Tag: James Sherlock
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Conservative-Liberal Common Ground on High Stakes K-12 End-of-Year Testing
by James C. Sherlock I have reported here often on the fierce opposition of much of the public education establishment — read graduate schools of education and the teachers unions — to what they label “high-stakes” testing. What many in those groups really object to is the visibility of standards that subjects them to public…
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Unionize Virginia’s Worst Nursing Home Chains
by James C. Sherlock If you go back to the series of articles I published here in October of 2021, you can refresh your memory on the dangers represented by Virginia’s worst nursing home chains. If you look at the complete spreadsheet of every Virginia nursing home from that data sorted by ownership, the bad…
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Fix the Virginia Department of Health
by James C. Sherlock Governor Youngkin and his new administration have an opportunity to fix crucial problems in the Department of Health that have been festering for decades. The issues: How can Virginia regulate effectively its state-created healthcare monopolies? In a directly related matter, how can we fix the failures, famously demonstrated during COVID, of…
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Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics in the Virginia Department of Education – Average Teacher Salaries Edition
by James C. Sherlock I was in the early stages of researching a column on school salaries in Virginia when I came upon yet another bad report. In 2021 Special Session I, the General Assembly directed the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide a report on the status of staff salaries, by local school division, to…
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Washington Post Editorial Board Nails a Belly Flop
by James C. Sherlock We sometimes note here that the editorial boards of the largest press outlets in Virginia can seem out of touch. Most lack philosophical balance on their editorial boards. We get that. It is their right. But that in turn can create intellectual echo chambers, denying the discipline offered by internal challenges.…
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Existing Gun Laws Get Some Help from a Perp
by James C. Sherlock This guy was better armed than the average citizen or cop. But just with a weapon. It did not seem to help him. Darwin was right. From a DOJ news release: Virginia Beach Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing a Machine Gun Used in a Shootout NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach…
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The General Assembly Adds New Requirements for Teachers that Virginia Schools Do Not Have and Cannot Hire
by James C. Sherlock A tip of the hat to Dick Hall-Sizemore for pointing out the following bills. I have written often on how Virginia is constantly loading up teachers and schools with additional reports and requirements. This General Assembly is trying to add new requirements for teachers that we do not have and have…
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CMS Finally Withdraws Dangerous Waivers of Nursing Home Patient Safety Regulations
by James C. Sherlock I published a series of articles last year on the dreadful conditions in some of Virginia’s nursing homes as reported by Medicare. Two key observations were that: bad nursing homes were traceable to specific chain operators; and the Virginia Department of Health had admitted it was desperately short of inspectors. Those…
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Exploding Requirements and Workforce Shortages – An Existential Threat to the Public Schools
by James C. Sherlock The hottest buzz around many of the public schools, including my home area of Virginia Beach, is around the very real hardships posed by unprecedented staff shortages. On return from COVID, it seems that our schools faced record shortages of personnel to deal with students that were traumatized and afflicted with…
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Virginia’s Greens Need to Change Their Strategy
by James C. Sherlock When you ask a question you have to be prepared for the answer. McKinsey Global Institute, in collaboration with McKinsey Sustainability and the Global Energy & Materials and Advanced Industries practices released in January a massive study of the costs to get the planet to net zero emissions by 2050. The study is “The Net…
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The Relentless Push for Child Gender Transition
by James C. Sherlock On the odd chance you missed it, the Biden administration announced a flurry of new measures today, designated the Transgender Day of Visibility. (I need to keep up.) The Washington Post reported on the festivities. What that story did not report is the celebration’s most important “feature.” HHS today announced Biden administration support…
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Education Data Reporting is Very Expensive, Time Consuming, Important and Flawed in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock In government, there is seldom a dispassionate, objective assessment of what works and what doesn’t. Just eternal programs joined by new ones. We citizens all hope that in governance and budgeting Virginia rewards programs that prove effective and efficient and enforces a cut line for those that do not. But we…
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Bad Journalism and Echo-Chamber References Lead to Libel at UVa
by James C. Sherlock Mike Pence, agree with him or not on any issue, is a good man. He has traditional values that have formed the basis of his political and personal lives. He is also a gentleman, unfailingly courteous. Traditional values, traditional courtesy. Disconcerting, even threatening to some.
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FOIA Council Response on Open Meeting Requirements in Discussions of Local Government Contracts with Public Unions
by James C. Sherlock I submitted questions to the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council concerning FOIA open meetings requirements applicable to local government sessions discussing contracts with unions. I received a very prompt and thorough reply. The following is the response of Alan Gernhart, Esq., Executive Director.
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Negotiating with Public Sector Unions in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock Some Virginia local governments will be negotiating this year for the first time with public sector unions. There is a lot of experience and recommendations documented in other states upon which those governments can draw. Recommendation #1 is that cities, counties and towns hire: law firms with proven experience representing municipal…