, it's not about a partisan agenda," McAuliffe told about a half-dozen reporters at a news conference on the 15th floor of the Sheraton Pentagon City. "This was a big deal. Was this a legacy item for Governor McDonnell? You bet it was." The event was designed to paint Republican …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sen. Janet Howell calls compromise — expected to raise $880 million a year for roads and mass transit —"truly the best we're going to get."
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, February 25
By Stephen Nielsen, Capital News Service A divided Virginia Senate passed Gov. Bob McDonnell’s bill to overhaul the state’s system for funding transportation. Just hours before the end of the session on Saturday, the Senate voted 25-15 for House Bill 2313, which will raise about $880 million a year more for roads and mass transit by increasing sales taxes while lowering the fuels tax. The debate over how to increase revenue continued right up until the vote. Here's how Chantilly-area Senators voted: Voting for it were: Sen. Janet Howell (D-32nd), Sen. Dave Marsden (D-37th), Sen. Mark Herring (D-33rd). Voting against it was: Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34th) “This isn’t any bill. This is the only bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment…
Terry
9:43 am on Friday, April 26, 2013
This is almost exactly the way I feel. I want to make an informed decision but all I have been getting so far are just anti-the other party candidates. Makes me sad sometimes. more ›