Virginia News Headlines: Friday Morning

by: lowkell

Fri Jan 04, 2013 at 06:48:15 AM EST

*Va.'s phony concern for health hits women's rights (Actually, it's T-Bob's and Kookinelli's phony concern, not all of Virginia's...)
*Good Riddance to Rottenest Congress in History (What did the American people expect when they put the insane, extremist Tea Partiers in charge of the House? I mean, DUH!)
*The clowns of Capitol Hill
*Boehner returns as speaker by three votes
*What's missing from the cliff debate: Growth (I'd argue that there's a lot more missing, starting with an agreed-upon vision of where we want our country to go. Also, there was no serious talk about tax reform, which is badly needed, or the concept of taxing greenhouse gas emissions, even as global warming is BY FAR the #1 threat to humanity. What a cluster@#$@#).
*Battles of the Budget ("The centrist fantasy of a Grand Bargain on the budget never had a chance. Even if some kind of bargain had supposedly been reached, key players would soon have reneged on the deal - probably the next time a Republican occupied the White House.')
*Kaine sworn in as Virginia's new U.S. senator
*Kaine: "There's so much work to be done"
*As foes mount for Dragas, friends emerge, too (Once again, Mark Warner baffles me; why on earth would he go to bat for Dragas, after she's done so much damage to UVA, and given her utter incompetence, tone-deafness, etc?)
*Va. gun sales surged to new record in 2012 (Brilliant, huh?)
*Goodlatte again introduces balanced budget amendments (Stupid.)
*Governor McDonnell unveils education package
*McDonnell declares 2013 "The Year of the Teacher" (And by that he really means "The Year of SCREWING OVER the Teacher")
*Sen. Warner Petition to Reform Filibuster Rule
*On Filibuster Reform, Advocates Claim Momentum
*Delegate brings back Tebow bill for another four downs (We need to deny Rob Bell a first down on this one.)
*Portsmouth is riskiest to kids in region for lead poisoning (Not good, especially when you consider Crime Is at its Lowest Level in 50 Years. A Simple Molecule May Be the Reason Why.)
*Eastern Shore Del. Lewis open to Va. Senate bid
*Chastised Dulles Rail board cuts back dramatically on travel
*EPA ruling to regulate Fairfax creek overturned (The judge is a George W. Bush appointee, and Ken Kookinelli fought for this ruling. 'Nuff said, except that the Fairfax County Board's Democrats made a big mistake here, both on the merits and also on the politics. #FAIL all around.)
*Norfolk center requires vetting
*Loudoun Board to Eugene Delgaudio: 'No committees for you. Two years.'
*Editorial: Prepare for the worst weather ("It's only a matter of time until a major hurricane hits Hampton Roads, and Virginia isn't ready for evacuees.")
*Tysons may be booming, but Tysons Forest is closer to staying unpaved