Wednesday Business Buzz
Democrats claim majority in state senate

by Paula C. Squires
Virginia Business
November 7, 2007

Virginia Democrats say Tuesday's election will allow Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to complete his agenda in the final two years of his term. The Democrats picked up four Senate seats, giving them a 21-19 majority in the 40-member body and ending a decade of Republican control. The GOP maintained its majority in the House.

"Voters are sick and tired of obstructionism and rigid ideology," Richard Cranwell, chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a statement. "They want leaders who will work with Governor Kaine to cut through political gridlock and deliver results."

Democratic control of the Senate could have long-lasting effects on state politics. That body will redraw political districts in 2011 after the next census.


House votes to override Bush veto on Craney Island

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted to override President Bush's veto of a federal water projects bill that includes $351 million for the expansion of Portsmouth's Craney Island. The island is slated to become the Virginia Port Authority's fourth marine terminal in Hampton Roads.

Bush vetoed the $215 billion bill last Friday saying that it lacked fiscal discipline. Nonetheless, the House overrode the veto by a 361-54 vote. The issue now goes to the Senate. If it also votes to override, the measure will mark the first time a Bush veto is overturned.

Both the House and Senate previously had approved the bill by more than the two-thirds majority required to override a veto.