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Proposed asylum fees are part of a bid to make immigrants fund their own red tape
By Sarah R. Sherman-Stokes The Trump administration wants to make people fleeing persecution in their home countries pay for something they’ve long gotten for free: the right to apply for asylum in the United States. As an immigration attorney and a law professor who has represented people seeking asylum for over a decade, I believe this change, which […]
The proposed Cumberland County mega-landfill will threaten children’s health
By Irène Mathieu, MD As a pediatrician in Central Virginia, I see evidence of how environmental contamination can threaten children’s health, which is why I am opposing the Green Ridge mega-landfill that has been proposed in Cumberland County. Every day in my clinic, I encounter children with severe asthma or babies who struggle to develop normally […]
When it comes to Trump, the brazenness is the point
By Susan J. Demas President Donald Trump will almost certainly be impeached — it’s now just a matter of narrowing down the list of high crimes and misdemeanors and checking it twice. But as details emerge every day of his not-very-sophisticated plot to allegedly extort the Ukraine government into smearing a potential 2020 rival, former […]
LGBT Virginians want leaders to champion Virginia values
By James Parrish As Election Day approaches, candidates across the commonwealth are knocking on doors and picking up phones to woo potential voters. One issue that demands attention from voters is each candidate’s stance on protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Virginia. Many people are surprised to learn that in this day […]
Virginia is again at the center of a major civil rights battle: Once again, it’s on the wrong side
By Jonathan Sokolow The year 1963 was transformative in the Civil Rights Movement and in our country. In January, George Wallace was inaugurated as governor of Alabama, pledging “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever.” In April, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested while leading a campaign in Birmingham that is most remembered for […]
Preserving access to safe, legal abortion in Virginia
By Paulette McElwain The Supreme Court just demonstrated exactly how crucial the Nov. 5 election will be for the future of access to safe, legal abortion in Virginia. The court announced it will review a Louisiana abortion restriction nearly identical to one of the Texas restrictions struck down by the court in Whole Woman’s Health […]
The hidden power behind the Chickahominy gas power plant proposal
By Mary Finley-Brook I filed a records request with the State Corporation Commission to find out who owns the 1,600 megawatt Chickahominy Power Station under permitting in the majority-minority county of Charles City. As a consumer on the PJM Interconnection electricity grid, I will help pay for this $1.6 billion dollar gas plant, in which […]
Virginia’s new renewable energy goals can spur job creation, if combined with action from the General Assembly
By Devin Welch Last month, Gov. Ralph Northam made an exciting announcement: that Virginia would aim to get 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. It’s an ambitious — but essential — target, and much of the reporting post-announcement has focused on a major impetus behind this kind of goal setting: climate […]
Virginia can’t reach its 2050 climate goal if it keeps allowing natural gas infrastructure
By Sam Bleicher, Rebecca R. Rubin and Roberta A. Kellam On Sept. 16, Gov. Ralph Northam announced a forward-looking objective of achieving 100 percent renewable electricity for Virginia by 2050. Unfortunately, Virginia cannot reach this goal if the governor, the General Assembly, and the state air and water control boards continue rubber-stamping natural gas pipelines […]
Broadband expansion is crucial to health care access
By Karen S. Rheuban, M.D. Remote patient monitoring may not ring a bell to most but, then again, neither did the term MRI before the mid-1990s. Much like the groundbreaking impact that medical-imaging technologies such as MRI and CT scans have had on patient diagnostics, RPM has the potential to revolutionize care and transform the […]
How will the story of Chesapeake Bay restoration end? Virginia’s new plan is a crucial chapter.
By Peggy Sanner It is hard to overstate the importance of the current moment for Chesapeake Bay restoration. Our region is on the verge of a tremendous environmental success story that will be studied around the world. Or it could be the scene of another effort that misses the mark. Virginia’s recently finalized roadmap to […]
We have the power to create the fair economy we want
By Doris Crouse-Mays If what you earn from work makes your world go around, you have good reason to be proud this Labor Day, along with every other working person in Virginia. Together, we are on the rise, and we should be, because our labor has created the world’s most productive economy, and we are […]