Category: Politics

ICYMI: Norfolk’s 630-page rush

My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot last Thursday.  Norfolk released its budget last Tuesday and the single public hearing on it is coming up this Wednesday evening at 6pm at Granby High School. A separate public hearing will be held on May 1 - same time, same location - to discuss the … Continue reading ICYMI: Norfolk’s 630-page rush →

Battle over getting a slice of Federal employees health care dollars heats up

Kaiser Health Foundation wrote recently that two of the largest providers of health insurance to federal employees, retirees and dependents are in a battle to scoop as many people up as they can in an effort to increase profit, I am sure. Also, Obamacare is changing the way things are done, and insurers are ready … Continue reading Battle over getting a slice of Federal employees health care dollars heats up →

Norfolk: it’s budget time

City manager Marcus Jones presented his FY 2012 budget to council Tuesday afternoon. The presentation is below. A better copy of the slides used in the presentation can be found here. And the budget itself is here. Council will hold a public hearing on the budget on April 24. Separately, council will hold a public … Continue reading Norfolk: it’s budget time →

Video: Imagine a world without hate

This has to be one of the best videos making the rounds that I've seen in a long time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3KyvlMJefR4

ICYMI: Where was the civic engagement?

My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. The topic was the public hearing held Tuesday evening as a part of the Norfolk City Council meeting. I wasn't able to physically be there - because of my teaching schedule this semester - but I rushed home to watch the live stream.(Entire video below.) … Continue reading ICYMI: Where was the civic engagement? →

AAAU publishes gender gap statistics by state

The American Association of University Women (AAAU) has published a set of statistics on the subject of the gender gap in pay in this country. The figure for Virginia (pdf) is 78 cents on the dollar. That's $0.78 earned by a woman while a man earned a dollar. For doing the same work. The most … Continue reading AAAU publishes gender gap statistics by state →

Slow down, Norfolk

I'm not sure what the rush is to sign an agreement to build a hotel-conference center in Norfolk. I mean - it's not as if we haven't already waited ten years for other things to happen, most notably for the market to improve. Tomorrow, Council will hold a public hearing, followed by a vote on … Continue reading Slow down, Norfolk →

Finding that elusive line

My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. One of the many things on my mind of late is why people behave the way they do. I've come to the conclusion that at least some of that behavior is rooted in the lack of ethics, a personal code that tells us what is … Continue reading Finding that elusive line →

Ridiculous

Two op-eds, reprinted in The Virginian-Pilot, crossed into the territory of the ridiculous. NY Times columnist Ross Douthat put the blame for the deterioration of traditional marriage on the increase in support for marriage equality. If you didn't get that impression by reading the piece, then Douthat himself made it abundantly clear in this followup … Continue reading Ridiculous →