McDonnell Proposes Rest-Area Savings Strategy

When Bob McDonnell campaigned for Governor he promised to open the 19 rest areas that then-Governor Tim Kaine had closed. In April he fulfilled that promise and opened all of them. Virginia's rest areas serve 30 million people annually, and are therefore very important to maintain and keep open. With this in mind Gov. McDonnell has proposed his strategy on cost savings:

1) Reduce contracting costs when existing maintenance and operations contracts are scheduled to expire in December.

2) Try to attract private sponsors by bundling interstate highway signage, interior advertising space and vending.

3) Use grants to establish partnerships between the state and tourism organizations along Virginia's interstates, particularly at interchanges where scenic attractions could be promoted.

Gov. McDonnell is also waiting on a study by the Virginia Transportation Research Council to identify alternatives to the public funding of the interstate rest areas.

Longtime House Member Dies

George W. Jones, a representative in the House of Delegates for 16 years, passed away Saturday. Mr. Jones represented Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights. In the House he became the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, and in 1980 he headed Ronald Reagan's presidential race in Virginia. Mr. Jones was a great citizen to Virginia, and he will be missed. To read more please click here.

Congrats are in order ....

Congrats are in order for the two newest members of our Majority House Caucus.

Roxann Robinson and Tony Wilt easily dismantled their Democratic opposition in yesterday's Special Election.

Delegate-Elect Robinson won in a 44 point landslide and Delegate-Elect Wilt garnered more than 65% of the vote against a very well funded opponent.

Congrats to both and we are excited to work with you in the coming session.

McDonnell Bringing More Business to Virginia

Virginia is aiming to bring in foreign trade offices from locations such as London and Shanghai. State economic-development officials have begun work on creating foreign outposts in order to lure international business to the Commonwealth.

International investment has increased over the past few years, and while Virginia has been slow to take advantage of that in the past, Gov. McDonnell's administration is working on changing that. Gov. McDonnell will be using part of the $1.5 million that he secured in the 2010 General Assembly session to add foreign marketing presence, and hopefully more jobs as well.

China has been the main target, according the the administration. This is just another example of Gov. McDonnell working to make Virginia a more profitable state, and creating more jobs. Follow this link to read more about the project.