Category: Uncategorized
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Lucas Stymies Budget Talks, Trashes Other Democrats
by Dick Hall-Sizemore From Louise Lucas’s Twitter Feed, courtesy of Virginia Political Newsletter Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) has taken a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook. She is resorting to assigning insulting nicknames to those who will not go along with her and trying to negotiate by social media using all capitals in her complaints.…
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Another Look at Those Crime Numbers
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Virginians for Safe Communities needs to broaden its outlook. In a recent article on this blog, the organization pointed out that the number of offenses against persons in Arlington/Falls Church and Fairfax Co/Fairfax City had increased significantly from 2019 to 2025. It linked those increases to the policies of the Commonwealth’s attorneys…
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CDL Carnage Continues
by Kerry Dougherty On Friday morning, at 2:35, a charter bus on I-95 south in Stafford county failed to slowdown for a work zone and plowed into an SUV. That SUV rammed an Acura sedan, carrying a family of four. Four other cars were also hit by the bus, before the larger vehicle flipped over,…
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These Virginia Constitutional Amendments Need Opposition, Not Neutrality
A 32-30 vote to remain “neutral” where Republican State Central Committee members couldn’t even put their names to their votes? Unacceptable. by Shaun Kenney Now I will grant this. Never has a unit committee or state committee endorsement swung an election, at least not in recent memory. This is how inconsequential votes from the Republican…
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Social Breakdown Update
Virginia’s homicide rate is down, thankfully, but do you, as an ordinary citizen feel any safer?
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Thankful for Virginia’s SOL Exams
Transparency and Accountability Where Local Systems Fell Short by Todd Truitt My guest commentary this week in the Richmond Times-Dispatch expresses thankfulness for Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. Before statewide testing, local assessments often masked poor performance and hid achievement gaps from parents and policymakers. The SOLs brought essential transparency and continue to keep…
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When You Fire the Rector of a Virginia University…
Shouldn’t you at least explain why? John Rocovich, a prominent Roanoke attorney, has served two terms on the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, twice as rector. Violating the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics are serious charges. Aren’t he and the public owed an explanation? — JAB
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How Abby Got Her Groove Back
by Chap Petersen A great advantage of being out of power is that you can speak honestly about what’s going on — and not care who’s offended. Abigail Spanberger served in Congress and ran for Governor as a moderate Democrat, standing apart from the AOC-Mandani socialist wing. By running on that brand (and largely avoiding…
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More Timeshare Architecture!
by Kerry Dougherty Scrolling through X the other day I stumbled on an amusing post by someone who asked AI to “roast” Virginia Beach. The result was spot on. Impossibly accurate. So I decided to give it a try. I asked ChatGPT to produce a “roast” of Virginia Beach. The prompts I gave only mentioned…
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Virginia Redistricting Fails: The Fight Continues
David J. Toscano Faced with a potential Democratic wave this fall, Republican legislators across the nation continue their efforts to placate Donald Trump by adopting unprecedented mid-cycle gerrymanderings designed to protect their majority in Congress. Emboldened by the U.S. Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act in the Callais decision, Republicans just adopted new maps in…
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An Unbecoming Reaction
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Justice Arthur Kelsey of the Virginia Supreme Court was the author of the recent decision in which the Court struck down the recently approved constitutional amendment regarding redistricting. Justice Kelsey’s current 12-term on the Court will expire next January. To continue on the Court, he would have to be re-elected by the General Assembly…
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Is Targeted Tax Relief Just The First Step?
by Jon Baliles While running for Mayor in 2024, candidate Danny Avula’s top priority in the “Thriving neighborhoods and affordable housing” section of his platform stated: As Mayor, he will: His third bullet point in that part of his policy platform claimed he would “strengthen protections and resources available for our most vulnerable residents.” Somewhere between…