That’s how we started blogging. Two years ago, when the General Assembly went into overtime, we started our first blog, calling it Extra Innings. We figured if we hated blogging, we could just quit when we had a budget.

Now our friend Vivian Paige wonders if we’ll revive the name.

We are slated to vote on the budget today. But there will be at least one special session. There is general agreement that we can come back to resolve issues in the two competing bond bills. We are less sanguine about reaching consensus on transportation, but we really have to keep trying.

Given how hard we had to work to migrate from one blog name to another, I think we’ll stick with this one for now. But watch for Extra Innings posts as we slog on through the spring.

Two observations: In the House, the word rural is a one-syllable word. (It’s pronounced “rool.”)

Bill, however, is a two-syllable word (bee-yul).

As I suspected, the SOQ revisions are a very bad deal for school divisions.

You can see an interactive map here.

On February 12, just a few hours before the polls closed in a hotly contested Presidential primary, a cold front coated Northern Virginia’s roads with a sheen of dangerous ice. The Mixing Bowl, the massive system of flyovers and ramps where the Beltway and Shirley Highway intersect, was the most seriously impacted point: as a result, an untold number of commuters couldn’t make it to their polling places before the 7 PM deadline. Indignation erupted on the Internets, with outraged demands to know why Virginia didn’t follow Maryland’s lead and extend voting hours.

The problem, as a blogger with the great pseudonym of “Not A.E. Dick Howard” commented, is this: “. . . Maryland’s polls were kept open by operation of Maryland law at the order of a Maryland circuit judge. There is no parallel provision in Virginia law allowing the Virginia State Board of Elections, or the Governor of Virginia, to extend voting hours.”

Last week, the Governor stepped into the breach. While the deadline for mere legislators to propose a bill during this session has long since passed, under the Constitution of Virginia, His Excellency can send “such measures as he may deem expedient” down to the House and/or Senate any time the mood strikes him during the session. That’s what he did last week: he submitted a measure that was introduced in the Senate as SB 796 and in the House as HB 1577, permitting a court to extend voting hours in an officially declared emergency or in other situations that interfered with the voting process.

The proposal is certain to raise a lot of questions. It would permit extended voting hours in an affected “region,” potentially giving that region a leg up in turnout. Given Virginia’s growing political diversity, this could make a huge difference in tight races: in 2006 Jim Webb carried the entire state by around 9,300 votes, solely on the basis of huge margins in Northern Virginia (he carried my district alone by 12,000 votes). If it had rained earlier that day in a Republican corner of the state, and a judge had extended voting hours in that region to permit flooded-out voters to get to the polls, could it have affected the outcome?

But addressing the regional bias issue by extending voting hours statewide on the basis of conditions in one part of the state would pose problems of its own. One would be the impact on poll workers, those civic-minded men and women who staff the precincts for Election Day shifts that can run longer than 15 hours. As an article over the weekend points out, these workers, whose median age is in the 70s, already are stressed out due to heavy turnout and other demands of the job. Keeping the polls open for a couple of hours in Pennington Gap (which is west of Detroit), and requiring poll workers there and in other far-flung corners of Virginia to work late into the night, because of a snowstorm in NOVA, would be problematic.

So what’s the answer? You got me. I have a feeling we won’t come up with a solution in the next 10 days.

The House budget includes a huge policy shift–basically forcing local governments to assume even more responsibility for education costs.

It’s the worst thing we did this year. Maybe the worst thing we’ve done in several years.

Frank Rich’s column in today’s New York Times . . .

I’d go with “D” — but if that’s what they want to talk about, that’s what we’ll talk about . . .

Delegate Bob Brink
Floor Statement
February 7, 2008

“Mr. Speaker, like many members of this body, I’m a proud alumnus of the College of William And Mary. In my case, I graduated from the College’s Law School back in the Pleistocene Era. So I was alarmed this week to hear that my Alma Mater is a fallen woman. We learned that she has become, if you’ll excuse the expression, the butt of off-color jokes.

“It seems that the students of William and Mary sponsored something called a ‘Sex Workers Art Show’ which is touring the country. Now, here’s a news flash for you: You take thousands of college-age men and women, put them in a confined space like a college campus, and some of them actually have an interest in sex!

“And, like every good melodrama, this story of The Fallen Woman has a villain: the President of the College. It seems that he didn’t do enough to stop those young men and women from talking about sex. Off with his head!

“Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, here are some of the things that are going on at the College of William and Mary:

* “Last year a record number of William and Mary students were named Fulbright Scholars.
* “This year, the College was named the fifth highest school of its size in the number of Peace Corps volunteers it produced.
* “Students contributed over 300,000 hours of volunteer community service.
* “And applications and enrollment are up. I guess those students and their families just didn’t get the memo that the College is such a den of iniquity.

“That’s what’s happening in the real world. The College of William and Mary is, and with our support it will remain, a center of excellence and a source of pride for all of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

“But enough of that – let’s go back to talking about sex. Now, apparently some members think that this Sex Workers Art Show is such a threat to the Commonwealth that it demands hands-on attention – if you’ll excuse the expression. Well, I’ve got good news for you.

“You may have missed the performance over in Williamsburg, but according to the group’s schedule, if you’re from Fairfax County you could have caught the Show at a little place up there called George Mason University. Even better, the Sex Workers Art Show is coming to Richmond this Friday. Yes, my friends, we’ve got trouble right here in River City. Now, the House may be in session over the weekend, so the concerned citizens among us can just amble down Broad Street – if you’ll excuse the expression — to do their fact finding mission.

“So — this exhibition is appearing in several places across the Commonwealth, including another public university. Why all the indignation about William and Mary? The answer is simple: the College of William and Mary has become the Right Wing Noise Machine’s latest target, and its President has become their latest candidate for Swiftboating.

“Unless I miss my bet, pretty soon we’ll see the next chapter in the Noise Machine’s playbook: the fundraising appeal. I’m certain this trumped-up outrage will be used to beg little old ladies to give money out of their hard-earned savings to line the pockets of some right wing group.

“Mr. Speaker, to hear some people tell it, you’d think the Sex Workers Art Show was the most awful thing that’s ever happened on a Virginia college campus. It’s not. This whole issue is a trivial distraction from the real challenges our colleges face. We’re stewards of Virginia’s world-class higher education system, and we need to address those challenges.

“We don’t need to spend our time slandering an institution that’s one of the Commonwealth’s crown jewels, bullying its dedicated leadership, and turning this body into the Decency Police. Above all, we don’t need to waste our time giving a bunch of aging legislators a chance to talk about sex. We have more important things to do.”

Along with about 6,000 of my closest friends, I was at the Siegel Center last night for the annual JJ (Jefferson Jackson) Dinner. What a night!

We heard two fabulous speeches from two wonderful candidates. We connected with friends from across the Commonwealth. We welcomed thousands of young people–many first-time voters–into our party. Their energy and enthusiasm helped make this the most energized JJ ever.

There’s no question that Democrats are feeling hopeful as we move on to November. But as Barack Obama said, hope isn’t just blind optimism. It’s going to take hard work to change this country.

Still, after last night, I actually feel that we can.

Two big observances today. First, of course, is Ash Wednesday–the official beginning of Lent.

I love all the ritual associated with this day–the imposition of ashes, the early morning service. I even love the whole idea of giving something up for Lent.

And therein lies the problem. Because today also marks the first Carolina-Duke basketball game.

What to give up? Certainly not alcohol–I can’t get through 15 minutes of UNC-Duke without it. And certainly not swearing–ditto.

So it’s probably chocolate. Although if Carolina loses, I may need some medicinal Hershey’s about 11:15!

UPDATE: Apparently the Tar Heels were also in a spiritual mode. They obviously decided to give up the ball for Lent. Ouch.

“So how,” people ask me, “do you have time to keep up with the bills and STILL read and post on blogs?”

Easy, I tell them. Courts.

For those who have never visited Richmond, the Courts of Justice committee is legendary. It’s a real workhorse committee, hearing (in round numbers) a zillion bills each year.

That means committee sessions go on forever. And patrons can grow old sitting on the front row of House Room C waiting for their bill to come up.

Luckily, there’s good connectivity in House Room C. So I now know to take my computer.

One day, they’ll hear my bill. Until then, I’m catching up on constituent email.

Oh, and writing this post.