Author: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Systemic Racism Lives
by Dick Hall-Sizemore For those folks on this blog who keep denying that systemic racism either ever existed or is still a factor in today’s society, I offer an incident reported in today’s New York Times as evidence that systemic racism is still alive and operating to discriminate against Blacks. Last summer, a Black couple…
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The Post Office’s Explanation for This Makes No Sense
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The United States Postal Service has shut down its Montpelier Station office because a display depicting racial segregation in Virginia was “unacceptable to the Postal Service.” A brief history of the site is included in an article about the closure in the Culpeper Star-Exponent that is reprinted in today’s Richmond Times Dispatch.…
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Pretrial Services Agencies: A Rejoinder
by Dick Hall-Sizemore My colleague, James Sherlock, recently posted an article in which he concluded that the Commonwealth’s pretrial agency program is a failure. I took issue with his basic conclusions, but did not have enough details handy to make my case. I now have more information. His conclusion was based on data shown in…
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Rent-A-Cops in the Schools Now?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Halifax County School Board is planning to hire a private firm to provide security at all county schools, in addition to school resource officers (SRO). That is the world brought to us by a gun-crazy society with its no-compromise embrace of the Second Amendment, aided by a compliant Supreme Court. As…
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Higher Ed to General Assembly: More, More, More
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The 2022-2024 biennial state budget that became effective on July 1 included more than $1 billion in general fund appropriation for capital projects for institutions of higher education. This was in addition to at least $1 billion in general fund-supported appropriations in the previous biennial budget. One would think that more than…
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Too Much Money for Roads?!?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Although gas prices have receded substantially from the levels that sent everyone into a tizzy earlier this year, Governor Youngkin has not given up on his proposal to lower gas taxes. Now, however, his rationale for the cut is different. According to veteran reporter Dave Ress, in an article that appeared in…
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A Broader Perspective on Teacher Shortages
by Dick Hall-Sizemore There have been several articles recently on this blog related to the looming shortage of teachers in Virginia. This is a legitimate, and serious, concern. The tone of many of those articles has been that one of the primary factors behind so many teachers leaving has been the breakdown in discipline resulting…
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Frank and Me
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Several commentators on this blog have frequently taken issue with the approach of the Virginia Dept. of Education’s (VDOE) Code of Student Conduct and its emphasis on avoiding suspensions. They often quote passages from that document without specifying what is wrong with them. Presumably, the wrongheadedness of the approach should be apparent…
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Status of Public Employee Collective Bargaining
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Virginia Mercury has performed a service by compiling a list of the status of public employee bargaining in the Commonwealth. So far, eight jurisdictions have adopted ordinances authorizing collective bargaining agreements. There is activity in another six localities. “Activity” is defined as campaigns advocating collective bargaining agreements or local government officials…
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Virginia Republican Congressmen Do It Again
Virginia’s Republican representatives in Congress have again embarrassed the Commonwealth. The House of Representatives recently approved a resolution supporting the applications of Sweden and Finland to join NATO. The vote was 394-18. Three of those 18 “no” votes were from Virginia Republicans: Morgan Griffith (9th District), Ben Cline (6th District); and Bob Good (5th District). …
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Little Guys Lose, Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A recent article on this blog about the high cost of housing generated a considerable amount of discussion. Much of the discussion centered around the role of government in contributing to the affordable housing shortage. I offer another reason: good old-fashioned capitalism. A recent article in The Virginian Pilot well illustrates this point.…
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The VITA Exodus Continues
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The fourth high-ranking executive at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) has left since Governor Youngkin took office six months ago. Those that have resigned include the chief information officer that Youngkin appointed to take the place of Nelson Moe, the agency head under previous administrations; the chief operating officer; the deputy…
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Seven Years for Shooting a Guy Eight Times. Sounds Like a Pretty Good Deal.
by Dick Hall-Sizemore For all those folks on this blog who are concerned about “woke” prosecutors, leniency toward murderers, and enforcement of gun laws, here is a case to consider. A 17-year-old Black kid goes to a house to purchase four ounces of marijuana for $400. While meeting with the 19-year-old seller, the kid pulls…
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Prison Commissaries and Telephone Calls
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Jim Bacon recently posted an article about the cost of telephone calls, commissary items, etc. that prisoners in jails encounter. Having been for many years the analyst at the Department of Planning and Budget assigned to handle budget matters related to the Department of Corrections (DOC), I can add some further explanation…
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More Solar Generation Approved
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors has approved the development of the largest solar project in the Commonwealth and one of the largest east of the Mississippi River. As reported by the News & Record, the 800-megawatt Randolph Project, debated by the board for almost a year, will occupy approximately 6,000 acres. …