Category: General Assembly
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Teachers’ Unions and Virginia Schools
by James C. Sherlock Virginia is a government union state. Because of the federal workforce in Northern Virginia, Virginia in 2021 had the third highest percentage of any state of government union members as a share of total union members at 64%. That is a higher percentage than Washington D.C. Of all employees in Virginia,…
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Primary Care for Underserved Virginians
by James C. Sherlock It is an old story for Virginia: shortages of primary care providers in inner cities and rural areas. Perhaps the best article I have ever seen on the unique value of primary care and payment reforms to reflect its value was published in 2021 in the Harvard Business Review. I recommend…
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Combining RACs in Base Rates May Be “Bill Relief”
by Steve Haner Simpler is usually better. Monthly electric bills for many Virginians are about to get less complex, and in the short run also lower. Will that lower cost be long term? It is too soon to tell. On July 1 Dominion Virginia Power will stop collecting separate monthly payments on its bills for…
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Putting Off Paying Your Debt is Not “Bill Relief”
by Steve Haner Whether customers pay a lot more for one year starting this July, or just a little bit more for ten years starting next winter, Dominion Energy Virginia’s entire backlog of accumulated fuel costs from prior years will be paid in full. Every dollar will come from customers, with annual interest tacked on…
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Dominion’s New Plan Abandons Carbon Free Goal
by Steve Haner Dominion Energy Virginia has long been warning, albeit somewhat quietly, that the dream of running Virginia’s economy on nothing but solar, wind and battery power was not based on reality. With the filing of its most recent integrated resource plan (IRP) on May 1, proposing how to meet customer needs out 25…
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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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Geez, Louise
by Kerry Dougherty Uh-oh. Looks like Louise Lucas is a little rusty when it comes to campaigning for office. The powerful Democrat from deep blue Portsmouth is used to steamrolling any hapless Republican who gets in her way and sashaying into Richmond where she serves as the president pro tempore of the Senate and gets…
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Gas Taxes, EV Fees Will Rise Again July 1
by Steve Haner Virginia motor fuel taxes will rise again July 1, to just over 39 cents per gallon on gasoline and just over 40 cents per gallon on diesel. This will be the second automatic increase in gas taxes since the 2020 General Assembly voted to index the gas tax to inflation.
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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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Donnybrook in South Hampton Roads
by Dick Hall-Sizemore It had to get ugly, and it finally has. The premier party primary election this year will be the Democratic primary in Senate District 18 (Parts of Portsmouth and Chesapeake), featuring incumbents Louise Lucas and Lionel Spruill. Redistricting threw them into a newly-drawn district that includes about 71,000 of Spruill’s current constituents…
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One Case, Five Virginia Energy Reg Failures
by Steve Haner How badly broken is Virginia’s energy regulatory system? One recent State Corporation Commission decision on Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed next wave of solar projects illustrates several of the problems. The projects are unimportant, routine. What matters are the policy failures revealed. Only the rich can look at the future and yawn.
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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…
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SCC Agrees Dominion Must Own Most Wind, Solar
By Steve Haner The State Corporation Commission has rejected arguments that the Virginia Clean Economy Act would allow Virginia’s dominant electric utility to get more than 35% of its new wind, solar and battery power from third party suppliers. Dominion Energy Virginia is guaranteed by law (actually, required is the better word) to own 65%…
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Richmond FBI Office Used Undercover Agents to Spy on Traditional Catholics
by Robin Beres The United States has not always been a bastion of religious freedom. When Virginia became an English colony in 1607, the English considered religious differences just as treasonous as political differences. Sure, Elizabeth I had reinstalled the Church of England following Queen Mary’s tumultuous reign, but the possibility of another Catholic on…
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Youngkin Energy Reforms Killed Without Votes
By Steve Haner Governor Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to ensure that any future wave of wind turbines built off Virginia must follow a real competitive bid process ended up dead as a beached whale. The General Assembly didn’t just kill his proposed amendment during its reconvened session April 12, it refused to even take up the…