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skeptical,
seeing his government reform agenda as not “the
flashy material of which national stars are born.”
To truly become a legitimate force, she believes he
needs either “a bold policy initiative that
captures the hearts and imagination of voters” or
“a dramatic victory in the November legislative
races.”
In
a meandering tour through
Virginia
politics, Jeff
Schapiro of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch paused to consider Warner’s
national ambitions, too. If anything, he was even
more skeptical than Edds, describing state Democrats
as “frustrated” by Warner. Schapiro balanced his Warner assessment with
a dig at Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore,
charging him with playing “doctor” in the James
Madison
University
morning-after pill controversy.
Former
U.S
Senator Paul Trible, now president of
Christopher
Newport
University,
has emerged as a possible contender for the GOP
Lieutenant Governor nomination, according to R.
H. Melton of the Washington
Post. Melton handicaps a crowded field that
includes Sen. Bill Bolling, R-Henrico, Sen. Emmett
Hanger, R-Staunton, Delegate and state senate
candidate Jeannemarie Devolites, R-Fairfax, former
Lt. Governor John Hager, and Gilbert Davis of Fairfax.
Lofty
Rhetoric
Hugh
Lessig and Terry Scanlon of the Daily
Press met with Republican primary challengers to
Sen. Tommy Norment, R-Williamsburg, and Del. Tom
Gear, R-Hampton. Paul Jost, challenging Norment,
called Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia
Beach,
“an evil man” and a “Nazi.” He called fellow
Republican Linda Wall a “fruitcake.” Forrest
Ward, Gear’s challenger, was more restrained. He
described his opponent as merely a “vindictive
SOB.”
“Inexplicably
Partisan”
That’s
Lt. Governor Tim Kaine’s explanation
for Republicans cutting funds for Project Exile, a
nationally recognized crime-fighting program. Kaine
argued for the program in a Roanoke Times op-ed.
Junkets
Defended
Last
week’s Richmond
Times-Dispatch published an investigative
piece that revealed questionable spending by
local officials attending the Virginia Association
of Counties annual meeting at The Homestead. Many
local papers picked up the story, too. Barney
Day, writing in the Daily
Press, defended the attendees: “That money
spent at
Hot
Springs
is one of the best bargains that taxpayers get every
year. One of the very best.” According to Day, it costs less than a nickel
per capita for the golf, the tennis, the horseback
riding, the shooting, the spas, the trout fishing,
the food, the drink, and, yes, the “intense
work.” In fact, Day suggests sending officials to
The Homestead more often.
Tip
that Server Generously
Your
server at the local Chinese restaurant may be an
illegal immigrant paying off a huge debt to a
gangster, according to Gary
Jacobsen of the Potomac
News, recounting a revelation by a Taiwanese
exchange student he hosted.
The
Education Beat
Preston
Bryant of the Roanoke
Times applauded Old Dominion University
President Roseann Runte’s proposal to add up to
12,000 students in exchange for $20 million from the
state over five years. He described Runte as
“creative by nature, inventive by necessity.” Former
Governor L. Douglas Wilder had an education
commentary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that was
long on description but short on prescription.
“Either we have a problem with reference to
education or we don't,” he wrote in one of his
less thoughtful efforts.
The
Spam Beat
Governor
Warner’s signing of a bill making spamming a
felony was a big story last week. Kerry
Dougherty of the Virginian-Pilot
opened up her email in-box to readers, saying,
“It's gotten so bad that I've been tempted to snap
on a pair of latex gloves before touching my
computer keyboard.” Ray
McAllister of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch wished the spam-fighting and
internet-fraud fighting “sheriffs” the best,
calling their virtual town a “cesspool.” He
closed with a plea for them to “do something about
pop-up ads.”
--
May 5, 2003
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