David Sherfinski

Child-exploitation prevention in Virginia gets funds

The Virginia House voted Thursday to move hundreds of thousands of dollars to a fund devoted to combating child pornography and child exploitation in the state.

February 23, 2012

Va. Senate kills ‘personhood’ measure

The Virginia Senate on Thursday voted to re-refer a so-called "personhood" measure defining life as beginning at conception back to committee, killing it for the 2012 session.

February 23, 2012

McDonnell pushes amendments to ultrasound bill

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Wednesday announced his support to amend a bill requiring women to undergo ultrasound imaging before having an abortion.

February 22, 2012

Labor pact for Dulles Metrorail opposed

A Northern Virginia delegate has inserted language into the House's proposed budget to effectively negate a proposed incentive for firms bidding on Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail project to use a labor agreement that many say favors unions.

February 21, 2012

Virginia budget likely to stall in Senate

A leading Democrat said Sunday the Senate's budget probably would not pass the full chamber at this point, potentially throwing the process of approving Virginia's two-year, $85 billion spending proposal into a protracted partisan standoff.

February 19, 2012

Advocacy group fears broader implications of ‘personhood’

Whitney Anderson of Roanoke has always wanted to become a mother. Stricken with a disease, she had tried in vitro fertilization but lost five pregnancies. Now she wonders if, under Virginia's proposed "personhood" bill, she would have been held criminally liable.

February 16, 2012

McDonnell to Senate Democrats: Get it together

Gov. Bob McDonnell says he is becoming "increasingly concerned" with the lack of "substantive ideas" put forth by state Senate Democrats as legislators in both General Assembly chambers prepare to release their respective budget proposals Sunday.

February 16, 2012

Virginia Republicans push back against critics of their agenda

Virginia Republicans insisted at a Wednesday press conference that their legislative agenda has focused on jobs, education, government reform and public safety.

February 15, 2012

Virginia house advances bill for transportation funding

The General Assembly on Tuesday advanced bills that would infuse more money into Virginia's transportation system, while the Senate failed to approve a measure passed in the House that would make it easier to fire teachers.

February 14, 2012

Virginia House vote states life starts at conception

The Virginia House of Delegates approved legislation Tuesday that would define life as beginning at conception, setting up a potential clash in the state Senate and another high-stakes battle over a measure that has been beaten back elsewhere in the country in recent years.

February 14, 2012

With assembly control, GOP pushing through its agenda

In his State of the Commonwealth address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell advised Republicans: Don't be arrogant. Don't overreach. During the first half of the General Assembly session, he's largely heeded his own advice.

February 13, 2012

Va. Senate approves property rights constitutional amendment

The Virginia Senate on Monday signed off on a major priority of Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, approving a constitutional amendment stipulating that private property can only be taken for public use.

February 13, 2012

Repeal of Va. one-gun-a-month law on way to McDonnell’s desk

The Virginia Senate on Monday passed the House bill that repeals the state's longstanding law limiting handgun purchases to one per month, sending the legislation to the desk of Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has said he would sign it.

February 13, 2012

‘Personhood’ bill advances in Va. House

The Virginia House of Delegates on Monday gave preliminary approval to a so-called "personhood" measure defining life as beginning at conception, perhaps the most far-reaching proposed measure on abortion introduced thus far during the 2012 General Assembly session.

February 13, 2012

In Virginia legislature, transit measures not in express lane

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's pledge for big solutions this year to Virginia's perpetual transportation problems has stalled in the House and Senate, with both chambers advancing significantly watered-down versions of his agenda despite Republicans' stronghold on the General Assembly.

February 12, 2012

Va. Democrats, Republicans: No, we can’t just get along

Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly are trading accusations that each is focusing too much on divisive and controversial issues, with both sides saying the other is overplaying GOP-led legislation on abortion, gun control and voting rights thus far during the 2012 session.

February 11, 2012