Sunday, December 8, 2013

Governor McDonnell Announces Additional Appointment to Administration and Board and Commission Appointments

English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in .
English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell today announced an additional appointment to the administration. The governor announced William P. Burge has been appointed Acting Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and IndustryGovernor McDonnell also announced appointments to 18 Virginia boards and commissions.

Virginia Department of Labor and Industry

William P. Burge, Acting Commissioner

Bill Burge currently serves as the Acting Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry. Prior to that position, he served as the Assistant Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry since October 2004.  His current job includes leading the agency’s Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) Compliance and Consultation programs, Labor Law Division, the Office of Legal Support and the Boiler Safety Compliance Division.  He has served in several management positions with the agency since 1990.  Before joining the Department of Labor and Industry, he served as a Regional Safety and Health Engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation and as a Mine Inspector with United States Steel Corporation.  Burge received his B.S. in Industrial Management from West Virginia University and his M.S. in Industrial Safety and Health from Marshall University.  He lives in Fredericksburg with his wife Pandora.

Board Appointments

Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates
·         Jennifer Morgan of Potomac Falls, President of Regulated Industries,  Public Services, Healthcare, and Utilities for SAP America, Inc.

Board of Asbestos, Lead and Home Inspectors
·         Frederick Molter IV of Chester, Director of Safety with Quality Specialists, Inc.

Board of Counseling
·         Joseph J. Scislowicz of Franklin, Executive Director of Chesapeake Community Services

Board of Long-term Care Administrators
·         Marj Pantone of Virginia Beach, Administrator at Kings Grant House, Commonwealth Assisted Living

Board of Optometry

·         Steven A. Linas, OD of Richmond, Doctor of Optometry and Partner at Virginia Eye Institute

Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation
·         Matthew D. Benka of Richmond, President of MDB Strategies

Board of Trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
·         Jil Womack Harris of Richmond
·         Charles Levine of Williamsburg, Former Master Printer for James Rosenquist

Cave Board
·         Janet Tinkham of Fort Valley, Education and Outreach Coordinator for Valley Health Systems

Fair Housing Board
·         Kevin M. Lewis of Alexandria, CEO and Managing Partner for LMK Partners LLC

·         The Honorable Rosemary Wilson* of Virginia Beach, Member of Virginia Beach City Council

Motor Vehicle Dealer Board
·         Clayton S. Huber of Woodford, President and Owner of Rosner Automotive Group

State Child Fatality Review Team
·         Nancy G. Parr of Chesapeake, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Chesapeake
·         Kimberly Fields Sobey of Bluefield, Director of Bland County Department of Social Services

State Rehabilitation Council
·         Julie Triplett* of Henrico, Disability Rights Advocate with the disAbility Law Center of Virginia

Virginia Biotechnology Research Park Authority
·         Gail L. Letts of Midlothian, Executive Vice President and Richmond Regional President at C&F Bank   

Virginia Council for the Interstate Compact for Juveniles
·         Laurel S. Marks* of Richmond, Manager of Juvenile and Adult Services for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services
·         Joyce Walsh of Virginia Beach, Retired Director of the Chesapeake Victim Assistance Program, Treasurer for the Virginia Network for Victims and Board Member for the Virginia Coalition for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

Virginia Geographic Information Network Advisory Board
·         Dr. Hua Liu of Norfolk, Assistant Professor of Geography at Old Dominion University

Virginia Soybean Board
·         Craig H. Giese* of Lancaster, Grain and Soybean Farmer and Certified Public Accountant with Dehnert, Clark & Co.

·         Bill Nelson of Henrico
·         Ronnie L. Russell* of Water View, Grain and Soybean Farmer and Manager of Corbin Hall in Middlesex County
·         L. Bruce Holland* of New Church, Grain, Soybean, Potato & Vegetable Farmer, Secretary of W T Holland & Sons, Inc., a farming operation in New Church

Virginia War Memorial Board 
·         Dale D. Chapman* of Richmond, Department Adjutant of the American Legion Department of Virginia
·         Todd B. Hammond of Richmond, Vice President, Capital Interior Contractors, Inc.
·         Francis Caroline Lane* of  McLean, Retired United States Navy 
·         Colonel Albert G. Pianalto, USAF (Ret.) of Chester, Legislative Aide for Veterans and Military Affairs for Delegate Kirk Cox

Virginia Wine Board

·         Mitzi Batterson* of Glen Allen, General Manager and Co-owner of James River Cellars Winery
·         Len Thompson of Amherst, Grape Grower and Owner of Amherst Vineyards, LLC

*Denotes re-appointment
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Statement of Governor Bob McDonnell on New Virginia Offshore Wind Research Lease

English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in .
English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Determination Clears Way to Offer “First of its Kind” Lease to Virginia
Lease Proposes to Demonstrate Two 6 Megawatt Wind Turbine Generators in the Atlantic Ocean 24 miles off Hampton Roads; Dominion Virginia Power will Lead Project

RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement following news that the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has made a Determination of No Competitive Interest (DNCI) that will allow the federal bureau to offer Virginia a first of its kind offshore wind research lease. The lease area located about 24 nautical miles off of the Hampton Roads coastline on the Outer Continental Shelf will host a demonstration of two utility-scale wind turbine generators. This news follows Virginia’s selection as the location of only the second commercial offshore wind lease auction and sale. In September, Dominion Virginia Power successfully bid for that lease:http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1971.

Speaking about today’s new offshore wind research lease, Governor McDonnell remarked, “I applaud the Department of the Interior and BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau and his team at BOEM for taking another important step to advance this vital research and demonstration initiative. Today’s development follows the BOEM September lease auction for commercial scale wind energy development in the much larger wind energy area in federal waters adjacent to the research lease and keeps Virginia at the forefront of an all-of-the-above energy development strategy. Dominion Virginia Power, the state’s largest utility, won the commercial lease auction and also leads the turbine demonstration project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Virginia’s port and maritime assets and the gradual slope of the Outer Continental Shelf and consistent offshore wind speeds make this a natural geographic location to demonstrate the feasibility and eventually to develop offshore wind resources at a commercial scale. We have a robust commercial ship building industry and other assets that make Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth an attractive candidate to become the center of construction and logistical support to develop the Mid-Atlantic’s coastal energy resources.

“Virginia did not get to this position of leadership  and great potential by accident. I would also like to acknowledge years of ground laying and ongoing work by many stakeholders.  BOEM, the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority, the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium, Dominion Virginia Power, the maritime industry, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense, Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and many others have worked together to define the appropriate locations for research and commercial scale offshore wind development.  Key to the identification of these locations has been the protection of sensitive ecological habitat and avoiding or minimizing conflicts with existing uses of the ocean space offshore Virginia, such as military training areas, marine vessel traffic, a dredge disposal site, and areas of concern specified by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility.

“The experience gained under the research lease will help to lower costs and reduce any possible risks from future large scale commercial development. Leveraging other funds, lowering costs and risks and accelerating the sensible and responsible development of our offshore wind energy resource have been the motivations behind all investments of state funds for offshore wind during our administration, including a recently concluded regional ocean geological survey and additional studies and data collection projects now being planned to invest $1 million of FY2014 state funds.” 

The Department of the Interior release is available here:http://www.boem.gov/Press12062013/.

More about the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP)
Dominion Virginia Power and its team is one of seven projects nationally selected by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2012 to receive $4 million each in federal matching funds to undertake initial engineering, design, and permitting for an offshore wind technology demonstration facility. VOWTAP proposes designing, developing, and demonstrating a grid-connected, 12-megawatt offshore wind facility consisting of two 6-megawatt Alstom Haliade turbines mounted on innovative foundations. The project will advance offshore wind technology and gain valuable experience in offshore wind installation and operations, with the goal to reduce the cost and risk of future commercial scale offshore wind projects. In May 2014, DOE will select three projects to receive additional federal funding up to about $47 million in total and proceed with completion of the Front End Engineering and Design. Ultimately, DOE has a target for these projects to be operational by the end of 2017.

The VOWTAP team includes:
·         Dominion Virginia Power – Project lead, owner and operator
·         U.S. Department of Energy – Funding partner
·         Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy – Funding partner and offshore research lease holder
·         National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Federally Funded Research and Development Center
·         Virginia Tech  - Representing the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium
·         Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries
·         Alstom –  Wind turbine manufacturer
·          KBR – Owner’s engineer
·         Tetra Tech – Environmental consultant
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The Missing Link to Better Health? Magnesium

Cover of "The Magnesium Miracle"
Cover of The Magnesium Miracle
Magnesium is perhaps one of the most overlooked minerals. This is especially important because, an estimated 80 percent of Americans are deficient in it. The health consequences of deficiency can be quite significant, and can be aggravated by mmany, if not most, drug treatments.
In the featured video, Carolyn Dean, a medical and naturopathic doctor, discusses the importance of this mineral.
Dr. Dean was the lead author on the seminal paper “Death by Medicine” back in 2003, showing that modern medicine is in fact one of the leading causes of death in the United States. She also authored the book Death by Modern Medicine.
Last year, she was awarded the Arrhythmia Alliance Outstanding Medical Contribution to Cardiac Rhythm Management Services Award 2012. It was given by the Heart Rhythm Society of the UK, which is a major allopathic organization.
Dr. Dean has studied and written about magnesium for about 15 years. In January, 2003, she published the first edition of The Magnesium Miracleand she’s currently working on the third edition of this book.
“What I want to convey today is the importance of magnesium, how you can get it, how you can know how much you require in your body, and the incredible benefits from using this simple mineral,” she says.

Magnesium—One of Your Most Important Minerals

Magnesium is a crucially important mineral for optimal health, performing a wide array of biological functions, including but not limited to:
  • Activating muscles and nerves
  • Creating energy in your body by activating adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
  • Helping digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
  • Serving as a building block for RNA and DNA synthesis
  • It’s also a precursor for neurotransmitters like serotonin
As mentioned, few people get enough magnesium in their diet these days. Meanwhile, calcium tends to be overutilized and taken in high quantities. This can cause more harm than good, as it’s very important to have a proper balance between these two minerals.
If you have too much calcium and not enough magnesium, your muscles will tend to go into spasm, and this has consequences for your heart in particular.
“What happens is, the muscle and nerve function that magnesium is responsible for is diminished. If you don’t have enough magnesium, your muscles go into spasm. Calcium causes muscle to contract. If you had a balance, the muscles would do their thing. They’d relax, contract, and create their activity,” she explains.
Magnesium is perhaps critical for heart health, as excessive amounts of calcium without the counterbalance of magnesium can lead to a heart attack and sudden death. According to Dr. Dean, your heart has the highest amount of magnesium in your body, specifically in your left ventricle. With insufficient amounts of magnesium, your heart simply cannot function properly.

Pay Attention to Your Calcium-Magnesium Ratio

Over the past 30 years, women have been told to take supplemental calcium to avoid osteoporosis. Many foods have also been fortified with extra calcium to prevent calcium deficiency among the general population. Despite such measures, osteoporosis has continued to climb.
“I’ve heard statistics like a 700 percent rise in osteoporosis in a 10-year period, even while taking all this calcium,” Dr. Dean says.
“The myth that’s been created about calcium is that we need twice as much calcium as we do magnesium. Most of the supplements reflect this. We’ve got a situation where people are taking 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium and maybe a few hundred milligrams of magnesium.
The 2:1 ratio—that was a mistake; a mistaken translation from French researcher Jean Durlach, who said never ever go beyond two parts calcium to one part magnesium in your food, water, or supplement intake combined.”
This was misinterpreted as meaning a 2:1 ratio was an appropriate ratio, which it’s not. A more appropriate ratio of calcium to magnesium is 1:1.

Also Address Your Vitamin K2 and D Ratios

While not addressed specifically in the featured video, I want to remind you that calcium and magnesium also needs to be balanced with vitamin D and K2. Many of Dr. Dean’s blogs address this issue and her concern that high dose vitamin D can overwork magnesium and lead to magnesium deficiency.

These four nutrients perform an intricate dance together, with one supporting the other. Lack of balance between these nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, and why some people experience vitamin D toxicity.
Part of the explanation for these adverse side effects is that vitamin K2 keeps calcium in its appropriate place. If you're K2 deficient, added calcium can cause more problems than it solves, by accumulating in the wrong places.

Similarly, if you opt for oral vitamin D, you need to also consume it in your food or take supplemental vitamin K2 and more magnesium. Taking mega doses of vitamin D supplements without sufficient amounts of K2 and magnesium can lead to vitamin D toxicity and magnesium deficiency symptoms, which include inappropriate calcification.
Magnesium and vitamin K2 complement each other, as magnesium helps lower blood pressure, which is an important component of heart disease. So, all in all, anytime you're taking any of the following: magnesium, calcium, vitamin D3, or vitamin K2, you need to take all the others into consideration as well, since these all work synergistically with one another.

Dietary Sources of Calcium and Magnesium

You can typically get enough calcium from your diet by eating nuts, seeds, deep green leafy vegetables, and dairy products. Homemade bone broth is another excellent source. Simply simmer leftover bones over low heat for an entire day to extract the calcium from the bones. Make sure to add a few tablespoons of vinegar. You can use this broth for soups, stews, or drink it straight. The "skin" that forms on the top is the best part as it also contains other valuable nutrients, such as sulfur, along with healthful fats. Magnesium, on the other hand, tends to be a bit scarcer in our modern food supply.
“Magnesium is farmed out of the soil much more than calcium,” Dr. Dean explains.  ”A hundred years ago, we would get maybe 500 milligrams of magnesium in an ordinary diet. Now we’re lucky to get 200 milligrams. People do need to supplement with magnesium.”
I agree with Dr. Dean on the supplement issue, as industrial agriculture has massively depleted most soils of beneficial minerals like magnesium. If you find biologically-grown organic foods (grown on soil treated with mineral fertilizers), you may still be able to get a lot of your magnesium from your food. Chlorophyll has a magnesium atom in its center, allowing the plant to utilize the energy from the sun. Seaweed and green leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard can be excellent sources of magnesium, as are some beans, nuts and seeds, like pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds. Avocados also contain magnesium. Juicing your vegetables is an excellent option to ensure you're getting enough of them in your diet.
However, most foods grown today are deficient in magnesium and other minerals. Fertilizers like glyphosate also act as chelators, effectively blocking the uptake and utilization of minerals. As a result, I believe it would be highly unusual for anyone to have access to foods that are rich in magnesium, which is why I believe it is prudent to consider a magnesium supplement. This is my personal strategy even though I have access to highly nutrient dense foods.

Signs of Magnesium Deficiency

Unfortunately, there's no easily available commercial lab test that will give you a truly accurate reading of the magnesium status in your tissues. Only one percent of magnesium in your body is distributed in your blood, making a simple sample of magnesium from a serum magnesium blood test highly inaccurate. Some specialty labs do provide an RBC magnesium test which is reasonably accurate. This leaves you with looking for signs and symptoms of deficiency. Early signs of magnesium deficiency include loss of appetite, headache, nausea, fatigue, and weakness. An ongoing magnesium deficiency can lead to more serious symptoms, including:
Numbness and tinglingMuscle contractions and crampsSeizures
Personality changesAbnormal heart rhythmsCoronary spasms

In her book, The Magnesium MiracleDr. Dean lists 100 factors that will help you decide whether or not you might be deficient. You can also follow the instructions in her blog post, “Gauging Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms,”1 which will give you a checklist to go through every few weeks. This will help you gauge how much magnesium you need in order to take away your deficiency symptoms.

Which Form of Magnesium Is Best?

If you opt for a magnesium supplement as recommended by Dr. Dean, be aware that there are several different forms of magnesium. The cheapest sources of magnesium are magnesium oxide supplements, which are poorly absorbed by your body. A mere four percent is absorbed when you take this kind. The remaining 96 percent goes through your intestines, which is why magnesium oxide tends to have a laxative effect, which can be useful if you are challenged with constipation.
Besides taking a supplement, another way to improve your magnesium status is to take regular Epsom salt baths or foot baths. Epsom salt is a magnesium sulfate that can absorb into your body through your skin. Magnesium oil (from magnesium chloride) can also be used for topical application and absorption.
The reason for the wide variety of magnesium supplements on the market is because the magnesium must be bound to another substance. There's no such thing as a 100% magnesium compound supplement (except pico-ionic magnesium). The substance used in any given supplement compound can affect the absorption and bioavailability of the magnesium, and may provide slightly different, or targeted, health benefits:
Magnesium glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium that tends to provide the highest levels of absorption and bioavailability and is typically considered ideal for those who are trying to correct a deficiencyMagnesium oxide is a non-chelated type of magnesium, bound to an organic acid or a fatty acid. Contains 60 percent magnesium and has stool softening properties
Magnesium chloride / Magnesium lactate contain only 12 percent magnesium, but has better absorption than others, such as magnesium oxide, which contains five times more magnesiumMagnesium sulfate / Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) are typically used as a laxative. Be aware that it's easy to overdose on these, so ONLY take as directed
Magnesium carbonate, which has antacid properties, contains 45 percent magnesiumMagnesium taurate contains a combination of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Together, they tend to provide a calming effect on your body and mind
Magnesium citrate is magnesium with citric acid, which has laxative propertiesMagnesium threonate is a newer, emerging type of magnesium supplement that appears promising, primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane

Beware: Many Prescription Drugs Deplete Your Magnesium Stores

According to Dr. Dean, two major lifestyle factors that deplete your body of magnesium are stress and prescription drugs. Unfortunately, the conventional medical approach for the former oftentimes leads to the latter, making your situation progressively worse. Dr. Dean explains:
“The scenario that I like to talk about is very basic. You will recognize it immediately in either yourself or your family members. You go to your doctor. You’re under massive stress. Massive stress means you’re losing magnesium. You’re burning magnesium out of your body, because it helps support your adrenal glands. It helps keep you away from anxiety and depression. It helps relax your muscles.
If you’re all tight and stressed, your magnesium is being lost, [which makes] the muscles of your blood vessels tighten. That tightness is going to cause increased blood pressure. Your doctor... will say, ‘Oh, your blood pressure is elevated. We’ll give you a diuretic.’
A diuretic will drop the fluid level in your body to take the pressure off your blood vessels, so your blood pressure will drop. But diuretics also drain off your magnesium... A month later you come back, and the doctor finds your blood pressure’s even more elevated. Yes—because you’ve just lost more magnesium! Your doctor then puts you on a calcium channel blocker. Now, they have that part right. They know that without magnesium, your calcium is going to become elevated and will tighten up your blood vessels, so they try to block calcium. But they don’t know that magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker.
Your doctor may also put you on an angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, another blood pressure drug... So, you go away with three drugs now. After two or three months, you come back and have blood taken to make sure that drugs aren’t hurting your liver... All of a sudden, your cholesterol is elevated. All of a sudden, your blood sugar is elevated. What does the doctor say? ‘Oh, we caught your cholesterol. We just caught your blood sugar. We can put you on medications.’ But they didn’t catch them; they caused them.”
Dr. Dean warns that the more you deplete your magnesium, the more out of control your cholesterol will get, because magnesium helps balance the enzyme that creates cholesterol in your body, thereby aiding in normalizing your cholesterol levels. Interestingly, and importantly, statin drugs destroy the same enzyme that magnesium balances, she says. Magnesium deficiency is also a common symptom in diabetes, so drugs may inadvertently contribute to diabetes simply by depleting your body of magnesium.

Fluoride Very Effectively Drains Your Body of Magnesium

Of particular concern is fluoride, which is used in a variety of different drugs. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Cipro are the most well known for their fluoride content and its associated problems. But fluoride is also added to other drugs, including certain cholesterol medications, anti-anxiety drugs, and painkillers for arthritis, for example. Magnesium binds to fluoride to form magnesium fluoride, and that very effectively drains magnesium from your body.
Many drugs also tend to promote chronic inflammation. According to Dr. Dean, calcium is a precursor of inflammatory effects, while magnesium is an effective anti-inflammatory nutrient. This is why it’s so important to maintain the appropriate ratio of magnesium to calcium. Again, too much calcium without sufficient amounts of magnesium may actually contribute to the development of heart disease.
“We’ve got three studies now in the British Medical Journal. It was a research facility out of New Zealand that showed that women who simply take calcium supplements are at a much higher risk for heart disease. Nothing is said about magnesium. People were just sort of left up in the air. Some doctors are saying, ‘Yeah, don’t take calcium anymore.’ Nobody’s talking about magnesium as being the balance point,” she says.

More Information

You can learn more about this important mineral by visiting Dr. Dean’s website, DrCarolynDean.com,2 or by reading her book,The Magnesium MiracleShe’s also on the medical board of the Nutritional Magnesium Association,3 a non-profit organization where you can get free information about magnesium. It too provides a helpful page4 you can use to determine whether you might need more magnesium in your diet. You can also find Dr. Dean on the Facebook page, The Magnesium Advocacy Group5(MAG).
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Virginia's Dirty Secret That Allows Localities To Create Corrupt Ordinances

English: Attorney General of Virginia Ken Cucc...
English: Attorney General of Virginia Ken Cuccinelli (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
§ 2.2-505. Official opinions of Attorney General.

A. The Attorney General shall give his advice and render official advisory opinions in writing only when requested in writing so to do by one of the following: the Governor; a member of the General Assembly; a judge of a court of record or a judge of a court not of record; the State Corporation Commission; an attorney for the Commonwealth; a county, city or town attorney in those localities in which such office has been created; a clerk of a court of record; a city or county sheriff; a city or county treasurer or similar officer; a commissioner of the revenue or similar officer; a chairman or secretary of an electoral board; or the head of a state department, division, bureau, institution or board.

B. Except in cases where an opinion is requested by the Governor or a member of the General Assembly, the Attorney General shall have no authority to render an official opinion unless the question dealt with is directly related to the discharge of the duties of the official requesting the opinion. Any opinion request to the Attorney General by an attorney for the Commonwealth or county, city or town attorney shall itself be in the form of an opinion embodying a precise statement of all facts together with such attorney's legal conclusions.

If you ever question the legality of local ordinances in the State of Virginia, and you can not find a proper corresponding state code that would seem to go along with the ordinance in your locality, what do you do?  You start asking a lot of questions and perform a good deal of research.  Virginia is a Dillon Rule state.  What that means is that localities can not create their own laws that are not in accordance with state law.  So what happens when you have a locality that has a great deal of ordinances on it's books that are not in accordance with state law?

  Well you follow the chain of command to see about getting them fixed.  What happens when that chain of command does not work?  Well you would think you would go straight to the top.  Report your findings to the state attorney general.  Right?  Wrong.  What you get kicked back at you is the above legal jargon.  The attorney general does not get involved in local matters and even though you may be requesting an investigation you are told that you are seeking an opinion from the attorney general who can not, by state law, get involved.

  Is anyone's BS meter running high?  Ours has been as we have several emails from the state attorney's office showing us the above code and telling us we were seeking an opinion.  No, we were seeking an investigation.  Guess Cuccinelli was to busy running his failed campaign to bother to know this.  The chain of command throughout the state is broken and it needs to be fixed.  Very soon we are going to be calling for new state laws seeking audits of localities for compliance of their ordinances meeting the Dillon Rule, hence, being in compliance with the state as they are required to.  Any locality that fails an audit can have a number of issues occur.  The loss of state funding is one option, criminal charges against the attorney of the locality and board of supervisors is another possibility based on who and how the illegal ordinance(s) may have been voted on and passed.  Audits of the court system and the judges who may uphold the illegal ordinances along with potential criminal charges against any judge who goes along with said illegal ordinances.

  Further audits that require the investigation into anyone who may have been charged under the illegal ordinances and restitution made to anyone found harmed by the illegal ordinances and paid for by those responsible for the creation of the illegal ordinances.  This must be put into place at the state level and very strictly adhered to in order to protect the people of the state.  Otherwise, localities can run all over their local populations or certain sections of it with impunity.  We all know that there is no such thing as equal access to the legal system anymore, even though that is what our founding fathers built with the Federal and State Constitutions.


  We have created a petition on Change.org calling for our new governor to seriously look at this and see what it will take to enact such laws and get the office started.  Please sign the petition so that we can get this moving forward.  If localities are required to go through financial audits on a regular ongoing basis to ensure the people are not being robbed, why should audits of our laws be any different?  It still has the very real potential to rob us all.  This is how we insure our future against any potential unjust local government.
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Saturday, December 7, 2013

Statement of Governor Bob McDonnell on Selection of Dr. Timothy Sands as Next President of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

English: Athletics logo for Virginia Polytechn...
English: Athletics logo for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement this evening following the news that Dr. Timothy Sands will become the next president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).

“I want to congratulate Dr. Timothy Sands on his selection to lead Virginia Tech forward as the 141 year old institution’s 16th president. Dr. Sands has big shoes to fill. The legacy of Dr. Charles Steger is one of incredible growth and achievement at Virginia Tech, and I know the Virginia Tech community, and our entire Commonwealth, will forever be grateful for his leadership and vision. Now, Dr. Sands takes on the responsibility, and the tremendous honor, of serving as the leader of an outstanding Virginia university. His background demonstrates his readiness for this undertaking and his academic career has prepared him well to lead Virginia Tech. I look forward to watching Dr. Sands continue to make Virginia Tech an even stronger university in the years ahead.”
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Governor McDonnell Proclaims December 9th-13th School and Campus Safety Week in Virginia

Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Governor Will Hold Campus Safety Event at VCU on December 11th 
Declares December 13th as a Day of Mourning in the Commonwealth to Remember Those Lost at Sandy Hook Elementary

RICHMOND - Citing the critical importance of maintaining safe environments for learning at Virginia’s schools and campuses, Governor Bob McDonnell has proclaimed the week of December 9-13 as School and Campus Safety Week in the Commonwealth. 

To mark School and Campus Safety Week, the governor will speak to students and state and local officials at a special event at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Student Commons Theater on December 11 at 10:30 a.m.  The event will also feature remarks by VCU President Michael Rao, the University’s Associate Provost Charles Klink, and VCU student Brendan Hood.

The governor has also declared December 13th as a Day of Mourning and called for a moment of silence and reflection at 9:30 a.m. on that day to honor those innocent students and teachers who lost their lives in the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, last December.

The governor’s proclamation touches upon the work of Virginia’s School and Campus Safety Taskforce, appointed by the governor in the wake of the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and mentions the positive changes that have resulted from the group’s 61 recommendations.  The proclamation also states that “…protecting the more than 1.3 million students in Virginia’s schools is a top priority of state government…,” and  “…we must continue to ensure our law enforcement officials and school administrators have the necessary tools to combat any potential violence.”

Many of the Taskforce members will be in attendance when the Governor speaks at VCU on December 11th, as will Virginia’s Secretaries of Education, Javaid Siddiqi, and Public Safety, Bryan Rhode.

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