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Bacon Meme of the Week
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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 struggling kids visible and schools accountable.
You can read the full OpEd here.
Key points from the commentary:
- Districts cannot serve as their own judges of success — statewide standardized testing is essential to provide honest, comparable information to the general public.
- Standardized tests provide a clear, external check that more subjective alternatives cannot reliably match.
- True educational equity requires honest measurement of achievement gaps to better target resources.
Virginia is currently updating its SOLs with more rigorous content standards (adopted in recent years), new aligned assessments, and higher cut scores for proficiency — demonstrating a continued commitment to raising expectations and using objective measures to drive improvement.
This perspective aligns with recent developments in higher education. Just this week, more than 1,000 University of California STEM faculty (as of the publishing of this article) signed an open letter urging reinstatement of SAT/ACT math scores for STEM admissions, citing severe preparation gaps and the need for reliable readiness measures amid grade inflation. Yale similarly reinstated standardized testing requirements this week, recognizing their predictive value for student success.
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Nobody Home
by James C. Sherlock
Last week, I conducted a short field survey in Virginia Beach of four businesses registered with the federal government to bill Medicaid as providers of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) (i.e., autism) services.
Each is headquartered in Lakewood, NJ.
Lakewood is, of course, the location of the Medical Facilities of America DBA LifeWorks Rehab, Virginia’s infamous and largest nursing home chain. So, I looked there for ABA chains with Virginia locations and visited four located in Virginia Beach.
Many ABA chains offer physical centers. The largest are owned by private equity.
Not these. These four offices are virtual.
There was nobody from those Lakewood companies at either of the two addresses where the four companies listed their Virginia Beach offices.
The four have similar characteristics:
- There are no “centers.” One of the Virginia Beach locations is a mail drop. The other three are at a single location, serving as clients of an international company that advertises “compliance” services.
- There is no Virginia Beach phone number.
- The phone numbers they provided in the NPI registration are answering services.
- There is no company representation at the local addresses.
- Most are not registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
- Websites are where they do business. Again, no phone numbers are listed. They have automated chat systems.
There are perhaps hundreds of similarly situated ABA service providers statewide.
What could go wrong?
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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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From FOIA Fight to Felony Embezzlement Charges
Restoration News holds Essex County (VA) School Board member accountable as grand jury indicts board member, superintendent, and finance director.
by Victoria Manning
An investigation by Restoration News has led to direct accountability for elected officials. When Essex School Board member Garlyn Bundy failed to produce documents requested by Restoration News under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), we took her to court and won. Now a grand jury has issued indictments against Bundy for destruction of public records and embezzlement. Former school employees, including the past superintendent and director of finance, have also been indicted.
Potentially years in prisons on felony charges
Essex County Commonwealth’s Attorney James Sitton confirmed with Restoration News that Essex School Board member Garlyn Bundy has been indicted on charges of embezzlement of government funds. These charges under code 18.2-112 are a class 4 felony punishable by “imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than 10 years.”
Sitton also confirmed that former Essex Schools Superintendent Dr. Harry Thomas and former director of finance Elizabeth Franklin were also indicted for embezzlement of government funds. Franklin has an additional indictment of concealing a felony under code 18.2-462.
Authorities served the trio on May 27 and will appear for arraignment on June 3.
During the FOIA hearing against Bundy in April, Restoration News Attorney Tim Anderson questioned her about why she didn’t produce the requested documents. She ultimately admitted that she had destroyed the documents.
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GOP No Longer the Party of Ronald Reagan
Former Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling writes on The Republican Standard that the Trumpification of the Republican Party nationally and Virginia is complete.
He writes: Recent primary elections in several states have clearly shown that the Grand Old Party as we once knew it is stone cold dead.
The GOP is no longer the party of Ronald Reagan. Not even close. The GOP has been totally redefined in the image of Donald Trump.
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VPM: Your Philanthropic Dollars at Work
VPMs new headquarters building in downtown Richmond. Image credit; VPM The following missive comes from an email blast distributed by an unidentified “whistle blower” at Virginia Public Media unhappy about public radio’s priorities. I have not vetted this story, and readers should be sensitive to the fact VPM might offer a very different spin, but the allegations seem plausible enough to examine more closely. — JAB
VPM, central Virginia’s PBS and NPR member, is spending $80 million of the public’s (FCC spectrum auction) money on a shiny new downtown campus when most of downtown Richmond, including the vacated Richmond Times-Dispatch newsroom, is available for cheap. We already have too much unused square footage here in No. Chesterfield. As an insider, I know you will hear no shortage of PR this year about investing in downtown and the public, etc. I remind you still that this is as much as $80 million blown, without a second thought, during the worst funding crisis in PBS+NPR history.
VPM is laying off reporters and starving journalism. Ben Paviour, Focal Point VA, forcing out Craig Carper, EP Roberta Oster and others who call bullshit on management. Docking unused vacation days. Reducing full-time-equivalents, to fund management spending and ridiculous overhead.
As you will see in its 990 public filings, VPM is paying its top two executives, J. Swain and S. Humble, a half a million dollars each. They live big, town and country. On the public’s money.
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Gas Plant Approval’s Appeal Tests VCEA, Environmental Justice Law
by Steve Haner
The appeal is focused on Dominion’s Chesterfield gas plant, but this larger plant planned for Cumberland County is also targeted for denial. (Dominion image.) The ongoing fight over the future of natural gas power generation in Virginia has now moved to the Virginia Supreme Court, with environmental activists asking that court to reverse the State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) decision from six months ago approving a new gas project in Chesterfield County.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the lead plaintiff. The petition it filed this week raises the same claims about how the SCC had erred that were used in a failed motion for reconsideration. The main allegation is that the environmental effects will be unduly detrimental to black Chesterfield residents who live near the proposed plant location, in violation of the Virginia Environmental Justice Act.
The petition also tests two key provisions of the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act, which was intended by its authors to prevent exactly the kind of electrical generation plant Dominion Energy Virginia wants to build. If the high court agrees with the plaintiffs and overturns the SCC, other Virginia gas plant proposals in the pipeline will also face rejection.
The opponents are challenging the SCC’s finding that because the plant is necessary to maintain system reliability for Dominion’s 2.7 million customers, that qualifies it for cost recovery through a rate adjustment clause. The VCEA from the beginning allowed the SCC to approve construction of additional gas generation if needed to maintain reliability.
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Virginia Is One Month Away from a Government Shutdown
Virginia Democrats hold both branches of the General Assembly and the Executive Mansion — and still can’t govern effectively.
by Shaun Kenney
Virginia still doesn’t have a budget.
Instead of working on a budget, Senate Democratic leadership is now openly threatening a government shutdown unless they get what they want. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is unapologetic on the vetoes — even going so far as to claim that the leadership of the Democratic-controlled General Assembly simply isn’t used to female leadership, per Dwayne Yancey over at Cardinal News:
Just as she repeated the phrase “the devil’s in the details” later in our interview, the governor’s power to propose amendments — and her intention to use it — was a theme Spanberger returned to several times during our interview. She also said that some legislators have told her privately that some of the conflict between the General Assembly and the new governor could be due to resentment on the part of some legislators at having to deal with a woman in the role of chief executive for the first time.
Interesting to me is that Yancey’s conversation seemed to be more confessional than homily, so we should be looking forward to a real glimpse of just where Spanberger is after bankrupting her political capital in pursuit of unconstitutional gerrymandering. If there is a centrist in Spanberger, now is the time to lay down a marker.
In the meantime, Senate Democrats don’t appear to be in any rush to compromise. Neither do House Democrats, where Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, is playing a similar game with a more reasonable approach.
Then there is Governor Spanberger’s perspective, which to date has either not been considered by the General Assembly or she simply hasn’t shared her thoughts (or been invited to share them).
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Virginia’s Old-Fashioned Cat Fight
by Kerry Dougherty
Someone recently asked why I’m so fond of including Tweets, er Xes, in my posts.
That’s easy. There’s no better way to figure out what’s going on in the devious hearts of politicians than to read their Tweets.
In the days after her businesses were raided by the FBI State Sen. Louise Lucas, who liked to pepper her posts with obscenities few octogenarians use, was quiet.
Frankly, we missed the foul-mouthed Democrat political boss.
Now she’s back. And instead of insulting Republicans and bragging about how she’s loading her bong with Republican tears, she’s going after the governor. A fellow Democrat.
It’s an old fashioned cat fight. And I’m here for it.
Here’s yesterday’s offerings as Lucas struck back at Abigail Spanberger who is blaming her for the budget impasse.
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Spanberger Policies “Incoherent” — says Lucas Dem Advisor
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Some Virginia Prosecutors Refusing to Enforce New Gun Laws
by Kerry Dougherty
This is odd.
Seems the same lefties who are unbothered by Fairfax County’s Soros-backed commonwealth’s attorney reluctance to prosecute illegal aliens or turn them over to ICE are having hissy fits over prosecutors who announced that they won’t enforce Virginia’s new – likely unconstitutional – gun law.
Maybe some law-abiding citizens wouldn’t feel the need to arm themselves if criminals weren’t being turned loose on the public by soft-on-crime prosecutors.
Earlier this month Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed into law a sweeping prohibition on certain types of semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines. This includes of course, America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15. It’s estimated that 20 to 25 million ARs are already in the hands of civilians in the U.S.
After July 1, it will be a crime to sell, manufacture, import or transfer such a weapon in Virginia. Those who already own ARs will be grandfathered under the statute.
Lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the law have been filed in state and federal court and the U.S. Supreme Court seems likely to hear a case from another jurisdiction that addresses a similar ban.
Hopefully, this Virginia law could be short-lived.
In the meantime, commonwealth’s attorneys in at least four jurisdictions have already signaled that they will not be enforcing the new gun restrictions. As constitutional officers, they are sworn to uphold the constitution and are answerable to the voters, not the governor. Continue reading.
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Autism-related Vulnerability of Virginia Medicaid
by James C. Sherlock
Virginia is not doing enough to prevent Medicaid fraud. Our attempts are hampered by the dysfunctional design of the state regulatory system. They often fail because they cannot work. This piece will focus on behavioral health and recommend specific actions, but the entire healthcare regulatory system needs an overhaul. Absent that, we risk the stoppage of federal Medicaid contributions.
Ask Minnesota.
The costs of Medicaid Behavioral Health Services are immense, even in a single state. Last fiscal year, Virginia alone spent nearly $2 billion on services for mental health and substance use disorders out of $14.8 billion total Medicaid expenditures.
We note below from Medicaid and FAMIS Managed Care Healthcare Expenditures by Service Category that the fastest-growing Virginia Medicaid program is behavioral health services. It jumped from about $260 million to what appears to be $340 million per quarter over only six quarters.
We also note that expenditures on Home and Community-based Services jumped from $400 million to $525 million per quarter over the same 18-month period. Payments to Lucas Lodge and more than a thousand other providers of community-based services for the intellectually and developmentally disabled (I/DD) services are included in that number.
Autism diagnosis and treatment are included in both figures.
The National Institutes of Health reports that autism misdiagnosis or late diagnosis is highly common, but is often sought partially because an autism diagnosis “is validating.”
Because autism relies on behavioral observation rather than lab tests, traits are frequently masked to fit in or confused with other conditions like ADHD, social anxiety, or bipolar disorder. This can lead to years of inappropriate treatment and immense stress.
Autism diagnosis and treatment are a growth industry, and the Medicaid money thrown at the problem is staggering. So, oversight to prevent fraud committed by companies, often owned by private equity firms, and by individual providers, is crucial.
Virginia apparently does not yet see it that way. The feds do.
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How Abby Got Her Groove Back
Doing that groove thing. AI-generated image by Grok. 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 actual issues), she won with 57% of the vote.
Then the 2026 session convened with Democrats holding all levers of power — and Spanberger was faced with a constitutional measure designed to “temporarily” dilute the votes of rural Virginians. Based on money and demographics, the referendum was sure to pass — and just as sure to enrage the 48.5% who were being politically erased.
So much for bipartisanship. Predictably, her popularity dropped.
At that point, the Governor had two options: pull a “Northam” and simply sign every Democratic bill or actually govern like a leader. Thankfully she (mostly) chose the latter.
In the past two weeks, the Governor has vetoed multiple flawed bills which passed on a party-line vote: creating a retail marijuana market, mandating collective bargaining for local governments, and making “menopause” a protected category under the VA Human Rights Act (yes, really).
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