Editor’s Note: Public reports state that two non-profit organizations based in Falls Church are being investigated by the attorneys general in Virginia and New York for apparently overspending on fund-raising and salaries, leaving little for their ostensible mission of aiding…
Category: Issues
VA-10 Candidates face off in wide-ranging forum
By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick: The six candidates vying to run for the 10th Congressional District seat met Sunday afternoon in a moderated discussion forum at Colvin Run Elementary School in Vienna, Va. The winner of the June 12th primary will…
Great solar projects are hiding in plain sight all around us
By Joseph Plummer: I was recently asked to sign a petition in favor of 100% renewable energy in Fairfax County . It seemed like a no-brainer. But then I started to think about how to achieve this goal, especially with…
Candidate Question Time: Republican tax reform
Each week until the Va-10 congressional district Democratic Party primary election on June 12, The Blue View will ask all six candidates to respond to a key question on an important issue in 100 words or less. This week’s question: What one…
The cynical logic of voting against the environment
By Brad Swanson: In light of Earth Day on April 22, it is hard for me to enter the mind of a Congress member whose voting score on the environment is barely above zero – especially when her colleagues in…
First Person: Gun violence nightmare persists from school to parenthood
By Kenny Bledsoe: Editor’s Note: Remembering the Columbine mass murder of April 20, 1999, on its 19th anniversary. I was in 9th grade when two teenagers donned black trench coats, armed themselves to the teeth, and set about systematically murdering 12 of…
“We Will Not Forget,” say protesters at NRA Vigil
By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick: Dramatic testimony from school shooting survivors drew a larger than usual crowd of a few hundred protesters at the monthly vigil last Saturday outside National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, VA. Jenny Wadhwa, a survivor of…
Civilian Panel Targets Abuse by Fairfax County Police
By Jim O’Connell: Steve Descano goes out night after night looking for trouble. Not trying to start some, he’s trying to resolve it. Descano is a member of the Fairfax County Police Civilian Review Panel, which reviews complaints of abuse…
The killing field of gun safety bills in the Virginia House
Editor’s Note: Second in a two-part series on gun-related bills in the recently concluded state legislative session. Part 1 dealt with the Senate and was posted on April 2. This Part 2 deals with the House of Delegates By Ben…
A winning economic message for Democrats: Government works
By William Berkson: Republican “trickle down” policies have failed spectacularly. But their anti-government economic narrative retains a hold on the electorate. In 2016, despite the long Obama era economic recovery, 3% more voters thought Trump would handle the economy best.…
Dogs walk their owners into higher levels of political activism
by Holly Hazard: Wouldn’t it be great to just sit at home and have voters come knocking asking how they might get more actively involved instead of you volunteering with a list and a clip board and going door-to-door? One…
How to keep popular vote losers like Trump and Bush out of the White House
By Brad Swanson: Marcus Simon remembers vividly the feelings of despondency and helplessness he saw around him as reality set in – despite winning 2.9 million more votes than Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton had lost the 2016 presidential election. “The…
Climate rescue starts in your own backyard
By Mark Richer: Climate change is the most local of issues, as well as the most global. More than 90% of extra heat trapped by our atmosphere because of carbon emissions is absorbed in oceans spanning the globe. But the…
Connolly and Guzman predict continued victories for Democrats at national and state level
by Brad Swanson: Two prominent Virginia elected officials took turns Saturday night at a fund-raising event to celebrate recent Democratic victories and rally party members to take over the House and Virginia state legislature. Speaking first, Va. Del. Elizabeth Guzman…