Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Recent legislation requires radiologists to notify patients if they have dense breast tissue, which can sometimes hide cancer.
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012
By Leah Small Capital News Service Beginning July 1, women getting mammograms will learn whether they have dense breast tissue that could hide cancer, thanks to recent legislation that addresses the test’s failure to detect certain cancers in women with dense breast tissue. Under the new law, if radiologists conducting mammograms find dense breast tissue, they must send the patient a letter noting that fact—and that dense breast tissue can hide cancer. The letter will urge women to talk to their physicians about the matter. The new “patient inform” law resulted from efforts by a breast cancer survivor, Cathryn Tatusko of Fairfax County, with support from an aptly named national awareness organization called Are You Dense. JoAnn Pushkin, …
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tell us: Should Virginia continue to operate under Dillon Rule or should lawmakers leave more room for local governments to set their own course?
RICHMOND (Capital News Service) — During a session marked by debates over big issues like the state budget and abortion rights, Virginia legislators spent a surprising amount of time dealing with mundane matters — like telling slackers in Prince George County, the city of Hopewell and the towns of Ashland and Chincoteague to mow their lawns. In Virginia, it takes a state law for local governments to order residents to cut their grass or remove trash from their property. That’s because Virginia follows a legal doctrine called the Dillon Rule. Under that principle, localities have only powers granted to them by the state. As a result, every year local officials must go hat in hand to the Capitol and ask the General Assembly for permission to…
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tell us: Should state law be able to retroactively override private agreements?
The Virginia Senate rejected an appeal to override Gov. Bob McDonnell's veto of what's known as the solar freedom bill Wednesday, disappointing state Sen. Chap Petersen, who sponsored the legislation. "This is a common sense bill that would have brought high-paying, high-technology jobs across Virginia while protecting individual property rights within HOAs," Petersen wrote in a statement. "While the Governor continues to protect big coal and provide subsidies for mountaintop mining, Virginia tax payers are losing out on thousands of Federal tax credits from clean, efficient solar energy." The bill (HB 627), which passed the Senate on a 31-8 vote during the legislative session, attempted to invalidate any community associations' provisions…
Monday, April 16, 2012
Gov. McDonnell says $300 million more for Silver Line might mean scrapping 40 other projects.
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration said last week 40 transportation projects across the state would be gutted if the state legislature includes another $300 million in bonding for Metro's Silver Line Phase 2. The projects include three in Northern Virginia: Route 1 widening in Prince William County and the interchange at Route 659 and the Battlefield Parkway extension in Loudoun County, the Washington Post reports. Most House and Senate budget negotiators agreed last week to a two-year, $85 billion spending plan. But negotiators stripped $300 million for the Silver Line from that plan after Gov. Bob McDonnell announced he would not support the extra Metro funding. That position was a departure from his previous offers to direct more of …
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sen. Janet Howell writes about the pushback pro-gun legislation received from lawmakers
Virginians want politicians who support strong gun laws, state Sen. Janet Howell (D-32nd District) wrote in an opinion for The Washington Post. "Citizens across the commonwealth want responsible gun laws and will support, not punish, politicians who work to reduce trafficking," she wrote. Howell writes about how the General Assembly may have repealed the one-gun-a-month law during this year's legislative session, but it does not mean advocates of stricter gun laws should lose all optimism. "First, while plenty of pundits thought that the gun lobby would have carte blanche in Virginia this session, there was a remarkable level of pushback from both sides of the aisle," she wrote, noting bills that would have allowed guns on college campuses…
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Special session will convene March 21
The General Assembly adjourned its 2012 session Saturday without a budget agreement, instead agreeing to return March 21 for a special session. Though the House of Delegates has passed a version of Gov. Bob McDonnell's two-year, $85 billion spending plan, the Senate has failed to do the same, largely because the chamber's Democrats wanted to pressure Republicans into giving them more power in committees as well as reassess the budget priorities. Budget work groups from both houses will continue to negotiate until the special session convenes. "The people of Virginia will benefit from our taking this extra time, taking time to make sure they are protected," Sen. Janet Howell (D-32nd District) said in a statement. "I feel they’re right at …
Friday, March 9, 2012
Law goes into effect July 1.
RICHMOND (Capital News Service) — Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed legislation that will require first-time DUI offenders in Virginia to install a Breathalyzer in their vehicle to prevent them from driving while intoxicated. The governor signed House Bill 279 on Wednesday. As a result, beginning July 1, all Virginians convicted of DUI will have to have an ignition interlock installed in their vehicle. Currently, that requirement applies only to repeat offenders or first-time offenders with blood alcohol content higher than 0.15. Virginia will "join just 15 other U.S. states in requiring this proven effective technology for all persons convicted of drunk driving," Kurt Erickson, president of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, said …
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to sign into law a bill that would allow state-funded private child-placement agencies the right to deny services based on their religious or moral beliefs.
Greg Greeley grew up in a large family and knew that one day he would want to start his own. "When I decided to start a family, and began reaching out to adopt, I was a single father," said Greeley, who moved to Virginia in 1987. He was in the Air Force and stationed at the Pentagon. As a single, gay man, Greeley faced many challenges before successfully navigating the state's adoption process. He started the process in 2001. A year later, after locating a progressive child-placement agency in Virginia, he adopted his first child from Ukraine. "It was a hard process and I was lucky," said Greeley, who lives in Arlington and now has a second adopted son from El Salvador. "The first question I asked each agency was, 'Do you work with single …
Monday, March 5, 2012
Tell us: Were riot police, SWAT teams necessary for safety around Richmond or was it an overreaction?
At Monday's Virginia Senate session, Sens. Janet Howell (D-32nd) and Chap Petersen (D-34th) denounced the use of riot police, SWAT teams carrying automatic weapons, police dogs and helicopters in response to what they called peaceful protests in Capitol Square. Protest groups have gathered several times at the square this session in the wake of legislation aimed at limiting abortion rights. On Saturday, 31 protesters were arrested — mostly for trespassing or unlawful assembly — on the state capitol steps following a women's rights rally. Prior to some of the arrests, protesters were monitored by a fully armored police SWAT team carrying automatic weapons, riot police, and police dogs, the senators said. "They were chanting, 'Tell me what …
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Committee rejects legislation that would have allowed home-schoolers to play on high school teams.
Legislation to let home-schooled children play public school sports has died in the Virginia Senate. The bill (HB 947), informally known as the "Tebow Bill" because of Denver Broncos' quarterback Tim Tebow's background as a home-schooled student who played for a public school in Florida, was rejected in the Senate Education and Health Committee on a 8-7 vote. Supporters of the bill argued parents with home-schooled children pay taxes, so their children should have the opportunity to compete in interscholastic sports. Opponents say parents who choose home-schooling know the limitations, and it would be unfair to let those kids play without meeting eligibility standards that public school students must meet. In the Jan. 26 Fairfax County …
Leslie Campbell
10:24 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
I am unclear on how this will lead to improved detection. It only mandates notifying women of dense breast tissue. It doesn't mandate a further test (usually an ultrasound) to find the cancer. That would still be up to the Dr / patient, AND might not be covered by insurance, since this is not the test of choice for detecting breast cancer. My mother's breast cancer never showed up on a mammogram… more ›