By Susan Laume: After two bills which would have removed some of the medically unnecessary impediments to women’s abortion care were defeated by the Virginia Senate Health and Education Committee on Thursday, Jan. 17, Virginia’s leaders reaffirmed their support for women to make their own reproductive decisions. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, and Attorney General Mark Herring…
By Susan Laume: Since the Diversion First program began three years ago in Fairfax County offering an alternative to jail for those experiencing a mental health crisis and facing a first arrest, detentions have dropped by nearly 20% in the Adult Detention Center population, according to Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid. “Diversion First remains a top priority and one of our biggest…
By Karen Kirk: By a bipartisan vote, the Virginia Senate voted Tuesday to pass the Equal Rights Amendment Resolution by a 26-14 vote with 7 Republicans joining all 19 Senate Democrats. Now the resolution faces a more difficult road to passage in the House of Delegates, which has never cleared it. Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, chairman of the Privileges and…
Most schools were closed Monday after six to 12 inches of snow fell on Northern Virginia. Children enjoyed the day sledding, making snowmen and having snowball fights while grownups shoveled snow or took a walk in the woods. It was the biggest snow in the Washington area since January 2016 (officially 5.4 inches at Reagan National through 1 p.m.), according…
Dr. Ibraheem Samirah, a Herndon-based dentist, won the Democratic Party caucus on Jan 12 for state House District 86 with 36% of the 2,047 votes cast. Coming in second was Kofi Annan, head of the Fairfax County NAACP, with 30%, followed by Michael O’Reilly and Chad Thompson. Complete election results, provided by the Samirah campaign, are here: Samirah said, “I…
Dr. Ibraheem Samirah, a dentist and Herndon resident, has won the Democratic party caucus to represent the party in the special election on Tuesday Feb 19 to fill a seat, state House District 86, left vacant when Jennifer Boysko was elected to the state senate to replace Jennifer Wexton who was elected to Congress last November. Samirah grew up in…
Democratic voters in Virginia House District 86 will vote Saturday, Jan. 12, for a candidate to represent the party in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Jennifer Boysko, who recently was elevated to the state senate to replace Jennifer Wexton, who won a seat in Congress last November. Four candidates are competing in the caucus to gain…
Over 1,000 Fairfax County employees and invited guests filled the Government Center auditorium on Tuesday, Jan. 8, for the New Year’s Reception hosted by Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova. The outgoing chair has presided over this privately funded event every year during her two terms of office. It is the chair’s way of giving thanks to county employees and volunteers…
By Susan Laume: The Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club presented Virginia Del. Kathy Tran (D-42) with their Energy Freedom Award on Sunday, Jan. 6, citing her sponsorship of two bills in last year’s legislative session supporting solar energy. Although the bills did not pass, Sierra Club spokesperson Susan Stillman said in presenting the award that Tran’s sponsorship was important…
By Susan Laume: The Fairfax County state legislative delegation held a public forum on January 5, listening to citizens’ concerns in advance of the start of the 2019 Session of the General Assembly on January 9. Nearly 100 individuals and groups registered in advance for an opportunity to speak to their Virginia delegates and senators collectively. Presenters were allotted three minutes…
By Dr. Vivian Thomson: Is an African American community in rural Virginia the right place to put a massive compressor station for a natural gas pipeline? This is the question the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board will consider at their meeting Tuesday, January 8. The compressor for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is one of only three along the 600-mile planned…
Ed. Note: Are you making resolutions for the New Year? Tell us about them! newsletter@fairfaxdemocrats.org By Mala Rajamani: As I disentangle from the anticipations, the optimism and the ‘joie de vivre’ of the holiday season, and peer into the year to come, I ponder my resolutions for 2019. Silly you say? After all a day is any day is any…
Virginia refers more of its public school students, in percentage terms, to police than any other state. Now Northern Virginia state legislators want to address this troubling problem in the upcoming General Assembly session starting Jan. 9th in Richmond. Seven local legislators, all Democrats, held a forum recently in the Richard Byrd Library in Springfield, Va., to discuss the dysfunction…
By Brandon Thurner: “What are Abby’s views on energy, specifically nuclear power?” “We commute to work – what can Abby do to fix the traffic back-ups on I-95?” The young couple had recently relocated to central Virginia from deep-red Alabama and typically voted Republican. But they were curious when a real life Democrat knocked on their door. And so they…