Toluu : 7 West

7 West

The Virginia General Assembly from the perspective of 7 West.

Today is the 74th anniversary of Elvis’ birth. If he were in Virginia, he might have a few comments on our upcoming General Assembly session:

Way Down - Revenues continue to decline as the recession continues.

Doing the Best I Can - The attitude we all need when looking at the budget. Our goal should be to ensure that the budget protects classrooms, nursing homes, and people who need our help most.

Any Day Now - When the Free Lunch crowd will figure out that you can’t build roads without sustainable revenue. (Northern Virginia businesses would probably sing, “It’s Now or Never.”)

I Just Can’t Help Believing -That Virginia voters will watch carefully what happens this year. This is not a year for rigid ideology. It’s a year for finding solutions.

Washington to Obama in 3:58January 4

BittersweetJanuary 3

Richmond’s new Mayor–our former colleague Dwight Jones–has announced that Suzette Denslow, formerly Governor Kaine’s Legislative Director, will be his chief of staff.

He couldn’t have made a better choice. We have worked together on many legislative issues. She’s smart, she works hard, and she really masters the details.

She pointed out to me that her new office in City Hall will actually be CLOSER to the General Assembly Building than her former office.

It didn’t work. We’re still going to miss her, even while we wish her (and our friend the new Mayor) all the best.

Wonderful resourceJanuary 2

The folks over at Blue Commonwealth have come up with a nifty new tool. It’s an interactive House of Delegates map. With a quick click, you can get basic information about the district.

Currently, the map tells viewers where the district is located, who represents it, and 2008 voting data. But Blue Commonwealth plans to update it by linking to blog posts about that district or the person who represents it.

Might as well just bookmark this right now.

Did you miss any of 2008’s “Top 10″ lists?December 29 2008

Here are the best political ones. The #1 entry on “Top 10 Political Sketches From Saturday Night Live” may be my favorite for the year.