Category: Uncategorized
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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…
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The Governor Strikes Back
by Dick Hall-Sizemore In addition to previously announced vetoes of high-profile bills with Democrat sponsors (Fairfax casino, skill games, and public employee collective bargaining), Gov. Spanberger has announced her veto of 13 more pieces of legislation. All of these bills were ones for which she returned with requested amendments that the Democrats in the General…
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How Bad Is Surovell at His Job?
by Joe Fitzgerald The first was a plan to put a casino in Fairfax County, despite the objections of the local government there. He knew better than the county supervisors. The governor vetoed it. Scott Surovell has had three major failures in his third year as leader of the state Senate Democrats. The second was…
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Virginia’s Decision on Federal School Choice Tax Credit Program Looms
Two Democratic Governors Join Federal School Choice Tax Credit Program While Virginia’s State Program Faces Sunset by Todd Truitt Two Democratic governors have now chosen to participate in a new federal school choice tax-credit scholarship program. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that her state will opt in, following Colorado Governor Jared Polis.…
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Contrary to Popular Belief, Data Centers Slow the Increase in Energy Prices
by Derrick Max For several years, opponents of data center growth in Virginia have advanced a simple political narrative: data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity, therefore they “must” be driving up electric bills for ordinary Virginians. It is an emotionally intuitive and persuasive argument. It is also increasingly unsupported by the evidence. A new…