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Community
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Furry Friends
In need of a forever home: Red and Precious
Updated
Red, cattle dog
Precious, domestic short hair
Red, cattle dog
Red is a playful yet non-adventurous cattle dog mix. He is 6 years old and weighs about 40 pounds. He is currently in foster care, enjoying all the spoils that home life can offer. He does seem to have some vision issues, but he's content being next to his people instead of wandering off on an adventure. When he does go outside, he's more content to find a sunny spot for a nap. Red would do well with another dog in his new home to show him the ropes. He is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and house trained.
Precious, domestic short hair
Precious lives up to her name! This gorgeous, 1-year-old tortoiseshell has an easygoing personality, loves making new friends and quickly adapts to new surroundings and people. She is in search of an indoor-only home where she can be adored like the queen she is. She doesn't mind other cats, polite dogs and respectful kids. She is a loving, kind-hearted little girl who just wants to be with her people. Precious is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped and house trained.
Proposals to move Virginia's odd-year elections die in surprise vote
DAVE RESS
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Updated
VanValkenburg
Provided
RICHMOND — In a surprise move, a General Assembly move to align Virginia’s odd-year elections with federal presidential and congressional votes has died.
“I was surprised. I was a touch surprised,” said state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, the joint subcommittee chair.
House of Delegates and state Senate members on the panel split over whether to recommend a change in election timing, with every delegate voting against and every senator voting yes.
Because such joint subcommittees can’t act if a majority from either chamber doesn’t agree, the two-year study panel will not make a recommendation.
That means any idea of moving Virginia’s election timing will die, unless any members of the General Assembly want to try on their own. Going against a study panel’s recommendation, or trying to push measures a panel didn’t recommend, is a tough sell in Virginia's legislature.
Hobie Lehman, state Senate director of committee operations,
left; state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico; and
Division of Legislative Services attorney Brooks Braun consult over
next steps after a split vote by the elections consolidation panel
on Monday.
Dave Ress, Times-Dispatch
There had been no obvious public signals of a split during the panel’s two-year life, but VanValkenburg said he sensed some underlying unease.
“I voted yes because I think more people should vote, and I think having more people vote in elections is a good thing," VanValkenburg said.
He said a University of Virginia study showed that syncing odd-year elections with the federal cycle boosted participation.
"I also think it helps cure some of that voter fatigue from voting every year that voters have,” VanValkenburg said.
Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, said he voted against making a recommendation because of his concern about the impact on election officials and after finding that the change wouldn’t save taxpayers much money.
Some voter registrars had told the panel that they feared moving to sync elections would lead local governments to cut funding for their already hard-pressed offices.
In addition to those concerns, Del. Destiny Lavere Bolling, D-Henrico, said Virginia’s odd-year elections give Virginians an important voice in national politics.
Virginia elects governors the year after a presidential election, and the results are commonly read as a report card on a president. State senators are elected the year before a presidential election, and some pundits see these votes as a signal for the nation.
“I just don’t think that’s something we should give up,” she said.
Although the two-year study panel will not make a recommendation, “I don't think it was for nothing,” Van Valkenburg said.
“I think it was a really educational lift that I think taught a lot of members, a lot of people in the citizenry, the kind of pros and cons and the nuances in it. … I think it does possibly lend itself to other pieces of legislation that can make our election process better,” he said.
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