By Susan Laume: (Editor’s Note: This is the first of an occasional series on Virginia’s 2020 animal legislation.) Companion animal advocates are among those with reason to celebrate the new Democratic majority in 2020’s Virginia General Assembly. This year, grassroots progressives saw nearly a dozen bills pass related to long fought for animal care and humane treatment. With major changes…
By Brad Swanson: Virginia’s citizen boards will retain control over pollution emitters for at least another year as a bill to transfer this authority to a state agency has been downgraded to require passage by two consecutive annual legislatures. In the interim between the current session and the next, beginning in Jan. 2021, the bill would require the state Department…
By Bob Burnley: A current bill in the Virginia House would seriously weaken environmental protection by transferring power from citizen boards to a state agency. This is a terrible idea. I should know — I am a former director of that agency. When I served in 2002-2006 as director of the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), I willingly followed…
As the largest minority in Fairfax County, Asian-Americans are a major focus of outreach activity for the local Democratic Party, which faces a critical election on Nov. 5 to determine the control of the state assembly. Today Republicans hold one-vote majorities in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and the Democrats are mounting a major effort here in northern…
Now that the Democratic primary is over, Fairfax County Democrats are seeking to unite the party behind winning candidates in the runup to the Nov. 5 general election. Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee was first off the mark, holding its Unity Event on June 12, a mere 24 hours after polls closed. Seven candidates for state and local office, including…
Ed Note: Normally The Blue View prints original content only but we are making an exception in the case of a constituent letter dealing with the current turmoil in Richmond posted on Facebook by Del. Mark Keam (D- 35) on Friday, Feb. 15. We think Keam has done a public service by drawing a closely-reasoned road map through a complex…
The heated topic of money in politics in Virginia drew a star-studded list of speakers and a large, boisterous audience to a forum on Nov. 28th at the Mason District Government Center. State legislators, candidates and activists took turns detailing the corrosive effects of corporate money on politics throughout the Commonwealth, calling out Dominion Energy, the NRA, the Koch industrial…
By Todd Thurwachter: Volunteers from FCDC and the Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia (DAAV) reported the strongest positive engagement yet at this year’s Vietfest held in August. They found a great deal of support and enthusiasm, particularly among young voters, and recommended trying to recruit more young volunteers for next year’s Vietfest. Most important, they identified and built up an army of volunteers…
By Susan Laume: Hoarders don’t restrict their obsession to inanimate objects. In Fairfax County – a “hot spot” for hoarding, as we reported previously — animals have been freed from hoarders on numerous occasions. Fairfax County’s worst animal hoarding case on record was in 2005, when 500 cats were confiscated, according to Animal Protection Police Officer Sgt, Alena Swartz. However,…
By Diane Weeks: NEW ORLEANS — The Netroots Nation Conference wrapped up its third and final day Sunday with rousing speeches, planned and unplanned, from elected officials, political hopefuls, and spontaneous protestors. And the big reveal – Netroots Nation 2019 will be July 11-13 in Philadelphia, Pa. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out a vision for the country…
By Susan Laume: Imagine sitting on your porch enjoying the gentle breeze of a pleasant summer evening… then being driven inside by odors when your neighbor opens his garage door… He’s a hoarder. What can be done? That’s a difficult question, but state Del. Mark Keam (D – 35) is committed to finding an answer. Americans are curious about hoarding,…
By Karen Kirk: After spending 34 days living in trees to block the Mountain Valley Pipeline from being built on their property in Roanoke County, Red Terry and her daughter Minor are taking their fight around Virginia this week. They were joined by Virginia Delegate Mark Keam, 35th District, Delegate Sam Rasoul, 11th District and attorney and activist Jonathan Sokolow…