Tag: James Sherlock
-
Where are Virginia Colleges and Universities Headed with “Test Optional”
by James C. Sherlock The left despises standardized tests in schools. Teachers unions have fiercely opposed them for years as measures of accountability in K-12. Because SOLs, SATs and ACTS expose both good and bad educational results and measures of student growth over time; Colleges and universities oppose them because they interfere with diversity, equity…
-
Washington Post Editorial Board is Pushing Back on Censorious Students. Finally
by James C. Sherlock After years of silence, The Washington Post editorialized yesterday that censorship of speech on America’s college campuses had gone too far. Better late than never. We welcome them to the fight. The Post does not note that too many students are arriving on college campuses as already-radicalized warriors of the left,…
-
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”…
-
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…
-
Fourth Circuit Gives Standing to Parents Suing Loudoun County Schools over First Amendment Violations
by James C. Sherlock In a win for freedom of speech, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond overturned a finding by a federal district judge that Loudoun parents did not have standing to sue the School Board for infringement of First Amendment rights. The parents alleged a bias reporting…
-
Washington State Appears Set to Legalize No Notification of Parents for Youth Gender Transition
by James C. Sherlock In another flashing sign of the apocalypse, Democrats in the Washington State legislature want the state to become a destination for runaway youth seeking gender transition as minors. They proudly point to a newly passed law as their party’s response to other states passing laws to prohibit transgender medical services to…
-
Note to Hybrid and EV Owners and Those in Collisions with Them – Don’t Try to Extinguish a Battery Fire
by James C. Sherlock CNBC reported today as breaking news a concern about hybrid and electric vehicle fires that professional firefighters have known about for some time. Vehicles with lithium-ion batteries can be especially dangerous when they catch fire. CNBC offers a video showing smoke billowing from three electric pickups parked tightly together. Moments later,…
-
Central State Hospital – the State’s Only Maximum Security Mental Health Facility, a Legacy of Jim Crow and Not Nearly Good Enough
By James C. Sherlock I have written often about the state of mental health support in Virginia. The Governor has a major initiative to improve it. But it does not go far enough. The state maximum security mental health facility at Central State Hospital needs to be disbanded and the duties dispersed across the state.…
-
Strategic Insanity Off the Coast of Virginia
by James C. Sherlock As I warned in three columns in late December, the Pentagon has now objected to Department of the Interior plans to develop offshore wind farms along the central U.S. coast. It has warned that almost all of the areas planned for development of the huge turbines conflict with current military operations.…
-
The Strike at the AdvanSix Chemical Plant in Hopewell – A Complex Story
by James C. Sherlock We don’t see very many industrial strikes in Virginia. Regular readers know that I have often supported blue collar unions in the private economy. My family roots are linked to Pennsylvania coal mines. Those miners’ strongest claims were for their own safety. Followed very closely by their demands for living wages.…
-
“Repressive Tolerance” and the Constitutions of the United States and of Virginia
by James C. Sherlock In the United States, the first references for judges and attorneys are the federal and state constitutions. The Constitution of the United States, in its First Amendment, requires that: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,…
-
Herbert Marcuse, “Repressive Tolerance,” and the Suppression of Debate
by James C. Sherlock There have been countless articles here on the tyranny of the left on Virginia college campuses. And nationwide. I need not summarize them here. But I think it useful on a weekend to consider the origins of that movement to better understand it. It did not spring up randomly, and it…
-
Dionysian Rites at a Spotsylvania County School Board Meeting
by James C. Sherlock The FY 2023 budget for Spotsylvania County was $341,355,792. In increasing the 2022 budget, the Supervisors transferred an additional $5.8 million to schools to “Address the Commitment to Educational Opportunities.” That brought the total transfer to schools to $138,081,416 including that $5.8 million (4.4%) increase. It was pointed out offhandedly in…
-
Buta Biberaj and the Political Weaponization of the Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney Office – Against Other Democrats and the Press
by James C. Sherlock Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj (D) has used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the tool that opens up government to citizens, in an attempt to destroy political opponents and intimidate the press. Ms. Biberaj has admitted to investigating her political rivals using FOIA requests to view correspondences between county…
-
Virginia Very Low Income Housing Voucher Waiting Lists are Closed
by James C. Sherlock Some things don’t change that should. Or don’t change fast enough to keep up with markets. Which means they will fail. From Virginia Housing’s discussion of the Housing Choice Voucher Program The Housing Choice Voucher Program is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, low-income families, the elderly,…