Welcome to The T-Room Live Blog Suite’s  inaugural post!

About this week –

Below is an MP3 file covering the Virginia General Assembly’s House & Senate, March 8, 2010 Conference Committee meeting. The T-Room will not be providing transcripts of these meetings, nor will we be covering the one-on-one negotiations between members. Our entire goal this year is to record all of the budget conference committee meetings to provide them unedited for our subscribers.

We are mindful that this is a groundbreaking public service and prefer taking incremental steps over a huge leap. Given time, we believe this service will grow and expand with your suggestions/recommendations and ongoing support. So don’t be shy. Chime in.

The T-Room’s schedule for 2010 is to record the budget conferee conferences, ALL legislative committee retreats, key state board meetings and targeted press events held by the Governor as well as Senate and House members. Our future plans are to eventually cover all major comittee meetings as our subscription numbers grow. 

The Biennial Budget

The 2010 budget is like no other challenge these leaders have ever faced. On the one hand, the public has demonstrated over and again they do not want their taxes raised as the Tea Party Town Halls and protests have demonstrated, while on the other hand, citizens don’t want to see their family members, friends and neighbors lose their state funded jobs. Local government doesn’t want to be put in the position of having to increase local taxes, such as property taxes to cover the loss of state funds that provide critical services to their citizens. What to do? The challenge is a substantial one for all who sit at the table.   

The T-Room Live Blog Suite has extended an open invitation to the Senate and House conferee’s to be interviewed and/or to host “live” chats as they wrestle with the challenges to balance the budget. Announcements of such events will be announced in the log-in window on the home page of the live blog suite.

Lastly, we are as new at this as you are. Please let us know if you experience technical difficulties. We want to bring the best customer service possible. Our contact info is htansey@t-room.us

Again, The T-Room is excited to break this new ground and very much look forward to serving you, the citizens of this great Commonwealth.

Stay tuned. Audio feeds will be updated regularly. Now, stop reading and go listen to democracy in action!

Btw, ear buds work great – 3.8.10 Conferee Meeting