Local delegation discusses issues facing region, priorities for General Assembly
By Steve Roberts, Jr. on January 9, 2017
WYDaily
In a Friday morning forum at the Williamsburg Regional Library, state senators and delegates representing the greater Williamsburg area laid out their expectations for the state’s upcoming General Assembly session.
State Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment, Jr, freshman Senator Monty Mason, Delegate Brenda Pogge, and freshman Delegate Mike Mullin addressed an audience of about 100 business people and local government officials.
Posted on 10 Jan 2017, 14:44 - Category: News
Williamsburg boy wins: Eastern Garter as state Snake slides through assembly
By Travis Fain on February 25, 2016
Daily Press
A 12-year-old Williamsburg student has charmed the General Assembly into naming the Eastern Garter Snake as Virginia's official snake.
If Gov. Terry McAuliffe adds his signature to the bill, this common, non-poisonous reptile will join the cardinal, the dogwood, the Virginia Big-eared bat, milk and about 28 other things as one of Virginia's official emblems and designations.
Posted on 26 Feb 2016, 12:29 - Category: News
Sen. Black tries to rattle backers of eastern garter snake
By Jim Nolan on February 25, 2016
Richmond Times-Dispatch
A sixth-grader’s bid to make Virginia hiss-tory for the eastern gartersnake nearly slithered away Thursday.
In what could only be viewed as a slippery maneuver, Sen. Richard H. Black, R-Loudoun, offered an amendment on the Senate floor that effectively gutted House Bill 335 — replacing the eastern gartersnake with the “timber rattler” as Virginia’s state snake.
Posted on 26 Feb 2016, 12:26 - Category: News
Stinky and wimpy but it's ours: Virginia legislature picks a state snake
By Laura Vozzella on February 25, 2016
Washington Post
It’s kind of a chicken, as snakes go, high-tailing it whenever it smells danger. And then there’s the odor. An Eastern Garter Snake that senses danger doesn’t just pick flight over fight, but emits an offending odor as it slithers away — one described in the august setting of the Virginia Senate on Thursday as “something like a cross between a soiled diaper and a skunk.”
Posted on 26 Feb 2016, 12:21 - Category: News
Eastern garter snake beats back rattlesnake in Virginia Senate debate
By Patrick Wilson on February 25, 2016
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginia Senate voted Thursday to make the Eastern garter snake the official state reptile after one lawmaker made a spirited push for the timber rattlesnake.
Humorous debate ensued.
Posted on 26 Feb 2016, 12:19 - Category: News
