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Virginia is for workers. … Almost.
By Kim Bobo On Labor Day weekend as we honor America’s workers, we recognize Virginia’s complicated history with worker’s rights. Our legacy of slavery — the ultimate exploitation of workers — left us with many discriminatory and racist laws and few protections for workers. But the last few years have seen significant strides in creating […]
We must work together to halt the spread of COVID-19
By Renee Allen As a nurse and the current administrator at Lucy Corr, a long-term care facility in Chesterfield County, I have seen firsthand the staggering impact of COVID-19 on our industry. Our hardworking and devoted staff of caregivers provide services to more than 200 residents each day. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
Treat evictions like a chronic disease
By Susie Turkson and Dr. Alan Dow Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Richmond was already afflicted by other public health crises, including an eviction epidemic. Our city ranks second in the nation in the rate of evictions. Within the Commonwealth of Virginia, four additional cities rank within the top 10. Because of the […]
Don’t rush school reopenings
By James J. Fedderman, Ph.D There’s a clear-cut path in public education: Certain standards must be met, and certain knowledge gained, before students can move on to the next level of their schooling. You can’t build a promising future without a sound foundation. We’ve approached the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shutdown […]
Don’t let water quality become another COVID-19 casualty
By Peggy Sanner You often smell them before you see them. Harmful algal blooms are an annual summer curse in Virginia’s waterways, staining waters shades of red, green and brown. This year has been no exception, with blooms observed from Lake Anna to the James, Lafayette and Lynnhaven Rivers, to the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia […]
Don’t miss this chance to fix redistricting
By Chris Buchheit In November, Virginians have a unique opportunity to fundamentally improve the structure of democracy, the likes of which only presents itself once in a generation. A constitutional amendment (the “Virginia Redistricting Commission Amendment”) will appear on the ballot to hand over redistricting to a bipartisan commission that includes citizens. As you may […]
More dominoes need to fall in ACP’s wake
By Wanda Roberts, Barb Adams, Elizabeth Kreydatus and Denise Robbins The cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was welcome news. Many of Virginia’s citizens, nonprofit groups, and legal defenders that fought for years to keep that pipeline from being built, and we are grateful for their tireless work. It was a rare victory for the […]
Another type of front-line: There’s an urgent need for funding for children’s mental health
By Dr. Arshia Qaadir On a recent day at his pediatric office in Vienna, Virginia, Dr. Michael Martin noticed something unusual about his schedule. “Twenty-five percent of my visits that day were related to mental health issues,” said the president of the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “During the winter and with […]
Title IX changes could shield predatory faculty
By Erin Coogan People may assume that sexual advances by professors toward students are confined to the scripted drama of movies or television shows like “Legally Blonde,” “You,” or “Jane the Virgin.” Over the past year, I found myself in the middle of a Title IX case against a longtime, tenured professor. I worked with […]
Despite company claims, only a fraction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline is complete in Virginia
By Jonathan Sokolow Mountain Valley Pipeline is a $6.2 billion corporate boondoggle that a Pittsburgh-based fracked gas company, EQT Corporation, is trying to ram down the throat of West Virginia and Virginia. Boondoggle is exactly the right word for this climate-busting project, which was first conceived in 2014 and has yet to be completed. As […]
On evictions, it’s time for the governor to stop dithering
By the Rev. Dr. Keith Savage, the Rev. Clyde W. Ellis, Jr. and the Rev. James V. Jordan As pastors of African-American congregations, we are gripped with uneasiness and frustration about the potential of hundreds of thousands of people in our congregations and around Virginia potentially losing their homes because the pandemic ravaged the economy […]
Virginia is stopping the debt trap, no thanks to federal regulators
By Dana Wiggins and Benjamin Hoyne We have been battling predatory lending in Virginia for more than 20 years. The Virginia Poverty Law Center’s hotline has counseled thousands of payday and title loan borrowers trapped in a cycle of debt. For many, an unaffordable payday loan of a few hundred dollars due back in one […]