Tag: Guest contributors
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Two Faces of the Face-Mask Mandate
by Sidney Bostian Governor Ralph Northam will announce tomorrow the details of a statewide mandate to wear masks in public spaces and businesses. “We are working through the policy. Obviously it’s an equity issue,” Northam said at his Friday news conference, adding that all Virginia residents would need access to face coverings and that he…
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The Emperor’s New Clothes — or the COVID That Didn’t Happen
by Carol J. Bova The May 22 UVA COVID-19 Model weekly report says the virus transmission rate dropped below 1.0 in the past week. It had averaged 2.2 prior to March 15. Here’s the explanation of what that means: Researchers use the transmission rate of a disease, often referred to as R-naught (R0), to measure…
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Virginia Ranks 41st Nationally in Nursing Home Ratings
by Carol J. Bova Medicare offers a “Nursing Home Compare” website. It uses a one- to five-star rating system for four categories: Overall Rating, Health Inspections, Staffing, and Quality Measures. There is a category called Special Focus Facility for a nursing home with a persistent poor quality of care, subject to more frequent inspections and…
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What, Exactly, Is VDEM Doing In the COVID-19 Emergency?
by Carol J. Bova The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) is responsible for writing the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan (COVEP) which “provides the framework for how the state will support impacted local governments, individuals and businesses.” A Virginia Municipal League (VML) web page provides Virginia localities a Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP)…
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It’s Time to Reopen the Schools
by Han Bader Several countries are reopening schools after temporarily closing them due to coronavirus. For example, Denmark and Norway have reopened their elementary schools. States in America should start reopening their schools, too. New research says that doing so won’t spread coronavirus to many adults, and it will have little effect on child mortality.…
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Needless Ban on Elective Surgery Shrank the Economy
by Hans Bader The economy shrank in 2020’s first quarter by a rapid 4.8% rate. Economists say the second quarter will be far, far worse, thanks to coronavirus. The virus’s spread triggered state lockdowns closing or restricting many retail establishments. Even before the lockdowns, fear of the virus shrank sales by discouraging people from leaving…
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Are Daily Headlines Driving the Fear?
by Larry Hincker Last year, Virginia suffered 1,800 flu deaths. So far, the COVID-19 virus has taken about 425. The 2017-18 flu season was the worst in four decades. More than 80,000 Americans died that year. What if newspapers posted a chart of flu deaths on their front page every day, like they now do…
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Getting to Goldilocks
by Chris Spencer The news was good overall on Friday when Governor Northam announced the creation of a COVID-19 task force and presented a preliminary blueprint for reopening Virginia.[1] Like all works in progress, both could use tweaking, but they are good starts. Let’s imagine how the task force could achieve victory. I. A Beginning…
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Looking for the Goldilocks Lockdown
by Chris Spencer Virginia has an opportunity to show the rest of the nation how to reopen and prepare for the next waves of COVID-19. We needed widespread mandatory restrictions in March to (a) flatten the curve to give the health system a chance to manage it and (b) impress upon people the seriousness of…
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Jumbled Numbers
by Carol Bova The Virginia Mercury published an article by Kate Masters April 6th about Virginia’s $27 million order for personal protective equipment (PPE). As of April 20th, the Governor’s Office had not responded to the Mercury’s Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the contract or the specifics of the deal. The…
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Uh, Oh…
by Dean Wortmier Because the panacea bonfire of the “New Abbott Labs Test” is being stoked, I have been forced to revive some brain cells that have been comfortably soaking up rum for the past 8 years. How much help is testing for CoV2 going to be in deciding to ‘Open Up’ Virginia? Let’s use…
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COVID-19 a New Excuse for Racial Preferences
by Hans Bader Government officials are handing out tax dollars based on race and gender in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One example is in Arlington, where I live. The Arlington County government announced that it will hand out grants to small businesses based on “considerations” such as whether the business is “women and/or minority-owned.”…
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To Accelerate Economic Recovery, Delay These Laws
by Chris Braunlich Last week the Virginia Municipal League (VML), representing the Commonwealth’s city, town and county governments, urged Governor Ralph Northam to delay legislation imposing new costs and unfunded mandates on them. They argued that the economic recession and uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic have made both prohibitive. The VML is right. During…
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Virginia Jails and Prisons Brace for Pandemic
by a contributing writer Fears of COVID-19 outbreaks among prisoners and correctional employees have begun to be realized. Department of Corrections efforts to mitigate infections have been notably effective, yet confirmed cases now include 13 inmates and five staff, as well as one inmate in the Fairfax County jail. Dozens more are being monitored. Given…
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The Energy Free Market that Isn’t
by Jane Twitmyer The South, including Virginia, has been slow to build clean, transformed utility systems. Last year, major corporations including Costco, Cox, Kroger, Sam’s Club, Target and Walmart petitioned Virginia regulators to allow them to meet their renewable energy goals by purchasing their electricity from third parties. Dominion Energy’s response was to commission a…