Reston Association Chooses New CEO
One-on-one interview with Mac Cummins, AICP
One-on-one interview with Mac Cummins, AICP
Hiding at the Top of the Ticket
Race for Senate features two-term incumbent versus first-time candidate.
When Mark Warner ran for governor in 2001, opponents knocked him for wanting to be governor without having ever run for office before.
Night Court
Lawmakers to consider eliminating no-knock warrants, new hurdles for nighttime search warrants.
Lawmakers in Virginia are about to consider banning no-knock warrants and creating a new requirement that judges — not magistrates — sign off on search warrants executed at night.
Progressive Prosecutors Lobby for Justice
Commonwealth’s Attorneys from Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax join forces to press for reform.
As lawmakers prepare to return to Richmond for a special session on criminal justice reform, this group of likeminded prosecutors known as the Progressive Prosecutors for Justice will be pushing for a package of criminal-justice reform bills that does not have the backing of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys.
At the Crossroads
Lawmakers to slash the state budget and consider criminal-justice reforms.
The threadbare Franklin and Armfield office on Duke Street stands at the crossroads between racial injustice and economic crisis. It’s a ramshackle building now, but it was once the headquarters for the largest domestic slave trading firm in the United States, present at the creation of the systemic racism that plagues Virginia cops and courts. It’s also the city’s latest acquisition, and the state budget was to include $2.5 million to help transform it into the Freedom House Museum. But then the pandemic hit, and the governor hit the pause button on that line item as well as all the other spending priorities of the new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
Loan Sharks in the Water
Lawmakers crack down on predatory lending, although reform won’t happen for eight months.
The LoanMax on Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria is open for business during the pandemic, and colorful signs in the windows announce in English and Spanish that the car-title lender remains open during a stay-at-home order — offering loans at 200 percent annual interest during a time when unemployment claims in Alexandria are skyrocketing. Those kinds of interest rates will be illegal under the Fairness in Lending Act, which Gov. Ralph Northam signed last week after lawmakers signed off on some last-minute changes. But the ban on such high-interest lending won’t take effect until New Years Day 2021, which means high-interest lenders have eight months to engage in an unprecedented lending spree during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Following the Money
Special-interest groups seek power and influence.
A look at campaign-finance documents from the 2019 election cycle reveals an intricate web of special-interest money, everything from Dominion and Verizon to casino developers and car-title lenders. Members of the Alexandria delegation took money from lobbyists and associations who have pending business during the upcoming two-month General Assembly session, when lawmakers will be forbidden from taking campaign cash.
Republican Requiem
Democrats take General Assembly, sweep Fairfax School Board; Republicans hold Springfield.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Northern Virginia had its own breed of Republicanism. People like U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11), U.S. Sen. John Warner and Del. Dave Albo (R-42). Now, after a series of stunning defeats since the election of Donald Trump to the White House, Northern Virginia Republicans are a dying breed, with moderates bowing out or being voted out.
Off-Year Campaign Cash
Money from Alexandria will help shape Election 2019.
More than $3.5 million in campaign cash has an Alexandria mailing address this election cycle, a spending spree that reflects the stakes this year’s election. Control of the House of Delegates and state Senate is at stake, and partisans on both sides are trying to influence the outcome.
Virginia Democratic Primary: Small Voter Turnout Heralds Big Changes
McKay’s ‘Experience Counts’ tagline resonates, as does the call for criminal justice reform in the Commonwealth’s Attorney race.
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Pay to Play or Legitimate Representation in Virginia?
Senator’s consulting business takes center stage in primary campaign.
Is two-term Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31) a rising star, poised to become chairwoman of a Senate committee if Democrats seize control of the Senate? Or is she an opportunist capitalizing on insider influence for personal gain? That’s a question for voters this June in a primary that pits Favola against challenger Nicole Merlene, who says Favola’s consulting business is the embodiment of everything that’s wrong about Virginia politics.
Virginia Senate Minority Leader Faces Two Primary Challengers
Dick Saslaw hasn’t had a primary challenge since the 1970s; now he has two.
The last time Senate Minority Leader Dick Saslaw had a primary opponent, Jimmy Carter was in the White House and the Bee Gees were at the top of the charts. This year, for the first time since 1979, Saslaw has primary opposition. Not just one opponent, but two.
Boysko Wins Wexton Seat
Democrats enter the new year with a fresh victory and a full head of steam.
.Virginia’s 33rd state Senate District was once a solidly Republican seat, a place where conservative voters repeatedly rewarded Bill Mims for opposing same-sex marriage and championing homeschooling. But ever since Mims resigned to take a job in the McDonnell administration, the seat has been held by a succession of Democrats on their way to bigger and better things.
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