Roger Chesley

1 month ago | alxnow.com | Roger Chesley

by Roger Chesley, Virginia MercuryMarch 24, 2025Think the decades-old food stamps program deserves to be in the callous, capricious cross hairs of Elon Musk, President Donald Trump and the latter’s spineless sycophants in Congress? Then you don’t know someone like Ndaneh Luseni. The 34-year-old Alexandria woman, a single mother with three children, depends on the nourishment that food stamps provide.

1 month ago | virginiamercury.com | Roger Chesley

Think the decades-old food stamps program deserves to be in the callous, capricious cross hairs of Elon Musk, President Donald Trump and the latter’s spineless sycophants in Congress? Then you don’t know someone like Ndaneh Luseni. The 34-year-old Alexandria woman, a single mother with three children, depends on the nourishment that food stamps provide. Luseni receives only $83 a month in benefits from what’s formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

2 months ago | dailyprogress.com | Roger Chesley

Legislation on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk will unambiguously tell Virginians what he values most: sufficient funding for school construction in the commonwealth or snappy slogans for his next campaign. I wish he’d choose the former. As an ambitious, ladder-climbing politico, though, the governor has so far shown he’ll opt for the latter — with some version of “I didn’t raise taxes” leading his media blitz for a U.S. Senate or presidential quest.

2 months ago | virginiamercury.com | Roger Chesley

Here’s Exhibit A that sessions at the Virginia General Assembly, dictated under a half-century-old state constitutional update, aren’t nearly long enough:Since 2000, special sessions to complete legislative tasks have been held in all but eight years. Sometimes – like in 2018 and 2021 – two additional sessions took place.

2 months ago | virginiamercury.com | Roger Chesley

Legislation heading to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk will unambiguously tell Virginians what he values most: sufficient funding for school construction in the commonwealth, or snappy slogans for his next campaign. I wish he’d choose the former. As an ambitious, ladder-climbing politico, though, the governor has so far shown he’ll opt for the latter – with some version of “I didn’t raise taxes” leading his media blitz for a U.S. Senate or presidential quest.