Author: sherlockj
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Reform K-12 Education to Increase Diversity in Virginia’s Colleges — and in Life
by James C. Sherlock Much is appropriately made of the relative lack of diversity in Virginia’s state-supported colleges and universities. Some trace that exclusively to racial discrimination. My research indicates it may also reflect the educational disadvantages of being poor. Here I will offer a path to begin to fix both. I have researched and written…
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Virginia Educational Reform – Place, Class, Race — Or All Three?
by James C. Sherlock I am an optimist by nature. Optimism wins elections, and optimism can bring about democratic change. Governments at their most basic level are created by people to protect themselves from outsiders and to minimize conflicts within their own ranks. From a condo association to Congress, that is a core role. …
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Place, Class and Race and K-12 Educational Success in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock In order to better understand the contributions of place, class and race on K-12 academic achievement in Virginia, I did a great deal of research over a period of several days and from it constructed a spreadsheet, Reading and Math Virginia 2018-2019 SOL results by State and Division by Subject by…
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Dr. King’s Dream or George Orwell’s Nightmare – the University of Virginia at a Crossroads
by James C. Sherlock Updated Aug. 17 at 8:24 AM This letter is a response to the recommendations of the University of Virginia’s Racial Equity Task Force which are to be taken up this week by President Jim Ryan and the University’s Board of Visitors. Dear President Ryan, Martin Luther King dreamed of the day…
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Covid-19 Testing for Nursing Homes – the Strange Case of Heritage Hall
By Carol J. Bova and James C. Sherlock The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would begin to provide 2000 nursing homes with a point of care (POC) rapid-response testing assessment instrument and an initial supply of COVID-19 test assays starting July 20th. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema…
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A Constitutional Approach to Avoiding Evictions in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock There has been extensive discussion here about minimizing residential evictions in Virginia in the time of COVID. I will offer a constitutional approach to achieving that objective. A Broad Consensus The Governor and General Assembly want to avoid evictions of residential tenants who are unable to pay rent due to COVID-related…
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Renters Didn’t Make the Governor’s List
by James C. Sherlock I just completed a survey of the 50 states to see how many of their legislatures were in regular session or special sessions called to deal with COVID issues between April 1 and August 15, 2020. That 4.5-month period started when enough was known about COVID to start taking legislative action…
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Fool Me Once
By James C. Sherlock I want every tenant who cannot pay his rent because of COVID to be able to stay in his home. I want every landlord who supports them to be paid for their forbearance so they can pay their own bills. This post starts with both of those goals in mind. It…
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So It’s Not “About the Children” After All
by James C. Sherlock The Chesterfield Education Association (CEA), a local unit affiliated with the National Education Association, is pushing back hard against a plan to have school employees report to their schools in order to use school facilities and support systems to professionalize remote instruction to their students. (According to the CEA president, the…
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Run for your Local School Board
by James C. Sherlock Bill O’Keefe published an essay here today, the title of which is “Revisionist History is a Fool’s Errand.” Revisionist history is unfortunately not a fool’s errand, but rather a business, and a successful one, run by people that hate America and wish for its destruction. They despise and reject the civil rights…
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Cancel One More Good Man
by James C. Sherlock. Updated Aug 3, 9:50 AM Just another day in the neighborhood here in Virginia Beach. The Virginian-Pilot, which used to be based in Norfolk, is a shadow of its former self. It has combined with the peninsula-based Daily Press. The paper announced on May 4, 2020: The Virginian-Pilot has officially moved…
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Atlantic Coast Pipeline Necessity and the FERC
by James C. Sherlock Peter Galuszka’s piece earlier today in this space made two claims the greens offer endlessly trying to achieve what I call truth by repeated assertion: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) either did not review or did not review properly (he inferred both) the wisdom and necessity for natural gas pipeline…
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Attorney General Herring’s Legislative Package
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Constitution (Article V, Section 5) assigns the Governor legislative duties. He is the only member of the Executive Department assigned such duties. The Attorney General has, well … none. Of the duties of the Attorney General (Article V, Section 15), the Virginia Constitutions says only: “He shall perform such…
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Public Employee Collective Bargaining – Questions for Attorney General Herring
by James C. Sherlock As a consequence of the successful teacher revolt in Fairfax County, there are major legal questions which must be answered concerning the initiation of public employee collective bargaining in Virginia next spring. In accordance with Virginia Code § 2.2-505, members of the General Assembly can request official opinions of the Attorney…
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Welcome to Illinois
by James C. Sherlock The illegal but successful threats not to return to work by teachers associations in Fairfax County Virginia have forced Virginians to confront the issue of public employees’ willful refusals to perform the duties of their employment. From the Washington Post, “Teachers in Fairfax revolt against fall plans, refusing to teach in-person,” June…