Author: sherlockj
-
Washington State Appears Set to Legalize No Notification of Parents for Youth Gender Transition
by James C. Sherlock In another flashing sign of the apocalypse, Democrats in the Washington State legislature want the state to become a destination for runaway youth seeking gender transition as minors. They proudly point to a newly passed law as their party’s response to other states passing laws to prohibit transgender medical services to…
-
Note to Hybrid and EV Owners and Those in Collisions with Them – Don’t Try to Extinguish a Battery Fire
by James C. Sherlock CNBC reported today as breaking news a concern about hybrid and electric vehicle fires that professional firefighters have known about for some time. Vehicles with lithium-ion batteries can be especially dangerous when they catch fire. CNBC offers a video showing smoke billowing from three electric pickups parked tightly together. Moments later,…
-
Central State Hospital – the State’s Only Maximum Security Mental Health Facility, a Legacy of Jim Crow and Not Nearly Good Enough
By James C. Sherlock I have written often about the state of mental health support in Virginia. The Governor has a major initiative to improve it. But it does not go far enough. The state maximum security mental health facility at Central State Hospital needs to be disbanded and the duties dispersed across the state.…
-
Strategic Insanity Off the Coast of Virginia
by James C. Sherlock As I warned in three columns in late December, the Pentagon has now objected to Department of the Interior plans to develop offshore wind farms along the central U.S. coast. It has warned that almost all of the areas planned for development of the huge turbines conflict with current military operations.…
-
The Strike at the AdvanSix Chemical Plant in Hopewell – A Complex Story
by James C. Sherlock We don’t see very many industrial strikes in Virginia. Regular readers know that I have often supported blue collar unions in the private economy. My family roots are linked to Pennsylvania coal mines. Those miners’ strongest claims were for their own safety. Followed very closely by their demands for living wages.…
-
Assault and Battery in Schools – Virginia Law and School Division Policies Make “Marks” of Principals
by James C. Sherlock This is addressed directly to Virginia public school principals. You are compliant with current Virginia law whether you report assault and battery to police or do not. Bad law makes for bad policy. Depending upon your school division, your requirements may vary. A lot. In gambling, and this issue is a…
-
Changes to the Virginia Law Requiring Schools to Report Incidents to the Police Makes them Far More Dangerous
I wrote originally about the 2020 changes to the school incidents reporting law. I have removed the content of this column in order to reconcile issues with the current reporting law, including 2022 changes, with the Department of Education. I will repost it when those issues are resolved.
-
“Repressive Tolerance” and the Constitutions of the United States and of Virginia
by James C. Sherlock In the United States, the first references for judges and attorneys are the federal and state constitutions. The Constitution of the United States, in its First Amendment, requires that: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,…
-
Herbert Marcuse, “Repressive Tolerance,” and the Suppression of Debate
by James C. Sherlock There have been countless articles here on the tyranny of the left on Virginia college campuses. And nationwide. I need not summarize them here. But I think it useful on a weekend to consider the origins of that movement to better understand it. It did not spring up randomly, and it…
-
Dionysian Rites at a Spotsylvania County School Board Meeting
by James C. Sherlock The FY 2023 budget for Spotsylvania County was $341,355,792. In increasing the 2022 budget, the Supervisors transferred an additional $5.8 million to schools to “Address the Commitment to Educational Opportunities.” That brought the total transfer to schools to $138,081,416 including that $5.8 million (4.4%) increase. It was pointed out offhandedly in…
-
Buta Biberaj and the Political Weaponization of the Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney Office – Against Other Democrats and the Press
by James C. Sherlock Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj (D) has used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the tool that opens up government to citizens, in an attempt to destroy political opponents and intimidate the press. Ms. Biberaj has admitted to investigating her political rivals using FOIA requests to view correspondences between county…
-
Virginia Very Low Income Housing Voucher Waiting Lists are Closed
by James C. Sherlock Some things don’t change that should. Or don’t change fast enough to keep up with markets. Which means they will fail. From Virginia Housing’s discussion of the Housing Choice Voucher Program The Housing Choice Voucher Program is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, low-income families, the elderly,…
-
LifePoint Health Credit Ratings and Outlooks Signal Additional Challenges for its Virginia Hospitals
by James C. Sherlock One thing I watch about companies in industries I cover is the ratings and outlooks on their credit. In my experience, the SEC’S three largest nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs), Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, tend to know as much about company finances as their boards do. Sometimes more. I recently…
-
Virginia Municipal Bond Issuers Face Higher Costs for Borrowing
by James C. Sherlock People learn — and relearn- – things over time about investing. One of the things they have learned over the past three years about investing in municipal bonds, as with all bonds, is that, having experienced the effects of inflation risk for the first time in decades, they will want a…
-
Public Corruption Transacted in Public
by James C. Sherlock Want that country club membership but don’t want to write the check for the initial membership fee? How about the down payment on a vacation home? Run for office in Virginia. Pay for it with campaign money. You don’t even have to win as long as you spend it during the…