It is with heavy heart that I report the passing of the York Committee chair, my father, John Michael Finn, 63 of Williamsburg. He died suddenly this morning. Details will follow once arrangements have been made.
Sincerely, Mike Finn (Son)
My thoughts and prayers are with all his family and friends.
Note: Many of the Wall Street firms that provided bonuses were … for all practical purposes … bankrupt companies … under federal bankruptcy laws these bonuses might even be considered “voidable transfers” … the American people deserve transparency and openness … and they also deserve a complete report on who got the first $350 billion and how it has been spent … while we’re waiting for that report … individuals like Merrill Lynch’s CEO should be made to return any bonuses they received
This coming Tuesday a special election is being held in Fairfax for the Chair of the Board of Supervisors … I encourage our Democratic friends and all of the voters in Fairfax to get out vote for Sharon Bulova … here’s some basic info about the election
VOTING INFORMATION:
Tuesday, February 3rd.
Voting will be at your normal polling location, and polls are open from 6 AM – 7 PM.
SPRINGFIELD – January 29, 2009. Former Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn has become the 41st Governor of the State of Illinois, having taken the Oath of Office at 5:40 p.m. on Thursday, January 29, 2009. The Oath of Office was administered by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke in a brief ceremony in the Chamber of the Illinois House of Representatives.
If you’ve got some spare time to do serious reading … I’d encourage you to check out the Center’s “Beyond the Beltway” series … while I don’t agree with all the analysis these reports are reasonable starting points for policy wonks looking to know about important issues:
Here is a part of an email that I received today from Americans United for Change … as someone who ran a rust belt manufacturing company I know how hard it is to recapture business after a plant closes it’s doors … our country needs to pass a true stimulus package now … or more plants will be closed, more jobs will be lost, and more long term economic harm will be done to our fellow Americans and our Nation …
Some people just can’t let go of the past.
Yesterday, the House passed an economic recovery bill that will put millions of unemployed Americans back to work. But not a single Republican voted for the bill.
Those Republicans must be living under a rock. Perhaps they haven’t heard the news: George W. Bush is back in Texas, the trickle-down economics they espouse are what got us into this mess in the first place, and the American people are ready for change and for real solutions to our economic crisis.
We can’t let this old-school partisanship kill the Obama jobs and economic recovery plan in the Senate. That’s why we’re launching a TV ad campaign to encourage five key senators to put their constituents’ needs above party affiliation and vote for President Obama’s plan.
Today the U.S. House passed H.R. 1 that would make supplemental appropriations designed to create and preserve jobs … increase investment on long put off infrastructure … provide seed funding for improvements in energy efficiency and science … provide financial assistance to unemployed Americans … and even help states and localities in dire fiscal straights … no wonder every Republican voted against the legislation … it might even stop some of the economic bleeding on Main Street and help working Americans … the vote tally shows ”On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 244 – 188 (Roll no. 46).”
Virginia’s Delegation voted as follows: Republicans Robert Wittman, Bob Goodlatte, Eric Cantor, Frank Wolf, Randy Forbes were all recorded as voting NAY …. every Democratic members supported the legislation: Gerry Connelly, Glenn Nye, James Moran, Rick Boucher, Bobby Scott, Tom Perriello all voted YEA …
As a frequent user of the George C. Coleman Bridge over the York River I’ve written before about the importance of this connection between the 1st District counties of York and Gloucester … yesterday the aging bridge with a design similar to the one in Minnesota that collapsed was closed for a time … below is how the Daily Press covered the story
GLOUCESTER - The Coleman Bridge reopened to traffic at 3 p.m. today after being stuck in the open position for more than four hours, stopping all traffic flow between Gloucester and York counties.
An electrical problem caused the malfunction, which left the bridge in an open position around 10:45 a.m. All vehicles were cleared from the bridge, but traffic on Route 17 was severely backed up in both directions.
Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lauren Hansen said crews managed to close the bridge and lock it down Tuesday afternoon. It reopened to vehicles at 3 p.m.
But the electrical problem has not been solved, and the bridge is now stuck in a closed position and cannot be opened for boat traffic, Hansen said.
“There will be some troubleshooting to find out what the problem is,” Hansen said.
She said if the bridge needs to be lifted again, it will be done at a non-peak time when there is little traffic.
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