Just a week or so until the 140 members of the General Assembly descend on Richmond for a 60-day session that includes the arrival of a new governor and new GOP majority in the House of Delegates.
I thought Del. Kathleen Murphy (D-McLean-Great Falls) put it best in our coverage. She plans a “more measured” approach to proposing legislation this year, she said. One figures other Northern Virginia Democrats would do the same: focus on matters that might have a chance of enactment, rather than pushing agendas that are doomed to fail, at least in 2022.
(Murphy also told us that Gov.-elect Youngkin already had reached out to her, and was gracious. Smart move of the incoming governor to check in and play nice with all legislators. Over the course of time, he’ll need each and every one on certain issues.)
I’ll be keeping an eye on the General Assembly’s Legislative Information System, which tracks all the bills. So far it’s been largely a trickle that have been posted, but it soon will be a flood.
A ‘THANK YOU’ TO A DEPARTED LEGISLATOR: Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria-Arlington) lost a bid for renomination last year, and will not be a part of the 2022 legislative session. But his impact will continue to be felt, as Levine pushed for more transparency, such as livestreaming committee meetings, which helped drag the legislature into the 21st century — a little late, but so be it.
MY NEW BEST FRIEND! As an aside before getting to the meat of the matter, so to speak, it was some years back that, during a political gathering of Arlington folk, one of the younger-ish crowd opined to no one in particular that, “I was 12 when I met my best friend.”
Everyone else was busy jabbering away, so I was the only one who caught the joke. Not sure whether the teller was hoping somebody would, or wanted it to go over the collective head of the gathering.
But anyway, as of this past weekend, I have a new best friend: A $110 steam-cleaning machine purchased via Home Depot, which I’m using to remove all the accumulated grunge of my condo in preparation for (possibly) putting it on the market.
Add 48 ounces of distilled water, wait 8 minutes for it to heat up, point, squeeze the trigger and blast away. It’s a marvel!
Sunday was the kitchen; yesterday was supposed to be the bathroom, although the timetable got delayed due to the storm. Windows, sofas, even eyeglasses — they’re all going to get blasted in coming days.
— Scott McCaffrey