ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601220028
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
TO HELP balance his 1996-98 budget proposal, Gov. George Allen projected new Virginia State Lottery revenues from the introduction of keno and Powerball - games that have met with widespread, bipartisan and, in our view, wise opposition in the General Assembly.
But without them, there's a $67.3 million hole. Well, the budget he introduced was balanced, Allen says, so it's up to the assembly to take care of the difference. But the administration itself is backing off from plans to introduce the controversial new games.
That makes the shortfall Allen's problem, too. His position would command more respect if he weren't trying to have it both ways - using projected new revenues to show a balanced budget, then declining to associate himself with the source of those revenues.
ONE WAY to see smut traditionally has been to join an anti-smut campaign. The tradition lives. During a Virginia House committee meeting in which Del. Robert Marshall was pushing a bill requiring credit-card companies to disclose sexually explicit content on computer-service bills, Marshall distributed "a packet of materials found via computer online services and phone services" that, according to the Associated Press, included lots of "raunchy" pictures and material.
Though the practicality of Marshall's proposal is open to question, we don't doubt there's material available via modern telecommunications whose production may violate laws already on the books - or, at the least, is stuff we wouldn't want in our own houses. So why distribute it in the commonwealth's House?
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB