Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Virginia governor says savings on construction will be passed on to savings by drivers.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's five proposals for construction of Phase 2 of the Silver Line came in far below expectations - which he predicts will mean major savings for Virginia taxpayers and users of the Dulles Toll Road. MWAA received proposals last week from Bechtel Transit Partners, Capital Rail Constructors, Dulles APC Railbuilders, Dulles Metrorail Connectors, and Silver Line Constructors. The estimates range from $1.17 billion to $1.37 billion, MWAA said. MWAA is expected to conduct a detailed review of the proposals and award a contract later this spring. The $2.7 billion Phase 2 is being built without federal funding (Phase 1 received $900 million in federal dollars). It will …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Sen. Chap Petersen (Fairfax City) introduced the bill, which will make it easier for local officials to enforce a growing number of zoning violations across Fairfax County.
A new Virginia law will make it easier for localities to prosecute the renters behind illegal boarding houses. Gov. Bob McDonnell signed the bill, SB 894, into law in March, giving local officials the power to issue summons and fines directly to renters, leasers or subleasers for zoning violations. Sen. Chap Petersen introduced the bill. "Unfortunately illegal boarding houses have become a problem in Virginia,” Petersen said in a statement. “What this law means is that if you have an illegal boarding house in your community, law enforcement can go directly to the person living in that home and breaking the law." In Virginia, no more than four unrelated people are legally allowed to live in a single-family home. But last year NBC …
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, February 15, 2013
Access to guns, mental health covered in Virginia rep's report by the National Science Foundation — topics he says need to stay part of the conversation.
Days after President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to call on Congress and the country to act on gun control, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) has released a report that examines driving forces behind mass shootings, including violent media and mental health issues — topics absent from the president's address, Wolf said. The 41-page report, “Youth Violence: What We Need to Know,” includes several studies compiled by an advisory committee to the National Science Foundation (NSF). It will come before a U.S. House subcommittee later this spring. Among the study's findings: exposure to violent media is a significant risk factor in shootings, but also "one of the easiest risk factors to change,” the report says. Its suggestions…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell tours state Thursday asking for support, says plan could jumpstart several projects in Northern Virginia.
Gov. Bob McDonnell spent Thursday traveling across the state to urge area business leaders and residents to support his “Virginia’s Road to the Future” transportation plan, saying his proposal could help jumpstart a number of projects in Northern Virginia that have seemed to stall. The plan has gotten mixed reviews from some state legislators so far this session, but a new poll from Christopher Newport University showed 63 percent of Virginia voters support McDonnell's plan, which hinges on doing away with the state’s 17.5 cents per gallon gas tax and increasing the state sales tax from 5 percent to 5.8 percent. The poll, released Thursday, surveyed 1,015 people across the state on a number of issues, including the governor's plan. …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Governor lays out proposals, challenges in speech to state lawmakers.
Transportation funding, teacher raises and restoring rights to non-violent offenders were a few of the topics explored Wednesday night by Gov. Bob McDonnell in his State of the Commonwealth speech at the Capitol in Richmond. "The Virginia General Assembly has met in this building for 220 years — the Speaker was just a young boy during that first session," the governor said, grinning at Speaker Bill Howell (R-28th) seated behind him. "I ask that you not conclude this session without approving a long-term transportation funding plan for Virginia," said McDonnell to members of the General Assembly in the House Chamber. "Do not send me a budget that does not include new transportation funding. We are all out of excuses. We must act now." "We …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Local officials don't agree with directing $48 million of general fund money to transportation projects.
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Monday a series of amendments to the Virginia State Budget that would increase net spending by more than $200 million. The amendments find $500 million in savings in the state’s two-year, $80 billion budget. But they propose an additional $736 million in new spending for teacher raises, funding to state colleges and increases in funding to local governments, along with transportation projects and teacher salary. “The budget amendments that I am presenting today reflect … the realities of this economy and the looming uncertainty that budget gridlock in Washington and the fiscal cliff are having on our economy,” McDonnell said in a statement. “Yet they look forward to building upon our legacy of conservative and…
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Proposal could raise $500 million annually, but Virginia governor gives few details Wednesday at transportation conference in Tysons.
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday a potential solution to Virginia’s growing transportation funding problem, but cautioned those gathered at his Annual Transportation Conference in Tysons Corner he’ll need to get it through the General Assembly’s 2013 session first. The governor’s proposed package, he said during a keynote appearance Wednesday, would eliminate the need to dip into construction money by 2019 and raise $500 million annually for new roads, bridges and transit projects. How exactly remains to be seen: McDonnell gave few details about his proposal, saying he would reveal specifics in the coming weeks. Maintenance takes priority to construction of new roads in Virginia, McDonnell said, and since 2002, approximately $3.3 …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The governor said power should be restored to all Dominion customers by Thursday.
Gov. Bob McDonnell said in his final press briefing for Hurricane Sandy that Virginia was "spared a significant event." “First responders and private partners, they have really done an amazing job preparing for the storm and applying lessons learned from previous storms and putting in an incredible amount of hours,” McDonnell said. McDonnell cited concerns about rivers cresting as flood waters go into the major arteries, and he expected an update on that later Tuesday. Virginia was awarded a federal disaster declaration yesterday, said McDonnell, noting he was “delighted” that President Barack Obama and FEMA were on it immediately. "That is only for federal direct assistance to allow them to provide resources directly and as we do our …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
MWAA board member will no longer battle spending ouster and will resign instead.
- GOVERNMENT
- Karen Goff
-
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday that the Commonwealth and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority have reached a settlement with Dennis Martire, the former MWAA Board Member who was was fighting his removal from the group for questionable spending. “Today, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and former board member Dennis Martire reached agreement on the terms of a settlement that put to an end the months of unnecessary and costly litigation between the parties regarding my decision to remove Martire for cause as a board member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority," McDonnell said in a statement. "The full MWAA board considered and approved the terms of the …
Michelle Thomas
5:38 pm on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
I for one find T-Bird to be a complete and utter buffoonery of a poster. Has anyone ever read his post what a wanker. This is a tomfoolery of mental illness to the extreme. I can believe such a person walks this earth with the hatred and bigotry abounds in "its" (T-bird) rants. Its the way it (T-Bird) comes across as holier than all and to be damned to anyone in which disagrees. A real honest to … more ›