Commentary
Are we doing all we can to help children in foster care?
By Cassie Baudeán As National Child Abuse Prevention Month comes to an end and we enter into National Foster Care Month, it’s important to remember the children directly affected by child abuse and foster care and then ask ourselves, are we really doing all that we can? Are we doing all that we can to […]
Draft Supreme Court ruling makes Morrissey the wild card in deciding the future of abortion in Va.
A draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that, as published by POLITICO a week ago, would end a federal guarantee of abortion rights granted under the 1973 “Roe v. Wade decision.” If the final opinion in a case challenging a strict Mississippi anti-abortion law is anything like the leaked draft, abortion rights will become a state-by-state […]
How allowing single-staircase buildings could change Virginia’s housing market
Given the decades-long decline in new housing construction and the resultant skyrocketing of rents and home prices across the commonwealth, the need for more homes has become a consensus position in Virginia. However, even those who support increasing housing construction have mixed feelings about the dominant design of the times: 5-over-1 buildings — so named […]
Liberty needs to overhaul its approach on sexual assault
Blaming the victims of sexual assault, rather than vigorously investigating men who are rape suspects. Dissuading women from filing criminal reports. Threatening academic and monetary sanctions against women for trumped-up violations of the moral code of conduct. With such accusations being leveled repeatedly against officials at Liberty University – the private institution in Lynchburg known […]
Gold mining comes with risks and rewards. But those aren’t equally shared.
By Erica Schoenberger Buckingham County faces the prospect of a gold mine within its borders. Many of the county’s residents are opposed to it. If it is permitted, there will no doubt be other companies looking to mine elsewhere in Virginia. The state has enlisted the help of the National Academies of Science and established […]
The one-person, one-vote principle can be a pain, but it’s essential to uphold
Lord in heaven, I know I swore many years ago that I’d do all in my power to avoid getting pulled into a rabbit hole by Paul Goldman, so please don’t strike me dead for this. But here goes: Paul is right in suing to force House of Delegates elections this fall. In a long […]
What is Paxlovid and how will it help the fight against coronavirus?
By Patrick Jackson The Biden administration announced plans on April 26, 2022, to increase the availability of the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, vowing to get more of the treatment pills into the hands of Americans. An oral antiviral, Paxlovid has proved successful at reducing the chances of hospitalization among COVID-19 sufferers, but has suffered from a […]
Youngkin and Miyares’ appeal of mask ruling is a harsh publicity stunt
Who will benefit from the appeal of a federal court ruling – sought by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares and other administration officials – that would challenge whether 12 students with serious health problems can legally ask classmates and teachers to continue to wear masks? Certainly not the overwhelmingly majority of public school […]
To lower cost of living, legislature should override governor’s veto of energy efficiency bill
By Chris Meyer With Richmond’s focus on reducing Virginia’s energy costs, it was surprising to see Gov. Glenn Youngkin veto a bill designed to lower the electric bills of veterans, low-income, elderly and disabled ratepayers. The bill — Senate Bill 347 (Sen. John Bell, D-Loudoun) — not only passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, but also directly […]
Decades, tragedies and heartaches later, Virginia’s mental health system still struggles
It’s been decades — at least three of them — with a continuous litany of embarrassments, mismanagement, tragedy and even death that have dogged Virginia’s dysfunctional system of mental health services and hospitals. And the drumbeat continues. A little over a week ago, two felons broke out of the Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg where […]
What new Virginia laws reveal about how the natural gas industry sees its future
Natural gas is having a moment. The war in Ukraine spotlighted Europe’s heavy reliance on Russian gas and the challenge of replacing it with new supplies from elsewhere. Suddenly the Biden administration, after talking so much about the need to get off fossil fuels, wants to expand oil and gas production and boost exports of […]