VCC Magazine Fall 2018

V I R G I N I A

Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E

INSIDE A Letter from the First Lady  –page 4 Children Are First –page 5

Building Economic Opportunity –page 6 Economic Upswing –page 7

Fall 2018

Virginia Creeper Trail

Love is too big for four walls to hold. Love shoves us up that mountain and down that cave. It puts the wind in our face, in our sails, at our back. It makes us get outside ourselves. 65% of Virginia is covered in trees. A hiker’s paradise. A biker’s dream. Find what you love at Virginia.org

C O N T E N T S VIRGINIA CAPITOL CONNECTIONS QUARTERLY MAGAZINE

page 4

Fall 2018

4 A Letter From First Lady of Virginia Pamela Northam

5 Children are First, with Virginia’s First Lady

6 Building Economic Opportunity

7 Economic Upswing

NORTHAM

8 Fighting Gerrymandering with a Constitutional Amendment?

9 The ‘5th Estate’: Bloggers keep watch on news media

page 6

10 Virginia’s newspapers are bleeding staff and content

11 The Purpose of a Commonwealth: Senator Howell’s Trip to Southwest and Southside Virginia

12 The Singular Charlie Singleton

NORTHAM

16 State Politics is Going National

17 Every year an Election year

18 The State of Our Public Administration: Why We Should Care

19 Working with the General Assembly

20 DBA Introduces New App

page 7

21 The Virginia Department of Veterans Services and WWI/WWII Commission Partner to Present a Special Weekend of Veterans Day Activities to Honor All Who Have Served

COX

22 Capitol Police Exhibit Opened

24 In Memoriam

On The Web www.vccqm.org

Thomas R. Hyland

page

26 Association and Business Directory

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Cover photo by David Bailey

HOWELL

Volume 24 Number 4 • Editor-in-Chief –Bonnie Atwood • Assistant Editor –Hayley Allison • Student Editor –DeForrest Ballou • Staff –Olivia Ratay, Nefari Steele, Dzemila Mujcic Publisher –DavidBailey• ArtDirector –JohnSours• SchoolDistribution –schools@capitolsquare.com• Advertising –Ads@CapitolSquare.com• Printer –Wordsprint• VirginiaCapitolConnections QuarterlyMagazine (ISSN1076-4577)ispublishedby:VirginiaCapitolConnections•1108EastMainStreet•Suite1200•Richmond,Virginia23219•(804)643-5554•Copyright2018,VirginiaCapitol Connections,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Theviewsexpressedinthearticlesof VirginiaCapitolConnectionsQuarterlyMagazine ,anon-partisanpublication,arenotnecessarilythoseoftheeditorsorpublisher.

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A Letter From First Lady of Virginia Pamela Northam

When we decided as a family that my husband Ralph would run for Governor of Virginia, I knew it would bring great changes in my life. I had been happily working at a Virginia nonprofit where I felt we were making a difference in protecting the environment. Now, along with the privilege of serving the Commonwealth as First Lady of Virginia, I have a new opportunity to use my professional experience to advocate for Virginia’s children. I began my professional career in San Antonio, Texas as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, where I met Ralph during his pediatric neurology residency. Ralph’s Army career briefly took us overseas, but we were happy to return home to raise our children in Virginia. I spent 12 years as a science educator before retiring to work at a local environmental nonprofit. Throughout our professional careers, Ralph and I have experienced the joy of sparking curiosity and igniting a passion for learning in young minds. We see the potential in every child, especially in those first five years when about 90% of brain development occurs. InVirginia, we are proud of our education system. Unemployment sits at 3% and we are consistently ranked among the best states to raise a family and run a business. However, the numbers show we can do better at educating our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. According to the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Project (VKRP) 40% of children are not entering kindergarten fully ready with the literacy, math, self-regulation, and social skills needed for success throughout their K-12 years. We also see that 70% of disadvantaged children from birth to age five lack access to affordable early childhood care and education option, and two-thirds of children under age five have all available parents in the workforce. Every child is capable of succeeding in school, and beyond, if they have access to quality affordable early education.We can do better. Virginia can lead the nation in early childhood education. For over a year, I researched the early education system and sought the advice of experts. It was clear we need a strong visionary leader who was prepared to do something innovative, scalable, and

sustainable. We heard again and again about a leader in Louisiana who successfully implemented a first-of-its-kind unification of early childhood programs. After several months of conversations, Jenna Conway, a Charlottesville native, moved back to Virginia to join us as the Chief Deputy of the Department of Education in a new role we are calling our “Chief School Readiness Office.” Jenna hit the ground running in June meeting with key stakeholders from multiple secretariats and state agencies, nonprofits, business, and local governments. Virginia is fortunate to have some many people doing such great work, and our goal is to enter the 2019 General Assembly session speaking with one voice. InAugust, our team set out on an ambitious “Back to School” tour that would take us to all of Virginia’s eight superintendent regions to visit child care, Head Start, Early Head Start, and Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) classrooms. After nearly 2,000 miles on the road, it became clear that the problems facing our early education system are diverse, and unique to each community. One afternoon we arrived at a Head Start classroom tucked behind an industrial park in a modular building in Scott County. Despite the humble setting, we found a warm and supportive classroom environment. This program had received teacher-student interaction scores that put them among the highest rated programs in the nation. In both rural and urban classrooms there are exceptional teachers working hard to provide quality education for children. With a universal rating system, we can shine a light on both the good work, and potential areas of improvement, for each individual classroom. Having an evidence-based, apples-to-apples comparison of all classrooms will improve quality of education by making our programs more transparent, unified, data-driven, and efficient. Teachers hold the future in their hands. We know that every teacher, whether they are working with infants or teenagers, has the ability to make lasting impressions on young minds. In addition to providing them with a simple, universal, and effective rating system, Continued on next page

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Children are First, with Virginia’s First Lady

By Bonnie Atwood

If you were to visit Virginia’s First Lady’s offices in the Patrick Henry Building, you might be surprised and pleased at what you see on her door and the doors of her staff members. No, not just nameplates, but photographs of each one—from their childhoods. The pictures are not just cute. They serve as a constant reminder of Pamela Northam’s main theme of her term: prioritizing Virginia’s precious children. Mrs. Northam’s own childhood in

Now that she is in the role of First Lady, Mrs. Northam brings her love of little ones to the Commonwealth. She is focusing her time here on “families and children.” She talks about the “window of time”—that short period that science has found to be crucial to the development of the child’s brain, and to the development of language. One can see her earnestness about children from birth to five years of age, in which time their brain cells must be properly stimulated. “What we don’t use, we lose,” said Mrs. Northam, referring to the plasticity of the brain. She said that the age of 18 months is especially critical for language development. Proper nutrition is all part of this, she said, because the brain needs oxygen and glucose. A child who is hungry, for example, will miss out on this chance to develop. The child also needs “high quality interaction” to reach his or her potential. Her goal in the next three years is “in a big way, to serve our families,” she said. This is part of the thinking behind the new Children’s Cabinet that the Governor started in June by executive order. The First Lady chairs the Cabinet, which includes members such as Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring, Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, Secretary of Health and Human Resources Daniel Carey, M.D., and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran. The Cabinet will look for ways to promote early childhood development and school readiness. It will also promote nutrition, and systems of care for school-aged youth. It will be “great for the workforce, too,” said Mrs. Northam, because students will have better chances to move from school to meaningful careers. She said she wants to “bring everything to the table.” To that end, Mrs. Northam has embarked on a series of visits across the Commonwealth, where she will not only visit, but listen. “You need to talk to the people who are actually doing the work,” she said. Some things are built that would have been different “had they just asked.” She is working with community partners, too, such as United Way and the YMCA. She stresses that this group will be bipartisan. The Northams’ two children, Wes and Aubrey, are adults now. Wes is a neurosurgery resident, and Aubrey is a web developer with an artistic side. But her work for children carries on. Mrs. Northam is very comfortable being called a feminist, seeking empowerment and equality for all: women, the LGBT community, people with special needs, and so on. The First Lady is always given an opportunity to select art for the walls of the Executive Mansion’s “women’s salon.” Mrs. Northam has chosen Martha Washington and Pocahontas to be on her wall, and in her spirit. Bonnie Atwood, J.D., is editor in chief of Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine. tomorrow. Access to affordable full day childcare allows parents to work more hours or return to school for more training. Quality early education also creates lasting benefits for students throughout their K-12 experiences and better prepares them to enter the workforce. By 2022 we envision a Virginia where more children are entering kindergarten ready to learn. With unified standards, measures, and rewards there will be greater support for teachers and more information available for parents and families. Virginia has already done amazing work in early education. Now, with the support of business leaders, legislators from both parties, and an administration uniquely qualified to address these issues, there has never been a better time to make significant and sustainable improvements. Virginia can and should be a national leader in early education. I am so grateful for the privilege to have this opportunity to make a lasting impact on the lives of children, and our workforce, for years to come. V V

Texas was enviable. She comes from a long line of strong women who loved learning, loved science, pursued higher education, and made personal sacrifices to take care of the family. She cherishes being a kid. Half of each summer was spent on the family ranch; the other half on the Texas coast, with both sets of grandparents by her side. She describes the big, beautiful live oak trees on the farm, then “treasure hunting” for seashells in the sand. “We were expected to work,” she said, but after work they “swam in the creek for hours.” There were chickens, ducks, horses, and cattle. One can see how a love of nature blossomed into an interest in ecology, science, and what we now call STEM vocations. Even camping, cooking, and sewing gives youth a “connection” to STEM, she said, and a chance “to develop skills for other training.” Mrs. Northam’s career has taken her through teaching biology to advocating for water quality, and now as a powerful leader for protection for the environment and for children throughout Virginia. With her interests, it is easy to see how she was attracted to a young physician named Ralph Northam. She laughs as she tells the story of how they met. She had just graduated and a friend invited her to a pool party. The friend wanted her to meet Northam, described as “a really nice young man.” What she expected to be a happy mix of guys and gals was, in fact, the nice young man and “about 20 single ladies.” Looking back, she said it was like modern television’s “The Bachelor,” which gives the lucky man a chance to choose a favorite from a bevy of eligible “bachelorettes.” The way that young Northam stole her heart was his rescue of a kitten. There was a little kitten in distress in a closet. The cat would not, or could not eat. So, the dashing young pediatrician raced off to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) at the hospital where he worked. He came back with tiny tubes that are used to feed premature babies, and he saved the life of the kitten. He was even more irresistible when he adopted a kitten to take home—a home that eventually became their home with two kittens. we must provide them the compensation and education they need to do their best. We want to reward teachers for their good work, and provide support and training to those who need it. We plan to facilitate the work that has begun with our community colleges and universities to provide multiple paths to training for early childhood educators. In each region we visited from the Eastern Shore to the Valley to the Northern Neck we saw local communities partnering with businesses and nonprofits to find innovative ways to expand access to quality early education. We want to position state government to better support local innovation so the unique needs of communities can be met. We were encouraged to meet so many superintendents who were working hand-in-hand with dedicated groups like the United Way and business leaders to improve school readiness in their communities. An increasing number of visionary business leaders know this is an investment in both the workforce of today and Continued from previous page

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Building Economic Opportunity By Governor Ralph Northam

Safe, Efficient and Convenient Passenger Rail for a Fast-Growing Region

NRV Putting Passengers

As Governor, my mission is to build economic opportunity for all Vir- ginians, no matter who you are or where you live, and our administra- tion has hit the ground running.

We’ve worked across the aisle to pass a balanced state budget that expands healthcare access to workingVirginians, and

A Broad-based Regional Initiative Passenger train travel to the New River Valley, one of Virginia’s fastest-growing regions

invests in core priorities like education, workforce development, and public safety. We deposited money to the Commonwealth’s financial reserves to help us during the next economic downturn—preserving Virginia’s AAA bond rating in the process. That’s the kind of progress we make when we focus on solutions, and don’t let politics keep us from working together. That’s what the VirginiaWay means to me, and the way ahead can be a model for our Commonwealth, and the rest of the country. And that’s what I want to keep doing as we look to the future. Together, we can work together to invest in our people, so that Virginia is a state of opportunity for all. The tax changes at the federal levelwill require theCommonwealth to make some choices in our next General Assembly session. We will have to decide how to respond to those changes, to do the most good for the most Virginians. I believe this is a unique chance to invest in our state and our people, in middle-class working families and Virginia’s Main Street businesses. Smart investments are the way to take Virginia and our economy to the next level. We can invest in our workforce, making sure that every Virginian can get the skills for a good, 21st century job. The number one thing I hear from business owners, throughout Virginia and the country, is that if we train our workforce, companies already in Virginia will expand and more companies will relocate here. Working together, I know we can better prepare Virginians for the jobs we want to attract. We can also invest in high-speed internet in places where access is limited, particularly rural Virginia. Broadband now is what electricity was in the 1930’s—a critical piece of infrastructure. When it’s not available, that’s a big barrier to economic opportunity. Businesses, schools, and families all need high-speed Internet to fully participate in daily life in the 21st century. Localities need broadband to help attract new businesses.We can help get broadband to parts of the state that don’t have it, by making smart investments in our future. To have a workforce ready for the jobs of today and tomorrow, Virginia also needs to continue to invest in public education, putting more resources in our classrooms and in our educators. I am a product of rural public schools on the Eastern Shore, and I know how important good public schools are for a community. Attracting the best teachers, while continuing to expand access to early childhood education, are investments we should make that will help all Virginia children reach their potential. Together with smart investments in our long-term success, we should also provide tax relief to working Virginians who need it most. The recent federal tax changes will primarily benefit higher earners. But we can help level the playing field by making Virginia’s existing earned income tax credit refundable, ensuring that 600,000 working Virginians—including thousands of veteran and military families—can get the full tax benefit for which they qualify. This will cost less than $250 million, but will rebound in our communities, putting money in the pockets of middle-class working Virginians that could help pay for childcare, transportation, or school Continued on next page

• Enabling future economic development opportunities • Promoting safer, more efficient travel on the I-81 corridor

For more information, visit www.nrvpassengerrail.org NewRiver Valley RA I L 2 0 2 0 Putting Passengers On Track

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Economic Upswing By Speaker Kirk Cox It appears that Virginia’s economy is finally hitting its stride after years of lackluster growth following the Great Recession. This economic upswing, and the bigger paychecks that come with it for Virginia workers, can be attributed to several factors, namely the federal tax cuts, a resurgence in defense spending and Virginia’s responsible budgeting and pro- business policies. Unfortunately, I fear that one policy

$24,000 standard deduction, so they will benefit more by taking the standard deduction on their federal taxes rather than itemizing. Since current state law requires the family to also claim the standard deduction of only $6,000 on their state taxes, they will have to pay taxes on an extra $14,000 of income on their state taxes. ($20,000 - $6,000= $14,000). Under the Governor’s plan, the money collected in higher middle class taxes would be used to make the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) fully refundable. The EITC was actually a Republican initiative that basically took all tax burdens away from low income families. For example, if a low-income family had an $800 tax bill and qualified for the EITC of $1,000 they would not have to pay any taxes since the EITC was greater than what they owed. Governor Northam now wants to take that a step further and make that refundable, meaning the family gets the extra $200 that was left over from the EITC. I fully support the EITC as a way to help low-income families, but I do not support taxing the middle class more to in return give extra money to families who already have a zero tax liability. So, how can we fix this and keep middle class families from paying higher taxes? I support allowing families to take full advantage of the federal tax cuts passed by the Trump Administration. We can do this by allowing a family to take the standard deduction on the federal level AND then allowing them to itemize on the state level. This will allow families to maximize their tax cuts. By preserving the ability to itemize state taxes, middle class families will be able to continue to deduct things like their mortgage interest, real estate taxes, personal property taxes, and healthcare expenses from their state taxes. Virginians work hard for their money. They work hard to put food on the table, pay their bills, and get ahead. They deserve to keep as much of that hard earned money as possible. Let’s invest in the middle class, allow them to keep more money in their pockets, and if we do that we will continue to see the positive impacts of the federal tax cuts right here in Virginia. The Honorable Kirk Cox is Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.

proposal put on the table this summer would reverse those gains and slow our economic progress, while hitting the middle class with higher taxes. Governor Ralph Northam’s plan to utilize a technical glitch in the state tax law to spend an extra $500 million in collected revenue is misguided. The plan unfairly burdens hard working middle-class taxpayers, eliminating their ability to itemize key deductions and resulting in higher state tax burdens. A more prudent approach is to update Virginia law to fully implement the federal tax cuts, which will preserve the ability of middle class families to take key deductions and ensure they maximize their tax cuts. You may have heard the Northam administration refer to a federal tax cut “windfall” that will lead to approximately $500 million in new revenue each year. The “windfall” that would be used to fund Northam’s plan is really just the state collecting higher taxes from hard working middle class families. People will receive tax cuts at the federal level, but a technical provision inVirginia law will require people to pay more on the state level unless we fix it. One of the core components of President Trump’s tax cuts was the increase of the standard deduction. The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” increased the standard deduction from $12,700 for a married couple filing jointly to $24,000. This means some families who last year chose to itemize, will pay less taxes by claiming the standard deduction this year. Virginia law currently requires taxpayers who claim the standard deduction on their federal taxes to claim the standard deduction on their state taxes. In years past, more than 640,000 Virginia families who itemized their taxes, had deductions more than $12,700 but less than $24,000. They have deductions for things like mortgage interest, healthcare expenses, and real-estate property tax. For example, if a middle-class family in 2017 had $20,000 in itemized deductions for their federal taxes, they could also claim $20,000 in deductions on their state taxes. If that family has the same itemized deductions for 2018, their deductions are less than the new supplies, and reduce the impact of other taxes that hit family budgets the hardest. To be clear—we can make the Earned Income Tax Credit refundable, just like the federal government and 24 other states do, without raising taxes, but by investing increased revenues where they will do the most good. These Virginians are in every locality in Virginia. These are our teachers, our law enforcement officers, our veterans. They work, they pay taxes, but those taxes take a bigger percentage of their income. They deserve a more level playing field. Virginians all want the same thing: good jobs to support themselves and their families, a good education for their children, and to live in healthy and safe communities. When we invest in these things, we’re investing in our people. That’s how we build an economy where everyone has a fair shot at success. That’s what I hope we can continue to do as we look ahead to the next legislative session. When we work together, we do the most good for the people of Virginia. Continued from previous page

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Fighting Gerrymandering with a Constitutional Amendment? By Stephen J. Farnsworth

Politicians who must cater to the most extreme 10 percent of the district’s voters have zero incentive to compromise and instead legislate from the far left or the far right.When legislative compromise is nearly impossible, difficult problems fester. For decades, Democrats drew the lines and Republicans suffered. The last set of state legislative lines, drawn in 2011 and subject to court challenges ever since, were far more Republican-friendly than were those from previous decades. All three state offices elected statewide are held by Democrats, as are both Virginia seats in the US Senate. Democrats also won the state’s electoral votes in the last three presidential elections. Thanks to favorable line-drawing, this Democratic advantage has not been reflected in the US House, where Republicans hold seven of the state’s eleven congressional seats. Public hesitation to constitutional change does not suggest public satisfaction with the status quo. When asked in September 2018 whether the current system of having lawmakers draw lines was more or less likely to give the individual a lawmaker who reflected his or her views, 19 percent of respondents said more likely and 29 percent said less likely, with the remainder believing that it makes no difference or were unsure. The narrow divisions in the legislature, a 51-49 Republican advantage in the House of Delegates and a 21-19 GOP advantage in the Senate, create an environment where either party could be in the majority three years from now. Because elected officials from the party in power draw lines to suit themselves, both parties can realistically imagine themselves being able to take care of their own members—and punish opponents—in the near future. That uncertainty complicates efforts by activists to secure passage of an independent commission plan. Lawmakers whose party is likely to endure an extended time in the minority, with little influence over legislation or line-drawing, would find it easier to support redistricting reform than a party that can expect a decade or longer in the majority. Since neither party can count on the other party holding all the political cards after the November 2019 elections, building a majority for redistricting reform may be a great challenge during next winter’s legislative session. Stephen J. Farnsworth is professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, and the author or co-author of six books of the presidency, public opinion and political communication. His views are his own.

Public opinion in Virginia strongly supports creating independent commissions to draw legislative district lines, but a new statewide survey by the University of Mary Washington shows considerable public resistance to changing the Virginia Constitution to make that happen. By a margin of 45 percent to 40 percent, Virginians surveyed in September said they opposed an amendment to the Constitution to take the line-drawing power away from the state legislature. The rest were uncertain.

These results come despite surveys routinely showing overwhelming support for ending the process of letting lawmakers draw their own district lines and replacing them with an independent commission. In a November 2015 UMW statewide survey, for example, only 14 percent said the legislature should retain line- drawing authority, while 72 percent favored transferring that authority to an independent commission. Since the Virginia Constitution authorizes the legislature to draw legislative district boundaries, a constitutional amendment would be the most straightforward way to transfer the process away from lawmakers. To take effect, constitutional amendments must be approved in both chambers of the legislature in two separate sessions (with an election intervening) and then gain majority support from the state’s voters. The new survey illustrates challenges advocates of a less-partisan redistricting process have in the upcoming session of the legislature. Legislators draw new lines after every U.S. Census to take account of population shifts, and the next decennial line-drawing effort will take place in 2021, leaving little time for reform advocates to pass a constitutional amendment that would take effect for the next line- drawing cycle. The problems of the status quo are well-known. High- tech gerrymandering has a number of consequences that undermine effective representative government. Noncompetitive elections reduce turnout and discourage participation by quality candidates from the disadvantaged party. To make matters worse, gerrymandered districts place the real power for the selection of elected officials in the hands of the tiny minority of voters, usually less than 10 percent, who participate in the primaries where the party nomination is determined.

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The ‘5th Estate’: Bloggers keep watch on news media By Jeff South

The Bull Elephant http://thebullelephant.com

In the last issue of Virginia Capitol Connections, I discussed the “fourth estate”—and how that term came to describe the news media as a watchdog over the three branches of government. But who watches the watchdog? Bloggers, thanks to the ease of publishing online. In recent years, the blogging community has been dubbed the “fifth estate.” Stephen Cooper, a communication professor at Marshall University, applied that nickname in a 2006 book—shortly

This blog, established four years ago, says its mission is to “provide unique coverage of politics and policy in Virginia and elsewhere, giving particular emphasis to those issues and concerns given short shrift in mainstream media outlets.” “We strive to include varied right-leaning, conservative, and libertarian perspectives on important public issues, so opinions will run the gamut from conventional to ‘out there,’ with the idea that all benefit from listening to opinions that challenge their own perspectives.” This blog, created in 2017, describes itself as “a new media journal delivering clear, factual and smartly-balanced information to Virginia’s public square.” “Our goal is simple: To cut through the fog of the information warfare that passes for news in today’s media and offer a clear, sharp, and trustworthy voice for the center-right in Virginia at every level of government,” the editors write on their About Us page. Bacon’s Rebellion https://www.baconsrebellion.com After a 25-year career in Virginia journalism, James A. Bacon founded this blog more than a decade ago, pursued other ventures and then re-launched it in 2011. He calls the blog “Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy.” “Our mission is to provide Virginia citizens with the ideas and news they need to build more prosperous, livable and sustainable communities,” said Bacon, who also contributes to Bearing Drift. Bacon’s Rebellion reflects a trust in free markets as well as in the need for “collective action, either in the civic realm or in the governmental realm.” Free Virginia https://freevirginia.blogspot.com This blog, which dates to 2005, offers “commentary on Virginia politics from a Libertarian perspective.” It is published by Marc Montoni, a Charlottesville consultant whose favorite quotes include “Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you’re willing to let everyone else have it also.” The Free Virginia blog isn’t prolific; it averages about one post per month. But the items provide a Libertarian alternative to the Republican-vs.-Democratic perspective reflected in most newspapers—on issues such as automobile insurance, guns and police brutality. See The '5th Estate' , continued on page 10 The Republican Standard https://therepublicanstandard.com

after bloggers shot holes in a report by CBS anchor Dan Rather that President George W. Bush had shirked his duties in the National Guard in the 1970s. Questions raised by the blogs Power Line and Little Green Footballs prompted the network to fire Rather. Like the national scene, Virginia has a vibrant blogosphere, with commentary and perspective from political junkies and citizen journalists from the right, left and center. To track what’s happening in state government and politics, it’s important to monitor not only the fourth estate but also the fifth. First, a definition and some history: The word blog comes from “web log.” It’s a regularly updated website or web page, usually written in an informal or conversational style, with the most recent postings first. Blogs can be traced to online journals that emerged on the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s. Back then, the software for creating or editing a web page was gnarly; blogs were the domain mostly of programmers and techies. But that changed beginning in 1999 with the development of easy web-editing platforms such as Blogger, LiveJournal, Movable Type and WordPress. As a result, thousands of blogs emerged, and many of them, such as Instapundit and Political Wire, attracted a national audience. They started having a national impact. In 2002, for instance, Talking Points Memo and other blogs prompted U.S. Sen. Trent Lott to resign for making comments sympathetic to racial segregation—comments initially ignored by the traditional news media. With the advent of social media, a lot of the energy of the blogging movement has shifted to Twitter, Facebook and other “micro-blogging” platforms. But numerous blogs continue to publish on the web. Many mainstream media organizations maintain blogs, such as the Shad Plank, produced by the Daily Press of Newport News. Sometimes, a blog that started as an amateur effort or a labor of love has grown into a professional news outlet. For example, the blog Charlottesville Tomorrow became the first online member of the Virginia Press Association and partners with The Daily Progress of Charlottesville. The blogs I find most interesting are ones with information and opinions I might not find in traditional media. Here is a rundown. Bearing Drift https://bearingdrift.com This blog was founded in 2004 and calls itself “Virginia’s Conservative Voice.” Its name is a nautical term, and the blog’s editors say their political philosophy parallels the U.S. Coast Guard’s “rules of the road.” “The best course of action when there is a risk of collision is to alter one’s course to starboard— the right,” the blog’s About Us page states. “In our case, we also believe this is true in public policy: When it looks like the ship of state is going to wreck, alter the course to the right—you can’t go wrong!

888-729-7428 • shavoffice@shav.org • shav.org

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Virginia’s newspapers are bleeding staff and content By DeForrest Ballou

RICHMOND — While mid-sized newspapers throughout the country are struggling to stay in business, large companies have lined up to buy them in recent years. But trying to turn newspapers into profits has led to newsroom downsizing. Virginia’s newspapers are no exception to this trend. Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, said people are ending their newspaper subscriptions because the papers are shrinking. For

Blue Virginia http://bluevirginia.us This blog, which dates to 2005, was founded by Lowell Feld, who has campaigned for Tim Kaine, JimWebb and other Democrats. “The purpose of Blue Virginia is to cover Virginia politics from a progressive and Democratic perspective—and to help elect Democrats,” Feld writes. “I consider myself a progressive in the tradition of Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, JFK, RFK and actually a bunch of progressive Republicans (e.g., Jacob Javits, Lowell Weicker). As such, I believe in expanding opportunities to all, utilizing government as a tool to promote the general welfare and the common good, protecting the environment for ourselves and for future generations, and expanding the rights promised in our Constitution and Bill of Rights to all Americans.” Sabato’s Crystal Ball http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball Since 2002, Larry Sabato and his colleagues at the University of Virginia Center for Politics have produced this blog, which they describe as “a comprehensive, nonpartisan political analysis and handicapping newsletter.” The Crystal Ball keeps tabs on presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections, forecasting the winners and analyzing trends in American politics. The blog is proud of its track record for accurate predictions but notes that “no Crystal Ball can foresee all the twists and turns of a turbulent era in American politics. Thus, our motto remains ‘He who lives by the Crystal Ball ends up eating ground glass!’” DeForrest Ballou is a student editor at VCCQM. He joined the United States Marine Corps in the summer of 2001. Afterwards, he worked for Dominion Energy for over ten years. In 2016, Ballou left Dominion Energy to pursue a degree in Print/Online Journalism at Virginia Commonwealth University under the G.I. Bill. The '5th Estate' from page 9 V Buffett’s lack of faith in his own properties impacts the newspapers that he acquired and comes at a cost. For example, last year, BHMedia Group cut 289 newspaper jobs across the country. In April 2017 the Richmond Times-Dispatch laid off 33 employees. Berkshire Hathaway’s $65.3 billion gain in net worth in 2017, according to Berkshire Hathaway’s latest shareholder’s letter--did not keep the country’s news providers off the chopping block. In February, BH Media Group cut 148 more jobs. Earlier this year, the Richmond Times-Dispatch let 18 employees go. Then, during the summer, BH Media Group handed over control of day-to-day operations to Iowa based Lee Enterprises, which Edmonds stated is a very good ad sales company. Early in September, Lee quietly laid off eight more Times- Dispatch members. Edmonds said newspapers have to become creative and find sponsorships to survive. Holding events and sending out newsletters have helped papers raise revenue, for example. Digital marketing services that assist with website design and email marketing have been a source of income as well. “The trick of it is to do a number of those different things,” Edmonds said, “because not one of them is going to make up especially for the print advertising losses.”

some, a newspaper that took 30 minutes to read now only takes 10. “A great many of the newspapers left are still doing very good work. But, perhaps not as much of it,” Edmonds said. The problems newspapers face vary and can change yearly. Newspapers need to increase digital advertising and digital subscriptions while developing other revenue streams, Edmonds said. Small-town newspapers are losing the battle in Virginia. In recent months, the Hopewell News, Hanover Herald Progress, the Caroline Progress, Clinch Valley Times and the Tazewell County Free Press have all closed their doors. Some papers that turn a profit are bought by large companies. In the commonwealth, BH Media Group, part of Berkshire Hathaway, owns nine papers in the state and reaches the most Virginians with a circulation of more than 300,000 on a weekly basis and more than 400,000 on Sundays, according to the Alliance for Audited Media circulation averages from 2012. They include: The Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Free Lance- Star, The News & Advance, The Daily Progress, Danville Register & Bee, Bristol Herald Courier, The Roanoke Times, Culpeper Star- Exponent and the Martinsville Bulletin. Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company headed by Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO worth over $90 billion. In the past, Buffett has touted himself as a fan of small-town newspapers in his annual shareholders letter, in 2013 BH Media Group owns more than 30 U.S. newspapers around the country; the largest is The Omaha World Herald. Starting in late 2011, Buffett’s company spent $350 million during a 15-month period buying newspapers all over the country. In 2012, Berkshire Hathaway acquired Media General’s newspaper division, acquiring papers in the state like the Richmond Times- Dispatch and later The Free Lance-Star. In the acquisition, Buffett provided a high-interest loan to Media General and received a generous portion of their stock. “He kind of collected three times over. He got all the papers and he got paid off on this loan,” Edmonds said. These types of purchases can be advantageous for the newspapers as well. “If you have a lot of newspapers you can have some centralized business functions,” Edmonds said. Newspapers under large companies don’t need a human resources department at every location, for example. Some positions are often consolidated, like newspaper design and sports sections. Also, advertisers may feel inclined to look for companies that can reach a national audience—a task that is easier when a company oversees several newspapers. However, print advertising and circulations are not where Buffett thought they would be. Edmonds said that in Berkshire Hathaway’s latest annual meeting, earlier this year, Buffett was discouraged with the state of his newspapers in the country.

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The Purpose of a Commonwealth: Senator Howell’s Trip to Southwest and Southside Virginia By Lydia Freeman

If you’ve ever driven through the bustling cities and manicured towns of Northern Virginia, then you know it’s different from driving down the curving roads into a hollow and stepping into a tiny gas station that doubles as a grocery. Fairfax County, Va., is one of the

As a college student, the experience in Danville was transformative for Howell. “I was from an upper middle-class suburban DC neighborhood,” explained Howell. “I was sheltered. When I went down to get Mrs. Carrow out of jail, it totally opened my eyes. It focused me and made me much more interested in politics than I had ever been before because I truly am one of the nonviolent people and want to make nonviolence work, so I felt a responsibility to become engaged.” By leaving the familiar, Howell developed a greater understanding and awareness. She has carried an appreciation for that experience throughout her life. “I want to have a better understanding the difficulties and challenges that people in different parts of Virginia are facing,” said Howell. “They’re so different.We have a thriving economy in Northern Virginia and people are making on average three times what is being made in Southwest and Southside Virginia. We all have serious problems and challenges, but we have to understand each other if we are going to live up to what a commonwealth is.” To Howell, being a part of a commonwealth means having a responsibility across the state to assist each other to make sure everyone’s life is better.

wealthiest counties in Northern Va., not to mention the Commonwealth. The median annual household income runs upwards of $100,000. Senator Janet Howell began representing the county in 1992. But this summer, Howell left Northern Virginia. to take a 10-day trip to the communities of Southwest and Southside. “Well, it started because my husband and I were reading a book called, The Extremes of Virginia . We said to each other, ‘We need to go to these areas because I don’t know them well enough.’ Then I was at a Leadership Arlington breakfast and somebody said to me, ‘Senator Howell, what are you doing to have people in the rest of the state do more for NorthernVirginia?’ I responded that if I understand them better, they might listen to me more. That’s where it started.”

One way that Howell is living up to the ideal of a commonwealth is by collaborating with Republican Will Morefield, a delegate from Southwest. “He spent a day with me explaining things and showing me around,” Howell said. “He was very impressive. We’re going to work together in the future, and we hope he’ll be able to stay a few days. He and I are so different. We’re different ages, different generations; he’s a Republican, I’m a Democrat; we’re from different regions; he’s a man, I’m a woman. There’s really no similarity. But I respect what he’s trying to do, and I want to help him.”

Howell’s trip plans to Southwest and Southside resulted in an editorial in the Roanoke Times with a proposed itinerary, as well as a link to Howell’s email and a request to send her suggestions. “They told everybody to send me ideas, and they did,” said Howell. “Dozens of people. Dozens.We were committed to the trip. Definitely committed. And I mean, I was so overwhelmed by the people. I mean, a couple of people invited us to stay at their homes, complete strangers. We didn’t do that but, I was really touched. So, we started off and we were kind of overcommitted because we tried to do what everyone wanted us to do.” “It was one of the best 10 days I’ve ever had because people were so intent on having me understand and appreciate their lives and their

“I want to make sure that we assist those two regions and we don’t put any barriers up to keep them from succeeding,” continued Howell. “I’m really interested in supporting the collaboration that’s starting down there.” Howell was concerned about these areas of Virginia because of the poverty and the despair that is often associated with them. “And what I discovered that while there is tremendous poverty and despair, there is also a lot of hope, and people are working very hard to succeed,” said Howell. August Wellmeyer authored The Extremes of Virginia , the book that motivated Howell’s trip to Southwest and Southside. Wellmeyer said his target audience was legislators who didn’t live in these areas (including Virginia’s Eastern Shore). “If they didn’t understand these areas and problems that people faced then they’re unlikely to make improvements or take legislative action,” explainedWellmeyer. “Howell is a strong advocate for her district, as she should be, and in planning this trip and the inquiries she made during this trip she showed a desire to act on behalf of the entire Commonwealth,” continuedWellmeyer. “That’s what people in the legislature are elected to do. To look out for the entire Commonwealth.” Lydia Freeman is a teacher at KIPP ENC Public Schools in Gaston, North Carolina where she pushes sixth graders to think deeply and engage with historical, social and political spheres while practicing reading and writing. She writes often, engages deeply in conversation with friends, and strives to live purposefully in her community.

HOWELL

communities,” continued Howell. “Almost 250 people came out to talk to us in one venue or another. I couldn’t do that in my own district. So, it was great. People went out of their way to talk with me, and they were very, very open and honest about the challenges facing the two regions and also about how hard they’re working to make their communities successful. It was inspiring.” For Howell, one of the most meaningful moments of the trip was in the Southside region of Danville. Howell had been a civil rights worker in Danville in 1963, and she recollected sleeping on pews in High Street Church. “Having been there in the first place changed my life,” Howell said. “It was the first time I saw a rigid segregationist power structure.” Howell described her first trip to Danville. “We were going there to because a college friend of mine’s mother had been arrested,” said Howell. “We were going to get Mrs. Carrow out of jail. And I ended up in a very tense situation. I was even knocked out briefly by some white guys. It was incredible to go back and to talk to some of the African American leaders in Danville. To hear all the progress and also knowing that there’s still a long way to go. But unlike 55 years ago, I think now the community leadership is really trying. They’re pulling together. Trust me, it wasn’t like that then.”

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Editor’s note: As we go to press,

Charlie Singleton is recovering from a serious accident. All of us at Virginia Capitol Connections

wish him a speedy and full recovery.

The Singular Charlie Singleton

By Bonnie Atwood

90Years of Living, 66Years of Marriage, 52 Years of Fire Service, and 36 Years in Lobbying. So far. Charlie Singleton is still a gentle force to be reckoned with. He’s a big, friendly man, brimming with justifiable pride when you get him on the subject of his devotion to fire service in Virginia. Singleton was born in Wake County, North Carolina, but spent most of his life in Virginia. At first it looked like his calling was farming. “I loved to farm,” he said. Through high

somehow got an invitation and “we danced several times.” The dance was followed by phone calls, romance, and marriage. Singleton visited a fire station in the course of his rounds as a telephone installer. The routine visit was abruptly cut short by an emergency call from Fairfax Circle. A Trailways Bus had overturned. Every available person was needed to respond, and Singleton, our phone man, was “ordered” to rise to the occasion. They knew that Singleton knew first aid, and that’s what was needed most. That incident in 1952 resulted in Singleton being asked to sign up as a volunteer firefighter, a job that suited him well. That was a different time. Most firefighters were volunteers. Singleton was assigned to the station in Vienna, Virginia. Thirty years later, he moved from “boots on the ground” to lobbying lawmakers, working on legislation that would be helpful for volunteer firefighters.When asked to take on this new, arguably almost as daunting, role, he claimed he knew “nothing” about lobbying. But his colleagues knew he would be good at it, and he accepted the challenge. He even describes standing beside a flickering fireplace when the decision was made. Singleton kept working as a volunteer firefighter and was even given the honor of serving as a volunteer battalion chief, supervising both paid and volunteer firefighters. Singleton later retired from active fire duty and moved to Ebony, Virginia, and eventually back to Madison Heights. He has made close friends along the way, like Jack Finley and Dickie Atkins and many others. He said his last good-bye to Finley a fewmonths ago in a funeral fit for a man who served well. Finley was carried to the cemetery in an antique fire truck with a full fire service escort, beneath banners of American flags. Singleton still works on the legislative committee of the Virginia State Firefighters Association (VSFA). (For that matter, he still lives with Vi, takes care of a beautiful home, and even cuts his own acre or so of grass). He expressed a moment of pride when telling the story of his grandson, Mark Escherich, stationed at Fort Belvoir. Escherich was instrumental in getting the use of idle helicopters for fire and emergency services in the surrounding community. Singleton has served with a kind heart and a strong hand. The best news is, he’s still going. Bonnie Atwood, J.D., is editor in chief of Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine.

school, he spent every summer on a tobacco farm, toiling to his heart’s content. ThenWorldWar II happened. He was called to military service in 1946. The war was won, but technically his country still needed men to finish the job. Singleton was no longer “behind the plow.” He was off to Fort Knox, Kentucky, Germany, and Vienna, Austria. Once there, he was assigned to the motor pool—soldiers who drove the higher ups around. He drove congressmen and senators, some generals, most often by jeep. There was one unforgettable day when he was told to drive the black Mercedes Benz of one Adolf Hitler. Singleton was discharged from the Army and joined the Army Reserve. At that point—it was 1948—he went on board with what was then called C & P Telephone Company in Lynchburg, Virginia. He worked hard as a lineman, and lived in beautiful Madison Heights, Virginia. In just two and a half years—1950—he was called back to military duty. This stint in the military took him to Kentucky, California, Japan, and Korea. He was severely hurt in Korea, though not through combat. He fell 45 feet and broke an arm and bruised a kidney. He was headed toWalter Reed Hospital, but his bed kept being taken by soldiers with worse wounds than his. Singleton was discharged in 1951 and went back to the phone company in Lynchburg. He was good at his job, and was promoted to installer/repairman in Fairfax County, Virginia. (Here’s where the story gets personal for this reporter. He spent a lot of time on the friendly street where I grew up. We were in the same time and place. We probably met, without knowing.) Life got better when he went to a dance and met the charming Vi. She was in charge of setting it up for the dental society. Singleton

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