Category: Disasters and Disaster Preparedness
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Governing by Edict
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Although the issue of school mask mandates is now behind us, it is instructive to examine the legal arguments advanced by Attorney General Jason Miyares in a court case seeking to overturn the mask mandates instituted by the Loudoun County School Board (“school board”). Not only does Miyares advocate judicial activism and…
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COPN’s Regional Monopolies Helped Boost Virginia Hospitals’ Operating Margins to more than 3x National Median in 2020
by James C. Sherlock Virginians have been assured forever by the hospital lobby that the non-profit regional monopolies established and protected by COPN nearly everywhere but Richmond: are benign public servants with a charitable mission; certainly don’t drive up costs; that competition does not matter; that the State Medical Facilities Plan on which COPN is…
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A Price of COPN — Sentara Pleads COVID Capacity Shortages
by James C. Sherlock Sentara Health, once described by The Washington Post as “playing COPN like a violin,” yesterday went statewide with an acknowledgment that its system is out of capacity for many who seek its help. On a Zoom press conference yesterday, Sentara reported seeing a huge surge in hospital admissions. Hospitalizations have more…
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Northam Apologize? LOL
by Kerry Dougherty You would expect that Governor Ralph Northam, in the final two weeks of his governorship, would engage in a little self-reflection, maybe even a bit of humility and admit that he and his “team” made colossal mistakes on Monday that left hundreds of travelers stranded on a frozen 50-mile stretch of highway…
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Northam’s Frozen Failure
by Kerry Dougherty Let’s face it. Lots of us are cranky as we start the New Year. Thousands — shoot, probably hundreds of thousands — of air travelers were stranded around the country this week after flights were cancelled because of weather or staffing shortages. Including me. As our taxi approached the New Orleans airport…
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Stuck in a Snowstorm: Better to Have a Gas- or Electric-Powered Car?
by James A. Bacon Hundreds of motorists were stranded on Interstate 95 in freezing temperatures last night after two tractor-trailers jackknifed in a snowstorm and triggered a chain reaction as other vehicles lost control. Both lanes of the Interstate were closed. As night fell, reports the Associated Press, motorists posted messages on social media about…
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Tornadoes: December Devastation
Dawson Springs, Ky is 70 miles away from #Mayfield and was also devastated by the #Tornado #WX pic.twitter.com/kBwBxcxURi — WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) December 11, 2021 by Kerry Dougherty It’s the drone footage that gets you. Those silent video clips showing mile after mile of unimaginable devastation. Flattened homes and factories, overturned railroad cars and…
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Youngkin Takes the Lead
by James C. Sherlock The Real Clear Politics poll average has Glenn Youngkin in the lead for the first time. Nice job, Glenn. Terry, thank you for being perhaps the worst retail politician Virginia has seen since Ken Cuccinelli.
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The Economics of Flood Control in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock We have work to do, and need to do it quickly and well. If we want to get storm defenses built before major storm damage rather than after; and if we want the federal government to pay 65% of the costs. Let’s assume we do. The “Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Planning…
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Louisiana Shows How Flood Control Can Work at Massive Scale
by James C. Sherlock Louisiana has half the population of Virginia. Virginia is ranked the 18th richest state in per capita income, Louisiana 48th. So, why has Louisiana been so phenomenally successful in flood control efforts since Katrina while Virginia writes its own framework for action that it is too expensive here? Primarily because Louisiana…
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Development and Sea-Level Rise in the Tarheel State
by James A. Bacon People love living on the water. They just can’t get enough of it. If they can’t afford to live on the waterfront, they will pay a premium just to live near it. Signs of the human proclivity for water views are evident all around Beaufort, N.C. (pronounced Bow-fort, not Bew-fort), a…
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Virginia Has a Rising Sea Problem, Relatively
by Steve Haner and Kip Hansen When discussing sea level rise, on Virginia’s coast or anywhere else, watch the terms being used very carefully. Absolute sea level is the height of the ocean compared to the center of the Earth. Relative sea level is the height of the ocean compared to a specific point on…
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The Other Side of the “Intensifying Rain” Claim
by Steve Haner and Kip Hansen With the rainy remnants of another hurricane heading for Virginia from battered Louisiana, the stories of a coming Climate Armageddon will again ramp up. A couple of good examples of what to expect recently appeared in Virginia Mercury, the main one quoting numerous sources claiming Virginia is seeing more…
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Herd Immunity from the Delta Variant – “Mythical”
To vax or not to vax? I’m vaccinated. I think everybody who is eligible to be vaccinated should get vaccinated. Jim Bacon makes the excellent point that people who are vaccinated may still get COVID but are far less likely to die from the virus. Others believe that vaccinations will confer herd immunity to the population…
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Coming to Virginia – a New State of Emergency?
by James C. Sherlock The Governor’s 15-month emergency powers expired June 30, and, God, does he miss them. From The Virginian-Pilot: “School districts that aren’t requiring masks, including several in Hampton Roads, are running afoul of state law, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday.” OK. The bigger questions are how long the governor will put up…