The Jefferson Journal

Commentary

Barbara Hollingsworth
February 17, 2023

“You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,” country singer Kenny Rogers sang in his classic hit, The Gambler. In other words, playing a winning hand is just as important as cutting your losses. Members of the House of Delegates should remember that bit of homespun...

Jefferson Forum
February 9, 2023

As local governments take steps towards permitting collective bargaining agreements with public employee unions, voters overwhelmingly want to make sure public employees are informed of their rights, their privacy is protected, and that those workers have a periodic say if the union should stay or go.  Those are among the...

Stephen D. Haner
February 8, 2023

We have seen this before in Virginia and here we go again: the classic conflict between tax cuts for the many versus more government spending for a few. The Republican-dominated House of Delegates has passed a series of broad tax reductions, while the Democratic-dominated Virginia Senate has killed its versions...

Christian Braunlich
February 6, 2023

In all of Virginia, Northern Virginia – with its urbanizing and wealthy population — is the place where electric vehicles are most likely to be popular. But will a population demanding choices support having no choice?  That’s the requirement of a law passed in 2021. Does the Commonwealth have the capacity to seriously...

Jefferson Forum
February 4, 2023

A Virginia House of Delegates committee has rebuffed Dominion Energy Virginia’s bid to change the rules on how much profit it can earn, setting up a confrontation with the utility and its allies in the Virginia Senate. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) reportedly encouraged the delegates to take the step and...

Stephen D. Haner
February 1, 2023

The on again, off again, direct tax on your Dominion Energy Virginia bills to pay for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) may be on again. If you feel like you are watching a shell game and just cannot find the pea, that is intentional. In its sales pitch for...

Barbara Hollingsworth
January 30, 2023

Last week, the Republican majority in the Virginia House of Delegates passed a $1 billion package of tax cuts for individuals and businesses, the centerpiece of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s economic agenda. But Democrats, who have a two-seat majority in the state Senate, have a laundry list of policies and programs...

Jefferson Forum
January 23, 2023

Without fanfare and without awakening the drowsy Capitol press corps, Dominion Energy Virginia dropped in legislation last week to set up a partnership on its most massive capital investment, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. Just who that partner might be, what if any benefits that provides to Dominion’s 2.6 million Virginia...

Jefferson Forum
January 20, 2023

Sign up to learn more and tell Virginia’s leaders: Hands off Our Cars! Sign the Petition, HERE.

...
Christian Braunlich
January 20, 2023

On being told that peasants were starving for lack of bread, Marie Antionette is reputed to have said “Let them eat cake.” Marie Antionette had nothing on Delegate Suhas Subramanyam. At a House subcommittee meeting on Wednesday, Delegate Subramanyam was confronted with more than a dozen low-income families and black...