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VPAP Whipple Report Thursday, October 20, 2011
Compiled by Paul Brockwell, Jr.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
By OLYMPIA MEOLA
Richmond Times-Dispatch Gov. Bob McDonnell and Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell met privately with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for approximately 10 minutes this morning in Hampton in what was described as a "friendly visit" by McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin. The conversation ranged from Louisa County disaster aid to a park designation for Fort Monroe to the focus of the president's event - veterans.
ELECTIONS
By ANITA KUMAR
Washington Post The White House on Wednesday downplayed reports that few Democrats are attending his events in Virginia, and that the president's schedule was changed after prominent members of the party asked him to avoid swing districts where he is less popular. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the events - in Emporia and Hampton on Tuesday and Wednesday - have been attended by Democrats and Republicans, including Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).
By BOB LEWIS
Associated Press There's no question which state Senate races the Democrats and Republicans both consider vital in next month's definitive quest for control of the General Assembly. Both parties are letting their dollars do the talking. The Super Bowl among elections for all 40 Senate seats is the Southside Virginia race between two incumbent senators: GOP freshman Bill Stanley and 3½-term Democrat Roscoe Reynolds.
By ANITA KUMAR AND LAURA VOZZELLA
Washington Post Republicans aggressively fighting to gain control of the Virginia Senate next month have bankrolled GOP challengers in key races as they try to take the last bastion of Democratic power in Richmond. The state's top Republicans, including Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, and GOP political committees have focused on five candidates: Bryce Reeves in the Fredericksburg area; Mickey Chohany in Hampton Roads; Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. (Franklin) in Southside; and Adam Light and Del. David A. Nutter (Montgomery), both in southwest Virginia.
By LAURA VOZZELLA
Washington Post If Virginia state Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. doesn't prevail on Election Day, he can't blame a lack of support from the state GOP. Stanley got a whopping 93 percent of his campaign cash last month - $215,799 of the $231,999 he collected in all - from Republican party committees. That's according to an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in politics.
By JIM NOLAN
Richmond Times-Dispatch Contributions to General Assembly candidates are down 13 percent in 2011, compared with 2007 - the last election cycle when every seat in the 100-member House of Delegates and the 40-member state Senate was up for grabs. Through Sept. 30, cash donations are at $28.4 million this year, compared with $32.6 million in 2007, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in state and local politics.
By TIFFANY HOLLAND
Danville Register & Bee With control of the Virginia Senate up for grabs, Republicans and Democrats are pouring money into several races around the commonwealth. Here in the Dan River Region, the 20th District contest between Democrat Roscoe Reynolds of Martinsville and Republican Bill Stanley of Franklin County has become a $1 million race, according to recent spending reports, making it one of the most expensive in Virginia.
By JIM NOLAN
Richmond Times-Dispatch You've heard it said that just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean people aren't out to get you. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli might fall into that category. Cuccinelli, writing in his online political newsletter, The Cuccinelli Compass, issued a GOP fundraising plea Wednesday that skewers Virginia Senate Democrats with the same kind of fiery rhetoric that Dems have used about Cuccinelli to motivate their own base. "The Democrats in the Senate have done all that is in their power to oppose and undermine the work I promised I would do during my campaign in 2009," says Cuccinelli, himself a former state senator from Fairfax.
By ANITA KUMAR
Washington Post Former state senator John Chichester - a powerful Republican who headed the Senate Finance Committee - has endorsed a pair of Democratic senate candidates in Northern Virginia. Chichester was often at odds with members of his own party and teamed up with then-Gov. Mark Warner (D) to approve higher taxes in exchange for new investments in education, public safety and health care. He represented the Fredericksburg area for almost three decades until he retired in 2008.
Leesburg Today
During a 2011 campaign season in which candidates have highlighted support from leaders within their own party, Democrat Shawn Mitchell today announced an important cross-the-aisle endorsement in his race against former Loudoun Delegate Dick Black. Former Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Chichester, a Republican who served in the state Senate from 1978 to 2008, said he is supporting Mitchell as a candidate who can work across party lines to address the challenges faced by the commonwealth.
By RAY REED
News & Advance Republican Tom Garrett and Democrat Bert Dodson renewed their debate rivalry Wednesday night by taking similar stands on drug testing for people who receive state funds - not just welfare recipients, as Garrett has proposed, but individuals who receive other payments too. President Obama also became an issue in the state Senate debate, which was sponsored by the League of Women Voters at Lynchburg College. Questions about highway taxes, abortion and Social Security also got into the debate.
By JIM NOLAN
Richmond Times-Dispatch President Barack Obama was nowhere near the 22nd state Senate District during his bus trip to Virginia, but the fact that he's a Democrat seemed close enough for Tom Garrett. "Did you vote for President Obama and do you intend to support President Obama in 2012?" the conservative Republican Senate candidate asked Democratic Senate candidate Bert Dodson at the close of Wednesday's League of Women Voters debate at Lynchburg College. "I voted who I wanted to vote for," answered Dodson, whom Garrett portrayed as a tax-increaser in a campaign mailer plastered with a picture of Obama. "Obviously, President Obama took this state of Virginia. I'm focused on issues related to the 22nd Senatorial District, and I'll remain with those issues."
By RAY REED
News & Advance State Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, is resigning from the Bedford County Republican Committee in order to support the independent candidacy of Del. Lacey Putney. Because of a Republican Party rule, any committee member who supports a non-Republican candidate must be removed from the committee, Newman said.
By JEREMY BORDEN
Washington Post The chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors said he had the biggest campaign fundraiser of his political career last week, hosting business executives from across the region at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Babur Lateef, a local physician, and independent John S. Gray, an accountant. Stewart said his campaign pulled in about $234,000 last Wednesday night, giving him about $300,000 to spend heading into the Nov. 8 election. The business executives attending the dinner included some of Prince William County's and the region's largest real estate developers, he said.
By BOB STUART
News Virginian Republican U.S. Senate candidate George Allen was in full campaign form Wednesday, offering a fiery speech to show his support for House District 20 Del. Dickie Bell while visiting downtown Waynesboro. "What do we see in Washington? Czars and Russian monarchs on the banks of the Potomac,'' said Allen, mocking the current bureaucracy. "The president is on a bus tour advocating a second stimulus with more government spending and programs."
STATE GOVERNMENT
By HATTIE BROWN GARROW
Virginian-Pilot Gov. Bob McDonnell has decided not to pursue $60 million in federal early education funds at the recommendation of the state superintendent of public instruction. Wednesday marked the deadline for states to apply for the Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge, a joint effort of the U.S. education and health and human services departments.
By CRAIG DAVISON
News & Advance State Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng said Wednesday in Lynchburg that small business innovation is one of the state's biggest issues. Cheng said small businesses are responsible for 65 to 75 percent of job growth. "We need to innovate," he said
CONGRESS
By ANITA KUMAR
Washington Post Virginia's U.S. senators and seven of its congressmen sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday supporting Gov. Bob McDonnell's request for federal disaster aid for damage caused by Tropical Storm Lee Sept. 8 and 9 in Fairfax and Prince William counties. The letter was signed by Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner, both Democrats, U.S. Reps. Gerry Connolly (D), Jim Moran (D), Frank Wolf (R), Rob Wittman (R), Bobby Scott (D), Bob Goodlatte (R) and Morgan Griffith (R). Connolly, Moran and Wolf represent Northern Virginia.
ECONOMY/BUSINESS
By BILL BARTEL
Virginian-Pilot On the last morning of a three-day, two-state bus tour promoting his jobs bill, President Barack Obama spent considerably less time attacking Republicans, focusing instead on praising members of the military and their families. Before a cheering crowd of about 2,400 in a hangar at Joint Base Langley, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama talked Wednesday about the need to provide more jobs for veterans and military spouses.
By ANITA KUMAR
Washington Post Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), who will be meeting privately for a few minutes with President Obama in Hampton this morning, has a few things on his mind. McDonnell, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said in an interview Tuesday that he would like to give Obama some advice on the economy. "If he'd listen to 30 seconds of advice on the economy, I'd tell him. 'Mr President, rather than listen to all your advisers, listen to the job creators, listen to business people and entrepreneurs,''' McDonnell said.
By HUGH LESSIG
Daily Press President Obama, nearing the end of two-state swing, stopped at Langley Air Force Base Wednesday to rally support for his plan to hire more veterans, hoping to enlist both parties on behalf of military families. He drew thunderous applause from airmen, soldiers and invited guests when he said that standing up for veterans is not a Republican or Democratic responsibility, but "an American responsibility."
By WESLEY P. HESTER
Richmond Times-Dispatch The F-22 Raptors were cleared from the 94th Fighter Squadron Hangar at Joint Base Langley-Eustis here Wednesday to make way for President Barack Obama, who vowed before a crowd of several hundred military personnel to fight for increased job opportunities for veterans. "We ask you to fight, to sacrifice, to risk your lives for our country. The last thing you should have to do is fight for a job when you come home," he said to the sea of camouflage. "Not here. Not in the United States of America." But the commander-in-chief deferred to his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, who spoke first about her "Joining Forces" initiative, an effort to help veterans and their families. Drawing big applause, the first lady announced a commitment by the American Logistics Association, a trade group of 270 private companies, including Coca-Cola and Tyson Foods, to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013.
By OLYMPIA MEOLA
Richmond Times-Dispatch Having shed his suit jacket and teleprompter, President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged an intimate audience of first responders in Chesterfield County to support his jobs plan. He capped a three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia in a fire station where he asked attendees to urge Congress to pass his $447 billion jobs package that includes funding for firefighters, police and teachers. In this stretch of the state, that congressman would be House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th, a frequent critic of the president's policies who has said the House of Representatives will not take up the entire package.
By JEFF STURGEON
Roanoke Times Online retailer Backcountry.com, which announced plans last week to build a 200-employee distribution center in Montgomery County, is set to get more than $2 million in incentives, newly released documents show. County officials say that in spite of local and state governments providing a seven-figure financial incentive courtesy of taxpayers, the county will earn a substantial, long-term return on its initial investment in buying and improving the site the company is getting.
By PATRICIA SULLIVAN
Washington Post The Arlington County Board agreed Tuesday to allow Boeing to build a six-story regional and international headquarters, instead of a mixed-use development, on county-owned land near the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport. The aerospace firm, a major regional employer, will build the 453,000-square-foot secure facility, with two floors of underground parking, just north of Crystal City near the Roaches Run wildlife refuge, on Old Jefferson Davis Highway and South Sixth Street. Construction is expected to begin next month and will merge two offices at one location. A 45-room motel and five warehouses on the site are currently vacant.
VIRGINIA OTHER
By DANA HEDGPETH
Washington Post The first phase of the new Metrorail line to Dulles Airport could run as much as $150 million over budget, the head of the construction project said Wednesday. Executive Director Pat Nowakowski told the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board during a meeting that the project is going to come in "very close" to its projected price tag of $2.8 billion. The 11 1 / 2 miles of rail will run from Falls Church through Tysons Corner to Reston.
By LIZ ESSLEY
Washington Examiner The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority met behind closed doors Wednesday to talk about how it could be more open with the public. The meeting came after months of accusations from Virginia officials that the authority is secretive and "dysfunctional." The private meeting ran about 30 minutes past its allotted time, but when officials finally emerged, they would say only that they had asked the board's lawyer and secretary to examine the authority's bylaws and "submit any proposed amendments" to a board committee.
By JARRETT HENSHAW WSLS
Richmond Times-Dispatch The Federal Reserve reports student loan debt reaches an all-time high. Virginia Tech students we talked to on Wednesday said they weren't surprised at all by this news, especially considering how much the cost of college has gone up over the last few years. We talked to one grad student who said he owes $45,000 in student loans. He added that he has a difficult time making payments on just the interest, let alone whittling down the principal.
By DANIEL DE VISE
Washington Post When editors of the Cavalier Daily discovered evidence of rampant plagiarism by a staff writer at the University of Virginia's 121-year-old student newspaper last month, they dutifully reported it to their readers and removed the offending articles from the paper's Web site. They also contacted the university's Honor Committee, made up of fellow students who enforce a tradition of academic integrity that is older, even, than the newspaper. At a campus as earnest as U-Va., it seemed the right thing to do.
Associated Press
A University of Virginia student judiciary panel has dismissed an honor-code case against the editor of The Cavalier Daily student newspaper for disclosing that a former staff writer plagiarized material and was under investigation by the school's Honor Committee. The University Judiciary Committee trial panel ruled Tuesday it lacked jurisdiction to rule in the case of editor-in-chief Jason Ally. He was accused of breaching the confidentiality of another student after the paper's managing board published an editorial last month about the fired writer, whom they didn't identify.
By ZACHARY REID AND REED WILLIAMS
Richmond Times-Dispatch A couple of hundred onlookers gathered along Midlothian Turnpike on Wednesday, hoping to glimpse the presidential motorcade and greeting President Obama with everything from sentiments of love and support to slogans such as "Un-occupy the White House. Impeach."
By DAVID MACAULAY
Daily Press It was the most remarkable day Bill Wood has seen at his farm market. And he's seen quite a few. Wood, who has worked for the family business Wood's Orchards Farm Market in Hampton since 1946, received a surprise visit from President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday morning, when the first couple stopped off to buy pumpkins for the White House steps.
Virginian-Pilot
Some Peninsula pumpkins are headed to the White House for Halloween. Ground Force One, as President Barack Obama's bus has been dubbed, stopped at Wood's Orchard Farm Market in Hampton this morning so the first couple could do a little shopping. The Obamas spent about 20 minutes inspecting pumpkins, fruit, jams and other goodies at the market, which has been in business for 60 years, according to owners Billy and Betty Wood.
By RALPH BARRIER
Roanoke Times Soon, public radio station WVTF-FM (89.1) will be heard from the coalfields of far Southwest Virginia to the commuters of Northern Virginia. The Roanoke-based station, which is owned by the Virginia Tech Foundation, has received permission from the Federal Communications Commission to acquire a station in Spotsylvania County near Fredericksburg that would carry WVTF's Radio IQ programs.
By ANITA KUMAR
Washington Post Hampton officials had asked people to wear green Wednesday to support their effort to get President Obama to make part o f Fort Monroe a national park. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) was wearing a light green tie when he met with Obama in the Hampton Roads city this morning. Sen. Mark Warner (D) was wearing a not-quite-as-subtle green tie when he testified about Fort Monroe at an Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
By PETER VIETH
Virginia Lawyers Weekly A Virginia State Bar discipline committee rejected First Amendment defenses and distinctions about public information to find misconduct on the part of a lawyer who blogged about his cases without client consent and without a disclaimer saying case results can be unreliable. The eight-member district committee ordered Horace Hunter of Richmond to yank from his website any case accounts where the client did not agree to have the information posted. The panel also ordered Hunter to post a disclaimer that complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct.
By FRANK GREEN
Richmond Times-Dispatch A disciplinary committee of the Virginia State Bar on Tuesday found a Richmond lawyer violated a rule requiring an advertising disclaimer on his blog about his own legal cases. The committee also found that Horace Frazier Hunter violated rules by disclosing detrimental or embarrassing information about clients without their consent. He received a public admonition and was told take corrective action within 30 days.
LOCAL
By WILL JONES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Despite a last-minute appeal for delay, the Richmond Metropolitan Authority approved Tuesday a debt-refinancing plan on the toll-road system that will allow repayment of a $62.3 million debt to the city. Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, whose administration negotiated the repayment, lauded the unanimous decision as financially sound and in the best interests of the city and RMA.
By REED WILLIAMS
Richmond Times-Dispatch Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued a statement Wednesday affirming the right of demonstrators with Occupy Richmond to protest peacefully but said he must ensure that they do so legally. Organizers of the Occupy Richmond movement have said that a police lieutenant told them Monday that they could erect tents and tarps in Kanawha Plaza before Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood told them later that day that they needed to take down the tents.
Associated Press
Louisa County is taking its own steps to recover from the August earthquake after the federal government refused to provide disaster aid. The county Board of Supervisors approved tax relief this week for homeowners whose properties were damaged. A Nov. 8 referendum is scheduled on a proposed 4 percent tax on food and beverages sold in restaurants. The revenue would help pay for repairs to damaged schools.
By STEVEN G. VEGH
Virginian-Pilot The division needs to look at "doing things radically differently" to reduce the high dropout rate that is undermining high schools' chances for full accreditation, School Board Chairman Kirk Houston told members Wednesday. The state considered on-time graduation rates for the first time in accreditation, and the division's 15.7 percent dropout rate was one factor why four of the city's five high schools missed full accreditation.
By DEIRDRE FERNANDES
Virginian-Pilot The cost of completing the Laskin Road Gateway, a street and utility project aimed at jump-starting economic development near the Oceanfront, has mushroomed by about 45 percent to nearly $40 million. Most of the additional cost is tied to an increase in the project's scope, said Dave Hansen, a deputy city manager.
By MARJON ROSTAMI
Virginian-Pilot Pillow top queen-size mattress sets for $299. Multifamily garage sale. Now hiring/help wanted. The Public Works Department has long encouraged residents to get a permit and follow the rules before posting these types of signs in the city. Now, people who fail to do so face the wrath of the Chesapeake Sign Sweepers.
By SUSAN SVRLUGA
Washington Post When Michele O'Leary got married 26 years ago, she never thought she and her husband Dan would ever be able to afford a house like this: Two stories with a finished basement and two decks, in a neighborhood with good schools for their two children, close to I-95 in Stafford County. Now she and her husband are praying it doesn't fall into the giant landslide that opened up in their backyard.
By AILEEN STRENG
News Messenger Lauren Bowen learned Tuesday night the Action in Community Through Service food pantry had temporarily closed because it ran out of food. By Wednesday morning, the Falls Church mother of three was in Dumfries dropping off bags of food to ACTS. "It broke me down. I've always had a soft spot for ACTS," Bowen said. "I asked people for a bag of anything they could spare. People met me on their way to work."
By STAFF REPORT
Daily Progress A group seeking to halt construction of Charlottesville's portion of the Meadow Creek Parkway has filed a motion in federal court that argues the project was unlawfully approved and that its federal funding should be nullified. The Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park filed a motion for summary judgment on Monday that challenges the validity of the Federal Highway Administration's decision to approve and fund the U.S. 250 Bypass interchange at McIntire Road. The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court in Charlottesville.
By LAURENCE HAMMACK
Roanoke Times Sued for hanging the Ten Commandments in a high school hallway, the Giles County School Board is now distancing itself from the controversial display. When the school board voted 3-2 to allow an exhibit of the Ten Commandments and historical documents in county schools, it did so with the understanding that a private citizen would actually put up the display, attorneys for the board argued in court papers filed this week.
By GRAHAM MOOMAW
Daily Progress Former Charlottesville City Council candidate James Halfaday has been charged with four counts of election fraud for allegedly using a false address on campaign filings, city officials announced Wednesday. Halfaday has been under investigation since Sept. 16, and he now faces felony charges that carry a maximum fine of $2,500 and up to 10 years in prison, according to a release from Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Claude V. Worrell II.
EDITORIALS
News & Advance Editorial
In just a few weeks, voters in Virginia will head to the polls to elect their representatives to the General Assembly and to fill local offices all over the commonwealth. Well, a few of us will, at least. Earlier this month, Christopher Newport University and the Richmond Times-Dispatch conducted a statewide poll of voters to gauge the interest level in the 2011 elections, and the results are maddening, infuriating and saddening.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
A headline in Monday's editions reported, "Poll shows apathy about legislative elections." The story explained that few citizens express an interest in elections for the state Senate and House of Delegates. The explanations included the absence of legitimate two-party competition in many districts.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
Did Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright violate state conflict-of-interests laws by going to education conferences? You can make a case that she did - a grossly overstated case.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial
"Thirty-five windmills at a Western Pennsylvania wind farm have been silenced at night since a bat that belongs to an endangered species was found dead under one of the turbines," reported the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review a few days ago.
Roanoke Times Editorial
Knock knock. Who's there? Voters. Voters in my old district or the new one? The old district. Nobody's home. Now get off my porch or get a face full of my Glock.
Roanoke Times Editorial
Botetourt County supervisors have two important duties on the horizon: hiring a new county administrator and building a school to replace Colonial Elementary. Voters in the Blue Ridge, Fincastle and, to a lesser extent, Valley districts must decide whom among the candidates warrant their confidence. Ordinarily, unless incumbents give cause to question the direction they're heading, The Roanoke Times editorial board supports their re-election. But in Botetourt County, there is reason to suspect politics have overtaken good sense. Challengers Jack Leffel and Sam Foster offer a chance for the board of supervisors to regain a civil footing.
Daily Press Editorial
Those who knew her - loved her. Those who knew of her - revered her. Dorothy Rouse-Bottom, a former editor and owner of The Daily Press Inc., and a longtime resident of Hampton, died at home on Wednesday, Oct. 12. She was 83.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
A recent report by the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis ranked Virginia as second in the nation - behind only New Jersey - in terms of the disparity between the state's wealthiest and poorest workers.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
We can do better. Surely, we can do better. A new report tells us that 70 percent of streams in the Rivanna River Basin are impaired.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial
Old buildings like the tiny, time-worn schoolhouse off U.S. 158 in Currituck County convey a sense of place, a sense of history, a sense of continuity. Wise communities don't part with them easily. This summer, Currituck commissioners set a deadline for demolition or relocation of the old school, now deemed an eyesore on a road heavily traveled by tourists headed to the Outer Banks. But at the request of local historian Barbara Snowden, county officials granted it a reprieve.
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