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On February 13, a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at eminent domain abuse sailed through both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. This legislative action qualifies the amendment for a plebiscite vote in November. The amendment would stipulate that compensation resulting from eminent domain seizures include lost profits and access in addition to the value of the underlying real estate. This change has the support of Virginia property rights advocates including Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. If enacted, this constitutional amendment would strike at the heart of the 2005 Supreme Court decision Kelo v. City of New London. This ruling allowed government...

Nearly 20 years ago, former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder announced that he wanted to create a museum that would tell the story of slavery in the United States. He had the vision, the clout, the charm to make it seem attainable, and he had already made history: the grandson of slaves, he was the nationÂ’s first elected African American governor. He assembled a high-profile board, hosted splashy galas with entertainer Bill Cosby promising at least $1 million in support, accepted a gift of some 38 acres of prime real estate smack along Interstate 95 in Fredericksburg and showed plans...

Manassas, VA, February 11, 2012 -- Although he will not appear on the Virginia Presidential primary ballot on March 6, it did not stop Manassas Tea Party members from selecting Rick Santorum as the overwhelming winner in a straw poll conducted at its monthly meeting of members last evening. In the straw poll which also contained the U.S. Senate Virginia seat and Manassas City Council races, Santorum swept the Presidential poll with 67% of the vote but equally interesting was Mitt Romney received no votes. Newt Gingrich was second in the poll with 27% and Ron Paul last with only...

C-SPAN's coverage of the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) continues Friday with speeches by the leading presidential candidates and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The three top GOP candidates for the Republican nomination -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum -- are taking a break from the campaign trial to address attendees. Rep. Ron Paul was invited to speak but will instead continue campaigning.

Last summer, when a School Board member shared concerns about teen boys wearing long wigs, dresses and makeup to class, the principals of the three city high schools insisted they hadn't seen it. Superintendent Deran Whitney said he had heard no complaints and had observed only one boy - in jeans and a shirt - dressed in "what is traditionally viewed as female clothing." Now, Whitney has proposed modifications to the student dress code that include a change that addresses cross-gender clothing. The regulations, to be considered by the board tonight, ban clothing "that is not in keeping with a...

For the first time in this election cycle, President Barack Obama inches ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate, 47 - 43 percent in Virginia, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Romney has a commanding lead among likely Republican primary voters in the state's no-Newt Gingrich presidential primary. ................................................... The Senate race has been tight as a tick all year, with neither man ahead by more than two points among all voters. In this survey, Kaine leads 44 - 40 percent among independent voters.

For the first time in this election cycle, President Barack Obama inches ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate, 47 - 43 percent in Virginia, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Romney has a commanding lead among likely Republican primary voters in the state's no-Newt Gingrich presidential primary. ................................................... The Senate race has been tight as a tick all year, with neither man ahead by more than two points among all voters. In this survey, Kaine leads 44 - 40 percent among independent voters.

Public outcry over impending tolls on the Downtown and Midtown tunnels has helped spark widespread opposition in the General Assembly to the governor's request for broad new authority to use tolls as a major transportation funding mechanism statewide. There is no serious talk of legislatively halting the planned tolls on the two Elizabeth River crossings. A last-ditch attempt, initiated by Del. Kenny Alexander, D-Norfolk, was scotched by the Republican-controlled Assembly last week. But outrage in Hampton Roads over the tolls, slated to begin this year and start at $1.84 for cars at peak hours, is a key factor in legislative...

RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would require women to have an ultrasound before an abortion, the first of several legislative measures this year that are expected to dramatically alter abortion law in the state. Democrats and moderates in the Senate had rejected a similar bill each year for the past decade, arguing that the measure is designed to discourage women from the procedure. But now that the body is more conservative, abortion and other social legislation are back to the forefront. Republicans, in control of both chambers for only the second time

Yesterday, the Senate Education & Health Committee passed Senate Bill 484, which would force women to have an ultrasound 24 hours prior to having an abortion for political—not medical—reasons. Your Senator is expected to vote on this bill early next week. Tell Your Senator: VOTE NO ON SENATE BILL 484! This bill is an intrusion into private, personal medical decisions that women should make in consultation with their physician. It and others like it are being pushed this year by opponents of women’s health in states all across the country. Mandatory ultrasounds and waiting periods are simply delay tactics that...

A proposal in Virginia to charge shoppers a 20-cent per bag fee on all plastic bags used by grocery shoppers to carry purchased goods has sparked intense debate, WTOP reported. The fee would not apply to durable, reusable bags, or bags used for ice cream, meat, fish or poultry. Sponsors of the measure say it is not meant to raise money, but to cut down on litter and pollution. They expect it will likely be cut down to 5 cents once a review begins in committee, according to WTOP.

Republicans enjoyed one of the fruits of their 2011 state legislative victories on Friday, when the new GOP-controlled Virginia state Senate passed a congressional redistricting map that should help Republicans hold on to eight of the state’s 11 districts for the next decade. The map is the same one that the Republican-controlled state House had already passed, but with Democrats still controlling the state Senate, the two chambers were unable to reach an agreement last year.

(CNSNews.com) -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he is worried that a new District of Columbia law that governs how pest control operators must handle rats may result in entire rodent “families” being relocated across the Potomac River into Virginia by D.C. pest control personnel. Cuccinelli said D.C.'s new rat law--the Wildlife Protection Act of 2010 -- is “crazier than fiction” because it requires that rats and other vermin not be killed but captured, preferably in families; no glue or snap traps can be utilized; the rodents must be relocated from where they are captured; and some of these...

A federal appeals court in Virginia today denied an emergency request by Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich to be placed on the ballot for the Virginia primary. After failing to get the required 10,000 signatures necessary to be placed on the ballot, the two candidates argued that Virginia’s strict ballot law was unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed with a lower court and ruled today that the candidates had waited too long to file their suit. The court ruled unanimously that Perry and the other candidates “had every...

<p>Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he is worried that a new District of Columbia law that governs how pest control operators must handle rats may result in entire rodent “families” being relocated across the Potomac River into Virginia by D.C. pest control personnel.</p>

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder's slavery museum is disputing a claim by the city of Fredericksburg that the museum failed to account for $1.6 million in funds. As part of its efforts to seek federal bankruptcy protection, the United States National Slavery Museum is trying to stop the appointment of an examiner to review its finances. The museum also maintains that it be allowed to reorganize so it can eventually resume fundraising and seek tax-exempt status with Fredericksburg. Last month, an attorney for the city filed a motion as part of its efforts to collect more than $215,000 in delinquent...

A Judge has ruled that the ballot will stand as is for the Virginia primary with Ron Paul and Mitt Romney as the only candidates in the presidential primary. In a 22 page ruling the Judge basically said that the Plaintiff’s: Perry,Gingrich,Santorum,Huntsman waited too long to file their request for an injunction. The Judge said: “In essense, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair,” Judge Gibney pulled no punches here: “They knew the rules in Virginia many months ago; the limitations on circulators affected them as soon as they began to circulate petitions. The...

Gingrich, Santorum, and Huntsman failed to qualify for the ballot too, you’ll recall, so Perry’s loss is also their loss. Which means, unless this gets turned around on appeal, the Virginia primary ballot will consist of Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and … that’s it. Huge news considering that, er, Romney and Paul will almost certainly be the only two candidates left in the race on March 6 anyway.I said last month that I thought Perry had a real shot at success on the merits. The court actually agreed. There was just one problem: In his opinion, Gibney says Perry, and...

As I understand it, Virginians will only be able to choose between Dr. Paul and Gov. Romney. How would Freepers from other states vote, if in the same situation?

In a five-page order yesterday, Judge Gibney of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, wrote: The Court finds that there is a strong likelihood that the Court will find the residency requirement for petition circulators to be unconstitutional. (...) If absentee ballots are printed, and particularly if they are mailed, it will impair the Court's ability to enter an order granting relief to the plaintiffs. They are presidential candidates and will have no chance to secure the delegates from Virginia at the Republican convention. The harm to them would obviously be irreparable. (...) The defendants point...

The Virginia primary isn’t until March 6; who knows what will happen between now and then? Perhaps one or more candidates among Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum will have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure their names will appear on the Virginia ballot only to be out of the race by the beginning of March anyway.Nevertheless, those left out in the cold in Old Dominion haven’t given up without a fight — and it looks like they might win it after all. Recall that Perry has filed a ballot access lawsuit — in which he was...

The nominating process may officially be underway, but Republicans have yet to enthusiastically embrace a potential nominee for president - and despite the late date, most would like to see other candidates enter the race, according to a new CBS News poll. The survey finds that 58 percent of Republican primary voters want more presidential choices, while just 37 percent say they are satisfied with the current field. The percentage of Republican primary voters that wants more choices has increased 12 percentage points since October. Mitt Romney, the frontrunner for the nomination, has struggled to break 30 percent support in...

Mitt Romney: 36 Newt Gingrich: 25 Rick Santorum: 17 Ron Paul: 7 Other: 5 Undecided 10 Other: 5

Santorum's so-called surge is all but gone. Huntsman is catching up.

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The family of a robbery suspect, shot and killed in the act, is speaking out. Police say Raymond Davis, 22, of Norfolk, and two other men tried to rob Rogers Sport's Pub in Chesapeake Friday Night. Witnesses told WAVY.com one of the patrons in the bar shot and killed Davis during the attempted robbery. It's the same story detectives told his grandmother Sheila Davis. "The man went outside and came back in with his gun and shot him down," said Davis. "It's like shooting a dog down. He is a human being." Davis says her grandson...

GOP New Hampshire primary debate tonight on ABC at 9pm ET By Nate, on January 7th, 2012 Tonight will mark the first of two debates this weekend focused on the New Hampshire Republican primary. This evening's debate will take place at Saint Anselm College and is sponsored by ABC News, Yahoo! and WMUR. Sunday morning will feature a GOP debate broadcast on NBC at 9am ET (yes, am) but look for more details on that later today. Air Time: Saturday, January 7th at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on ABC Live Stream: WMUR and Yahoo! News Participants: Santorum, Romney, Paul,...

Ready, aim fire. That’s apparently Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s idea of relaxation before returning to the campaign trail this weekend. Ahead of Saturday night’s ABC News-Yahoo-WMUR debate in New Hampshire Perry took a few moments to himself at an Austin-area shooting range. “Just relaxing a bit @ Red’s Range before we leave for New Hampshire!” @governorperry tweeted Friday along with a photo of himself wearing a green sweatshirt and a baseball cap with a firearm in hand. On the campaign trail, Perry, a staunch defender of second amendment rights, has not been shy about talking about his “long love affair”...

This is an appeal to all long-time conservatives. Let's start lining up behind Newt Gingrich, as Thomas Sowell, Art Laffer, JC Watts, Jim Robinson (Free Republic honcho) and others have. The hazzard of holding back an endorsement is that the media, pudits and PAC TV commercials will continue to shape negative opinion against Newt and we may lose our best conservative warrior. The result of the media, pundit and PAC TV onslaught may cause the nominee to be Romney or Santorum. Romney is a moderate and Santorum does not have the experience to Push the conservative agenda in the general...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Days after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, a federal appeals court ended a lawsuit over an episode that produced one of the more disturbing images of the war: the grisly killings of four Blackwater security contractors and the hanging of a pair of their bodies from a bridge in Fallujah. Families of the victims reached a confidential settlement with the company's corporate successor, Arlington, Va.-based Academi, and the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit last week. The settlement was first reported Friday by The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va. The deal ends the...

What a difference a caucus makes. Rick Santorum who two months ago had one percent (1%) support among likely South Carolina Republican Primary voters now is running a close second there with 24% of the vote. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Palmetto State finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney still in the lead, earning 27% support from likely GOP Primary Voters, up from 23% in early November. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in third with 18% of the vote, followed by Texas Congressman Ron Paul at 11%. Bringing up the rear are Texas Governor Rick Perry...

I'm thinking the only way we will be able to beat Obama will be to have a brokered GOP Convention and a "dark horse" candidate rise out of the ashes. Do I think it will happen? Heck no. So, we are, as my granny used to say: "In a mell of a hess". The GOP Candidates currently running, and the drop-out, Michele Bachmann, have beaten, bruised and bloodied each other so badly that we’re going to make doggone sure we send a nominee into the General Election damaged beyond repair; making victory easy for Obama. The Dems are loving our...

As the results of the Iowa caucus dribbled in, Americans got to see how the GOP candidates greeted victory and defeat. Top vote-getter Mitt Romney was gracious toward Rick Santorum, who came in second by eight thin votes, but uninspiring as he pledged to get America back to work. Santorum pronounced, "Game on," then hailed his Italian grandfather's decision to leave Italy to dig coal, if that's what it took to bring his family to the United States. Ron Paul, who came in third, saluted the work of his enthusiastic volunteers and credited his success to his role as a...

Twice in the past week, victims have defended themselves during attempted crimes with gunfire. In the latest incident, a masked man walked into an Oceanfront 7-Eleven early Tuesday morning, flashed a gun and demanded money, according to a police news release. The clerk, who was working with his son, responded by walking to the register and pulling out his own gun. When the would-be robber made an aggressive gesture, the clerk fired, striking the man, who fled from the store at 3908 Atlantic Ave., according to the release. About a half-hour later, around 1:30 a.m., a man suffering from a...

Mark Levin, being a disenfranchised Virginian, weighed in on the Virginia ballot fiasco, saying that the compliance rules were changed a month ago and that it is not the fault of the candidates. In fact, he believes the rules were changed to help shove Romney down our throats.

Via CBS 19 News: The School Board in Charlottesville is clearly out of line, and not fooling anyone with their lame explanation for how kids came to sing a class warfare song at an assembly. Indoctrinating other people’s children with their political message is a tactic leftists use all the time. Conservatives shouldn’t stand for it, and need to continue to sound the alarm about this story.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is no longer pushing for a change in rules that kept two candidates off the state's March 6 Republican presidential primary ballot. The Republican Party of Virginia determined that Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry had failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures of registered voters. The candidates have gone to court to challenge their exclusion from Virginia's ballot, which will include only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Cuccinelli, a Republican, said in a statement Saturday that ballot access laws need to be changed not for any candidate, but for the voters....

Email from Ken Cuccinelli, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia. January 1, 2012 Dear Friends and Fellow Virginians, As many of you read yesterday in the news (link here for the story) I was considering supporting an effort to change the rules to allow the full range of presidential candidates on Virginia's ballot on March 6th. I obviously feel very strongly that Virginia needs to change its ballot access requirements for our statewide elections. However, after working through different scenarios with Republican and Democratic leaders to attempt to make changes in time for the 2012 Presidential election, my concern grows that...

Four Republican presidential candidates – Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Ron Paul -- submitted paper work in time to qualify for Virginia's March 6 primary ballot. No other GOP contender will be on the Virginia ballot. Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman did not submit signatures with Virginia's State Board of Elections by today's 5 p.m. deadline. Those who submitted the required signatures must clear another hurdle. The Republican Party of Virginia has until Tuesday to certify which candidates qualify. Romney was the first Republican presidential candidate to file his petitions....

December 31, 2011 Candidates join Perry's Virginia lawsuit Kevin Liptak (CNN) - Four candidates left off the Virginia Republican primary ballot joined Rick Perry Saturday in suing the state's board of elections over laws they say are "unconstitutional." Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum joined the lawsuit, originally filed Tuesday, challenging provisions that determine who can appear on the primary ballot. All five candidates filing the lawsuit failed to qualify for the ballot.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is intervening in the Virginia presidential primary dispute and plans to file emergency legislation to address the inability of most Republican presidential candidates to get their name on the ballot, Fox News has learned. Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul qualified for the Virginia primary, a contest with 49 delegates up for grabs. The failure of other candidates to qualify -- notably Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry -- led to complaints that the 10,000-signature requirement is too stringent. Cuccinelli, who is a Republican, shared the concerns. "Recent events have underscored that our system is deficient,"...

Virginia abortion clinics that perform first-trimester abortions will have to submit to stricter regulations, which could result in most of them being shut down by next year. Gov. Bob McDonnell signed the new rules into law Thursday after they received approval from Virginia’s departments of Planning and Budget and Health and Human Resources. Taylor Thornley, deputy director of communications for Gov. McDonnell, said that the new regulations had strong support from both parties in the General Assembly. “These regulations are a product of an amendment that passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support,” said Thornley in a statement....

Link only: http://www.elpasotimes.com/texas/ci_19640173

The state Republican Party will require voters to sign a loyalty oath in order to participate in the March 6 presidential primary.

In a press release, the Perry campaign sites examples of cases it which it claims similar out-of-state petition requirement have been struck down. The campaign goes on the say the Virginia Republican Party has the power to tell the Virginia Board of Election which candidates should be on the ballot.

Taegan Goddard provides the obligatory zinger about a noted fan of states rights and the Tenth Amendment asking a federal judge to overrule Virginia’s preferences on ballot access. The statement from Team Perry: “Gov. Perry greatly respects the citizens and history of the Commonwealth of Virginia and believes Virginia Republicans should have greater access to vote for one of the several candidates for President of the United States,� said Perry campaign communications director Ray Sullivan.“Virginia ballot access rules are among the most onerous and are particularly problematic in a multi-candidate election. We believe that the Virginia provisions unconstitutionally restrict the...

With the Iowa caucuses just days away, the Republican crack-up threatens the future of the Grand Old Party more profoundly than at any time since the GOP's eclipse in 1932. That's bad for America. The crack-up isn't just Romney-the-smooth versus Gingrich-the-bomb-thrower. Not just House Speaker John Boehner, who keeps making agreements he can't keep, versus House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who keeps making trouble he can't control. And not just the GOP establishment versus the Tea Partiers.The underlying conflict lies deep in the nature and structure of the Republican Party. And its roots are very old. As political analyst Michael...

<p>QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — Call it a playground for Bambi and G-Men, where imaginary criminals are hunted and deer are the spectators.</p> <p>The 547-acre FBI Academy, where some of the nation's best marksmen fire off more than 1 million bullets every month, happens to be one of the safest places for deer during hunting season.</p>

December 25th, 2011, Edited by Richard Winger There are currently many news stories and blog discussions about the Virginia presidential primary ballot access law. Some large blogs, such as Red State, have over 300 comments about the story. Some defend the current Virginia ballot access laws on the grounds that in past presidential elections, a fairly large number of Republican presidential primary candidates managed to qualify. But what has not been reported is that in the only other presidential primaries in which Virginia required 10,000 signatures (2000, 2004, and 2008) the signatures were NOT checked.Any candidate who submitted at...

Newt Gingrich wants Virginia legislators to change the law in time for him to start a write-in campaign for the March 6 presidential primary. But that appears virtually impossible, for practical as well as political reasons.

Paul Goldman, a Richmond lawyer who is a former Virginia Democratic party chairman, is helping represent a conservative group in challenging Newt Gingrich's disqualification from the Old Dominion ballot on March 6, Super Tuesday. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70866.html#ixzz1hi0nwg00