Looks like the Blue Dog beat me to this story, but I’m going to post my version anyway…. Maverick gubernatorial candidate Russell Potts has won an endorsement from the Public Service Workers Union-UE Local 160, representing the employees of Virginia’s state mental hospitals. Given the nature of their job, the members of Local 160 clearly…

The Daily News-Record reported: On Monday, he (Russ Potts) went to Staunton to pick up the endorsement of UE Local 160 Virginia Public Service Workers. “He knew a lot of the problems that we were going through,” said Allen Layman, president of the statewide organization and the Western State Hospital chapter. Layman said Potts voice…

Virginia’s bloggers have made Potts the CENTER of attention already–just like the Republican Party has done! If both keep this up, he’s in by a mile!

C’mon, people. The General Assembly goes to a lot of trouble to approve license plates. The least you can do is show your support. Free Tibet!

The latest edition of the Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine has been posted online. You can view it here.

Barnie Day debated Norm Leahy yesterday about the Russ Potts phenomenon over at One Man’s Trash. I jumped in, too, and today’s Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine has Barnie’s column that started it all and my commentary on it in “Virginia Pundit Watch.” Comments are welcome here, too, on any or all of the issues: Does Russ…

I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology and sociology of “slugging,” the practice of strangers forming ad hoc car pools on I-95 in Northern Virginia so drivers can utilize HOV lanes. “Slugs” are worried about a new idea: allowing drivers to pay a toll to ride in HOV lanes. They fear it will end slugging.…

To all of our readers and my colleagues who are fathers, and to their fathers, I wish a Happy Father’s Day on this last day of spring. My Dad worked very hard to provide for us and there weren’t a lot of extras until I was well into high school, but Dad believed passionately in…

The Kilgore crew is finally talking tough on taxes. Citing this year’s Incredible Expanding Budget Surplus, now running 15.2 percent ahead of last year and 4.9 percent ahead of forecast, the Kilgore campaign criticized the 2004 tax increase, arguing that economic growth would have provided the state the money it needed for expanded services. Reported…

Gov. Mark Warner was interviewed this morning on NPR about Medicaid. As Chairman of the National Governors Association, he is the leading spokesperson for the states on this troubling issue. Virginia has seen Medicaid spending go from $1 billion to $5 billion over the last 15 years. Warner identified three factors contributing to the rise:…

I’m not the only one to be fixated on the ever-growing state surplus, which the Associated Press now pegs at $1 billion this year. (I presume that’s over and above the surplus talked about in January, which the General Assembly largely funneled into road projects, though I’m not sure.) Arlingtonian Tim Wise over at the…

Not Larry Sabato runs the Virginia House of Delegates 2005 Elections blog and he is the toast of the Commonwealth after a perfect record of predicting Tuesday’s elections (although Not Mark Rozell begs to differ). Not content to rest on his laurels, Not Larry has announced a Friday “Celebrity Blogging” feature that debuts June 23d.…

Virginia Tech is sponsoring an early childhood conference in Charlottesville with a focus on “development through inclusion – regardless of physical or mental ability.” Workshops will examine “cultural differences and disabilities in children in order to provide collaborative, instructional strategies and curriculums designed to meet the needs of all children.” Speaker Mara Shapon-Shevin will expound…

The editorial board of the Washington Post has responded to Tuesday’s Virginia primary: The results set the stage for what should be a sharp debate over the critical questions facing the state: first and foremost, fiscal policy and how to improve Virginia’s badly inadequate transportation system. Both major party tickets fall short on answering these…

Never let it be said that I am hostile to the Virginia Information Technologies Agency because former Secretary of Technology George Newstrom swore that it would generate $100 million a year in savings and we haven’t come close to achieving that goal — a goal that everyone is doing the best they can to shove…