Month: November 2020
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Part IV – Herring’s LCPS Determination and the Constitution
by James C. Sherlock We have in this series explored the case In Re: Final Determination of the Office of Attorney General Division of Human Rights in DHR Case No.: 19-2652, NAACP Loudoun Branch v. Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). This non-judicial investigation and determination has made famous: the new law, Subdivision B 2 of §…
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Shortage of Health Facilities Inspectors Puts All Virginians at Risk
by James C. Sherlock I have been the single fiercest public critic of the Virginia Department of Health in general and its Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC) in particular. I have been particularly critical of OLC’s inspections of nursing homes. We need them to do better, and they agree. This essay will report what…
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Behind Dominion’s Shift to Renewables
By Peter Galuszka Ever wonder why Dominion Energy found religion and announced a major shift to renewable energy? The answer is that modern, high technology businesses want it and the Richmond-based utility wants to respond to their desires. This one of the themes in this recent cover story I did for Style Weekly that explores…
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Hampton Roads’ $4 Billion Lottery Ticket
by James A. Bacon As it looks forward to developing an $7.8 billion wind project off the Virginia coast, Dominion is developing a specialized vessel capable of installing the massive turbines with blades the length of football fields, according to The Virginia Mercury. The federal Jones Act bars foreign ships from carrying shipments between U.S.…
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Carbon Tax Advocates Who Lost in November
Editor’s Note: A cautionary tale as the 2021 Virginia General Assembly prepares to debate another major carbon tax? By Paul D. Craney One of the most overlooked stories on Election Day was the defeat of pro-carbon tax politicians across the nation and here in New England. The most notable carbon tax proponent to seek office in…
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Criminal Justice Reform Summary
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Now that I have some time and before it slips completely out of our minds, this is a good opportunity to review the final criminal justice reforms enacted by the recently-concluded special session of the General Assembly. (For those of you for whom the special session has slipped mercifully from your consciousness…
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Part III – Questions raised by Attorney General Herring’s Loudoun County Schools Determination
by James C. Sherlock The citizens of Loudoun and LCPS need to understand all the implications of the Attorney General’s determination. This essay will offer questions that I sincerely recommend that LCPS pose to the Attorney General in order to get enough information to decide what to do. The AG’s office was given 60 days…
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Unemployment of Blacks Exceed that of Whites at Every Level of Educational Attainment
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Here is another salvo in the culture wars that have been reflected on this blog. An article in a newspaper today begins with this sentence: “From advanced-degree holders to high-school dropouts, Black workers have substantially higher unemployment rates at every level of educational attainment than white workers….” And which woke newspaper with…
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Is It Even Worse If You Put Starbucks Creamer in Your Coffee?
Agreed: There is not enough bacon. Indeed, the phrase “too much bacon” is literally an oxymoron. Otherwise, I’m in big trouble. I like my eggs sunny side up, prefer English muffins to toast, and put Starbucks creamer in my coffee. — JAB
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Herring’s Loudoun County Determination Part II – State-Sponsored Extortion
by James C. Sherlock Part one of two essays on this subject described a new Virginia law, a new Division in the Attorney Generals office, its function as a kangaroo court and its astonishing and sweeping “determination” against Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). The law requires LCPS to block Asian American kids from the competitively…
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Herring’s Academies of Loudoun Ruling – Part I – Only Cure for Disparate Impact is Fewer Asians
by James C. Sherlock I just finished reading the 61-page “Final Determination of the Office of Attorney General Division of Human Rights in DHR Case No.: 19-2652, NAACP Loudoun Branch v. Loudoun County Public Schools.” The first thing I discovered is that the Democrats in the last session created a kangaroo court within the Attorney…
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Where Have All the Heart Attacks Gone?
by Carol J. Bova The Johns Hopkins University News-Letter published an article earlier this month asking, “Where have all the heart attacks gone?” The study questioned whether the U.S. COIVD-19 death rates are being overstated by omitting deaths usually attributed to attacks and cancer. The study was pulled four days later. Dr. Genevieve Briand, the…
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Medicaid Enrollment Reaches 1.5 Million Virginians
By Steve Haner Just under two years into Virginia’s Medicaid expansion, and less than one year into a pandemic-sparked economic crisis, enrollment in the program is now about 1.5 million Virginians. Enrollment has grown more than 25% in less than two years and spending more than 30%. The financial impact on state taxpayers has been…
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The Pick-Your-Expert Game, Virginia Schools Division
by James C. Sherlock A story by Dana Goldstein published in the New York Times on June 30, 2020, illustrates America’s new favorite parlor game: Pick your expert. This essay is hereby entered in the Virginia schools division of the bigger game. Ms. Goldstein wrote: “The American Academy of Pediatrics has a reputation as conservative…
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School Culture, Volunteerism and COVID-19
by James A. Bacon In Washington County, down by the border with Tennessee, Emory & Henry College students are helping to fill gaps in the ranks of local school teachers by volunteering as substitutes. Writes the Bristol Herald-Courier: Emory & Henry senior Aleah Bowers actually quit her job at a local grocery store to help answer…