Another free clinic closes. Harrisonburg’s Free Clinic is going out of business after 30 years of providing medical care to low-income, uninsured adults. The clinic’s board attributed the decision in part to the decline in the number of patients resulting from Virginia’s Medicaid expansion. The clinic had 600 patients before expansion and 90 patients afterward, reports Virginia Business. Also, staffing the facility, which relied upon the contributions of 80 volunteers, became problematic during the COVID-19 epidemic. And, thus, Virginia civil society continues to shrink and Virginia’s health care system continues to consolidate under the control of monopolistic health care systems and monopsonistic, taxpayer-funded insurance programs.
Virginia’s ruling class in action. Christian Dorsey, a member of the Arlington County Board, is in hot water for fraudulently misrepresenting his liabilities while filing for bankruptcy, reports the Washington Post. Dorsey had listed a second mortgage payment as one of his obligations, which would have reduced the amount he had to pay toward his other debts. But in fact, court testimony revealed, that debt had been forgiven and Dorsey had made no payments on it. As a practical matter, that means Dorsey has no protection from creditors for at least three months. The bankruptcy came to light after a story in the Post forced Dorsey, who also serves on the Metropolitan Washington Area Transit Authority board, to return a $10,000 campaign contribution from WMATA’s largest union. Between his Arlington board pay and his consulting fees, he earns more than $120,000 a year.
Good Governance Rule #1: You don’t want people facing bankruptcy anywhere near the public till. Good Governance Rule #2: You don’t want people who misrepresent facts to federal judges anywhere near the the public till.
Virginia Tech applications up. The number of students applying to college may be dropping nationally, but Virginia Tech is seeing a surge in interest this fall. After undergraduate enrollment rose 2.4% this year, Tech has seen a 35% increase in prospective students applying “early action,” reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Early Action” applications are similar to “Early Decision” applications in that they require prospective students to submit in the fall. The difference is that Early Action is non-binding; the student does not commit to enroll if her application is accepted. Tech has offered the Early Action alternative since 2018. Question: Does the increase in applications reflect a genuine increase in interest in Virginia Tech or just a relaxation of admission standards?
