Looming over this entire General Assembly Session has been the serious problem of the budget shortfall. With the perilous economic situation nationally and the need to address the shrinking revenues in Virginia, Virginia legislators have had to seriously consider and assess how to balance the budget. My Democratic colleagues in the Senate share my belief that we must protect critical services like public education, public safety and health care. Any cuts we propose must leave the safety net intact for the most vulnerable among us, the elderly, the young and disabled.

As Americans, we have a basic responsibility to our children - to do everything we can to help them become productive, constructive citizens. This starts with a healthy family life, shelter, and adequate and nutritious food. Then we need to provide a strong solid education that gives them the skills to achieve in our complicated twenty-first century workplace. If we were succeeding at these imperatives, our prison population would be considerably less because our citizenry would be prepared to meet the opportunities in this nation. However, sometimes, unfortunately, even that is not sufficient. Mental illness and addiction rob even those with education and job skills of the possibility of being successful.

Sen. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) was pleased to host the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity on their first annual Virginia Legislative Day on February 10^th. The brothers were introduced in both chambers and had the opportunity to meet wtih state officials on many issues. The day ended with the brothers attending a Virginia Black Legislative Caucus meeting.

Kappa Alpha Psi is the first black fraternity to have such a day at the Virginia State Capitol.

In these perilous economic times, families have to work ever harder to afford to purchase a home and, while scrimping and saving, they still need to know they are getting a fair shake and someone is watching out for them. For many, if not most individuals, buying a home is the largest single purchase they will ever make. As purchasers, they need to wade through a complicated thicket of paperwork and regulations, forcing them to often deal with numerous bank, insurance companies and government agencies. In this entanglement they are frequently perplexed and not at all certain about who, if anyone has their best interests at heart.

With this in mind, more and more home buyers choose to work with a mortgage broker. As of 2006, mortgage brokers were originating 45% of all loans and almost 3/4 of sub-prime loans.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
February 4, 2009

Sen. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) has just introduced a bill (SB 1447) in the Virginia General Assembly that achieves the three core goals of a good efficiency policy. The bill would keep power demand mostly constant through 2025 as a matter of state mandate, not a voluntary "goal." It would apply to aggregate annual power demand, not just "peak" use during