Category: Local

Opinion, please: teacher/student social networking

According to this article, the Virginia State Board of Education is considering guidelines restricting teachers interaction with students via social networks. For the first time, the state Board of Education is set to make recommendations for how teachers and students should interact over social-networking sites. Next month, the board is scheduled to vote on the … Continue reading Opinion, please: teacher/student social networking →

Help CHKD win $250K

Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters is in the running to win $250,000 from Pepsi. The Norfolk-based facility - the only one of its kind in the state - provides pediatric care in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. The Pepsi Refresh Project is giving away $1.3 million a month in grants, based on votes … Continue reading Help CHKD win $250K →

Bring on the disinfectant

Above is the title of my latest op-ed, which appears in today's Virginian-Pilot.  (When posted online, it will be available here.)  As you might expect, the topic is, once again, transparency, and the lack thereof as it relates to the mess at HRT. The issue of transparency is one that is not going away any … Continue reading Bring on the disinfectant →

More on Protogyrou audit request

As mentioned earlier, Norfolk council member Andy Protogyrou requested the city conduct an inquiry into the city's "interface" with Hampton Roads Transit. A copy of the memo, provided to me by Protogyrou, is below the fold. In a telephone call this morning, Protogyrou emphasized why he believes such an investigation is necessary. An attorney, Protogyrou … Continue reading More on Protogyrou audit request →

Williams: “jaundiced reporting”

Retiring City Manager Regina Williams penned a letter Tuesday to members of council, the citizens of the city, and the newspaper in which she called an article in The Virginian-Pilot "the most jaundiced reporting and headline" she could imagine.  I don't know if I'd go quite that far but I understand her frustration. After all, … Continue reading Williams: “jaundiced reporting” →

Census release: 308,745,538

The U.S. Census Bureau released some data this morning on the number of Americans and the Congressional reapportionment.  As of April 1, 2010, there were 308,745,538 persons people in the U.S., an increase of 9.7%. The reapportionment numbers affected 12 seats in 18 states. The big winner was Texas, which gained four seats. Seven states … Continue reading Census release: 308,745,538 →

Passenger rail coming back to Norfolk

Governor Bob McDonnell announced Monday that an agreement has been reached with Norfolk Southern that could bring passenger rail back to Norfolk in three years. The agreement provides for the speedy upgrading of Norfolk Southern tracks between Norfolk and Petersburg so that they are suitable for use by passenger trains. Funded by an $87 million … Continue reading Passenger rail coming back to Norfolk →

Opinion, please: Truancy policy a step too far?

Consider this: A 17-year-old male is walking to school when, with the school in sight, a police officer stops him and asks him where he's going. The youth says school. The officer says he has to drive him there - standard procedure for dealing with truants. When the kid refuses, he is handcuffed, put into … Continue reading Opinion, please: Truancy policy a step too far? →

Webb could support overturn of DADT

Seems all of the calls and emails have paid off: The senior senator from Virginia, with a background steeped in distinguished military service, said he would support repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy, provided there is "sensitivity" toward how change would be applied, particularly to combat units. [...] "I believe that the certification … Continue reading Webb could support overturn of DADT →