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PARK POLLUTION
In an effort to cut down on pollution in national parks, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., urged the Environmental Protection Agency Monday to reverse course on a rule that he said would weaken air regulations near parklands.
In a bipartisan letter signed with seven other senators, Warner criticized a rule that would "result in a significant undercounting of actual pollution sources, such as coal-fired power plants, permitting them to emit more pollution into national parks and wilderness areas."
The EPA has been working since last summer to change its method of calculating pollution. The new rule is due out before November, according to the EPA legal staff.
"To relax clean air rules at our national parks is to do a disservice to these majestic places owned by and visited by millions of Americans each year," Warner said in a statement.
Other lawmakers vowed to introduce legislation to overturn the rule if the EPA does not change course.
BELVOIR BUCKS
Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, announced $1.4 billion for Ft. Belvoir is currently included in a military spending bill approved by House appropriators Tuesday.
Moran, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the funds will help upgrade facilities to accommodate the 19,000 new employees scheduled to move to Ft. Belvoir by 2011 under the Pentagon's base realignment and closure plans.
Among the biggest ticket items included in the bill are: $744 million for a new National Geospatial Intelligence Agency headquarters building, $198 million for a new hospital, and $36 million for defense access roads to the Engineer Proving Grounds.
RICHMOND COURTHOUSE
The Senate unanimously approved Tuesday a bill to name the new federal courthouse in Richmond the Robinson-Merhige Federal Courthouse after two late judges -- Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr.
"This recognition is an appropriate way to honor the pivotal roles that Judge Robinson and Judge Merhige, Jr. played in moving forward our nation's civil rights debate," Sen. Jim Webb said in a statement.
Robinson, then an attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, represented Virginia plaintiffs in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. Robinson was the first African-American appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Merhige served as a judge for 30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, presiding over cases that eventually led to the University of Virginia admitting female students.
TEEN SUMMIT
Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, is looking for input from local teenagers about youth violence.
The chairman of the crime subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee will host a Teen Summit on Youth Violence Wednesday, July 2 to "discuss the causes and possible solutions to the growing epidemic of youth violence," according to a news release.
Teens who attend will be able to interact with Jerrauld C. Jones, the chief judge of Norfolk's juvenile court, Scott and other experts on the panel
The summit starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Surry County Recreation Center at 205 Enos Drive in Surry. For more information, contact Scott's Newport News District Office at (757) 380-1000.
--Neil Simon
In an effort to cut down on pollution in national parks, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., urged the Environmental Protection Agency Monday to reverse course on a rule that he said would weaken air regulations near parklands.
In a bipartisan letter signed with seven other senators, Warner criticized a rule that would "result in a significant undercounting of actual pollution sources, such as coal-fired power plants, permitting them to emit more pollution into national parks and wilderness areas."
The EPA has been working since last summer to change its method of calculating pollution. The new rule is due out before November, according to the EPA legal staff.
"To relax clean air rules at our national parks is to do a disservice to these majestic places owned by and visited by millions of Americans each year," Warner said in a statement.
Other lawmakers vowed to introduce legislation to overturn the rule if the EPA does not change course.
BELVOIR BUCKS
Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, announced $1.4 billion for Ft. Belvoir is currently included in a military spending bill approved by House appropriators Tuesday.
Moran, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the funds will help upgrade facilities to accommodate the 19,000 new employees scheduled to move to Ft. Belvoir by 2011 under the Pentagon's base realignment and closure plans.
Among the biggest ticket items included in the bill are: $744 million for a new National Geospatial Intelligence Agency headquarters building, $198 million for a new hospital, and $36 million for defense access roads to the Engineer Proving Grounds.
RICHMOND COURTHOUSE
The Senate unanimously approved Tuesday a bill to name the new federal courthouse in Richmond the Robinson-Merhige Federal Courthouse after two late judges -- Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr.
"This recognition is an appropriate way to honor the pivotal roles that Judge Robinson and Judge Merhige, Jr. played in moving forward our nation's civil rights debate," Sen. Jim Webb said in a statement.
Robinson, then an attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, represented Virginia plaintiffs in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. Robinson was the first African-American appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Merhige served as a judge for 30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, presiding over cases that eventually led to the University of Virginia admitting female students.
TEEN SUMMIT
Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, is looking for input from local teenagers about youth violence.
The chairman of the crime subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee will host a Teen Summit on Youth Violence Wednesday, July 2 to "discuss the causes and possible solutions to the growing epidemic of youth violence," according to a news release.
Teens who attend will be able to interact with Jerrauld C. Jones, the chief judge of Norfolk's juvenile court, Scott and other experts on the panel
The summit starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Surry County Recreation Center at 205 Enos Drive in Surry. For more information, contact Scott's Newport News District Office at (757) 380-1000.
--Neil Simon