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Like the little girl writing to the newspaper to confirm the existence of Santa, many Virginians have started to question the plans and uses of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Although some could argue the economic strategies of initiating the stimulus plan, what’s done is done and the money is beginning to roll out of Washington, (more accurately out of China).

 Everyone…. red, blue, green.. is in agreement that if the money is spent, that it should produce jobs!  Please, no $2.3 milion studies on whether a child who plays video games will be a great fighter pilot!  Please, no $500 hammers.  We would like to see spending that creates jobs.

 If you can wade through the multi level confusion of charts, maps, and color coded grant packages … you may find the answers to your questions about stimulus spending here: Stimulus.Virginia.gov  The Federal Government maintains its nod to transparency with “Track the Money” Recovery.gov. 

 These sites can drill down to your local zip codes, towns and counties to see where the money is planned to, or already being spent.  My favorite feature is the estimates of how many jobs each project has created. The federal website’s backdated ”jobs created” calculator tracks at 640,329 jobs created as of 10/30/09.  Perhaps the person who tabulates this number lost his job three months ago.   Judge for yourself!

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Soon to be innaugurated Governor McDonnell, ran on a platform of new jobs and an aggressive approach to finding new energy sources for the state.   McDonnell is already moving to follow through on his promises, citing the following as he urges the Ferderal government to loosen its policies on offshore drilling:

A 2005 study by a former president at Old Dominion University forecast that offshore natural gas production alone off of the Atlantic coast near Virginia would, over a 10-year period, likely create at least 2,578 new jobs, induce capital investment of $7.84 billion, yield $644 million in direct and indirect payroll, and result in $271 million in state and local taxes. The study also estimated that there could be up to 500 million barrels of oil in this lease area – enough to fuel all four million cars in Virginia for more than four years.

Although some critics have challenged the validity of this “study” and no one has been able to obtain a copy of the body of the report, many of the voters that pushed McDonnell through with a landslide victory are hopeful that he will come through on his campaign promises.  Jobs, tax revenue for the beleagured budget, and an alternative natural resource… what could be better ?

Virginians from Fairfax to Norfolk anxiously await the New Year, the new governor and the new policies that will either boost or befuddle the state budget, the real estate markets, the job markets and our school systems.  Lots of forecasters are predicting the end to economic downturn… others see further lows to come… What do you think?

What an eventful week in DC! 

The Blizzard of 2009 singlehandedly took out retailer’s chances of having a banner pre-Christmas weekend.  But, more than likely, restored the sanity and serenity of the holiday to Nothern Virginia as most of the population was locked down for the weekend. 

The Senate passed a bartered bloated version of the Healthcare Bill which doesn’t align with what the House ludicrously passed, and are pounding their fists in victory.  ?? Seriously? 

My kid’s elementary school choir cancelled their Winter performance because there was too many families protesting them singing “Sleigh Bells” as it implied Christmas…   Seriously??

Lots of thought provoking and challenging events that could undermine your holiday (whatever your holiday is) sprirt.  But there is another thing I encounter in Virginia… everywhere I go.  Families, spouses, parents who are missing their loved ones as they serve faithfully overseas.  The US Soldier, Sailor, Airmen or Marine that will be without their families and the comforts of home during the holidays aren’t thinking about Healthcare bills or what politcally correct song they can sing on the 24th.  They probably don’t care if it is a Holiday Tree or a Christmas Tree., they would just like to be in front of the one in their home.

Thank you Servicemen and women for your sacrifice.  Thank you for being there.

Whether you were cheering on the broom, sweeping across Virginia last night, as the GOP rushed back into office, or bemoaning Creigh Deeds failure to align himself with the political clout that President Obama offered, you must agree that Virginia has returned to the spotlight in a bipolar battle for its constituents.  So recently shocklingly Blue in last year’s presidential election, Virginia raged in screaming red yesterday during its governors race.  Is it Obama backlash? Is it left wing apathy?

 One thing is for certain, Virginia is no longer a certain RED and may have lost it’s new shade of BLUE.  Independents are out in force… perhaps just dressed up in their Halloween custome covering their crimson ties.  If you are a resident, or soon to be resident it will be an intriguing next few years as the blue counties to the north and the red counties to the south collide in some crazy shade of purple somewhere along Route 234. 

Whether Red, Blue or Purple all of us Virginians should be taking part in the process.  Get involved! Register to Vote now so you are not missing out next time.  Get involved with your party and know their platforms… not just the sound bites from FOX and CNN.  Here are links to the the local party sites. Repulican Party of Virginia    Democratic Party of Virginia and Independants….. you have the entire internet at your fingertips to Independantly determine your position!!