Wednesday, August 27, 2014
State and Local Stories
The trial of Virginia's last governor on federal corruption charges involving $177,000 of gifts and loans to family members continues isn't changing current Gov. Terry McAuliffe's stance that a crackdown on gifts is long overdue. “Nobody should be giving you gifts, why is anybody giving you gifts," McAuliffe said, during a visit to Newport News to announce a 500-job expansion at the auto parts firm Continental. "Outside of ceremonial keys or hats and things like that, he shouldn’t be involved in that," McAuliffe said, when asked about former Gov. Bob Mcdonnell's trial. "You’re a public servant, your job is to serve the public, and you should not open the door to any questions to ethics by people who have improperly given you gifts,” he added.
Daily Press
Lobbyists spent 10 percent less wining and dining Virginia lawmakers during this year’s session compared to the previous year, but it’s unclear if the slight dip is a result of the scandal over gifts received by former governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his family. While overall spending declined from $701,144 adjusted for inflation to $639,739, the number of events reported increased 15 percent from 804 to 925. The data comes from an analysis released Tuesday by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.
Washington Post
Caroline County officials may have found a new way to collect owed personal property taxes from the county’s biggest debtors. At several meetings during the past few months, the Board of Supervisors have discussed publishing the names of people who have not paid their taxes for 2008 to 2013 in the newspaper and on the county’s website. At its Tuesday meeting, the board voted to move forward with publishing the names, but will continue to discuss whether it will be all the names, or just a certain amount, such as the top 100 or 500 names.
Free Lance-Star
A Shenandoah County supervisor and its sheriff on Tuesday sparred over claims that leaders turned down a "no-cost" option for a local jail. At the Board of Supervisors meeting, Sheriff Timothy Carter responded to Chairman David Ferguson's questions about the statements in a local newspaper that elected leaders rejected an offer to build a new jail with federal assets forfeiture money. The chairman has repeatedly refuted Carter's claims and asked the sheriff to respond. "My personal opinion is we need to move on," Carter said. "That's mine, too," Ferguson said. However, Carter and Ferguson spent the next 10 minutes going back and forth about the sheriff's statements.
Northern Virginia Daily
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