Virginia: McDonnell gets 2 years. Former Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), convicted of using the governor’s office to help a businessman who gave McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, $177,000 in loans and gifts, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison. Maureen McDonnell will be sentenced on Feb. 20. McDonnell, the first Virginia governor to go to prison, is planning to appeal his conviction ……. Arkansas: Female majority on Supreme Court. With the addition of two new female justices sworn in this week, the Arkansas Supreme Court now has four women and three men, marking the first time the Court has a female majority, reports ArkansasOnline. Rhonda K. Wood, one of the new justices, said, “As children, dreaming of sitting on this court was not in the realm of what we could believe was attainable. That has now shifted.” ……. Texas: Yet another Bush. Don’t get tired of the Bush family anytime soon. In addition to Great Grandfather Prescott Bush (R), US Senator from Connecticut; Presidents George H.W. Bush (TX) and George W. Bush (TX); and former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL), George P. Bush (R), son of Jeb, was sworn in last week as Texas Land Commissioner, an important post in the Lone Star State (it manages the state’s oil and gas holdings) …….
