Category: Federal issues
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Princess Anne and the Blob
by James C. Sherlock I posted earlier today about the cutoff of Princess Anne Health and Rehabilitation Center (Princess Anne) in Virginia Beach from Medicare and Medicaid participation. Federal and state officials had as evidence very recent smoking guns from a February 2025 complaint inspection and a June 2025 revisit by the VDH Office…
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Crime, Bloodshed, Bedlam, Squalor in D.C.
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Now we know what qualifies as a serious crime for the Trump administration. On January 6, 2021, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol. Several law enforcement officers were assaulted, some seriously injured. In January 2025, President Trump pardoned them all. On August 10, 2025, as reported by the Washington Post,…
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A Solution for Effective Nursing Home Oversight
Cutting the Gordian Knot by James C. Sherlock An overarching fact often overlooked is that the for-profit nursing home industry is the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Few for-profit facilities and chains existed before the passage of those programs in 1965. Yet it is for-profit systems that overwhelmingly commit abuses. Government oversight has proven…
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What Goes Around, Comes Around
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Richmond Times-Dispatch had an interesting article about Mark Christie. Christie served a member of Virginia’s State Corporation Commission for 20 years until Trump appointed him to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in his first term. In January, Trump named Christie to head FERC. Then, in June, Trump fired Christie without…
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The Colonial Heights Scandal – the Tip of a Very Large Iceberg
The Boys from Lakewood by James C. Sherlock Most of them are quite young. They have a lot in common. They are friends in many cases. Some grew up together. More are related through blood or marriage. Many have worked together. Some are a second generation of their families in the nursing home industry; To…
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“A Weak and Ineffective Republican”?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Todd Gilbert may be having mixed feelings today. The U.S. Senate has a custom whereby a member can veto a presidential nomination for a district court judgeship or U.S. Attorney in his or her state. It is called a “blue slip” and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee…
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An Alleged Wrongful Death in Colonial Heights Revisited
by James C. Sherlock I published in February 2025 a series of articles on a nursing home wrongful death scandal that was revealed when police swarmed Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (Colonial Heights) in late December of 2024. The government has alleged in court that a woman, helpless with cerebral palsy and diabetes, died…
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Youngkin Being Careful On His Way Out
by Dick Hall-Sizemore With one foot out of the Virginia Governor’s Executive Mansion and both eyes on the White House, Gov. Glenn Youngkin is being careful not to cross Donald Trump. In recent comments he has praised Trump actions and downplayed or publicly ignored any negative effects on the Commonwealth of recent Trump initiatives. Tax and…
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Do Conservatives Really Want This Precedent?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The New York Times is reporting that the Trump administration has demanded that the University of Virginia fire President Jim Ryan as the condition for “resolving” the federal government’s investigation into the school’s DEI efforts. President Trump has declared DEI illegal. No courts have done so. As much as they dislike Ryan,…
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Major Hit to Virginia Budget Looming in Congress
by Dick Hall-Sizemore There are many provisions of the reconciliation bill now being considered by the U.S. Senate that would affect Virginia. One issue that would have a great impact is the proposed crackdown on health-related taxes or assessments used by states. The federal Medicaid statutes authorize states to levy taxes, or assessments as they…
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Trump Backs Off from Deporting Some Undocumented Immigrants
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Immigrants who work in certain sectors of Virginia’s economy, and their employers, can rest a little easier now. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration has ordered immigration agents to cease their sweep operations at agriculture and hospitality industry worksites. On June 12, a senior ICE official sent an e-mail…
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Storm’s Coming. Where’s FEMA?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore At his press conference in the Virginia Emergency Operation Center last fall in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, Gov. Glenn Youngkin introduced “my newest best friend”—the representative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (The “best friend” comment can be found at the 13:15 mark in the video.) When a major disaster…
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Dress Rehearsal for Boomergeddon
by James A. Bacon Judging by the headlines in Virginia’s newspapers, one might think that federal budget cuts are causing widespread devastation to government services and the economy. Here is a sampling from just the past couple of days: NASA Langley workforce slashed by 40% in Trump budget plan — The Virginian-Pilot “‘A smack in…
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Sanctuary Localities All Over Virginia
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Trump administration has announced a list of “sanctuary” cities and counties that it is targeting. The President has threatened to pull federal funding and file suits against those localities that don’t change their practices that the administration deems make it harder for it to carry out its agenda of deporting undocumented…
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Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
Want to know more about the latest Medicaid budget controversy? You’ll learn more sitting in your back yard and listening to the crickets. by James A. Bacon Today we read in the Virginia Mercury the alarming headline that Governor Glenn Youngkin and other Republican governors have signed a letter supporting a congressional budget bill “that…