Author: sherlockj
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Virginia’s Abortion Laws
by James C. Sherlock Politicians on the right and left proclaim they want to change Virginia’s abortion laws. It is thus a useful exercise to see how those laws actually read. I am not an attorney, but I will take a shot at summarizing at certain points. The reference is Code of Virginia Title 18.2…
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Virginia Democrats – “Progressive for Who?”
by James C. Sherlock “Progressive for who?” That question was asked by Al Sharpton directly to a gathering of his supporters at a conference hosted by his National Action Network while flanked by Lori Lightfoot, Eric Adams and two other big city Democratic mayors. “Anybody that tells you they’re progressive but don’t care about dealing…
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Conservatives Actively Promoting Better Economic Future for Petersburg
by James C. Sherlock Bill Atkinson of The Progress-Index on May 3rd did his usual great job reporting news of Petersburg. The article is titled “PFP point man calls Petersburg ‘gold mine,’ encourages business to come or expand there.” The Richmond meeting featured the governor’s point man on the Partnership for Petersburg (PFP), Garrison Coward,…
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Nuclear Power “Essential” – Gates and Granholm
By James C. Sherlock Bill Gates and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm demonstrated and published a joint position on nuclear energy nearly two years ago: “Nuclear power is the only carbon-free energy source we have that can deliver power day and night throughout any season, almost anywhere on earth. And it’s been proven to work…
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Good Questions About Nuclear Power Answered
by James C. Sherlock A reader asked two excellent questions: The issues with nuclear power have been: 1. The waste generated remains radioactive and dangerous for a very long time. 2. In the case of failure, a huge risk is exposed as was the case in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukishima. Do these new,…
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Westinghouse Joins the Small Nuclear Reactor Market
by James C. Sherlock Westinghouse, whose flagship AP1000 nuclear reactor is the American entry into the international market for large nuclear power plants, today announced a new reactor, called the AP300, which it claims will be available in 2027. It will generate about a third of the power of the AP1000 reactor. It is targeted…
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Clean Virginia’s Views on Small Modular (Nuclear) Reactors
By James C. Sherlock I wrote in an earlier article that I had reached out to Clean Virginia on its policy on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and had not received a response. Laura Gonzalez Guerrero, Clean Virginia’s energy policy lead, has been kind enough to contact me with that answer. She was out of the…
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Generation IV and V Technology Offer to Make Opposition to Nuclear Power a Historical Artifact
by James C. Sherlock We write here often about electric power in Virginia, but usually related to public utilities. We focus on Dominion and Appalachian Power. There is another big market: industrial power plants independent of utilities and the grid (and thus not requiring State Corporation Commission approval). Those are not reflected in the plans…
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More Nuclear Power in Virginia?
by James C. Sherlock Where is Virginia going with nuclear power, the non-carbon energy source that works 24/7/365 to maintain grid stability for all those sources that do not? Where we are. Virginia has four nuclear reactors producing electric power — two at Surry station in Surrey County (produces 14% of Virginia’s electricity) and two…
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Where are Virginia Colleges and Universities Headed with “Test Optional”
by James C. Sherlock The left despises standardized tests in schools. Teachers unions have fiercely opposed them for years as measures of accountability in K-12. Because SOLs, SATs and ACTS expose both good and bad educational results and measures of student growth over time; Colleges and universities oppose them because they interfere with diversity, equity…
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Washington Post Editorial Board is Pushing Back on Censorious Students. Finally
by James C. Sherlock After years of silence, The Washington Post editorialized yesterday that censorship of speech on America’s college campuses had gone too far. Better late than never. We welcome them to the fight. The Post does not note that too many students are arriving on college campuses as already-radicalized warriors of the left,…
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Critical Staff Vacancies at Central State Hospital
By James C. Sherlock This space has offered the opinion previously that it is unwise to build a new Central State Hospital (CSH) on the site of the old one. A follow-up FOIA request to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has yielded current “jobs filled” data to compare to “jobs vacant”…
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Tuition, Room, Board and Fees Up 7% Next Year at Tech – Zero Cuts in Massive Administrative Overhead
by James C. Sherlock From The Roanoke Times Faced with inflationary pressures and state budget uncertainty, the school’s Board of Visitors voted unanimously to markup overall student costs by about 7%, increasing tuition and fees, plus room and board. It was not an easy decision, said Rector Tish Long. ”This is one of the most…
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Virginia Democrats in the House of Representatives Vote Against Their Own Daughters
by James C. Sherlock Every Virginia Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against a bill to amend Title IX to prohibit biological boys and men from competing against biological girls and women in K-12 and college sports. Voting nay: Donald Beyer, Gerald Connolly, Jennifer McClellan, Bobby Scott, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton.…
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Fourth Circuit Gives Standing to Parents Suing Loudoun County Schools over First Amendment Violations
by James C. Sherlock In a win for freedom of speech, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond overturned a finding by a federal district judge that Loudoun parents did not have standing to sue the School Board for infringement of First Amendment rights. The parents alleged a bias reporting…