Bill Text: VA SJR66 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Charles Cragg Hines.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-01-29 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ66ER) [SJR66 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SJR66-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Charles Cragg Hines of Arlington, an incomparable journalist and former Washington, D.C., bureau chief who covered major world events for more than three decades, and who later became an inspirational volunteer and activist in Northern Virginia, died on December 16, 2023; and
WHEREAS, a native Texan, Cragg Hines grew up in Dallas, where he graduated from Highland Park High School; he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas and covered the 1964 Texas Republican Convention as a student journalist; and
WHEREAS, after graduation, Cragg Hines fulfilled his dream to pursue a career in journalism and worked for United Press International in Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Little Rock, Arkansas, where he met future president Bill Clinton when he was an intern for a United States senator; and
WHEREAS, Cragg Hines was awarded a Congressional Fellowship by the American Political Science Association for the 1970–1971 academic year, then joined the Houston Chronicle at its Washington, D.C., bureau in 1972; he hit the ground running, helping cover the Watergate break-in during his very first week at the bureau and later meeting Hunter S. Thompson while they were both covering George McGovern's unsuccessful campaign for president; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of his keen instincts and charismatic leadership, the Houston Chronicle promoted Cragg Hines to bureau chief in 1983, a position he held until 2000, when he became a part-time opinion columnist for seven more years, before his well-earned retirement in 2007; and
WHEREAS, over the course of his storied 35-year career with the Houston Chronicle, Cragg Hines covered 18 national Democratic and Republican conventions; flew on Air Force One multiple times and asked questions at presidential news conferences of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush; covered Barack Obama's campaign for United States Senate in 2004; and covered Terry McAuliffe's work as chair of the Democratic National Committee; and
WHEREAS, Cragg Hines provided an important voice for the LGBTQ community, reporting on the significance of the LGBTQ vote as early as 1976, during Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign; and
WHEREAS, Cragg Hines traveled the country and the world, following stories of national and global import; he reported on summits between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1980s, was present for Ronald Reagan's Berlin Wall speech in 1987 and the removal of Checkpoint Charlie in 1991, and subsequently covered the opening salvos of Operation Desert Storm from Saudi Arabia; he authored the main story in the special edition of the Houston Chronicle after the attacks on September 11, 2001, for which he won first place in the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors annual journalism competition; and
WHEREAS, known for his witty, sophisticated writing and clear, effective reporting, Cragg Hines was deeply respected by readers, colleagues, and government officials alike; he was a trusted mentor and friend who not only maintained critical institutional knowledge for the press corps on Capitol Hill, but was always quick to recommend the best routes and restaurants to his fellow journalists who were traveling on assignment; and
WHEREAS, after his retirement from the Houston Chronicle, Cragg Hines became a freelance writer for Washingtonian magazine and immediately began a second chapter of his career as an activist and advocate, joining the Arlington County Democratic Committee as a precinct captain in 2007; he went on to hold leadership positions in the Eighth Congressional District Democratic Committee and the Democratic State Central Committee and provided his insights and wise counsel to many Democratic candidates running for elected office; and
WHEREAS, Cragg Hines served as a state convention delegate for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, a national convention delegate for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and a member of the Electoral College for Joe Biden in 2020; and
WHEREAS, Cragg Hines earned several awards and accolades over the years, including his selection by Washingtonian as one of the top 50 reporters in Washington, D.C., in 2001 and the Outstanding Democrat award from the Arlington County Democratic Committee in 2019; and
WHEREAS, Cragg Hines will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his partner of 45 years, Bruce Crane, and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Charles Cragg Hines, an acclaimed journalist and highly regarded community activist in Northern Virginia; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Charles Cragg Hines as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.
