Governor Terry McAuliffe said yesterday that he supports legislation that would cancel the freeze in base electric rates on Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power if President Trump kills the Clean Power Plan. The endorsement came a little late for state Sen. J. Chapman Petersen, D-Fairfax City, whose bill to...
During my four years on the Virginia State Board of Education the most frustrating question was “What can we do about school divisions that persistently fail to effectively educate their children?” Virginia’s public education system remains one of the top performers in the nation, ranking high on such metrics as...
Most people have never heard the term “Chevron deference” and, if they have never practiced administrative law, could not be blamed. But, in the weeks ahead we are going to hear a great deal about it. Here’s why. “Chevron deference” refers to a rule the Supreme Court of the United...
Military dependent children move 6-9 times during their K-12 years, according to the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC). Although there is much uncertainty in every move, Military families typically begin the relocation process with two questions: 1) Where will we live? 2) Where will our children attend school? When transitioning...
Government watchers know there are two parts to federal policy. First, there is the law passed by Congress. Second, there is how agencies implement the law. For Medicare Advantage, congressional support remains robust – but the program’s future lies squarely with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS...
Attracted by their “Free Breakfast for Children” and community health clinic program, Lois Bias joined the Black Panthers in college. Today, having long abandoned the Panthers after they turned violent, she continues to advance the mission of helping people out of poverty, but focuses her attention on educating children in...
The University of Virginia Health System will need to dramatically cut costs to adapt to a post-Obamacare world, Dr. Richard P. Shannon, UVa’s executive vice president for health affairs, said yesterday. As the Daily Progress reports, Shannon briefed members of the Medical Center Operating Board: Republican plans, written to replace...
President Donald Trump has taken his first serious step to drain the swamp by placing a freeze on new federal government hiring. How deep does the draining go? His executive order applies to all civilian government entities, but agency heads can choose to exempt positions with “national security or public...
The Trump campaign proposed a $1 trillion program to foster private investment in aging public-sector infrastructure. According to a proposal by Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro, eligible projects would be large-scale infrastructure that has, or could have, robust user-fee revenue streams. Revenue-based financing (equity and debt) would be used to...
Fight to Help Underserved Children Playing out in Richmond
Virginia’s public school system is among the nation’s best, but there remain geographic pockets of underserved children. Of the 94 schools denied accreditation, 55 percent are in just five school divisions. Eleven schools have repeatedly been denied accreditation — one of them for 11 years! To help solve the problem,...