Gov. Kaine plans smoking ban events...

With smoking in bars set to be banned when the clock hits midnight, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's office has set up a series of events to commemorate the day Virginia went smoke-free.

Kaine will tour a series of bars and restaurants in Charlottesville, Alexandria and Richmond to celebrate the fact that non-smokers can eat and drink without a side order of secondhand smoke. Kaine's office says the governor wants to encourage Virginians to support their local smoke-free eateries.

Kaine starts his day at Hamilton's At First and Main in Charlottesville at 11 a.m., then his Chadwick's in Alexandria at 2 p.m. and end his mid-afternoon pub crawl at the Home Team Grill in Richmond at 4 p.m.

So far there has been some grumbling from bar regulars and bar workers concerned about the new rules. Regulars are wondering if the experience will be the same if they have to walk outside to smoke between sips. While waiters and bartenders who rely on consistent customers wonder whether new rules will drive away business and income.

But for the most part folks have approached the situation as a looming fact of life.

It has been interesting to watch some Hampton Roads bars and restaurants build completely separate smoking sections with stand-alone ventilation systems, the only way that a restaurant can still actively cater to the smoking crowd.

  

The Republican advance comes to Williamsburg this weekend....

Virginia Republicans are going to extend their victory party and bring the fest to Williamsburg this weekend for the Republican advance.

For newcomers and neophytes, the GOP advance is the annual gathering where state Republicans get together for workshops and brainstorming sessions with statewide leaders and political insiders.  The partisan huddle starts Friday afternoon and runs all day on Saturday and it's called an "advance" because Republican hate the word "retreat."

This year the GOP huddle is taking place in Williamsburg with Republicans fresh off a statewide sweep by Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli. U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Richmond, is the keynote speaker at Saturday nights banquet.

Saturday's sessions tackle a wide array of issues including "new media training" - for folks getting used to the Internet, viral marketing and advertising and how to handle blogging and bloggers. There is also a 90-minute training session titled "handling negative information" - clearly a how-to-manual for candidates trying to weather political storms and scandals. The is also a session wholly focused on ethnic and minority outreach, one on fundraising and another on politics and the law.

Republicans have a ton to be happy about. McDonnell's huge win was an important shot in the arm for GOP candidates and loyalists who had managed to survive a string of Democratic victories. The keys to the GOP's overwhelming November victories ought to give Republican leaders and rank-and-file members much to chew on. Further, the election results are a vital ray-of-hope for GOP candidates who are considering running for office in 2010 and beyond.

Here are just a few questions that will probably be rolling around Williamsburg this weekend.

1) Was McDonnell the ideal candidate, or did Democrat Creigh Deeds simply run an awful campaign? McDonnell ran a great campaign and rarely made mistakes, but Deeds also ceded a lot of ground to the GOP and never really got Democrats excited about the campaign. How are Republicans supposed to handle the near mandatory national aspirations of recent Virginia governors?  

2) Which candidates have the best chance to knock off Democrats in the midterm 2010 elections? Plenty of Republicans are lining up to challenge Democrats who rode the Barack Obama wave to Congress - so it could end up being a battle royale for the right to get on the ballot. Expect folks to be setting up alliances and trying to build momentum early.

3) What's the best way for McDonnell to handle looming budget holes? Over the past two years Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has cut $7 billion in state spending, leaving many state agencies feeling sliced to the bone. Now McDonnell has to face more budget problems while also moving toward his priorities, where's the balance?

4) How can McDonnell start creating the jobs he stressed over and over again on the campaign trail? McDonnell talked his way into office promising to be a "jobs governor" (snicker) but as the state's top executive it's difficult to actually create jobs without expanding the state payroll - a move that would not sit well with the base. So McDonnell has to find a way to knock down unemployment rates and dirty little secret - that need inextricably links him to the success of Obama's economic plans.  

5) What's the best way to torpedo health care reform?State Democrats have little say on what will end up in the massive health care reform bill in Washington, but that doesn't mean they can't get in on the debate. So far protests and rallies have been the tool dujour, we'll have too see if any other strategies emerge.

There are plenty of other questions too, any suggestions for queries that the state GOP should consider when the brain trust meets this weekend?

Speaker Howell releases one paragraph ethics inquiry into Del. Hamilton

House Speaker William J. Howell released today the results of the House Ethics inquiry into Del. Phil Hamilton's effort to land himself a $40,000 a year job at Old Dominion University while sponsoring the budget amendment that created a $500,000-a-year teaching center at the school.

The report is essentially a single paragraph letter that states that the investigation is over because Hamilton is no longer a member of the House - so the panel no longer has jurisdiction. Hamilton resigned early last week after losing his re-election bid in early November.

Here's a link to the letter sent to Howell from the ethics panel looking into Hamilton..

The letter from the ethics panel is dated Nov. 16, a day after Hamilton resigned his seat.

Howell released the following statement, hinting that he would be open to ethics reform efforts during the 2010 general Assembly session.

“Appropriate ethical conduct of elected officials is essential to safeguarding trust in government by the citizens those officials represent and in whose name they serve. Acting earlier this year to preserve that trust and protect the institutional integrity of the entire Virginia House of Delegates, I took unprecedented action, as Speaker, when I initiated a legislative inquiry by the House Ethics Advisory Panel into possible violations of the Commonwealth’s Comprehensive Conflict of Interest Act by then-Delegate Hamilton. Virginia long has had a reputation for good government and I very much want to keep it that way.

“The Ethics Panel has informed me that they have ended their inquiry for lack of statutory jurisdiction. In the interest of full disclosure and public transparency, I am voluntarily sharing today with all Virginians the Ethics Panel’s recent report regarding former Delegate Hamilton. While I regret that their fact-finding inquiry did not reach a final conclusion whether an actual violation of state law occurred, I understand the decision by the Ethics Panel and respect them for not wanting to operate outside of the legal authority granted by the Code of Virginia.

“Judge William Whitney Sweeney ably has led the five-member House Ethics Panel for many years now. I appreciate his dedication to fair judgment and the commitment of each member to ensuring due process in matters within their purview. A benefit of this impartial process is how it defends the public trust by taking partisan politics out of any ethical inquiries involving the manner by which a delegate performs his or her legislative duties.

"Looking ahead, while other avenues of investigation into this matter may be available if not already ongoing, I will lead in ensuring that the manner in which legislative ethics inquiries are conducted is thoughtfully examined during the 2010 Session of the General Assembly. Exploring opportunities to modify or improve the current process is consistent with my duties as Speaker to protect and uphold the institutional integrity of the House of Delegates.”

Howell also included a follow up letter he sent to the ethics panel on Oct. 20, the halfway point to the 120-day window that the panel had to complete the investigation. That letter is a bit more curious because as Howell's release describes it he is "expressing his desire for impartially determined fact." Um, what else would you be expecting from the House ethics panel?

Here's the link to Howell's letter to the ethics panel asking for impartially determined facts.....

 

Leading Lawmakers already talking about overtime in Richmond in 2010....

Lawmakers always start taking about overtime in Richmond.

Sometimes folks use it as a threat, suggesting that they could drag their feet on purpose to build pressure. Sometimes, state legislators simply need more time to hash through their differences, especially on state spending.

But this year the early overtime warning award goes to House Appropriations Chairman Lacey Putney, one of the state's most powerful lawmakers who holds significant sway over state purse strings.

Putney is already floating the idea that Virgina lawmakers might not be able to accomplish their work in Richmond on time this year, suggesting that the state legislature might need overtime to build federal health care reform into the state spending plan.

Here's the information from Adam Rhew over at NBC 29 with the quote from Putney:  

Delegate Lacey Putney (I-19th District) is chair of the House Appropriations Committee. He has a suggestion for the upcoming session of the General Assembly, an intermission of sorts:

"The possibility of coming into session, maybe recessing, let the members go back, except the money committees working on the budget, in order to give us time to see what they're going to do in Washington."

Putney's idea was hatched as the Appropriations Committee considers a $77 billion budget amid uncertainties over healthcare reform in Washington, D.C. Depending on if and what kind of bill is passed could have direct impact on the Commonwealth's budget. So a pause for more up-to-date information makes sense from the perspective of Richmond.

It's not a radical idea in Richmond, where lawmakers have frequently run over in recent years thanks to deadlocked arguments or other hurdles. But it is an interesting idea to consider how issues and problems trickle down from Washington.

The session is already shaping up to be a really tough opening act for Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell, a Republican, who walks into a really ugly budget situation that has forced Gov. Timothy M.Kaine to cut $7 billion out of the state spending plan in the past two years.

With lawmakers already overworked thanks to looming difficult decisions on where to make further cuts, making a state budget work with new federal spending on health care reform cold prove tricky. It probably doesn't help Putney that he has lost some budget negotiators in recent months. Del. Clarke Hogan retired and Del. Phil Hamilton lost his re-election bid to Democrat Robin Abbott.

Hogan had been the "bad cop" negotiator in recent years, playing the role of attack dog during extended debates. Meanwhile, Hamilton was an expert on health care spending, especially on mental health. So there goes another important voice.

Keep an eye on Putney over the next few weeks and months.  

Federal officials search capitol for evidence on Hamilton's ODU job.....

Del. Phil Hamilton’s resignation from the House of Delegates might have snuffed out a state ethics probe, but it appears that federal investigators continue to dig for information about the once influential lawmaker’s $40,000-a-year job at Old Dominion University.

House Clerk Bruce Jamerson told the Washington Post that federal investigators came to the capitol in Richmond and served him with a subpoena searching for Hamilton’s detailed financial filings, travel vouchers and other documents related the Old Dominion educational center.

Hamilton, a powerful Newport News Republican who lost his re-election bid to Democrat Robin Abbott, became embroiled in scandal last summer when e-mails showed that in 2007 Hamilton was negotiating a $40,000-a-year salary at the state-supported college even as he was carrying an amendment to secure $500,000 in state tax money for the education program. Hamilton resigned the ODU position in August.

Hamilton was due to serve until Jan. 13, but resigned his seat early this week effectively ending an almost wholly secret House ethics inquiry instigated in August by Republican House Speaker William J. Howell.

State leaders said this week that the probe would likely dissolve because Hamilton was no longer a sitting member of the House. But Jamerson said that in late September federal officials came searching state records for details related to Hamilton’s interaction with Old Dominion. Jamerson said the documents were provided in October.

Federal authorities had previously served subpoenas to Old Dominion and Newport News Public Schools, where Hamilton remains a part-time administrator after more than 30 years.

Here's a link to the Washington Post blog item talking about the Hamilton subpoena...

President Obama considering not running for re-election?

In an interview from China, President Barack Obama talked openly about the idea that he might not run for re-election in 2012.

Obama, speaking with CNN on a wide range of topics - including Sarah Palin'snew book, said that he realizes he is already making difficult decisions about the future of the United States, and that could hurt his prospects in 2012.

Here's the full quote for context:

But when it comes to the 2012 race, Obama didn't discount the possibility he may sit out on a reelection bid.

"You know, if - if I feel like I've made the very best decisions for the American people and three years from now I look at it and, you know, my poll numbers are in the tank and because we've gone through these wrenching changes, you know, politically, I'm in a tough spot, I'll - I'll feel all right about myself," Obama told CNN's Ed Henry during an interview in China.

"I said to myself very early on, even when I started running for office, I don't want to be making decisions based on getting reelected, because I think the challenges that America faces right now are so significant," the president also said. "Obviously, if I make those decisions and I think that I'm moving the country on the right direction economically, in terms of our security interests, our foreign policy, I'd like to think that those policies are continued because they're not going to bear fruit just in four years."

But in the next breath the president quickly sounded like someone who would relish taking his case to the American people in 2012, saying he's tackling big issues like health care and Iran that he's confident will bear fruit in the future. The last president not to seek reelection was Lyndon Johnson in 1968.

OK, so there's a fair bit to digest in there, and you have to take everything he is saying with a grain of salt because when you're dealing with such a wide array of complex issues at one time - two years can seem like a lifetime.

Anyone willing to run for president has to have a very healthy and developed sense of self worth - and Obama is definitely stocked in the ego department. That is a silly critique of any president as long as the they're not erecting statues to themselves.

Plus, not many folks aspire to hold a single term in the White House, an ignominious feat that has become an insult to past presidents. Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush are routinely blasted by critics for only managing four years in office.  

Further, Obama pretty much has to say he's not making decisions based on getting re-elected because voters don't like being openly pandered to. You have to at least talk about the "tough decisions" you are making in office.

But the whole idea that Obama wouldn't run for re-election is a bit absurd because a four year window is such a quick blip on the national scene. Think about how any decisions he made during a hypothetical single term would look in the context of history.

Opponents could basically pooh-pooh any accomplishments he made in office because of the short time frame. Think about the refrains that would haunt him. He didn't fix the economy the market did. Yeah but well we still have troops fighting in two wars. And on and on.

Here's the full - short - item from CNN's web site and yes I am a Google slut....

   

Michelle Obama visits Virginia elementary school...

First Lady Michelle Obamatoured an Alexandria elementary school on Tuesday to meet with faculty and student and present the school with an award for a healthier school environment.

The event was designed to promote a more active student body to help cut down on childhood obesity, and the school is getting the award in part for - GET THIS - lengthening recess.

Here's the report from Hill Reporter Walter Alarkon, it's written in the choppy succinct style typical of pool reports, but you'll get the idea. And remember FLOTUS is one of the nicknames for Michelle Obama:

Update: The visit comes as Rasmussen polling finds the Michelle Obama's approval rating at 62%

The First Lady met with faculty members and students at Hollin Meadows Elementary School(grades K through 6) in Alexandria, Va. The school was receiving a USDA HealthierUS Silver School award (for its "healthier school nutrition" environment).

 She and Afgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack first held a roundtable discussion with school principal Jon Gates, other principals from the DC metro area, a science teacher, school district officials and parents of students. There were 13 people at the table in all.

(Will ask press office for full list of participants.)

Highlights from discussion:

FLOTUS: "We know that the school lunch and nutrition is a major part of kids' lives because so many kids get their meals here. We can do better."

She said that foods with high calories probably play a role in the high rate of child obesity. She encouraged schools should look to find "healthy foods that kids enjoy and are cost effective."

"Even when there are few resources, there are ways to improve what we're doing in nutrition and fitness," FLOTUS said.

She praised the school for recently increasing its recess period from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

She said that when the USDA HealthierUS program started that she would visit schools if more of them got on board, and that her visit Wednesday was following up on vow.

When Dr. Jeffrey Grant, principal of Walker Jones Education Campusin DC, talked about the various fitness activities at his school, FLOTUS asked, "Do you hula hoop?" (An obvious reference to her hula-hooping during the recent WH fitness event.)

Assistant Principal Jean Consollasaid that about 30 faculty members and students from Hollin Meadows had visited the White House vegetable garden July 16. They met then with WH asst chef Sam Kass.

After the roundtable, FLOTUS and Vilsack went to a lunch period in the cafeteria. Their job was to hand out either a banana or tangerine to each student at the end of the lunch line. Lunch consisted of a veggie burger with a whole wheat bun, the aforementioned fruits, a bowl of cantaloupes and grapes and milk. (School officials told the TV pooler that the only reason they didn't get a HealthierUS Gold award was because they didn't include a whole wheat item in their lunches one day.)

A trio of students in line to sit broke from the line to give FLOTUS a hug.

After lunch, FLOTUS and Vilsack went outside to the school's vegetable garden, where the students were harvesting lettuce for a Thanksgiving school event Thursday.

A group of third graders picked up lettuce (appeared to be red leaf, though school officials said they grew "all kinds") then peeled the roots off.

"Why don't you just cut it? Why don't you just rip it off?" FLOTUS asked.

They told FLOTUS they would use the leftover soil later.

"You guys are so smart!" Flotus replied. "You know your stuff."

FLOTUS and Vilsack then moved to a table where kids were examining vegetable seeds, then your pooler was escorted out.

Webb and Warner pen note to FEMA...

Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner are pressing federal officials to release disaster aid in the wake of last week’s powerful nor’easter that rocked Hampton Roads.

In the letter, dated Nov. 16, Webb and Warner urge the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to speed up the review the storm damage on the Peninsula and in south Hampton Roads and release money for victims.

“These areas experienced significant damage due to the combination of severe rainfall, winds and flooding,” the senators wrote in the brief note to administrator W. Craig Fugate. “The situation has strained our local authorities.”

Federal disaster teams began sifting through the wreckage of the storm today, in an effort to gauge the total cost of the damage. Along the coasts, beachfront homes and piers were pounded with powerful surf riding atop high tides. Meanwhile heavy rainfall and tidal surges led to severe flooding in low-lying neighborhoods throughout the region. Homeowners and residents waded through especially deep water in vulnerable sections Hampton and Norfolk.

The letter says that the assistance should be directed to the towns of “Colonial Beach and Chincoteague, Gloucester County, Halifax County, Isle of Wight County, James City County, King William County, Pittsylvania County, Mathews County, Newport News City, Norfolk City, Portsmouth City, Surry County, Virginia Beach City, City of Hampton, and York County.”

It's not exactly the most urgent letter you ever read - we're attaching a copy below. But the whole point is it reminds FEMA that Virginia's senators are paying close attention to this disaster.

November 16, 2009

 

The Honorable W. Craig Fugate

Administrator

Federal Emergency Management Agency

500 C Street, SW

Washington, DC  20472

 

Dear Administrator Fugate:

 

    We respectfully urge timely consideration of any federal disaster assistance requests for the counties and municipalities in Virginiaaffected by recent severe weather and flooding conditions.  Governor Kaine has already sought FEMA attention for these 13 localities statewide, which were declared local emergencies.  These areas experienced significant damage due to the combination of severe rainfall, winds and flooding stemming from the storm that took place November 10 – 14, 2009.  The situation has strained our local authorities. 

 

    We appreciate FEMA’s attention to date, and your prompt assessment of this damage.  Thank you in advance for your continued assistance and your urgent consideration of this matter.  Please feel free to contact our offices if we can provide any assistance or information.

 

Sincerely,

Jim Webb     Mark Warner

United States Senator    United States Senator

 

Organizing for America says thank-you to Bobby Scott for health-care vote

U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, and Organizing for America have scheduled a news conference for 6 p.m. today to give OFA a chance to publicly thank Scott for voting for the health care reform bill that passed last Saturday.

Passing along the official gratitude will be Brandyn Keating, OFA's state director for Virginia.

The event is at 6 p.m. at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, 2515 Marshall Ave., Newport News.

Prediction: The weather today may affect the turnout.

Going to Blogs United conference? Time to register

The Blogs United conference will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, at Christopher Newport University's David Student Union. The conference runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the humble registration fee of 15 bucks covers breakfast and lunch.

This year’s conference features Rep. Rob Wittman, political beat writers Anita Kumar, (the Shad Plank's own) Kimball Payne, Ryan Nobles, and Julian Walker, as well as Scott Hirons from the House Republican Campaign Committee.

Rep. Glenn Nye, Greg Scanlon of the Democratic Party of Virginia, Sen. Jim Webb, and Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell have been invited. We’ll also review the election season, the latest legal issues facing the “new” media, and what’s new in technology.

Here's a link to the registration page.

Join us!