Category: Uncategorized
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Universal Recognition Will Help Stem Virginia’s Migration Woes
by Conor Norris and Edward Timmons From pristine beaches to rolling hills and picturesque mountains, Virginia has a lot to attract residents. Combine that with a strong economy and Northern Virginia’s close ties with Washington, D.C., Virginia should be an attractive destination. But surprisingly, that’s not the case. Despite strong economic performance and a high…
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Public Hearing, Private Decision
by Joe Fitzgerald The Bluestone Town Center (BTC), according to council members who voted 3-2 to approve it, was decided in secret meetings between those council members and the applicants. At Tuesday’s open meeting in which they voted to approve BTC, those council members rather shamelessly admitted to those sessions. City staff and the city…
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Gov. Youngkin’s Latest Event Undermines Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Attack
by Tyler O’Neil Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, on Tuesday, joined fourth graders at Fort Monroe outside Newport News, Virginia, hosting an event teaching about the history of the fort, where Black slaves fled during the Civil War to become freemen at what became known as “Freedom’s Fortress.” The Youngkin event came two days after Nikole…
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Richmond’s Skinny Budget: Low Stakes Poker, High Stakes Rhetoric
by Shaun Kenney Virginia’s General Assembly managed to pass the Richmond equivalent of a continuing resolution to fund the government until Senate Democrats and House Republicans can hammer out a compromise on corporate tax breaks. One will have to pardon me for not getting terribly wound up about tax breaks for corporations while small businesses…
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Forget Waldo! Where is ERIC?
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V In 2012, seven states, including Virginia, formed the Electronic Registration and Information, Inc. (ERIC), with assistance from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Today, ERIC’s membership has risen to 32 states and the District of Columbia. ERIC’s mission is to assist states in maintaining accurate voting rolls. Every 60 days, states that…
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RVA 5×5: Calling Earl Weaver
by Jon Baliles There are not many other cities in the country that would debate plans for multiple baseball stadiums in multiple locations over multiple decades and then, after seemingly signing off on a new stadium, roll over after being told by Major League Baseball that public monies must be spent for a batting cage…
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Stop Coddling Bad Kids
by Kerry Dougherty I have a new hero. I don’t know her real name but in her Southeast Washington D.C. neighborhood, they just call her “Grandma.” Last Friday Grandma was on her way to chemo when a 15-year-old punk walked up and ordered her to hand over her car keys. “I have a gun,” he…
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Break out the Smelling Salts. Bert Ellis Called Someone a “Numnut”
by James A. Bacon And the hit jobs just keep on coming! After maligning Virginia Military Institute alumni dissident Matt Daniel two days ago, The Washington Post aims its guns today on Bert Ellis, a conservative alumnus and member of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, with the publication of text messages obtained through…
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“Social Justice” Comes for Henrico’s Gifted Program
by James A. Bacon Here we go again. The Richmond Times-Dispatch is using “statistical disparities” as evidence of racial bias in Henrico County schools. Under pressure from federal authorities to address racial disparities, Henrico County is endeavoring to enroll more students from minorities in the county’s “gifted” programs. States the article: “The Richmond Times-Dispatch reviewed…
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362 is more than 273
by Joe Fitzgerald Take our word but not our numbers, Bluestone Town Center (BTC) backers seem to say The moral of this story is: what the City Council doesn’t know won’t hurt the HRHA. When I first heard about the scope of the BTC, I did some quick arithmetic and came up with an astronomical…
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Virginia’s PreK-12 Educational Goals?
by Matt Hurt For any organization to be successful, there must be clearly defined goals based on the desired outcome. The goals must be measurable, and the measure(s) of progress must also be defined. The greater the focus is maintained on those goals, the more likely the organization will attain them. Virginia’s educators are at…
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Demonizing Dutta
by James A. Bacon In early February an exchange took place during a State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting between Anne Holton and Suparna Dutta that highlights the massive leftward shift within Virginia’s Democratic Party. So outraged were militant leftists by Suparna’s remarks that Democratic state senators voted unanimously to reject her appointment to the…
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RVA 5×5: Needed Resources for Human Resources
by Jon Baliles Last week we had a story about a glut of open positions at Richmond’s City Hall and the difficulty in filling them. Lo and behold, the Richmond Free Press this week put out an article about the struggle to fill positions as the department responsible for filling those positions (Human Resources, aka…
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Want Info? Check Only, Please.
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A recent article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch illustrates how governments will fight any attempt to amend the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in a way that would make it easier for citizens to obtain information. Del. Danica Roem (D-Prince William) has been one of the more persistent legislators seeking to amend the…