Ken Cuccinelli

Cuccinelli Headlines Murray Fundraiser

By ARLnow.com

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli traveled to Alexandria last night to attend a small private fundraiser for fellow Republican Patrick Murray, who’s trying to unseat long-time incumbent Rep. Jim Moran.

Cuccinelli declined to discuss his controversial lawsuit against the federal government over the Obama health care reform law, but he had plenty to say about Murray’s opponent and the Democrats’ record on the economy.

Moran does not provide “the kind of leadership the Founding Fathers had in mind,” Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told the crowd of about 75 supporters. But “in Patrick Murray, you have a better alternative.”

Cuccinelli warned of the dangers of unchecked deficit spending and spoke of the need for pro-business policies.

Murray praised the Republican leadership in Richmond for managing to eke out a budget surplus in a weak economy. He blasted Moran for telling MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that “the economy has recovered.”

“The politicians in Washington, DC — they don’t listen to us,” Murray said. “People are tired of $13 trillion in debt.”

Murray said Cuccinelli would be back to help his campaign in the fall. Murray, who has lagged in fundraising, has held events with two major statewide figures — Cuccinelli and former governor George Allen — in the past two weeks.

INVESTIGATION: Still No Answers for Washington Golf Center Customers

By ARLnow.com

Two months after it abruptly closed, there are still no answers for customers of Washington Golf Center.

The closing left clients and customers holding worthless gift cards and unpaid bills.

The owners of the Shirlington building that housed the store had to hold a cash liquidation sale earlier this year, telling ARLnow.com that the company had stopped paying its rent in October and had not even bothered to declare bankruptcy. The company simply walked away from the lease, the landlords said, forcing them to sell the remaining merchandise themselves in order to recover some of their losses.

Store customers who had recently bought gift cards, however, had no way of getting any of their money back. One customer from Fort Washington, Md. said he had bought each of his sons a $500 Washington Golf Center gift card for Christmas. Neither had used it when the store went belly-up. The value of the gift cards went from $1000 to $0 overnight.

“What’s unfortunate is that there’s no information — no final clearance, nothing like that,” the customer said. “I would have liked some sort of announcement, some advance notice.”

Other customers who commented on our story also reported holding gift cards worth between $125 and $1,250.

“We’re well aware of the company,” said Edward Johnson, local president of the Better Business Bureau. “They have an ‘F’ rating and that’s because of complaints.”

Johnson said consumers have very little recourse when a company closes its doors without filing for bankruptcy.

“It’s not uncommon for businesses to go under. When they do, however, there’s an obligation, if they’re incorporated, to wind down the corporation and file for bankruptcy. That’s what a company with integrity would do.”

Several people have commented about the store on the internet said they got the impression that Washington Golf Center was going out of business well before it actually closed, due to low inventory and other factors. Johnson said a crime may have been committed if the store sold gift cards while preparing to close.

“If the company knowingly sold gift certificates and knew at the same time that they were closing their doors, then there is a case for potential fraud,” he said.

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Fisette: AG Making Virginia Look “Small and Backward”

By ARLnow.com

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s recent actions make the state look “small and backward,” Jay Fisette said to the 70 protesters who gathered on the steps  outside the George Mason University School of Law in Clarendon Tuesday.

They were there — in the words of organizer Cathryn Oakley — to “send Attorney General Cuccinelli a message.” That message: discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is wrong, no matter how you interpret the law.

“This is about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said Fisette, chairman of the Arlington County board and Virginia’s first openly gay elected official.

Cuccinelli, a graduate of GMU law, was at the school to speak to a group students. He entered the building through a back door, away from the protest.

Along with GMU student leaders, Fisette was joined by Del. Adam Ebbin (D), Virginia’s first openly gay delegate, and Del. Bob Brink (D). Brink and Ebbin both represent parts of Arlington.

“Welcome to March Madness, Cuccinelli-style,”  Ebbin told the crowd . “We’re here to call Ken Cuccinelli on his fouls… no Virginian has been so out of touch with the realities of the 21st century.”

“Ken Cuccinelli is not only an embarrassment to our Commonwealth, but sadly he is an embarrassment to this institution,” Ebbin said.

Cuccinelli later told ABC7 that he is doing what voters elected him to do.

“I got more votes than anyone ever running for AG in Virginia history,” Cuccinelli said in the interview. “People of Virginia knew what they were getting when they elected me.”

More photos and raw video of some of the speeches, after the jump.

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Anti-Cuccinelli Protest To Be Held Today

By ARLnow.com

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) is scheduled to speak at the George Mason University School of Law in Clarendon this evening, but he’ll be getting a not-so-welcome reception from local Democratic lawmakers, gay rights supporters and some GMU student leaders.

Cuccinelli has drawn fire from Democrats for his letter to state universities asserting that anti-discrimination policies for sexual orientation were not supported by state law. More recently, Cuccinelli has been assailed for his effort to block the recently-passed health care reform bill.

A protest, organized on Facebook, is scheduled to take place between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. tonight outside the GMU law school building (3301 Fairfax Drive). State delegate Adam Ebbin (D) and Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette are among the expected speakers.

The protest is “specifically in response to [Cuccinelli’s] opinion letter to the Presidents, Rectors and Visitors of Virginia’s Public Colleges and Universities urging them to delete sexual orientation from their nondiscrimination policies,” organizers say.

Follow ARLnow.com for updates on this story.