Virginia@: Your July 19th Sunday Summary ...

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Dear Friend of TJI,

Came the word yesterday that Congressman John Lewis lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. A veteran of the Edmund Pettus Bridge with the scars to prove it, Lewis once said, in words that can be applied to any political persuasion, "We must use our time and our space on this little planet that we call Earth to make a lasting contribution, to leave it a little better than we found it." His last official act on Friday was to co-sign a letter with Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy calling for more civics education in schools. RIP.

Meanwhile ...

1.) "Employers wondering whether Virginia is the new California just got their answer: California has some catching up to do." So says Courtney Malveaux in a column for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce (click here). The new Covid workplace rules rushed into place by the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (of which Malveaux is a member), exceed anything required by the federal government or any other state, and will impose tremendous new regulations on all Virginia employers - including businesses, churches, public and private schools, daycare centers and even local and state government (click here). Those regulations, in turn, will raise the cost of goods and services - and taxes on taxpayers. A good news summary can be found here. And you can register for the first in what will no doubt be many webinars to help employers figure this out by clicking here.

2.) The State may not want to own the means of production, but they appear to want to control it. If you missed the Thomas Jefferson Institute's Wednesday Federal Policy (non) Dinner, held at 6pm Swedish time, you can watch speaker Johan Norberg remind us of Sweden's Lessons for America by clicking here.

3.) Kudos to Governor Ralph Northam. Last week, the Governor signed legislation to expedite the occupational and professional licensure process for military spouses. The bi-partisan bills were sponsored by Democratic Delegate Rodney Willett and Republican Senator David Suetterlein addresses the issue of portability of the professional and occupational licenses of military spouses (see here).

Virginia's occupational and licensure laws are ranked 7^th worst in the nation by the Institute for Justice. These laws largely discourage competition and limit access to occupations by imposing economic and regulatory barriers, often without rhyme or reason. For example, it takes roughly 63 days of training and $80 in fees to become a licensed EMT (where a mistake can lead to death), but 731 days and $320 in fees to become a licensed landscape contractor (where a mistake can lead to ... putting in the wrong shrub?).

The Governor earns two cheers, but we urge him to get the third by backing legislation to overhaul the entire occupational and licensure system.

4.) Governor Northam has called the General Assembly back into session starting August 18. Rumor has it that the GA will gather, all bills will be introduced and then hearings will be held virtually with the legislators gathering again some weeks later. Northam's Proclamation calls for the budget and police reform to be on the agenda. Leaving out other issues allows the Governor to operate under State of Emergency status without seeking legislative approval until well into next year (see here). And as parents, teachers, local officials ... oh, and students struggle to figure out how to safely re-open public education systems, the Governor who dictates how many feet to stand between each other goes AWOL and leaves how to help schools off the agenda (click here).

5.) Meanwhile, the question of re-opening school is now the all-consuming issue. Local school divisions get to make that decision for public schools, based on local needs and resources - there is a huge difference between wealthier but crowded Fairfax County and many poorer but sparsely populated schools in southwest Virginia. While the teachers unions are clearly playing up the dangers ("people will die"), the reality is that a great many teachers of all political stripes are concerned about safety. Parents are, too. A series of national polls, including one by EdChoice, demonstrate significant reservations by parents (click here).

6.) Although the emphasis is on safely re-opening, the American Academy of Pediatrics makes the point that "all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school." (click here). They are backed up by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, which warns that failing to re-open will make worse the learning losses from this spring, especially in low-income communities already hardest hit (click here). Scott Gottlieb argues in The Wall Street Journal, that there's a pathway to re-opening (click here). Regardless, there is a rising wave nationally of schools defaulting to full-time online (click here). And Education Week offers a look at more than 200 different opening plans from around the country (click here).

7.) A failure to re-open may also lead to discontent from another quarter: taxpayers who are footing the bill. Over at Reason Magazine, Corey DeAngelus proposes a common-sense solution: Fund students instead of the system (click here). Meanwhile, private schools (including those in Virginia) are mostly re-opening to five-days-a week (click here) ... at least until Governor Northam's new covid regulations kick in (see item 1), which may throw another government-induced monkey wrench into the works.

8.) The beneficiary of all this may well be homeschooling, which a RealClearEducation poll indicates 40% of parents were looking at (click here). Reason's J.D. Tuccille points out is creating "a growing movement of home- and community-based microschools that deliver lessons to small groups of kids. That allows parents who need to work to pool their resources while ensuring adult supervision (click here)." Tucille's article also offers a helpful list of homeschool resources here. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association also offers a details of the law in Virginia here.

9.) One thing is certain: Nothing is as it used to be, as former Governor Terry McAuliffe may be discovering. McAuliffe, a protégé of the Clintons who is planning another run for Governor, was the subject of a less than flattering article in the progressive online Virginia Mercury (click here). Like Hillary, his time may be past.

10.) As names of institutions are changed across America, National Review's Sergiu Klainerman and John Londregan offer a symbolic name change conservatives could get behind (click here).

Finally ... the weather is supposed to hit triple digits this weekend into early next week. A good time to remember "Snowmageddens" of years past (best in full screen: click here).

Happy Sunday, Everyone.

Stay cool, my friend.

Cordially,