Friday, December 14, 2012
More than 20 dead, including young children, after incident at elementary school in Newtown, Conn., AP reports.
Gov. Bob McDonnell released a statement Friday about the school shootings in Connecticut: “It is with a heavy heart and the deepest of sympathies that I learned earlier today of the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those impacted by the events transpiring today, and to the teachers, emergency responders, and all others touched by this tragedy. Unfortunately, Virginia has our own painful memories of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. Those memories will never fade, and we continue to grieve for all those lost on that April day. We are all too aware of the impact that events like this can have on a community. If there is anything Virginia can do to assist Governor Malloy…
Monday, November 5, 2012
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell also announced he will donate $50,000 to the Virginia Disaster Relief Fund.
Capital One Bank announced last week that it will donate $1 million towards Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, including a $10,000 donation to the Virginia Disaster Relief Fund. Sandy pounded the east coast last week. Although Virginia did not bear the brunt of the storm damage, tens of thousands of residents lost power in Northern Virginia, including more than 4,000 in McLean. States further north, including New York and New Jersey, suffered much worse and continue their clean-up efforts. In a press statement, Jonathan Witter, president of retail and direct banking for Capital One, called Virginia the company's home. “We are committed to assisting our communities, our customers and our own associates who have been affected by this …
Monday, October 29, 2012
Officials warn residents as the worst of Hurricane Sandy approaches.
As Hurricane Sandy batters the East Coast, power outages in Northern Virginia have been tame. But Gov. Bob McDonnell urged Virginians Monday to prepare for widespread power outages over the next 24 hours. “For most of the state, the worst part of the storm is still ahead,” McDonnell said during a press briefing in Richmond on Monday. “Prepare now for power outages.” About 57,000 Virginians have been affected so far by the storm, but response has been rapid and only 6,000 residents were without power as of 1:15 p.m. “We’d be shocked if those numbers don’t go up dramatically, especially in Northern Virginia, as the storm approaches,” McDonnell said. "We've been holding our own, but we expect the weather to become a challenge," said Rodney …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Virginia governor delivers prime time address Tuesday night.
The "American dream" is at stake in the November presidential election, said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell in a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night. "I don't have to tell any of you: this is a tough economy. We all have friends, family and neighbors who've lost their jobs and homes," McDonnell (R) said. "Worse, they've lost their hope. And their lost hope is why we need a big change this November. This election is about restoring the American dream." Like many of the convention speeches Tuesday, McDonnell's address criticized a remark made by President Barack Obama (D) during a July campaign stop in Roanoke that Republicans say suggested business owners did not build their success on their own. "We need a …
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Virginia governor has prime speaking slot Tuesday evening.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) will give a speech on small businesses and the economy Tuesday during the Republican National Convention. McDonnell’s keynote address will air after 8 p.m. Tuesday, a primetime speaking slot, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Virginia politics blog. McDonnell's speech is titled "We Built It," which refers to a remark President Barack Obama (D) made during a July event in Roanoke that has since become controversial on the campaign trail. The comment came when Obama was speaking about the role of government investment in roads and bridges when he said, "If you've got a business, you didn’t build that," Obama said in July. "Somebody else made that happen." The statement, which some argue has been taken…
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Board member says governor is wrong for trying to cut him from 13-member board.
It has cost the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority $75,000 to cover legal fees of a former board member who is fighting his ouster, The Washington Post reports. Dennis Martire, a Democratic appointee to the 13-member board, says his removal from the group that is charged with constructing Metrorail's Silver Line is politically motivated. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has argued that Martire damaged his credibility with questionable expenses, including spending nearly $9,200 to travel business class to Europe. Martire, an official with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, was appointed to the board by the previous governor, Tim Kaine (D). Martire has clashed with McDonnell over several issues, including a labor-…
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan will join presumptive GOP nominee in bid for president instead of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who some say was on the short list.
Just more than two weeks before he's expected to receive a presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney announced Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan would join him on the ballot in the 2012 election, passing over Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who had been on the short list of many political experts. Romney will be in Manassas this afternoon on a campaign stop and McDonnell is scheduled to attend. (Go to Manassas Patch for live updates starting at 4 p.m. Saturday.) Romney was scheduled to make the announcement Saturday morning before 9 a.m. in Norfolk as he starts a tour of Virginia, an important swing state in this year's presidential elections, but Romney's campaign sent a press release earlier in the morning. Just days…
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Political reports from around the area.
- ELECTIONS
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Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Virginia Governor Visits McLean: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell stopped by an undisclosed location in McLean Tuesday evening to attend a fund-raising dinner for the Independence Virginia PAC. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported in March that this super PAC was organized by Paul Bennecke, who formerly worked at the Republican Governors Association as the political director. Bennecke now has his own consulting firm, according to a spokesman for the Governors Association. Politico reported also in March that Bennecke said he was creating the PAC to raise money to support George Allen, a Republican former senator and governor, who is running for the Virginia Senate seat against Democrat Tim Kaine, also a former …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
As Virginia presses to seat new members, DC threatens litigation.
The headaches never seem to end at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. MWAA has come under scrutiny for congress spending by its board of directors, its oversight of Metro's Silver Line, its reliance on Dulles Toll Road fees to pay for the rail project and its use of project labor agreements to complete its construction. And now, as the board of directors meets July 18 for a meeting, its membership remains in dispute. Earlier this year, Congress approved changes to the board's membership that give Virginia more representation. Gov. Bob McDonnell has pressed to have two new members seated, and has also attempted to immediately replace D.C.'s Dennis L. Martire with one of his picks: McLean businesswoman Caren Merrick. To …
Thursday, July 12, 2012
As Virginia lawmakers disagree over Affordable Care Act provision, tell us: Would participating in the expansion help or hurt the state?
As Gov. Bob McDonnell considers opting out of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, Virginia lawmakers are divided on whether the program would help or hurt the state. In a letter to McDonnell on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican who has announced a 2013 gubernatorial bid, encouraged the governor to reject the program, saying Medicaid expansion — which he says accounts for nearly 20 percent of Virginia's total general fund spending — would place "tremendous fiscal pressure on the Commonwealth and divert funds from other state programs, such as public education, higher education, public safety, natural resource protection and even other critically important health care programs." McDonnell sent a letter to Virginia …
DGeorge
7:15 am on Friday, February 22, 2013
Cheryl, please read more carefully, It is Java that tucks and runs as I addressed that comment to him, not you. Java, you cut and run every time, when you surface again it is with insults and no content. It is amusing. I have not blamed gang bangers for "everything" but that is the place to start. 500, mostly young people, dead in one year in Chicago? Thats the place to start. more ›