Tom Perriello, the newly elected representative from Virginia's 5th District -- you may have heard of him -- is already helping his constituents recover from the recession, even though he hasn't been sworn in yet: He's put together a directory of local businesses and blasted his e-mail list, urging folks to do their holiday shopping locally. Perriello's district was hurting economically even before the current recession, and if he wants to win reelection (yes, we're already thinking about it and he probably should be too) there will need to be some kind of tangible results in the district. It's good to see a progressive legislator thinking outside of the box, and hopefully people will take advantage of the resource ("Old Tyme" Peanut Candy anyone?). At the very least, the symbolism is a good way for the freshman representative to set the tone of his first term of office.
--Tim Fernholz
