McDonnell wants to privatize ABC retail operation

McDonnell outlines new scaled-back, retail-only ABC plan
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell will unveil a proposal Wednesday to close 332 state-owned liquor stores and replace them with 1,000 private retail outlets -- a scaled-back version of a plan he's pushed for months to end Virginia's monopoly on the sale of distilled spirits. Under the proposal, the state is expected to reap at least $200 million upfront for the sale of new liquor licenses and $13.1 million more than it now collects each year in profits and taxes at Alcoholic Beverage Control stores, acco...

Revised liquor plan would generate $200 million up-front
RICHMOND - Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s re-tooled plan to get the state out of the liquor business would generate an estimated $200 million in up-front cash and $13 million more in annual revenue than the current state-run system. Only the retail side of Virginia's distilled spirits business would be privatized under the plan, leaving the state the sole wholesaler. About 1,000 licenses would be auctioned off, with minimum bids ensuring an estimated up-front Windfall of at least $200 milli...

GAO: Treasury needs to avoid staffing shortfall for TARP programs
Even though the Treasury Department is beginning to wind down programs within the Troubled Asset Relief Program, it needs to prevent a staffing shortfall to adequately monitor what's left, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). While the Treasury Department has touted good news stemming from a variety of TARP programs in recent months, the GAO report serves as a bit of cold water, noting that some concerns and questions still remain with a variety of its programs. The staffin...

Virginia State Legislature To Consider Bill To Ban Undocumented Immigrants From College
Virginia's Republican-controlled State Legislature is slated to consider a piece of Legislation this session that would prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending public colleges or universities in the commonwealth. The bill, set to be introduced by GOP Del. Christopher Peace, is just the latest attempt by Virginia Republicans to block undocumented individuals from enrolling in state-funded institutes of higher learning. Earlier versions of the legislation, which also included strict immi...

Kentucky legislatures expenses posted online
FRANKFORT — Kentucky paid Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, a Salary of $46,161.24 in Fiscal Year 2010, plus another $43,241.25 for expenses, travel and stationary. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, R-Prestonsburg, got a Salary of $50,382.06, plus $47,490.38 for expenses, travel and stationary. Now that the legislative branch is posting its expenditures online, spending data are available online for every branch of State Government. Bobby Sherman, director of the LRC, said the state...

Republican Merit and an Invitation to the Big Tent
Delegate Bob Purkey (R-82nd) fancies himself a business and financial sensei. To some extent he demonstrates certain acumen. But the minute he wanders off his point, he slips into quicksand. Saturday, he did just that when attempting to praise Jim Cheng. It illuminated Republican pandering to non-whites. Welcome to VBRP. Quite possibly Purkey means well. At the very least, he's subtle. For years Purkey has talked about the need for Republicans to bring Minorities into the Republican tent. He al...

McDonnell creates redistricting panel
Virginia state delegates, senators, and congressmen looking to hold onto their seats got major news Monday, as Gov. Bob McDonnell announced the creation of an independent Bipartisan redistricting commission to guide the process that will take place later this year. The commission, tasked with crafting redistricting plans based on newly released data from the U.S. Census, will be chaired by longtime Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth, founder of the nonpartisan political blog Virginia Tomor...

Virginia Governor McDonnell Wants to Reduce Abortions More
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says he supports reducing Abortions further in the state and backs a bill in the State Legislature that would put more regulations on abortion facilities in place. “I think that’s important and I’ll support that,” he said on Norfolk’s WNIS radio of the bill to ensure abortion centers comply with the same rules and standards that apply to legitimate medical facilities. McDonnell also told the Radio Station he recently asked his commissione...

McDonnell's security tightened following Arizona shooting
Officials have tightened security for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell following the Mass Shootings in Tucson. Reporters covering a McDonnell news conference this week were told they would no longer be able to approach the Governor after he had started speaking to place recorders or microphones on his lectern. McDonnell, however, told reporters that the shooting that killed six people and severely injured a congresswoman had not changed his security. When told of the changes, McDonnell said "I had n...

McDonnell Got What He Bought
Governor McDonnell revealed his often re-revised ABC privatization plan that does not privatize the liquor business. There will be time to revel in the details later, but the initiative is already being met with rolling eyes. If Governor McDonnell owned a Dairy Farm, he'd butcher the cows. Even before this latest iteration, the writing was on the wall. Here are Senator Northam (D-6th) and Delegate Lewis (D-100th) meeting with their Eastern Shore constituency last week in Cape Charles: "(Govern...

Virginia General Assembly kicks off with prayer breakfast
Festivities surrounding the first day of the Virginia General Assembly's annual session kicked off Wednesday morning with a prayer breakfast attended by more than 1,000 people at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The group was led in prayer by Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) and Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli (R) and heard a sermon via Skype from Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Rev. Billy Graham, who was snowed-in in North Carolina. They prayed for members of the Military...

REAL ID Is Still Dead, But It Is Walking Dead
It’s been a while, so let’s review: REAL ID is the national ID law Congress passed in May of 2005. It gave states a three-year deadline to produce IDs meeting national standards and to network their databases of driver information together into a national ID system. In regulations it proposed in March 2007, the Department of Homeland Security extended that draconian deadline. States would have five years, starting in May 2008, to move all driver’s license and ID card holders in...

Quinn will sign tax hike: 'Our fiscal house was burning'
Gov. Pat Quinn said today he will sign a major income Tax Increase as soon as it hits his desk and rejected criticism that he had misled Taxpayers by saying during his campaign he would only sign a smaller increase. With no votes to spare and no Republican support in either the House or Senate, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly sent the measure to the Democratic Governor early this morning after hours of bombastic debate. The action came in the waning moments of the lame-duck session j...

Quinn: 'Our fiscal house was burning'
Gov. Pat Quinn said today he will sign a major income Tax Increase as soon as it hits his desk and rejected criticism that he had misled Taxpayers by saying during his campaign that he would only sign a smaller increase. With no votes to spare and no Republican support in either the House or Senate, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly sent the measure to the Democratic Governor early this morning after hours of bombastic debate. The action came in the waning moments of the lame-duck sessi...

Medicaid under scrutiny in tight budget year
WASHINGTON-Despite tight Budgets and ballooning enrollment, Medicaid programs in Connecticut and across the country were able to preserve or even expand Health Care services to the poor in 2010, according to a new report released Tuesday. But 2011 could be dramatically different. Arizona officials have already moved to cut off Medicaid coverage for people in need of organ transplants, resulting in the deaths of two patients. Officials in Texas have pondered dropping out of the Medicaid program...

You Know, I Think Having Had Barry Eichengreen and Jeffrey Sachs (and Others) as My Teachers Gives Me an Unfair Advantage
Ryan Avent gets puzzled as he tries to work his way through the causes of Unemployment: Labour markets: Sticky, sticky wages | The Economist: what we see is a two-track labour market. Workers who never lost their jobs... have potentially enjoyed pay increases. But... jobless workers... have struggled to find work and who can generally only do so at a significant wage cut relative to their previous pay.... I mentioned a few explanations ventured by Rob Shimer.... One big issue is the problem th...

Tunisia's turmoil
Is deadly Rioting in Tunisia and Algeria linked? The Tunisian government presents itself to the outside world as an economic success story, but Unemployment and Poverty have prompted violents Protests. In a televised Speech to the nation on 10 January, President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali promised to create 300,000 new jobs. "We have decided to multiply work opportunities and the creation of sources of revenue in all sectors during 2011 and 2012," he said. But according to Dr Azzam Mahjou...

Alexandria okays buses to Mark Center
The Alexandria City Council approved $600,000 to rehabilitate four city DASH buses that will be used for express bus service between the King Street Metro station and Mark Center. The express service is the first transit improvement put in place to handle the 6,400 new federal employees who are coming to the new federal building as part of the Base Relocation and Closure (BRAC) process beginning this summer. The council approved the measure contingent on a reimbursement agreement with the Depar...

Fire kills 17,000 chickens at Va poultry house
Fire officials in Northern Virginia say an electrical short caused a blaze at a Poultry house that killed 17,000 young chickens. Media outlets report that the fire occurred outside Harrisonburg Monday night at a Poultry house. Rockingham County Fire and Rescue assistant Fire Marshal Mike Armstrong says most of the 4-week-old chickens died from smoke inhalation. Armstrong says the fire inside the steel-framed structure was mostly out when Firefighters arrived. WTC flag to be displayed at girl...

Walmart wants a piece of New York City
The days when Manhattan's major streets were filled with quirky, small, family-owned businesses are long gone. Broadway or Sixth Avenue or 34th Street offer much the same retail options as a suburban mall. And the outer boroughs of New York City are going the same way. It's a process that has made many a longtime New Yorker despair. But resistance to a Walmart in New York Cityhas remained strong, even as Target, Lowe's, Costco, and other big-box stores have stomped their way into the marketplace...

Oakland County company an innovator in wireless charging
That's right. No cords. Battery management has become a critical concern for consumers as phone technology continues to outpace innovations in battery technology. Phone screens are getting bigger and brighter and Wireless Networks are getting faster, leading us to download more data -- all of which drains our batteries faster and faster. "The battery life is not improving, but the devices can do more and more," said Beth Harrison Meyer, vice president ...

Gingrich to attend House GOP retreat
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will attend the House Republican retreat in Baltimore this weekend, as will other blast-from-the-past guests, including former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm and former Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt. Other top Republicans will be in Baltimore as well, including, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. ...

Presidential Prospects Attending GOP House Retreat
A cadre of potential Republican presidential contenders will address House Republicans this weekend at their annual retreat, according to Republican sources on the Hill. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) are among those slated to address the new Republican Caucus at the retreat this weekend in Baltimore, Md. The speeches will add to the speculation that Barbour and Gingrich are going ahead with 2012 presidential plans. The retreat will provide an...

The House and Senate are now in session
The 2011 Virginia General Assembly kicked off Wednesday with lawmakers set to tackle issues such as education, transportation - and one bill that would look at having Virginia mint its own coins in case of the collapse of the Federal Reserve System. Early portions of the House and Senate's Wednesday agenda included housekeeping items; Bill Stanley, R-Pittsylvania, was sworn into the Senate and Greg Habeeb, R-Salem was sworn into the House. The newly-minted legislators each won special elec...

Haley Takes Oath
Braving a bitter cold and whipping winds, Nimrata Randhawa Haley took the oath of office on Wednesday to become South Carolina’s 116th post-Colonial Governor. Haley, 38, is the first woman and first minority ever to serve as South Carolina’s governor - and her ascension to the office marks the latest chapter in her rapid, improbable political ascension. “Today is a great day in South Carolina,” Haley said after taking the oath of office from S.C. Chief Justice Jean ...