Day: April 7, 2021

Public Hearing Scheduled to Consider Plastic Bag Tax in Roanoke

Eric Burk

The Roanoke City Council is considering a five-cent tax on disposable plastic bags, like grocery store or convenience store bags. On Monday, the Council agreed to schedule a public hearing on April 19.

The tax was legalized by the 2020 General Assembly. HB 534, introduced by Delegate Betsy Carr (D-Richmond), and SB 11, introduced by Senator Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), authorize localities to enact five-cent taxes on disposable plastic bags and require the localities to use revenue from the tax for environmental cleanup and to provide re-usable bags.

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Commentary: Running Out of Choices on Tech Monopolies

Virginia Star Staff

It is not often that a concurring opinion of the Supreme Court calls for in-depth comment, but Justice Thomas’ opinion, in Joseph R. Biden Hr., President of the United States, et al v. Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, et al., is an exception.

The case arises out of the suit by Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University against former president Donald Trump. Knight sued Donald Trump on First Amendment grounds for blocking Knight from accessing the comment thread of Trump’s Twitter feed.

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Biden Admin Considers Building More Border Wall Where ‘Gaps’ Exist: Report

Virginia Star Staff

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told employees he’s considering building more sections of the border wall to fill in “gaps,” The Washington Times reported Monday.

President Joe Biden stopped federal funding to the southern border wall, though Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials reportedly asked Mayorkas last week what his plans for the wall are, according to the Times. Biden issued a Jan. 20 executive order ceasing all construction on the southern border wall.

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Greg Abbott Issues Executive Order Banning Vaccine Passports

Virginia Star Staff
Passport

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday banning government-issued “vaccine passports” statewide.

Abbott said that vaccinations against COVID-19 cannot be government-mandated, and that residents’ choice to not receive one should not prevent them from going about their lives.

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Democrats Could Potentially Pass Massive Infrastructure Bill Without a Single GOP Vote

Virginia Star Staff
Site Construction

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough said Monday evening that Democrats can use budget reconciliation for a second time in fiscal year 2021, according to a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Democrats’ ability to use the legislative tool means that they could hypothetically pass President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill with a simple majority vote instead of the 60 votes required to override a filibuster. If reconciliation proceeds, then Democrats would have enough votes to pass Biden’s infrastructure and tax packages with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote if every Senator in the party votes in favor.

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Report: Nike Has Not Paid Federal Income Taxes Since 2018

Virginia Star Staff
Nike Store

A new report reveals that Nike is one of over two dozen corporations that have not paid any federal income taxes since 2018, as reported by Breitbart.

The report comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which shows that at least 55 of the biggest companies in America did not pay any federal income taxes in the year 2020. Of those 55, 26 have not paid this tax since 2018. This means that a collective total of approximately $8.5 billion was not paid last year, with the 55 companies instead receiving approximately $40.5 billion in pre-tax income.

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Commentary: Mr. Monopoly Sells Out to the Woke Warriors

Virginia Star Staff
Monopoly In Jail

Monopoly is going directly to Woke, not passing Go, and not collecting $200. This is the lamentable news from Hasbro, America’s latest victim of vacuous corporate woke consciousness. Monopoly’s makeover is yet another step in the Left’s forced march to turn our pastimes into nap times by seeking to expunge fun in the name of social justice.

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In Debate, Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates Discuss Gun Violence and the Parole Board

Eric Burk

The five Democratic candidates for governor met for the first televised debate on Tuesday evening where they discussed issues including the economic crisis, gun violence, marijuana legalization, the Virginia Parole Board, and vaccine hesitancy. For the most part, the candidates stuck to discussing their own policies, but occasionally turned to attack perceived front-runner McAuliffe.

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