Sounds like it would be good on salad

This BLT post describes the appearance of the word, "romanette," in oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court.

My friend Yvonne Griffin from Charlottesville posted it on the VTLA list serv, and much comment of various kinds ensued.

Less spam, really?

Reports like this one and this one suggest that worldwide spam has been reduced when a couple of ISPs shut down their links to an outlaw hosting service.

New York paper reporting on Melungeons in November 1894?

The Melungeon Historical Society Blog has this post, with an article on a mysterious race of citizens in North Carolina, from the New York Sun, dated November 15, 1894.

Fourth Circuit news

In this post, the Fourth Circuit's opinion in Sierra Club v. Simkins Indus., Inc., 847 F.2d 1109 (4th Cir. 1988) is debated, in relation to a motion to recuse Judge Chambers from the mountaintop mining litigation, because of his past affiliation with West Virginia Highlands Conservancy.

In this article, one of many speculating about the Fourth Circuit, the ubiquitous professor from Richmond suggests that perhaps Barack Obama will nominate U.S. District Court Judge Andre Davis from Maryland to fill one of the vacancies.

Why not allow hydroelectric dams as well?

This article says that wind power has been legalized in Suffolk, where there is no wind:

"Federal government estimates of Suffolk’s potential to use wind as an energy resource are not kind to the idea. The U.S. Department of Energy rates the city as a 1 on a scale of 7 for its resource potential. In fact, most of Virginia receives the same 'poor' ranking, as wind power and speed are relatively low in all portions of the state except for the Chesapeake Bay and coastal areas."

Worth reading, from soup to nuts

This month's VBA News Journal features very useful litigation articles, such as:

Civil Conspiracy: An Analysis of Common Law and Statutory Business Conspiracy Claims Under Virginia Law, by David N. Anthony & Megan C. Rahman

Exclusionary Motions Require Exercise of Discretion: Has John Crane Run Astray? by Roger T. Creager

Federal Rule of Evidence 502: New Safeguards and New Questions Concerning Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection, by Jon M. Talotta

On living in Appalachia

From the Richmond paper, Frank Kilgore explains Why Living In Appalachia Beats Just About Anywhere Else.

And, Frank would have you read this piece, which begins: "Virginia has established itself as a leader in land conservation by being one of only two states nationwide that has transferable state income tax credits as incentives for landowners who are interested in protecting their land from development."

Notable opinion in detainee death case

Notwithstanding the tragic facts, Judge Conrad's opinion in Harvey v. Roanoke Sheriff's Office is worth reading, for the wide range of issues addressed.

I wondered about a few that were not addressed, like the Eleventh Amendment, and how it is that the "sheriff's office" is an entity that can be sued - perhaps those were taken up in the earlier opinions.

On raising more than the one eyebrow

There are few editorials like here and here nailing Governor Kaine's funky remark about the demise in 2008 of "Ol' Virginny."

So, Ol' Virginny elected him? Or was it done gone before then?

The intramural season begins

There are few articles out there about Democrat vs. Democrat, and conservative vs. conservative, in the struggle to define who has the power and who gets the blame.