Virginia Podcasting Network

The U.S. Supreme Court has been in its current term for just over a month now, and there have already been some interesting cases. Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor at Slate and legal commentator for National Public Radio, joined Coy Barefoot on the November 17, 2008 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to discuss some of the highlights. She and Coy also discuss the end of the presidential campaign, the role Islamophobia played in the race, and why Virginia played such an important role.

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Fairfax Delegate Margi Vanderhye discusses the importance of alternative and renewable energy, and how Virginians can help to lead the way in weaning our nation off of foreign oil. This year, Del. Vanderhye passed legislation that requires utility companies to provide consumers with information on how to purchase energy from renewable resources.

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This week, the U.S. Census Bureau released new figures on poverty in America. Michael Cassidy of the Commonwealth Institute joined Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to break down the numbers in Virginia. (Click here for their report)

“Virginia actually saw a significant increase in the poverty rate, increasing from 9.6% to 9.9%,” Cassidy said. That translates to over 740,000 Virginians making below the poverty threshold as defined by the federal government.

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Republican incumbent Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. and Democratic Challenger Tom Perriello spoke at a Senior Statesmen of Virginia event held August 13th, 2008 at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following opening statements by the candidates, questions were taken from members of the audience. Senior Statesmen board member and treasurer, Bob McAdams, moderated the program.

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Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. is a lifelong resident of Franklin County and currently resides in Rocky Mount, Virginia. He is married to the former Lucy D. Dodson and has a daughter named Catherine. Congressman Goode completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond where he received his Bachelors of Arts degree in 1969. While a student at the University of Richmond, Congressman Goode was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies. Following his graduation from the University of Richmond, Congressman Goode attended the University of Virginia School of Law where he received a J.D. in 1973. During that time, he was selected for the Virginia Law Review. In 1973, at age 27, Congressman Goode was elected to the Commonwealth of Virginia Senate. He served as the 20th District Senator in the Virginia General Assembly until 1996 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives serving the 5th District of Virginia. He was sworn in to office in the 105th, in January 1997, and has served continuously since then.

Congressman Goode now divides his time between serving in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. and being in the 5th District. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Interior and Environment and the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.

Tom Perriello, the youngest of four children of Vito and Linda Perriello, was born and raised in the fifth district and lives in Albemarle County a few miles from where he grew up. Tom is a product of Murray, Meriwether Lewis, Henley and Western Albemarle High School and graduated from St. Anne’s Belfield. From an early age, he was taught that a strong faith is a lived faith. His parents raised him to believe that to whom much is given, much is expected, and those lessons have shaped his lifelong commitment to service. Tom was an Eagle Scout in the Stonewall Jackson Area Council. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University. He is presently a guest lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law. After receiving his law degree from Yale University, Tom accepted an assignment working to end atrocities in the West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, which had suffered long civil wars fueled by blood diamonds. Tom’s work with child soldiers, amputees, and local pro-democracy groups in Sierra Leone played a significant role in the peace and reconciliation process that ended twelve years of violence in that country.

Tom became Special Advisor and spokesperson for the International Prosecutor during the showdown that forced Liberian dictator Charles Taylor from power without firing a shot. After this success, Tom served as a national security analyst for the Century Foundation. He has worked inside Darfur and twice in Afghanistan. He has worked on justice-based security strategies in Afghanistan and Kosovo, prosecuted warlords in Sierra Leone, and developed alternative peace strategies to curb acts of genocide in Darfur. He has been a consultant to the International Center for Transitional Justice and the National Council of Churches of Christ, an analyst for AfghanistanWatch, and a Fellow with The Century Foundation. He is a founding partner of Res Publica, which develops innovative solutions to global justice and security threats. Tom also co-founded Avaaz.org, an international on-line community of 1.5 million members, operating in 12 languages, dedicated to building a global response to “problems without borders,” such as climate change.

Former Governor and Republican Senate candidate Jim Gilmore joins Coy Barefoot on the July 28 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Gilmore is touring the state as part of his Working Families tour, and will be in Charlottesville at Sam’s Kitchen at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, July 30. He says that people are hurting from high gasoline prices, and that he’ll work to address that issue when he’s Senator. “We’ve got to have more domestic oil production and energy production, we’ve got to drill in ANWR and bring that oil in, and we’ve got drill off-shore,” Gilmore said. He said his opponent, fellow former Governor Mark Warner, won’t support those things.

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Senator Jim Webb’s new book is called A Time To Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America and he joined Coy Barefoot on the July 17, 2008 edition of WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now! with Coy Barefoot. Webb recently took his name out of the running for the vice presidency, because he wants to stay in the Senate. “We’re doing good things and I need to stay here,” Webb said. He also chats with Coy about bipartisan efforts helped get a new G.I. Bill passed, his wish to reform this country’s drug policy, and what to do about the oil crisis.

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Ralph Nader defines political activism for many Americans, though many also attribute George W. Bush’s presidency to Nader’s presidential run in 2000. Now, Nader is running again as an independent and will be at the Gravity Lounge on Sunday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM for a rally. Coy Barefoot spoke with Nader before the event to get a preview of what he’ll be saying this time around. Nader says Wall Street is ruining the country by taking too many risks, and points to the credit crisis as evidence. He also weighs in on the possibility of an Iranian invasion, the oil crisis, and outlines what a Nader presidency would do for the country. (photo by David Shankbone)

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On the June 12th edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Coy Barefoot talks with Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (R) about the upcoming special session on transportation. Bolling summed up the prospects for the special session.

“There’s just no consensus… my fear is we’re going to go there on the 23rd, it’s going to be very short, its going to be very non-productive,” Bolling said., “I just don’t see a consensus building right now, and again it’s always possible that it could happen here in the next few days, but right now it seems highly unlikely.”

Governor Tim Kaine (D) has presented a plan that would increase fees for vehicle registration and increase taxes on car purchases, as well as levy a one cent sales tax increase on residents in Northern Virginia.

Bolling made it clear that he is opposed to such tax increases, stating his view that “there’s never really a good time to raise taxes, but frankly this is a horrible time to raise taxes because of the state of the economy.”

He also painted the Democrats in the General Assembly as out of touch with Virginia voters, arguing that there’s agreement between Republican lawmakers and voters.

“The problem in Richmond is not a lack of money, the problem in Richmond is a lack of fiscal discipline. We’ve got enough money through existing revenue sources to solve our transportation problems if we just use that money for transportation, as opposed to spending it on all of these new and expanded government programs, and the people of Virginia are a step ahead of the members of the General Assembly.”

Bolling outlined his proposals for solving the transportation problem without raising taxes. He said that reserving just 1% of the existing state sales tax for the transportation trust fund would result in approximately $950 million a year for transportation. As an alternative, he mentioned the possibility of requiring 10% of future revenue growth to go towards transportation expenses; he said that if the state had adopted this policy 10 years ago, it would have generated $800 million over the past decade. Bolling also laid out his plan for budget surpluses, arguing that “those budget surpluses are by definition one-time money, I think they should be used to fund one-time things like capital projects, building roads and bridges.”

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On May 14th, 2008, The Senior Statesmen of Virginia hosted Senator Emmett Hanger, a Republican who is in his third term representing the Shenandoah Valley and a section of Albemarle County. Hanger reviewed the recently concluded General Assembly session, and discussed Governor Tim Kaine’s plan to raise money for transportation.

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Bio from the Senior Statesmen:

Emmett Hanger (Republican) is the senator for the 24th Senate District which includes a part of Albemarle, Rockbridge, and Rockingham, and all of Augusta, Greene, Highland, and the Cities of Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro.

Serving nine years in the House of Delegates and now in his third term in the Senate, Emmett has always been pro-business and as a Republican believes in the philosophy of limited government and fiscal conservatism. He values the protection of individual rights, coupled with a keen sense of individual responsibility. He chairs the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee, and serves on the Senate Committees on Finance; Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; Local Government; and Rules. He also is very involved with matters dealing with education, mental health, and the environment. Emmett co-chaired the Legislative Subcommittee, which he patroned, to reform Virginia’s Tax Code. In addition, Emmett chairs the Commonwealth Competition Council, which is a pro-business organization that helps state agencies and private businesses thrive, and he is the immediate past chairman and currently a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a multi-state commission. Emmett also is an active participant with the National Conference of State Legislatures; formerly serving on their Executive Committee, and now chairing the Budget and Revenues Committee.

Emmett holds numerous other leadership positions including chair of the Comprehensive Services Act Study Commission; chair of the Land Conservation and PDR Funding Joint Study; chair of the Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind Advisory Commission; member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Rural Virginia and of the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation; co-chair of the Virginia General Assembly Sportsman Caucus; and a Board of Trustees member for the New College Institute in Martinsville, Virginia. In his spare time and for fun he chairs the State Song Committee. As a former Commissioner of the Revenue for Augusta County, Emmett is well-versed in key business-related issues on both the local and state levels. He is a graduate of James Madison University with an MBA in Accounting and a BS in Management and Economics. Born and raised in Augusta County, Emmett is married with five children and four grandchildren. Within his community, he is a Ruritan, teaches Sunday School, and is chairman emeritus and current member of the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia Board of Trustees. He is the former Commander of the Harrisonburg National Guard and obtained the rank of Captain in the US Army as an Infantry Officer. He loves politics, country music, and basketball (not necessarily in that order).

This recording was made by Dan Daniels.

Former Governor Jim Gilmore joined Coy Barefoot on the May 5 edition of WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to talk about his campaign for the Senate. Gilmore is competing with Delegate Bob Marshall for the Republican nomination for the seat being vacated by Senator John Warner. The GOP will decide at a convention later this month.

“We’ve been working hard to win this race,” said Gilmore, who was elected in 1997 and served for a brief time as the head of the Republican National Committee after leaving the Governor’s mansion. Now, he’s campaigning against the man replaced him, Mark Warner.

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