Pod Virginia

IN THE NEWS:

Place Your Bets: Virginia may soon have four casinos up and running by 2025. Last week, members of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission received a report titled “Oversight and Administration of Gaming in the Commonwealth" which details the pros, cons, and recommendations for Virginia casinos going forward.

Another new report from JLARC maps out ways to reduce the tax burden on low-income people while leaning more on wealthy people to balance the books--primarily, fixing the tax brackets that were set more than 30 years ago and adjusting them for the modern day.

Zoning for the Missing Middle: When the JLARC outlined ways lawmakers in Richmond could increase the stock of affordable housing last year, hopes were high. But then the General Assembly failed to take action. Now JLARC director Hal Greer listed last year's recommendations on affordable housing as unimplemented but important recommendations for the 1 in 3 Virginians who are considered "cost burdened" by housing.

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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

Michael is out with a new book! "The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization"
https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Machine-Virginia-Conservative-Organization/dp/1467139203

Check out Michael's launch party today, Thursday 10/20 at 7 PM at the Atheneum in Alexandria, Virginia!

On this episode, Pod Virginia producer Aaryan Balu interviews Michael Pope about his new book, "The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization." They discuss the origins of machine politics in the early 20th century, the legacy of Byrd's anti-union and massive resistance positions, and the ways echoes of the machine still resonate in Virginia politics.

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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

Live from the Linden Row Inn in Richmond, Virginia, where we attended the RESONATE Podcast Festival this weekend! https://www.resonatepodfest.com/

IN THE NEWS:

New polling numbers from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University reveal a host of interesting results: Virginians overwhelmingly support legal abortions, but also show narrow majority support for a 15-week ban. Meanwhile, President Biden's approval rating sits around 40%, with Governor Youngkin at around 50%.

Former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman is endorsing Democrat Abigail Spanberger in a new ad--joining a long tradition of cross-party support in Virginia politics.

Natural gas is leading the list of items rising in price on the new Consumer Price Index--along with food and other household items. With energy prices tied so heavily to the world economy and Russia in particular, that rise in prices has far-reaching geopolitical implications.


Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

Michael is out with a new book! "The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization"
https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Machine-Virginia-Conservative-Organization/dp/1467139203

Dr. Jatia Wrighten, Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University, joins Thomas and Michael to discuss a notable political trend--that Black women are more likely to win seats in state legislatures and achieve leadership positions at a faster rate than both Black men and white women. To explain this phenomenon, she discusses her "heavy lifters" theory, which suggests Black women have been historically burdened with the responsibility of carrying their communities--a unique shared outcome of American slavery and their experience targeted by both racism and sexism. In this conversation, they discuss the outcomes of this theory and how it relates to Virginia politics--particularly last year's gubernatorial election, which saw three Black women running for the position.

Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

Michael is out with a new book! "The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization"
https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Machine-Virginia-Conservative-Organization/dp/1467139203

IN THE NEWS:

Collective bargaining in the classroom: With restrictions against public-sector collective bargaining removed, teachers, firefighters, and other government employees have now been allowed to organize. Research shows that collective bargaining helps morale, staffing retention, and educator pay, giving teachers more say in their job. Richmond's school system has been the fastest to organize, but other school districts aren't far behind.

Wartime profiteering: new orders for defense capital goods are steadily increasing, according to new numbers from the Census Bureau. Like it or not, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is profitable for Virginia's military-industrial complex, with the state's access to D.C. and logistics command at nearby Fort Lee. As the war continues, the demand for weapons shows no signs of stopping.

The welcome project: While there's a long history of state governors getting publicity by re-issuing road maps and welcome messages with their own names and faces, a new scandal faces the Youngkin administration: Virginia's latest ad campaign was produced by Poolhouse Media, which helped then-candidate Youngkin win the governorship. Their bid was prepared on the first day the contract became available--easily beating out the other bidders, including the longstanding Martin Agency.

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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

Christine Kuglin, Director of Truth in Accounting's Daniels College of Business, explains how Virginia's constitutionally-required "balanced budget" can be reconciled with the Commonwealth's billion-dollar debt burden. While some debt can be good, it also carries risk, such as when worker pensions are leveraged and tied to stocks and bonds.

Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

IN THE NEWS:

The conservative Heritage Foundation recently gave Virginia a perfect score on its "Election Integrity Scorecard" because of the strong security around its election drop boxes. As Michael and Thomas discuss, that news directly counters fearmongering around election integrity issues in the state.

Researchers at Virginia colleges are on the cutting edge of semiconductor research--that's paired with an attempt by Virginia lawmakers to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Three sites are currently being marketed by the Youngkin administration, mostly in Southside Virginia, representing billions of dollars in potential revenue and improved security.

Governor Youngkin says Virginia's new new accreditation standards reflect a broken system that doesn't measure learning loss or the achievement gaps--but education experts say the new system encourages improvement and doesn't punish schools with struggling students.

At the Watercooler: A New York Times investigation reveals that Bon Secours hospital chain was committing fraud--taking federal dollars intended to help low-income citizens access life-saving medicine, and distributing that money to wealthier people in the medical system.

The comment period for Virginia's latest guidelines on transgender students is now open through October 25th. You can leave a public comment here: https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/Comments.cfm?GdocForumID=1953

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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

Markus Schmidt of Cardinal News joins the show to discuss the contentious Republican primary for Virginia's 47th District, where redistricting pits two incumbents against each other, Marie March and Wren Williams.

March filed criminal charges against Williams for assault and battery, alleging he shoved her at a GOP event. Schmidt discuses the security camera footage and political implications.


Cardinal News on the story: https://cardinalnews.org/2022/09/26/surveillance-video-of-march-williams-incident-doesnt-show-confrontation/

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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

IN THE NEWS:

Republican Delegate Phillip Scott says Virginia's 45-day early voting period is too long, causing an undue burden on Virginia's registrars and Department of Elections. Thomas and Michael discuss early voting and the possibility of getting a recurring absentee ballot sent directly to your house.

Transparency in government: Senator Mark Warner has introduced the Financial Data Transparency Act, which would require state and local governments to submit financial documents in a machine-readable format--something private corporations have been required to do for years. This would make it easier to read, research, and verify financial information in government documents.

New state guidelines for school districts suggest policies that would allow teachers to misgender students. Delegate Danica Roem had some choice words in response to the new policy, which currently has no enforcement mechanisms. Public comments can be provided at the Virginia Townhall website: https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/GDocForum.cfm?GDocForumID=1953

Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, Associate Professor of Political Science and Research Lab Director of the Judy Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the hotly contested midterm election for Virginia's 2nd District. Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria faces a challenge from Republican Jen Kiggans in a newly-redrawn district: what do these candidates want their voters to take away and how will the election shape up?


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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia