Loupassi pushing for open bids on Shockoe project
A Richmond legislator wants the General Assembly to tie use of state funds for a slavery heritage site in Richmond to a requirement that the city seek competitive bids for a baseball stadium and related development proposed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones in Shockoe Bottom.
Del. G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, asked House Appropriations Committee Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, on Tuesday to amend the pending state budget to enforce a state law requiring competitive procurement on local projects that receive state financial aid.
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Va. crime panel cool to prostitution bills
RICHMOND, Va. – Proposals to lighten up on child prostitutes and people who are forced into prostitution received a cool reception Tuesday from the Virginia State Crime Commission.
The commission took no formal action on the measures, which were held over from the 2013 General Assembly for possible consideration in the next session after further study.
Members lauded the intent of the proposals but expressed some practical concerns. For example, Del. Manoli Loupassi said a bill to decriminalize child prostitution would make it more difficult to arrest and prosecute the child’s pimp. Police often need the cooperation of prostitutes to bring charges against sex traffickers.
“You have to have a way to get the bad guy,” said Loupassi, R-Richmond. Continue reading