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Sweet Victory Suite at the RPV Advance My "Sweet Victory Suite" on Friday evening (December 4th) may not compare to the excitement of election night, but dessert is pretty sweet as well, and what better way to celebrate sweet victory than with a dessert and coffee bar? The "Sweet Victory Suite" is a celebration of Election Day's sweet victory with sweets – fruit tarts, cheesecake, éclairs, a coffee bar, and more – and enter a drawing for one of ten copies of Craig Shirley's "Reagan's Revolution" or ten copies of Ron Maxwell's critically acclaimed Civil War films "Gettysburg" and "Gods and Generals." Please join me Friday, December 4th at the Advance (Room 12 at the Marriott) to celebrate sweet victory for Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, Ken Cuccinelli, and Republican candidates across the state! The Obenshain Report: Thinking Outside the Box on State Employee Health Benefits Here's a sobering statistic: in the last decade, the cost of providing health care to state employees has risen an astonishing 135% and now costs $770 million a year. If that weren't startling enough, consider this: a further $325 million cost increase is anticipated for the 2010-'12 biennium, and it is now apparent that unless we do something, health care costs and balanced budgets are on a collision course. Virginia continues to face a serious revenue shortfall, and we’re up against the limits of what traditional responses can accomplish to get us back on course. We need to set aside conventional notions and start having some discussions that may be uncomfortable. Today is the second (and final) day of the Senate Finance Committee retreat, and each successive presentation only reinforces an unfortunately grim outlook. The Commonwealth's employee health benefits are just one piece of the puzzle, but it's a large and very important piece nonetheless, and nearly everyone agrees that continuing on the current course is simply impossible. Bottom line: we can't afford it. {continue reading} The New MarkObenshain.com Welcome to my new website! It's still a work in progress, and you might see continued changes around here, but I'm excited to unveil the new MarkObenshain.com, which will feature frequent updates from me, especially during session, and will, I hope, allow me to connect with you better. You can also find me on Facebook, and I strongly encourage you to sign up for my email newsletter, the Obenshain Report, if you aren't subscribed already. Finally, please let me know how my online presence can be improved to better serve you! |
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