Tag: Guest contributors
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Big Tax-Hike Push Coming
by Chris Saxman Earlier today I was asked by Virginia Business Magazine what the business community could expect in the 2021 General Assembly Regular Session. I talked about the construct of the short session with a gubernatorial election, House of Delegates staving off primary challenges, bills that were not passed last session, and the prospects…
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UVa Needs to Shut Down the Echo Chamber
The following passage is the second excerpt from a letter written by Joel Gardner, author of “From Rebel Yell to Revolution,” to University of Virginia President Jim Ryan. We published the first excerpt yesterday. — JAB Without being able to accurately substantiate the following with specific facts and figures … I believe there are virtually…
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The Greatest Threat to Academic Freedom and Integrity in UVa’s History
The following passage is excerpted from a letter written by Joel Gardner, author of “From Rebel Yell to Revolution,” to University of Virginia President Jim Ryan. — JAB Our University community is more divided than at any time since the anti-war turbulence of 1969-70. I lived through that period on Grounds and chronicled in my…
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VDH Has a New K-12 “Outbreaks” Dashboard
by Carol J. Bova The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) published a new dashboard on October 23 that lists K-12 Outbreaks of COVID-19 by locality (county, town or city) and facility. As the VDH website explains: “Transmission must occur within the school facility or at a school-sponsored event among students, faculty, staff, or visitors to…
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Senator Warner’s Odd Silence on Violence
by Emilio Jaksetic Since the tragic death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 at the hands of a police officer, there have been thousands of (mostly peaceful) demonstrations and hundreds of riots and civil disturbances in towns and cities across the United States. Some took place in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Fredericksburg and other…
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Election Board Embraces Humpty Dumpty Logic
by Emilio Jaksetic Despite receiving more than 700 public comments, most of them negative, Virginia’s State Board of Elections has adopted a regulation eliminating the statutory requirement that absentee ballots received after election day be postmarked by no later than election day. The regulation is effective October 23, 2020. Information about the Board’s action is…
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Are Microschools a Macro Trend?
by Andy Rotherham Around the country a string of public schools with test-based admissions have been under pressure to go to different admission schemes in an effort to increase student diversity – for instance lottery-based or enrollment slots allocated by feeder school. (At one level it’s a useful reminder that contra the rhetoric, many public…
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Parole Board Sets Free Another Murderer
Letter from Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, sent yesterday to Governor Ralph Northam. Dear Governor Northam, In August 2019, the Parole Board denied Harry J. Williams, DOC # 1008730, parole. These are the reasons they gave Mr. Williams: His history of substance abuse. The serious nature and circumstances of his offense(s). His prior failure(s) and/or…
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Warner and Kaine Wrong about D.C. Statehood
by Emilio Jaksetic On June 26, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Washington D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51), which would admit the District of Columbia (D.C.) as the 51st State. The House vote was essentially along party lines, with all Democrats (except one) voting yes, and all Republicans (and one Independent) voting no. Senators…
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Critical Race Theory Permeates New Student Survey in Fairfax Public Schools
‘I don’t need indoctrination, I need a good solid education in math, science, non-revisionist social studies, & English. Is that too much to ask?’ by Asra Q. Nomani FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – On Oct. 19, as students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology opened their laptops to check in for another difficult…
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Senator Warner Is Missing in Action
by Emilio Jaksetic As co-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner, D-VA, was vociferous about the need to investigate allegations of Russian collusion by President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. But Virginia’s senior senator was silent in 2019 when the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General identified serious defects and failings with FBI and…
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A Measured Consequence: More Heavy Drinking
by Carol J.Bova Yesterday, Jim Bacon wrote about “the unmeasured consequences of society’s reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic.” The RAND Corporation COVID-19 Update on October 8, 2020 provided a reference to a longitudinal survey that examined one of those consequences — alcohol usage. JAMA Network Open published a Research Letter, “Changes in Adult Alcohol Use…
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Richmond to Parents: You’re On Your Own
by Chris Braunlich A week after party-line votes killed Republican initiatives to assist parents of school-aged children financially with federal COVID-19 dollars, Governor Ralph Northam proposed sending another $223 million of those dollars to public schools, adding to millions already sent. There is a major divide in the way Republicans and Democrats view the role…
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Virginia Should Reject the National Popular Vote Compact
by Emilio Jaksetic On February 11, 2020, the Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 177. If enacted into law, the legislation would have made Virginia a participant in the National Popular Vote Compact (NPV Compact), and would assign Virginia’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who receives a majority of the popular vote…
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Fairfax Tax Rate the Same, but Tax Burden Up
by Emilio Jaksetic The massive lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many businesses and workers to lose significant amounts of income and forced them into financially precarious situations. Despite the undeniable financial pain and suffering that many businesses, workers, and households are facing, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors insisted upon another increase…