Markus Schmidt of Cardinal News joins the show to break down the interesting Republican Primary in Virginia's 5th Congressional District, as Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good is facing a challenge from John McGuire. Good might be vulnerable after initially endorsing Ron DeSantis for president last year, and now faces accusations of being insufficiently loyal to Trump. What's likely to come from this race, and do Democrats have a chance at taking the seat?

IN THE NEWS:

1. Forget public hearings and committee meetings--Virginia’s next budget will be crafted in secret behind closed doors with no input from the public and no transparency after lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement this week.

2. One of the most contentious debates in the General Assembly this year was the debate over what happens with slot-machine style gaming machines in convenience stores and truck stops. The governor's amendment limiting where the machines can be located was overwhelmingly rejected by the Senate.

3. Schools across Virginia are crumbling, which is why Senator Jeremy McPike of Prince William County introduced a bill to allow local governments to impose a sales tax to finance school construction.  Some Republicans supported the original bill. But McPike was unable to persuade enough of them to get a supermajority vote to override the governor's veto.

At the Watercooler:

• Congresswoman Spanberger has made her first endorsement--Leslie Mehta, an ACLU lawyer who represented Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler 

• Even Tennessee's legislature has open conference committees! Why can't Virginia?

Kelly McBride, a journalist and Senior VP at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, joins Michael to talk about her long experience on the crime beat and the problems with crime reporting -- how framing sets the narrative and misses the big picture, the peer pressure and race-to-the-bottom nature in some newsrooms, and the long fight for journalistic ethics in the modern world.

IN THE NEWS:

1. Forget public hearings and committee meetings--Virginia’s next budget will be crafted in secret behind closed doors with no input from the public and no transparency after lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement this week.

2. One of the most contentious debates in the General Assembly this year was the debate over what happens with slot-machine style gaming machines in convenience stores and truck stops. The governor's amendment limiting where the machines can be located was overwhelmingly rejected by the Senate.

3. Schools across Virginia are crumbling, which is why Senator Jeremy McPike of Prince William County introduced a bill to allow local governments to impose a sales tax to finance school construction.  Some Republicans supported the original bill. But McPike was unable to persuade enough of them to get a supermajority vote to override the governor's veto.

At the Watercooler:

• Uri Berliner's article criticizing NPR for a liberal bias causing a lack of public trust

• Alexandria City Council debates--another will be held on May 4th, then a mayoral debate on June 8th.

On this week's live-to-tape game show, Michael sits down with Delegates Cia Price, Alfonso Lopez, and Marcus Simon to break down the latest news out of the veto session--the Governor's vetoes and amendments, tell-all memoirs, part-time legislatures, and ice cream drumsticks.

IN THE NEWS:

1. Lawmakers are weighing the odds about how to handle the governor's amendment to their legislation allowing skill games in convenience stores and truck stops.  The amendment says skill game machines cannot be within 35 miles of a casino or a historic horse racing facility--which knocks out a lot of possible locations. Now supporters have a choice: Do they want to accept a limited program now and try to expand in the future, or do they want to bag it for now and try again next year?

2. Governor Youngkin now has the record for the most number of vetoes of any governor in recent memory, and he rolled out new abortion vetoes last weekend--including a bill that would have protected women and providers from being extradited to Tennessee or Texas, where abortion is much more restricted.

3. Glenn Youngkin got the nomination to run as the Republican candidate for governor in a ranked-choice vote at a party convention. But now he's vetoing a bill that would have clarified how the process is supposed to work in local elections.

At the Watercooler:

• The US House vote on FISA made strange bedfellows--Rep. Bobby Scott siding with Republicans on protecting warrant requirements for police surveillance, while Rep. Jen Kiggans sided with Democrats against it

• Pro-Palestinian protestors are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in public forums at the local, state, and federal level--and this is what the campaign season is likely to hinge on.

As it happens every year in Virginia, primary season is just around the corner! And this week, Michael is joined by political analyst Sam Shirazi to break down a few of the most competitive Congressional primaries heading into the 2024 race. Those include the open seat in the 10th District following the retirement of Jennifer Wexton, as well as the open 7th District as Abigail Spanberger sets her sights on the Governor's Mansion. Plus, Bob Good in the 5th District faces a primary from the pro-Trump wing of the Republican Party and Gerry Connolly in the 11th District takes heat from a candidate running on a pro-Palestinian platform.

IN THE NEWS:

1. The new six-week ban on abortion in Florida will change the dynamics of abortion across the South. Advocates on both sides agree this means more people will come to Virginia to seek services that are not available in other states. But can Virginia handle the need?

2. Governor Glenn Youngkin is vetoing to a bill that would have expanded the availability of instructional materials about climate change in public schools. He says the bill is redundant because schools already teach about climate change and buying new materials would be an unfunded mandate. 

3. The retirement of incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton is attracting the largest number of candidates in any race this year. So far, 13 Democrats are running in the Democratic primary and more might enter the race before the deadline this week. The list includes a former Speaker of the House of Delegates, three incumbent delegates and two incumbent senators. Because the election cycle differs from Virginia's state elections, many of these candidates have nothing to lose by throwing their hats into the ring.

At the Watercooler:

• A meeting in Portsmouth to plan for the fallout of the bridge collapse in Maryland; how will local, state, and federal officials deal with the diverted sea traffic that will come to Virginia in the next few years?

• Michael was on the Friday Power Lunch podcast to talk about how the sausage gets made in Virginia politics, taking lessons from the book Notes from the Sausage Factory

This week, Michael is joined by former Governor and current Senator Tim Kaine to discuss his latest book, Walk Ride Paddle. Over the last few years, Senator Kaine hiked the Appalachian Trail, biked Skyline Drive, and canoed the James River. Along the way, he discusses the last few years of American politics, reflects on a lifetime of public service, and admires the natural beauty that exists across the state of Virginia.

IN THE NEWS:

1. The secretive plan to bring a sports arena to Alexandria is over--and the folks involved seem to be blaming everybody but themselves.

2. Back in December, Governor Glenn Youngkin proposed a new digital tax for consumers. If you bought a digital book, for example, you would have to pay the same sales tax as a hard copy book you got at the bookstore. Now the General Assembly is agreeing with the governor about consumers and adding businesses to the governor's proposal. 

3. "Cocktails-to-go" was one of the innovations of the pandemic. Now the governor is agreeing with lawmakers to allow the temporary fix to become permanent-- although the jury is still out on third-party vendors like DoorDash and Uber Eats.

At the Watercooler:

• Why is Governor Youngkin reviewing race-related education content at VCU and GMU?

• The Governor also vetoed a bill that would give the minimum wage to farm worker--which started as an explicitly racist Jim Crow-ear policy.

Political analyst and WAMU's Politics Hour Analyst Tom Sherwood joins Michael to discuss yesterday's breaking news--Monumental's Ted Leonsis announces they've abandoned their efforts to move their arena to Virginia. How did this happen, and what does it mean for the relationship between Governor Youngkin and the Democratic leadership in the General Assembly?

IN THE NEWS:

1. Next week is the final deadline for candidates who want to run for Congress this year, which means that the politics for this year's congressional races are already starting to take shape.  The primary election that's currently attracting the largest number of candidates is the Tenth Congressional District, which is open because Jennifer Wexton is vacating the seat.

2. "30,000 jobs" has become a rallying cry for supporters of a proposal to create a sports arena in Alexandria. But is that a credible number? A request for more information about how that number was calculated was initially met with silence and delays. Finally, 54 days after the request, city officials responded with a one-page document that lays out some but not all of the details. For now the arena proposal is in a holding pattern after the General Assembly failed to include it in its budget proposal. 

3. How many people should be working on trains that come through Virginia? Democrats say all those trains should have at least a two-person crew, and they sent the governor a bill that requires that. But the governor is vetoing that bill. His veto message says the proposed regulations disrupt the ability of railroad companies to access new markets. 

At the Watercooler:

• Operation Ceasefire--Speaker Scott and AG Miyares were at an event last week to announce a reduction in violent crime in parts of Virginia.

• What exactly is going on with the "radio silence" communications strategy from advocates behind the arena?

This week, Michael is joined by Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First to break down the latest on the Northern Virginia arena deal, which died in the General Assembly Session. While there's still a chance it'll get resurrected this year, that's looking unlikely--with Senator Lucas holding fast to her opposition and the one-page report full of questionable estimates. Plus, what does it mean that a Monumental executive canceled at the last minute before appearing on this episode?

IN THE NEWS:

1. House Speaker Don Scott says he didn't appreciate Governor Glenn Youngkin showing up on the last day of the General Assembly session and asking Republicans to vote against the budget. The governor has a line item veto, which he can use to make all kinds of changes to the budget. When asked about the idea that he might issue a blanket veto of the entire bill, Youngkin said he wasn’t far enough in the process to know quite yet. 

2. Senator Stella Pekarsky introduced a bill to make sure that DoorDash and StubHub weren't loading down customers with extra charges--and that bill died at the very end of the General Assembly session when some House Democrats did not support it. Likely, this was the work of some poweful lobbying from groups like the Virgina Chamber of Commerce.

3. Senator Ghzala Hashmi introduced a bill that would require health insurance plans in Virginia cover contraception, but now the governor is adding an amendment that would allow for a religious or ethical exemption for people who don't want to provide coverage.

At the Watercooler:

• A Stateline article claims that Virginia's legislature has no working-class people holding office--but given the low pay for state officials, that's not quite true.

• The governor's been on a roll of vetos, and shows no signs of stopping. What does this say about his positions and relationship to the legislature?

This week, Michael and Lauren are joined by none other than House Speaker Don Scott to discuss his first session as Speaker--his relationship with the governor, the balance of power in the legislature, and the state of bills on gun control, skill, games and the arena.

IN THE NEWS:

1. This week, Governor Glenn Youngkin stood outside the Capitol talking about a proposed sports arena in Alexandria -- speaking about it in the past tense. Leading the charge against the arena proposal is Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman L Louise Lucas, who says the deal is no good for taxpayers.

2. In the era of Zoom, should state agencies and local advisory bodies be able to meet online? Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker has a bill that would expand the number of meetings that happen virtually, but opponents say this would remove an important facet of face-to-face public service.

3. Republicans who want to restrict the right to abortion say they are tired of people being used as props. Democrats say they don't want a bunch of old, white men making decisions about women's healthcare. With government divided, the two sides are canceling out each other this year. But abortion rights are expected to be a major topic of conversation next year, when lawmakers will consider an amendment to the Virginia Constitution.

At the Watercooler:

• Former Richmond FOIA Officer Connie Clay is suing the City of Richmond, alleging she was fired after being blocked from doing her duties

• Breaking down the bills Governor Youngkin has signed, vetoed, and amended

On this week's live-to-tape game show, Michael sits down with Delegate Alfonso Lopez, Delegate Marcus Simon, Alexandria Assistant City Manager Sarah Taylor, and pinch hitter Senator Jeremy McPike to get their takes on the end of the latest General Assembly Session: from passive-aggressive policies to "peace in the valley," invasive plants, and Jim Crow minimum wage exceptions.

IN THE NEWS:

1. During session, Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears publicly misgendered Senator Danica Roem, leading to chaos in the chamber, public outcry, and not much of an apology. Michael and Lauren discuss what happened and to what extent it might have been intentional.

2. Farm workers in Virginia are exempt from the minimum wage, on account of a racist compromise made during the Jim Crow era. The governor now has a bill on his desk that would remove the exemption, but business interests are lining up to defend the existing law.

3. The movement to bring skill games (or electronic gambling machines) into truck stops and gas stations is seeing pushback from opponents who say they represent a public safety risk.

At the Watercooler:

• A new bill from Senator Russet Perry to restrict the travel of local officials, coming after a trip to Ghana from a member of the Loudon County Board of Supervisors.

• Michael discusses the historical election where cross-part voters actually did make a difference in a primary election--back in 1949.

This week, Michael is joined by Professor of Public Administration Heywood Sanders, as well as journalist and blogger Neul DeMause (author of Field of Schemes) to break down the one-page jobs report for the proposed Alexandria arena, recently shared by Monumental after months of requests. They discuss the plausibility of the estimates, the questionable assumptions, and the lack of commitments for if the estimates don't pan out--and why they're skeptical about putting millions of taxpayer dollars into the project.

IN THE NEWS:

1. The AFL-CIO is opposing the proposed arena and entertainment district in the Potomac Yard area of Alexandria, dealing a major blow to legislation now under consideration at the state Capitol in Richmond. The labor groups say the developer should have entered into a labor agreement, adding that the existing bill is a bad deal for workers.

2. The right to abortion has been a flashpoint in Virginia politics ever since the United States Supreme Court eliminated constitutional protections. Wednesday, thousands of people came to Richmond to call for abortion rights to be rolled back or repealed altogether. Many of them were not interested in talking to the legacy media.

3. On Tuesday, the Senate of Virginia passed a bill to eliminate tax-exempt status for Confederate heritage organizations. But until lawmakers pass a bill to remove Stonewall Jackson, he will continue to occupy a prominent spot facing the north entrance to the Capitol.

At the Watercooler:

• Takeaways from Speaker Scott's Black and White Gala

• Reacting to WAMU firing 15 journalists on their DCist project and taking down the archive