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Republicans nationwide could follow Virginia’s lead on early voting
By Chris McIsaac and Robert Melvin When Democrats were in power in 2020, Virginia enacted one of the longest early voting periods of any state. Now, Governor Glenn Youngkin and GOP candidates for the Virginia legislature are seeking to capitalize on this law to propel themselves to a Republican trifecta of state government control by […]
Class, race and leaf blowers
By Dr. Vivian Thomson Class, race and power ripple through environmental policy in so many ways that I never had trouble finding examples for my University of Virginia students. If I were still teaching at U.Va., I’d lecture about leaf blowers, because their use reflects power relations connected to race, ethnicity and wealth. But those […]
Navigating asbestos: the silent threat affecting Navy veterans in Va. and beyond
By Cristina Johnson Navy veterans have always been known for their resilience, commitment and unwavering dedication to protecting our nation’s interests. Yet, as these brave men and women transition into civilian life after their years of service, many find themselves facing a different kind of battle, one that is often invisible and insidious: the […]
Preparing for the unexpected
By MaryAnn E. Tierney As an emergency manager, I spend my day preparing the mid-Atlantic for the unexpected – and in my work, the unexpected can be deadly. A summer shower can quickly turn to dangerous flash flooding. A dropped cigarette can ignite a wildfire. A hurricane can make landfall on the Gulf Coast and […]
Utility-scale solar is coming to a farm near you
By Robert “Bobby” Whitescarver We are undergoing a wonderful, historic, frustrating and devastating transition to renewable energy. Solar panels will be on buildings and parking lots, and in highway medians, landfills, and brownfields. Utility-scale solar should be installed in those places before we put it on farmland. But that’s not what’s happening. Like it or […]
Be careful what information you post about children on social media
By Neera Doss Burner The internet has become a part of our daily life. Whether you access it on a computer, or a mobile device such as a cell phone or tablet, the internet has opened doors for us. Unfortunately, there can be scary surprises behind some of those doors. We pay a price to […]
Power of the disability vote
By Helena Berger The seventh annual Disability Voting Rights Week is being celebrated throughout the United States this week. Across Virginia, organizations collaborating with REV UP Virginia — a non-partisan, statewide coalition of disabled individuals, disability organizations, and ally groups working collectively to increase the political power of disabled Virginians — are holding events to […]
Community health workers: behind-the-scenes heroes
By Valerie McAllister If your doctor said, “There are comorbidities that will affect your outcome,” many people would not understand what that means or what they need to do to change their outcome. Fortunately, Virginia has an important group of people making health care services more accessible and understandable: community health workers. Last week was […]
Why did Kiki Webb have to die?
By Dale M. Brumfield Around 8:00 a.m. on March 7, 2023, Anitrel “Kiki” Webb, a 45-year-old inmate at the all-female Fluvanna Correctional Facility in Troy, Virginia, went to take a shower. Officers found her almost four hours later, hanging from the rod, dead. Webb had been sentenced in Roanoke the previous April to 15 years […]
A life derailed by long COVID
By John Bolecek At the height of the Omicron wave in January 2022, my entire family – me, my wife and two sons, then ages 3 and 6 – got COVID through my younger son’s daycare. I was 38 years old, fit, vaccinated and boosted; because I have asthma, I was worried about getting […]
VPLC’s invitation to Oliver Anthony: Join us!
By Valerie L’Herrou and Cassie Edner Odds are, by now you’ve heard about that song from a country singer in Farmville, Virginia, who performs under the stage name Oliver Anthony. As he belts “Rich Men North of Richmond,” Mr. Anthony raises an important issue that we here at VPLC care about and work hard to change: working […]
Democrats need to embrace economic populism
By Ben Litchfield A few weeks ago, Governor Glenn Youngkin was on Fox News talking about the state of the national economy. In his segment with Laura Ingraham, he described how a trip to the grocery store is still a “gut punch” for working families with more than 60% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. […]