Gov. Kaine announced today that Stafford County Schools will receive $462,860 to help expand the Early Head Start (EHS) program, thanks to funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARAA). This will likely mean more jobs in Stafford for teachers and family service staff, due to increased enrollment thanks to these funds.

EHS is a federally funded program for low-income families with children under the age of three and pregnant women. The program’s mission is to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women; enhance the development of very young children; and to promote healthy family functioning. The mainstay of the program is a unique home visitation program that provides families with parental education and parent-child activities, comprehensive health and mental health services and access to high quality child care.

Gov. Kaine:

“Virginia has made great strides in our early childhood learning programs, including pre-kindergarten Head Start”

[…]

“Creating the healthy habits and nurturing environments that support learning and development start very early, so access to prenatal care and parent education can’t begin soon enough. It’s excellent news that more families will be helped through an increase in Early Head Start funding.”

Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marilyn B. Tavenner:

“Information shared in a home visit can address a family’s immediate needs – nutrition assistance, for example”

[…]

“In addition, family service staff reinforce the parenting skills that help moms and dads create and maintain an environment that supports early learning and healthy development.”

For more information or to learn more about the Early Head Start Program, visit the Early Head Start National Resource Center.

At the DPVAs December State Central Committee meeting, Chairman Cranwell announced the semi-controversial departure of Leigh Anne Collier as the DPVAs Executive Director. The reason why I say semi-controversial is that chairman announced that Leigh Anne was to receive a $10K bonus upon her departure. Naturally folks were up in arms over this bonus being awarded, based on the most recent election results. This is not to take away how hard Leigh Anne may have worked, since I have no idea; however, perception is everything.

This afternoon Chairman Cranwell moved to fill this void. I’m not sure how far-and-wide his email was actually sent out, but it was essentially a job advertisement seeking a “committed individual to serve as executive director.”

The email went on to say that

The applicant must possess strong organizational skills, demonstrated success in winning elections, and technological and strategic expertise. The executive director will be responsible for developing and implementing a plan to strengthen and expand Democratic Party of Virginia.  A complete job description is listed below.

If you know of anyone interested in applying, please email a resume with cover letter and three references to jobs@vademocrats.org by December 28, 2009.

Sincerely,

C. Richard Cranwell

Chairman

A more detailed job description follows:

JOB DESCRIPTION
The Executive Director, working with the Chair and State Steering and Central Committees, develops and implements the Democratic Party of Virginia’s strategic plan and oversees personnel and programmatic activities of the party.

Responsibilities:
Political Affairs
Develop and implement a plan to strengthen and expand the party; develop the party’s election strategies and supervise a political director
Administrative & Financial
With an Operations Director, oversee federal & non-federal compliance, bank accounts, and other administrative requirements
Fundraising
With a finance director, create a yearly fundraising plan and oversee its execution
Communications
With a communications director, create a comprehensive communications plan, including messaging, media outreach, press releases, web and email, and oversee its execution; develop and maintain professional relationships with national, state and county elected officials and organizations
Technology
With an information technology director, develop and maintain a state-of-the-art technological infrastructure

The blogosphere is never short of opinions. With that said who do you think would be an ideal candidate? Please leave your suggestions and rationale in the comments section.

Today Gov. Kaine announced that Portsmouth, Staunton, Prince George County and Southampton County/City of Franklin (a joint zone) were designated as Virginia Enterprise Zones (VEZ).

In a press released issued today by the Governor’s office, it was explained that

“The Enterprise Zone program is an important economic development tool in bringing investment and jobs to Virginia’s distressed communities,” said Governor Kaine. “With the loss of more than 1,100 jobs in the area due to the closing of International Paper, we believe the Zones will be a valuable tool for attracting new businesses to this area and supporting the expansion of existing businesses.”

The VEZ program was first established in 1982 through passage of the Virginia Enterprise Zone Act. In 2005, the General Assembly passed the Enterprise Zone Grant Act, which transitioned the program from tax credit to grant incentives. Under the 1982 Enterprise Zone Act, a zone was designated for a 20-year period; however, under the 2005 Enterprise Zone Grant Act, zones are designated for an initial 10-year designation period with two five-year renewals and a maximum of 30 zones are allowed. Current zones will be allowed to run out.

The grants are broken into two categories: Enterprise Zone Job Creation and Real Property Investment. Qualified businesses can receive grants for a maximum of 350 jobs created above a four new net job threshold (up to $800/job, based on wages offered); and for businesses making a qualified investment in industrial, commercial or mixed use real property within the zone, grants can reach a maximum $200K, in aggregate, within any five-year period.

Examples of qualified real property investments include Excavation, Paving, Driveways, Landscaping, Painting, Doors, Windows, Roofing, HVAC, Electrical/wiring and Flooring. For a full listing, visit the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

Furthermore, per the press release:

“The Virginia Enterprise Zone program has been effective in supporting more than $1.5 billion in investment and the creation of more than 42,000 jobs since it was established in 1995,” said DHCD Director Bill Shelton. “These designations will work to incentives new jobs and new investment in these distressed areas of the Commonwealth.”

For more information on how these zones are designated and the criteria used in evaluating zone applicants: