Category: Uncategorized
-
Chilling Revelations In The Saga Of The 6-Year-Old Teacher Shooter
by Kerry Dougherty Excuse my language, but what the hell is going on at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News? On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that school administrators there have downplayed threats of violence, apparently ignoring pleas for help from frightened teachers. One account claims that the same boy who shot and nearly killed…
-
Return to Bull Run: Pumping the Brakes on Data Center Construction
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V Conflict rages yet again on the site of two major Civil War Battles, Manassas National Battlefield Park, in Prince William County, Virginia. This is nothing new to Northern Virginia residents who can recall the rally cry of “Save the Battlefield.” In 1988, developers fought and lost the battle to build…
-
Jeanine’s Memes
From the Bull Elephant Yeah, Boomers are pretty awesome. The rest of you will miss us when we’re gone.
-
RVA 5×5: Redefining 100 Percent Compliance
by Jon Baliles The recent stories from the City Jail have been anything but good — inmates dying far too often, staffing shortages leading to dangerous work conditions, deputies quitting, and the lack of leadership that can’t fill the vacancies while conducting lie detector tests on some of the staff that remain. Tyler Layne at…
-
School Discipline, Part III: Reframing Discipline in Virginia and Considerations for Making New Policy
by Matthew Hurt and Kathleen Smith Reframing School Discipline The Student Behavior and Administrative Response (SBAR) data collection was implemented in response to reframing school discipline from that of criminal, punishment, and exclusionary practices from 1991-2020 to that of restorative, intervention, and inclusionary practices in 2021 and beyond. The SBAR reports on behaviors that impede…
-
UVa’s Killjoys at Work
by James A. Bacon Yesterday I criticized Virginia’s colleges and universities for nurturing campus cultures that turn students into snowflakes unprepared for the adversity of the modern-day workplace and life as adults. A big contributor to the snowflake phenomenon is what psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls “safetyism” — protecting students from the risks of undergoing a…
-
Leave Arlington’s Confederate Memorial Intact
by Phil Leigh Arlington National Cemetery’s Confederate Memorial should remain intact. Although four of the first seven cotton states arguably seceded from the union over slavery, they did not cause the Civil War. They had no purpose to overthrow the federal government. After forming the seven state Confederacy in February 1861, they promptly sent commissioners…
-
The Naming Commission’s Diktats
by Donald Smith The Congressional Naming Commission (CNC) was authorized as part of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Its eight commissioners included two retired Army generals, a retired Navy admiral and a retired Marine Corps general. It also had academics with imposing credentials. One commissioner is a professor emeritus at United States Military Academy…
-
Part II: School Discipline, Virginia Data and Virginia’s Disproportionality Concerns
This is the second of a three-part series on school discipline. The authors present information and provide discussion questions for the audience to respond. We hope the discussion will further an understanding of the complexity of school discipline and safe and orderly schools within the context of the presented data. by Matthew Hurt and Kathleen…
-
Now, What is That Number?
A recent article in The Washington Post described how the U.S Secretary of State has ordered that all documents sent to the Secretary’s office must use the Calibri font and be in 14 point. It reminded me of the period in which staff in the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget were directed to use…
-
School Discipline, Part I: Framing School Discipline and National Data
by Matthew Hurt and Kathleen Smith This is the first of a three-part series on school discipline. The authors present the information and then provide discussion questions. We hope the discussion will further an understanding of the complexity of school discipline and safe and orderly schools. Part I of this series frames school discipline and…
-
Pass Me the Napkin, Please. I Need to Write an Appeal.
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Youngkin administration has come up with a new way to deal with the backlog of appeals filed with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC): reduce the amount of time claimants and employers have to file an appeal to the agency’s decision. As reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a House subcommittee has acted…
-
Parents’ Rights Under Assault in Richmond
by Kerry Dougherty HB2091 – SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Parental access to minor’s medical records; consent by certain minors to treatment of mental or emotional disorder. Adds an exception to the right of parental access to a minor child’s health records if the furnishing to or review by the requesting parent of such health records would…
-
Dominion Energy Scholarships Define “Communities” by Race
By Carol J. Bova Dominion Energy is offering 60 undergraduate Equitable Education Scholarships totaling $500,000 for “students from historically underrepresented communities.” The rules exclude White students (unless they identify as Hispanic), no matter what “community” they’re from, because to be eligible, applicants must: — Self-identify as Black or African American; Hispanic or Latino; American Indian…