Richmond, VA - Delegate Mark Sickles (D-Franconia), recently elected chair of the House Democratic Caucus, unveiled his legislative agenda for the 2012 General Assembly Session last week.  In addition to protecting funding for classroom education from Pre-K to PhD, and opposing proposed cuts to basic human services to pave roads, Delegate Sickles has introduced a variety of bills, including a bill to increase sanctions on those who financially exploit senior citizens, to enhance identity protection for law enforcement officers, to conserve the shark population, to promote renewable energy conservation, and to use year-end surpluses to refund the recent raids on the Virginia Retirement System.

Winters in Virginia can mean snow or subfreezing temperatures, as well as strong winds or even ice or heavy rain storms. Winter weather can knock out heat, power and communications services to your home or office, sometimes for days at a time.

Click 'Winter Weather' above for more information

I want to give you some exciting news ­­­ — Saturday morning I was elected Caucus Chair by my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus.  Our new elected leadership team is headed up by a very talented former Mayor and close friend, Delegate David Toscano of Charlottesville.  As our new Minority Leader, David heads up a strong cadre of Delegates that are ready to build a team for the future.  The Washington Post has more about this here.  I am so proud to be serving the Democratic Party in this new role, and I look forward to working with you to meet the challenges ahead. 

The U.S. Army’s Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. is closing as part of the latest BRAC round of consolidations and relocations.  In addition to the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital for acute care, the Wounded Warrior rehabilitation program is being split between Bethesda Naval Hospital and Fort Belvoir.  With these needed changes comes a shuffle of resources among both the Armed Forces and the key non-profit charities that support their efforts.  I recently visited the new Wounded Warrior barracks and facilities with Base Commander Col. Strycula and key command officials to find out what the local community can do to assist them.

Please Join….

Terry McAuliffe
Former Chairman of the DNC, Chairman of GreenTech Automotive, and former candidate for Governor

For a Labor Day Weekend Barbeque
in support of
Delegate Mark Sickles

Virginia's sixth annual back-to-school sales tax holiday will take place Aug. 5-7. During this three-day period, many school supplies and clothing items will be exempt from the state and local sales tax, easing the financial burden of families as they prepare to send their children back to school.

By Robert Thomson, Published: June 4

As the D.C. region’s leaders struggle over financing the Dulles Metrorail extension, they might find some comfort in reviewing a nine-year-old headline about threats to another important transportation project: “Rising Cost Jeopardizing New Bridge.”

That’s the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge, the one that now carries several hundred thousand vehicles a day over the Potomac River. In 2002, an unacceptably high construction bid was just the latest in a string of political and financial threats to one of the region’s top transportation priorities.

Delegate Sickles has been working on these issues since 2008 and is happy that the Governor has seen fit to fund these programs. Delegate Sickles carried the legislation in the 2009 session that created the Commonwealth Research and Commercialization Fund.

Governor Bob McDonnell today directed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to immediately start a coordinated campaign to patch the thousands of potholes that formed this winter across the Commonwealth. VDOT will use state and contractor resources to quickly identify and repair potholes on Virginia’s highway system. Citizens are encouraged to assist this effort and report potholes to VDOT’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-FOR-ROAD.