from those who show up at least:)
VPAP.org – The Virginia Public Access Project is the source for finding out who is funding each candidate. (My thanks to Mr. Langhrer for this one!) Read the rest of this entry »
Category Archives: VA
Candidate Forums for the Nov. 8th election
Three candidate forums down and three to go.
On Wednesday October 26 Candidate Forums are being held for:
- Town of Blacksburg, Town council: 7-9pm in Blacksburg Town Council Chambers
- General Assembly Forum is being held at 7pm in the City of Radford at the Radford High School Auditorium Read the rest of this entry »
Unfunded Federal Education “Mandates”?
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard a lot of rants about “unfunded federal education mandates”. After a bit of looking around, what I found was not all that surprising. A clear and concise summary can be found at the U.S. Dept. of Education in one of their archived reports: “No Child Left Behind – 10 Facts About K-12 Education Funding“. Item #8 of this report states: Read the rest of this entry »
Weldon Cooper Center School-Age Population Data
The Weldon Cooper Centers School-Age (5-19) Population Estimates for Virginia’s Incorporated Towns shows that:
- Blacksburg has a school-age population of 3,556 which is 27.01% of the County total of 13,164.
- Christiansburg has school-age population of 3,781 which is 28.72% of the County total of 13,164.
- Montgomery Count’s school-age population is 13,164. (Subtract Blacksburg and Christiansburg from this and you have the Montgomery County count at 5,827 school-age students (over 44% of the total). Read the rest of this entry »
Keeping up with the Bills in Legislature is just the beginning.
I’ve recently discussed using the Richmond Sunlight website for bill tracking. This gives you a good idea of the bills proposed and what happens to them. They also have a blog that contains some good information that is accessed from the website link above as well. In particular check out:
This gives you an idea of some of the process in getting bills passed. You can also find some information on how to create an illusion of getting a bill passed when you really don’t want it to pass. (nasty little political tricks)
However, what happens after the bill is passed?
That is where another website comes into play, the Virginia Register of Regulations. No matter how many laws get passed or how much you want to see the law passed, it always come down to initiating and enforcing the law in order for it to be useful. Most often, you see that the bills have to incorporated into the regulations of different departments of government. It is these regulations that explains how the bills will be incorporated into existing regulations and what will be required. Read the rest of this entry »
HB 1935: Public notices no longer in newspapers?
There is a bill introduced by Del. Onzlee Ware that could have a significant impact on citizens here and in other areas of Virginia. It pertains to allowing Town, Cities, and Counties to use a posting on their webpage instead of a posted announcement in a local newspaper.
I use the internet almost exclusively to keep track of what local government is doing, so I figure some people will expect me to argue in support of this. (That wasn’t always true!) WRONG! Wrong on the assumption and wrong to push forward a change in existing law that would have a negative impact on a portion of the population. I’m willing to listen, but it is going to take a lot to convince me that this is fair to all citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
FOIA Advisory Council being cut? Citizen Input? What a Joke!
Governor McDonnell’s Commission on Government Reform & Restructuring has been very busy. They are looking at which commissions need to be cut or combined with other commissions. The Welcome to Reform.Virginia.Gov website provides information that is very informative but unlikely to be read by many people because so much of the information is contained in lengthy documents. Wonder what joys this process holds? Oh…just keep reading…yepper….I’m a tad bit upset again…in fact, I’m furious! Read the rest of this entry »
Citizens may lose a valuable resource: FOI Advisory Council
On Sunday, December 5, 2010, the Roanoke Times provided this: Editorial: Don’t eliminate the FOIA council. There are probably a lot of people who do not know exactly how important this council is to citizen throughout the state. Well, here is a bit of information about what you and your community stand to lose. Read the rest of this entry »
Problems at the Polls in Montgomery County, VA are nothing new!
On Tuesday November 2, 2010 the polls opened for voters in Montgomery County, VA. The problems started immediately. These problems were not state-wide, indicating a problem with the voting system itself, rather they have occurred in a specific region under the supervision of one Registrar. Keep in mind that the issues are not about personality and customer service. The issues are about competency and following the laws of the State of Virginia that pertain to Voting. They are issues about following the policies of the State Board of Elections and about insuring that EVERY VOTE COUNTS! What is in question is NOT the staff of the Registrar’s Office or those trained and certified to run the polling places. It is simply that effective leadership is absent. Read the rest of this entry »
Public Information: Local Government Payrolls. VCOG, Sunshine Review, and More
Virginia Coalition for Open Government and Sunshine Review are two of my favorite resources for all things related to Freedom of Information and Open Government. Now, I’ve found a new surprise. Read the rest of this entry »
