The report from the Center for Effective Lawmaking attempts to measure how legislators perform. Not surprisingly, majority party members outrank minority ones.
Dwayne Yancey
Yancey is founding editor of Cardinal News. His opinions are his own. You can reach him at dwayne@cardinalnews.org or 540-529-1136.
Not all of Virginia’s independence story was made by men in white wigs. Here’s what we’ve learned about our history.
Our Cardinal 250 series has shared stories about lesser-known people who helped Virginia, and the nation, secure independence.
The first newspaper to report on the Declaration of Independence published in German
There was only one newspaper in Philadelphia that published on Friday, July 5, 1776. It was a German-language newspaper and got the scoop about what the Continenal Congress had done the day before.
10 questions about Virginia’s new laws and budget
Here are some laws and budget items where it may take years to figure out their impact.
John Adams despised one Virginian in particular, calling him ‘obscene,’ ‘profane’ and ‘impious.’ It wasn’t Jefferson.
Benjamin Harrison was known for being a steadying influence at the Continental Congress and was respected enough that he was chosen to preside over the debates on independence. He also had a wit and a taste for food and drink that offended some New Englanders.
Now that Virginia has a budget, 5 questions about what happens next
The adoption of a budget ends one chapter and opens another. Here are the highlights.
Jefferson wanted to condemn slavery in the Declaration of Independence. Congress said no.
Jefferson also wanted to condemn Lord Dunmore’s Emancipation Proclamation that offered freedom to Virginia’s slaves in exchange for fighting with the British, but Congress watered that down to the point where you wouldn’t recognize it unless you knew the back story.
Jefferson gets the acclaim for independence, but it was another Virginian who first proposed a formal break from Britain
Richard Henry Lee has become something of a forgotten founder, reduced to a comic figure in the musical “1776” or ignored altogether. But he was the one who first formally proposed that the Continental Congress declare the Colonies independent.
With budget amendments, Spanberger and General Assembly Democrats appear to have achieved peace
The most significant amendment might be the one that would allow the state to accept the Loudoun County home of former President James Monroe as a state park.
The continuing saga of a property dispute, or the bear is back
It’s that time of year when wildlife wanders out of the woods and into our yards. Bear are the biggest problem near the Blue Ridge, but deer are the biggest problem statewide.

