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Supreme Court of Virginia Sides with Car-Title Lenders
TitleMax, LoanMax and Fast Auto Loans will be able to keep details about their business secret.
How many cars did TitleMax repossess last year? What was the average loan amount for LoanMax? How many judgments did Fast Auto Loans obtain against people who were so hard up for cash that they handed over the title to their automobiles? That’s all information that these companies handed over to state regulators last year. But according to a new ruling from the Supreme Court of Virginia, it’s also information that these companies can keep secret.
Starting from a Clean Slate
Compromise on expungement: automatic for some misdemeanors, petition for some felonies.
Marijuana convictions will be automatically expunged under a bill now under consideration by Gov. Ralph Northam, although convictions for crack cocaine will require missing a day of work and probably hiring a lawyer to go to court and seal the record. The legislation is a compromise crafted late in the General Assembly session by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring of Alexandria and state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36), who clashed repeatedly over the last year about how the process should work.
Why a Regional Wage in Virginia?
Effort to raise minimum wage hits snag on Senate floor, leading to regional approach.
It’s shortly after 7 p.m. on a Tuesday night, and state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36) is working the Senate chamber to save the minimum wage increase. This particular Tuesday isn’t just any day of the week. It’s the final deadline for Senate bills to cross over to the House, so the pressure is building as the clock winds down. Senators are tired and cranky, and they will be working past midnight.
Young Turk from Alexandria
Armistead Boothe led war vets in General Assembly who took on Byrd Machine.
In some ways, Alexandria was the home of the forces who worked against the conservative political organization that ran Virginia politics for most of the 20th century. Starting after the conclusion of World War II, the city was represented in the House of Delegates by a young war vet by the name of Armistead Boothe.
Food Fight: Work Group Snubbed on Food Trucks
City officials move forward with recommendations without report from work group.
Last May, City Manager Rashad Young issued a series of recommendations that would have opened the door to food trucks in Old Town, Del Ray and Carlyle.
Patchwork of Approaches to Affordable Housing in Northern Virginia
Jurisdictions use a variety of strategies to prevent homelessness.
Affordable housing means different things to different people at different times. For government officials, it's a phrase that means that a family spends no more than 30 percent of its income on housing costs, including rent or mortgage as well as taxes and utilities
Northern Virginia Leads Blue Wave
Democrats sweep statewide races and come close to taking over House of Delegates.
Democrats swept all three statewide seats this week and picked up so many seats in the House of Delegates that control of the chamber is now in doubt. Voters rejected Republican arguments about sanctuary cities and Confederate memorials, divisive issues that had moderate Republicans trying to win over the most extreme elements of President Donald Trump’s coalition.
Rethinking Duke Street
Alexandria to determine future of bus rapid transit along congested traffic corridor.
Duke Street
Alexandria Leaders Consider Lawsuit Challenging Takeover of Long-Troubled School
Unless courts intervene, new statewide division will take control of Jefferson-Houston next year.
Is Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell's effort to take over Jefferson-Houston School constitutional?
Arlington Urban Agriculture Task Force Chickens Out
Panel members fail to reach consensus; submit three separate reports.
The Urban Agriculture Task Force laid an egg.
How Alexandria Stole the National Science Foundation from Arlington
Financial incentives are increasingly being used to attract federal agencies.
Standing outside the National Science Foundation in the heart of Ballston, it's easy to see why Arlington and Alexandria have been fighting over the federal agency.
Should Voters Consider Streetcar?
Two candidates propose referendum, but path to ballot remains unclear.
Should voters consider the fate of the controversial $310 million streetcar on Columbia Pike? That's what two candidates are proposing, although the path from their idea to the ballot box remains unclear, and the idea has resistance among people who support the initiative. The debate comes at a time when County Manager Barbara Donnellan prepares to propose her capital improvement program for fiscal years 2015 to 2024, a 10-year spending plan that will include the first major round of funding for the Columbia Pike Streetcar.
Alexandria to Stop Dumping Human Waste into Potomac River by Earth Day 2035
Fixing combined sewer overflows to cost at least $200 million.
The year 2035 seems like a distant dream. But it's a Sword of Damocles hanging over the head of officials at City Hall. That's the year Alexandria will no longer dump human waste into the Potomac River.
Alone on the Road: 7 out of 10 Northern Virginia Workers Use Single-Occupancy Vehicles
Study raises concerns about amount of time drivers spend commuting alone.
Despite the decades-long war against the single-occupancy vehicle, seven out of 10 workers in Northern Virginia drive to work alone every workday.
Privatized Incarceration
Alexandria senator leads fight against profiting from prisoners
Housing inmates in Virginia prisons costs the state about $70 a day for each inmate. But the private sector can do it a lot cheaper, about $50 a day. Lawmakers are about to debate whether that's a savings they can afford.
School Board Brainstorms Future
Members gather for an informal session to discuss the rest of their terms.
School Board Brainstorms Future
Personality Conflict on the Richmond Highway Corridor
Do residents want to be suburban, exurban or urban?
This summer, residents in Mount Vernon will welcome a new Costco to the Richmond Highway corridor — a big-box retailer with a huge parking lot that will exemplify the kind of suburban and exurban development that has dominated far-flung reaches of the metropolitan region.
Drop-Box Election
Pandemic protocols rewrite rules on voting.
When absentee ballots are distributed in the next two weeks, voters will have a new option to exercise their franchise: a drop box, which will be installed outside the Registrar’s office on North Royal Street.
Casting a Ballot
Recent changes to voting make casting a ballot easier than ever.
Recent changes to voting make casting a ballot easier than ever.
Reconsidering Marijuana
Pot is still legal, but the plan to regulate its sale is in jeopardy.
Marijuana