Category: Governance
-
A Modest Suggestion
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Gov. Glenn Youngkin has taken a tough stance toward the Chinese. He has prohibited state agencies from using the TikTok platform. He wants to ban the use of TikTok by Virginia residents under 18. He championed legislation prohibiting the sale of Virginia farmland to Chinese buyers. Finally, he scuttled the location of…
-
Look What UVA Is Hiding
by James A. Bacon Acting on behalf of The Jefferson Council, Walter Smith has filed a complaint in Henrico County against the University of Virginia, seeking a remedy for its refusal to supply documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Smith serves in a volunteer capacity as chair of the Council’s research committee. The suit…
-
What Does UVA Need in a University President?
by James A. Bacon For anyone following governance issues at the University of Virginia, Bill Ackman’s Twitter broadside against Harvard’s now- dethroned president Claudine Gay and its governing board is must reading. Ackman, the hedge-fund manager-turned-activist who spearheaded Gay’s overthrow, identifies serious systemic problems at Harvard, from its ponderous DEI bureaucracy to a tuition policy…
-
Virginia Child Victims in the Left’s War on the Enlightenment and Science
by James C. Sherlock Modern progressivism is religion, defined by Webster as “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” The critical theory progressive, that is to say the modern American progressive, rejects proudly and publicly, root and branch, both the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolutions of the 16th through…
-
Teacher Vacancies in Virginia Cities with a Majority of Black Students Continue to be Very High
by James C. Sherlock The statewide performance of Black kids on Virginia’s SOLs was horrible. Chronic absenteeism is a primary reason. But I continue to look for underlying reasons and solutions for both. This morning I checked the Staffing and Vacancy Dashboard. The teacher vacancy rate for Region 2, Tidewater and the Eastern Shore, is…
-
A Brief Case for Giving Virginia Legislators a Raise
by Gordon C. Morse I thought it would be worthwhile to pursue further the subject of legislative compensation in Virginia. A report I’ve referenced before is dated December 1998 – 25 years ago – and offers the following rationale for increasing the amount paid to Virginia lawmakers holding these posts, attending the annual legislative sessions…
-
Governor’s Chronic Absenteeism Task Force – Part Three – Vital New State Roles
By James C. Sherlock I have found in 18 years of reporting on education in the Commonwealth that each school, each school division and each region is to some degree its own ecosystem. Taking the example of chronic absenteeism, an individualized assessment of causes could be attempted: if a single school‘s chronic absenteeism can be…
-
While Harrisonburg Slept, a Gadfly Arose
by Joe Fitzgerald Laura Dent is not a stupid person. She’s probably an honest person. But those aren’t qualifications enough to help run a city. You also have to know what’s going on. Frankly, she’s missed that boat a couple of times. Two issues I’ve written about repeatedly are uncontained school growth, which the Harrisonburg…
-
Fear and Loathing of Youngkin’s Higher Ed Policy
by James A. Bacon In early October Governor Glenn Youngkin asked Attorney General Jason Miyares for a formal opinion on a seemingly innocuous question: whose interests are members of Virginia’s public university governing boards supposed to represent? Miyares responded that the “primary duty” of the boards of visitors is to the commonwealth, not to the…
-
How Youngkin Can Avoid Lame Duck Status
by Scott Lingamfelter Elections produce clarity. One thing is noticeably clear after Republicans failed to achieve majorities in both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. For the next two years, the prospects for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s legislative agenda are bleak. That’s the bad news. Here is the good news: it doesn’t have to be…
-
Charlottesville, Its Public Schools and UVa – Part One – Bad things Happen
by James C. Sherlock In the relationship between Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, very bad things have happened to Charlottesville and continue to do so. I have developed a working thesis on that relationship. The city is at the mercy of the University by virtue of the latter’s wealth, influence, and power in Charlottesville…
-
William and Mary and the Chinese Communist Party – Dangerous Allies – Part 3
by James C. Sherlock Chinese fighter and U.S. jet over South China Sea. Courtesy CNN and YouTube. William and Mary’s superb AidData program makes major contributions to America’s understanding of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The school is justly proud of it. AidData published in December of 2021 a study Corridors of Power –…
-
“Good old TikTok: Chinese spy engine and purveyor of virulent antisemitic lies.” Sen. Josh Hawley
by James C. Sherlock Taylor Lorenz, the estimable young Tech and Online Culture columnist for The Washington Post, has been the author of some of the most important reports on the Hamas-Israel war. Today, she published with Drew Harwell, a Post reporter covering artificial intelligence and the algorithms changing our lives, “Israel-Gaza war sparks debate…
-
Governor Youngkin Steps to Curb Anti-Semitic Activities – How about Law Enforcement?
by James C. Sherlock Governor Glenn Youngkin took action today with an Executive Directive to “Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Religious Bigotry in the Commonwealth and on Campuses.” It is excellent, and we look forward to immediate steps by other actors in the Commonwealth.
-
List of Wrongly Purged Voter Registrations Gets Larger
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Remember my earlier report on the Youngkin administration cancelling the registrations of voters eligible to vote? These were felons whose voting rights had been restored who had committed a parole violation, which shows up as a felony in the State Police’s official crime database. In mid-October, the state Department of Elections reported…