McAuliffe’s pen
In his last year in office, Governor Terry McAuliffe was unable to deliver on a campaign promise to expand Medicaid to 400,000 uninsured citizens, which is supported by 69 percent of Virginians, according to a recent University of Maryland poll. The General Assembly’s Republican majority prevented that, but it was not able to thwart another McAuliffe vow: that he would veto any “socially divisive” legislation.
McAuliffe signed 40 of his record 111 vetoes this session, and maintained a perfect tally of having zero overridden by the General Assembly, which needs two-thirds votes in each house to do so. Republicans have a sizable 66-34 majority in the House of Delegates, and 21-19 in the Senate.
Vetoed were:
- Rob Bell’s Tebow bill to allow homeschoolers to play public school sports
- Steve Landes’ Beloved bill requiring schools to notify parents of sexually explicit instructional material
- Creation of charter schools without local school board approvals
- Religious freedom bill, which LGBT advocates say legalizes discrimination
- Legislation prohibiting sanctuary cities
- Switchblade concealed carry and possession by minors
- Criminal and Virginia Lottery background checks for applicants of public assistance
- DMV photos added to electronic poll books
- Concealed carry without permits for protective order seekers and military personnel under 21 years old
- Planned Parenthood defunding
- Coal tax credit
See you in court
Albemarle County declines Charlottesville’s offer of arbitration after City Council votes 3-2 to defy county law and allow bike trails at Ragged Mountain Natural Area.
Crime studies
The Virginia State Crime Commission will study the impact of collecting DNA for additional Class 1 misdemeanors, a move long advocated by Albemarle Sheriff Chip Harding, as well as the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, which was favored by nearly eight out of 10 Virginia respondents in a 2016 VCU poll.
Mandatory tax disclosure
Although Representative Tom Garrett said at his March 31 town hall he didn’t care that President Donald Trump did not release his income tax returns, last week Garrett filed a bill that would require future presidents-elect to do so.
‘Patricia Kluge’s Third Act is Sparkly’
The New York Times reports the former winemaker, who sold her business to buddy Donald Trump in 2011, has rebounded from bankruptcy and is now designing jewelry pieces that sell for between $30,000 and $45,000.
“Everybody who knows Donald knows his shenanigans.”
—Patricia Kluge to the Times on Albemarle House litigation with President Trump
No funny business
Freelance cartoonist Jen Sorensen, whose work has appeared in C-VILLE each week since 2002, is a 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist “for a thoughtful and powerful selection of work appearing in a variety of U.S. publications and often challenging the viewer to look beyond the obvious.”
Inappropriate hugger in court
Brien Gray-Anderson, 21, who was charged with assaulting women on the Rivanna Trail last spring, pleaded guilty April 10 to one felony count of abduction and two misdemeanor sexual battery charges. Two women were the victims of unsolicited hugs and bottom touching, and a third was pulled to the ground but fought Gray-Anderson off. He’ll be sentenced August 1.
$9 million facelift
A $9 million project that had UVA’s Northridge Internal Medicine building on Ivy Road blanketed in scaffolding for nearly two years is winding down. Its updated look includes a new entrance and lobby, larger elevators, a new staircase and a more traditional architectural look similar to the Transitional Care Hospital next door.
