by shay bell With election season being here, it’s really got me thinking about leadership. What it means to be a leader, how to tell a real leader from ones who are just here for the benefits of being called a leader. Oh sure, the people in leadership positions like to PRETEND they’re leaders, but […]
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Get Your @ss to the Polls (For Free!)
It’s that time of year again. It’s the spookiest season, when terror strikes in the hearts of millions in our fair state. That’s right–it’s election season. But one thing you don’t have to fear this year is finding a ride to the polls. Throughout the state, a variety of partisan, non-partisan, and state/locally sponsored initiatives […]
News
Covid Shots
by Ashleigh Crocker I’m getting tired being the annoying person always talking about this, but yes, COVID-19, is still real, still exists, and you can still get it. Cases are on the rise, and anecdotally, I’ve had several friends who have had it recently, so it might be time to bring back the masks just […]
News
Hip Hip Hooray!
by shay bell Shouting out three cheers to our partners at Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for their latest victory in D.C.! Unionized cleaners in the D.C. region (yes, Virginia too!), as well as Montgomery County, MD, recently settled a month-long negotiation with the Washington Service Contractors Association. This negotiation was made after an organized […]
News
Virginia Weighs Cash Aid
Earlier this year, the Richmond city government announced a direct-cash aid program for residents. Since then, it has shown wonderful results: those in need have been able to evade eviction, stave off rising living costs, and even pull themselves out of homelessness. The Family Crisis Fund follows in the footsteps of a program of the […]
News
Pay Teachers and Don’t Be Racist
By Kimberly R. Nario Hey y’all. Here’s your reminder that it is Filipino American History Month. Before we jet off to festivals and celebrations, I have to say–I had a lot of feelings when I saw this. My grandma was a teacher in the Philippines, only giving up her career to come to the States […]
News
TikTok Goes the Clock as Conservatives Steer Us Back to 1980
You may recall Montana’s controversial move to ban TikTok in May of this year. It was widely regarded as silly and reactionary then and is still largely treated as such. So, what better way for Virginia conservatives to waste their time and our tax dollars than to dive headlong into Montana’s defense? Well, our attorney […]
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Virginia Just Wants What Other Places Have
by Kierra Johnson It’s hard to watch California raise taxes on guns to pay for school safety in the midst of a gun violence epidemic for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the measure is nowhere near the effort that needs to be put into gun violence prevention, which can be very frustrating for those who […]
News
Commonsense: Something we CLEARLY do not have.
by shay bell Plastered on headlines of every local news website, two VCU students killed in a fatal shooting. Victims Adrianna Brooks and Matthew Gibbs lost their lives to gun violence before they reached the legal drinking age. This isn’t even a new story. We’ve heard this story several times over the past year alone, […]
News
Spare Us the Secret Police–The Public Ones Are Plenty Unaccountable
So, Chesterfield has their very own Secret Police–or at least police that are secret. The department recently moved to redact 500 names from its roster in what is little more than a thinly veiled attempt to skirt any accountability for their actions. That they did this in response to OpenOversight VA’s request for a full […]