Time for Next Steps After Brown
May 17 marked the 71st anniversary of the 1954 court decision called Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS — but the case began here, in Virginia. In 1951 Virginia public education operated under the doctrine of “separate but equal,” but the definition of “equal” left much to be desired. In Farmville’s high school […]
No, RTD, Hurricane Helene Not Proof of ‘Climate Change’
The Richmond Times-Dispatch no longer has a climate alarmist on staff, so today it fell to one of its liberal political columnists (it still has two of those, they will be the last employees out the door) to blame Hurricane Helene on “climate change.” It was a terrible storm, no question. But it wasn’t the first terrible […]
Virginia in Real Danger of Running Out of Other People’s Power
An electricity drought is looming, not only for Virginia but also for much of the United States, if the political hostility toward the most reliable forms of electricity generation is not reversed. Warnings that wind and solar power alone will not be sufficient resonated like a drumbeat from the podium of a two-day conference on Virginia’s energy future […]
A Refresher on the Virginia Clean Economy Act, Now Back Under a Legislative Microscope
A senior Democratic state senator is leading an effort to review and possibly revise the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), which orders the future elimination of hydrocarbon fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal) used in making electricity. His goal is to conduct a stakeholder process and bring legislation to the 2025 General Assembly. Before […]
The Thomas Jefferson Institute Applauds Governor Youngkin’s Actions on its Veto Recommendations
Monday was not just the near total solar eclipse in Virginia, but also the deadline for Governor Youngkin to act on the budget and the remaining bills on his desk. As our Steve Haner wrote in, Governor’s Budget Compromise Eclipses Fears of Stalemate, we are generally positive about the approximately 230 budget amendments Governor Youngkin made. The […]
Governor’s Budget Compromise Eclipses Fears of Stalemate
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) is offering a compromise on the disputed state budget that gives Virginia’s Democratic legislators most of the spending they were initially demanding, especially for local schools and early childhood education. The Governor is also offering a quick path to a resolution that avoids additional months of budget stalemate and political division. “On […]
Index Minimum Wage? Do the Tax Code, Too
One bill that certainly is heading for Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk is the increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour as of two years from now. Both versions, House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, raise it to $13.50 for next year, with the $15 level kicking in a year later. Both bills are now […]
Governor Youngkin Joins the “No Car Tax” Movement
During Governor Glenn Youngkin’s budget submission to the General Assembly, he called for the elimination of the single most hated tax in the Commonwealth — the car tax. He is right, the car tax is very unpopular. Back in 1997, Jim Gilmore made the elimination of the car tax the center of his long-shot campaign for […]
Who Paid for the Abortion Ads? Green Energy
You may think the recent Virginia election was about abortion, but follow the money. The wave of advertising on that issue was largely bankrolled by the renewable energy industry. This election was about energy and delivered to those special interests the legislature they needed to stay in control of that agenda. Dominion Energy Virginia increased its donations […]
Tomorrow’s Ballot Question: Will Virginia Become Illinois?
It was reported this week that billionaire Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker had made substantial campaign contributions totaling $250,000 to four liberal Democrats running for Virginia State Senate and the Democratic Party of Virginia. These donations, made through Governor Pritzker’s “Think Big America” organization, are the clearest sign yet that the left wants to turn the […]