Virginia continued its multi-year losing streak in 2019 as a state where more people were moving out than moving in.
Breath-Taking Hypocrisy
When Governor Ralph Northam delivered his state-of-the-commonwealth speech two days ago, he gave a special nod to Sen. Ben Chafin, R-Russell County, who had died several days previously from complications relating to COVID-19. “He was my friend, and I miss him,” Northam said. “Whether on the Senate floor or in my office, his presence always brightened my day.”
Hark! A Covid Miracle As Biden Inauguration Approaches
Welcome to Day 321 of 15 Days to Slow the Spread. All it took was a change of administration in Washington for some governors and mayors to see the lockdown light.
Virginia’s General Assembly Is Back
I miss the old days when the opening of the General Assembly session provided fodder for late-night comics.
Virginia: Spanglish On The Website. Vaccines On The Shelf.
Virginia languishes in the bottom half of states for vaccine distribution: 38th to be exact, with just 29 percent of available vaccines administered.
Calling All Teachers
I’m asking public school teachers, wherever they may be, to tell me about the current state of education and their students: The good, the bad and the heartbreaking.
Time To Break Up The Big Tech Monopolies
Facebook, Twitter, Google and Amazon have the power to muzzle people, ban apps and destroy platforms to silence points of view they do not like. This sort of thing happens routinely in China. In America, it’s chilling.
Where Goes the Virginia GOP in a Post-Trump Presidency?
In the aftermath of the mob action at the U.S. Capitol two days ago, establishment Republicans have decisively condemned not only the rioters but President Trump for firing them up with assertions that the 2020 election was stolen.
Hurrah — Teachers Near the Top of the Vaccination List
The Virginia Department of Health has released its priorities for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in the next phase of the vaccination rollout. The top priorities are exactly who you’d expect — front-line essential workers and people over 75. It is reassuring to see that child-care and K-12 teachers and staff are high on the list.
Northam’s Pretty Good Presser
I was pleasantly surprised that the governor didn’t berate or punish Virginians who are doing their best to stay healthy during a pandemic
Goons Masquerading As Patriots Stormed The US Capitol
These hooligans want to turn our country into an unstable banana republic. In fact, they took it up a notch from the left-wing nuts, they unleashed anarchy inside one of the most iconic symbols of our republic.
About-Face By Virginia Beach School Chief
After months of kowtowing to the local teachers’ union, which is doing its best to keep classrooms closed, Aaron Spence belatedly joined the common sense, get-the-kids-back-in-class lobby.
Obesity Is Healthy? Fat Chance.
Yet here is Cosmopolitan Magazine with a plus-size model on its cover and this headline: “This is HEALTHY: 11 women On Why Wellness Doesn’t Have to Be One-Size-Fits-All.”
Hedge Fund Moves On Virginian-Pilot Parent Company
“Austere management practices” is a polite way of saying that hedge funds like Alden buy struggling newspapers, slash costs to the bone and slurp up advertising revenue, vampire-style.
The Big Story Of 2020: Covid.
If you had asked me in January what the blockbuster stories of 2020 would be, I would have predicted the impeachment of Donald Trump and the death of Kobe Bryant.
Words Matter
I don’t like to end the year on a negative note, but the English language? Doomed.
When Smart Kids Procrastinate
I could see the future: my parents driving for hours on graduation day only to search fruitlessly for my name in the program. Instead of lining up in cap and gown, I'd be thrashing around in the pool trying to pass one last exam.