Pod Virginia 10/10/22 Pod Virginia 10/10/22

Collective Bargaining, Wartime Profiteering, and Government Contract Favoritism

Collective bargaining in the classroom: With restrictions against public-sector collective bargaining removed, teachers, firefighters, and other government employees have now been allowed to organize. Research shows that collective bargaining helps morale, staffing retention, and educator pay, giving teachers more say in their job. Richmond's school system has been the fastest to organize, but other school districts aren't far behind. Wartime profiteering: new orders for defense capital goods are steadily increasing, according to new numbers from the Census Bureau. Like it or not, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is profitable for Virginia's military-industrial complex, with the state's access to D.C. and logistics command at nearby Fort Lee. As the war continues, the demand for weapons shows no signs of stopping. The welcome project: While there's a long history of state governors getting publicity by re-issuing road maps and welcome messages with their own names and faces, a new scandal faces the Youngkin administration: Virginia's latest ad campaign was produced by Poolhouse Media, which helped then-candidate Youngkin win the governorship. Their bid was prepared on the first day the contract became available--easily beating out the other bidders, including the longstanding Martin Agency.

Pod Virginia 10/6/22 Pod Virginia 10/6/22

Christine Kuglin: Virginia Faces Nearly $1B of Unfunded Debt Obligations

Christine Kuglin, Director of Truth in Accounting's Daniels College of Business, explains how Virginia's constitutionally-required "balanced budget" can be reconciled with the Commonwealth's billion-dollar debt burden. While some debt can be good, it also carries risk, such as when worker pensions are leveraged and tied to stocks and bonds.

Pod Virginia 10/3/22 Pod Virginia 10/3/22

Drop Box Security, School Accreditation, and Bringing Semiconductor Jobs to Virginia

The conservative Heritage Foundation recently gave Virginia a perfect score on its "Election Integrity Scorecard" because of the strong security around its election drop boxes. As Michael and Thomas discuss, that news directly counters fear-mongering around election integrity issues in the state. Researchers at Virginia colleges are on the cutting edge of semiconductor research--that's paired with an attempt by Virginia lawmakers to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Three sites are currently being marketed by the Youngkin administration, mostly in Southside Virginia, representing billions of dollars in potential revenue and improved security. Governor Youngkin says Virginia's new new accreditation system reflects a broken system that doesn't reflect learning loss or the achievement gaps--but education experts say the new system encourages improvement and focuses less on punishing low-performing schools. A New York Times investigation reveals that Bon Secours hospital chain was committing fraud--taking federal dollars intended to help low-income citizens access life-saving medicine, and distributing that money to wealthier people in the medical system.

Pod Virginia 9/29/22 Pod Virginia 9/29/22

Markus Schmidt: Marie March Charges Wren Williams With Assault, Battery

Markus Schmidt of Cardinal News joins the show to discuss the contentious Republican primary for Virginia's 47th District, where redistricting pitted incumbent delegates Marie March and Wren Williams against each other. March filed a criminal complaint alleging that Williams shoved her at a GOP event. Schmidt walks us through the security camera footage and political implications.

Pod Virginia 9/26/22 Pod Virginia 9/26/22

Early Voting, Financial Data Transparency, and New Guidelines for Transgender Students

Republican Delegate Phillip Scott says Virginia's 45-day early voting period is too long, causing an undue burden on Virginia's registrars and Department of Elections. Thomas and Michael discuss early voting and the possibility of getting a recurring absentee ballot sent directly to your house. Transparency in government: Senator Mark Warner has introduced the Financial Data Transparency Act, which would require state and local governments to submit financial documents in a machine-readable format--something private corporations have been required to do for years. This would make it easier to read, research, and verify financial information in government documents. New state guidelines for school districts suggest policies that would allow teachers to misgender students. Delegate Danica Roem had some choice words in response to the new policy, which currently has no enforcement mechanisms.

Pod Virginia 9/22/22 Pod Virginia 9/22/22

Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo: Elaine Luria, Jen Kiggans, and the Race for Virginia's 2nd District

Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, Associate Professor of Political Science and Research Lab Director of the Judy Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the hotly contested midterm election for Virginia's 2nd District. Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria faces a challenge from Republican Jen Kiggans in a newly-redrawn district: what do these candidates want their voters to take away and how will the election shape up?

Pod Virginia 9/1/22 Pod Virginia 9/1/22

Dr. Stephen Farnsworth: Abigail Spanberger, Yesli Vega, and the Fight for Virginia's 7th District

Professor Stephen Farnsworth, Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the hotly contested midterm election for Virginia's 7th District. Democratic incumbent Abigail Spanberger faces a challenge from Republican Yesli Vega in a newly-redrawn district: what do these candidates want their voters to take away and how will the election shape up?

Pod Virginia 8/29/22 Pod Virginia 8/29/22

Mountain Valley Pipeline Extension and the Midterms Changing Tides

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is giving the Mountain Valley Pipeline an additional four years to obtain all the necessary permits to finish construction. This isn't the first time FERC has granted an extension--but some experts say it's a bad deal for Virginians, both environmentally and economically. According to a new Roanoke College survey, consumers are feeling better about the economy--eight points up from the spring. While consumer confidence is still at a historic low, the upturn might be one good sign for Democrats in what's otherwise looking to be a difficult midterm election.

Thomas Bowman 8/22/22 Thomas Bowman 8/22/22

Junk Science Conversion Therapy and Challenging the Earned Sentence Credits

Thousands are behind bars right now, even though they should've been released--that's the result of a recent budget amendment that changed how "earned sentence credits" worked. A lawsuit by the ACLU challenges whether the amendment can undo the credits earned since the 2020 law was passed.

Also in the news: While conversion therapy is illegal to perform on LGBTQ+ children, it's still not illegal for adults. Despite the practice being widely discredited, the Virginia Department of Health Professions is telling licensed state health professionals that it's okay to keep using this junk science on adults.

Thomas Bowman 8/16/22 Thomas Bowman 8/16/22

Lauren Burke: 10 Things Comms Directors Need to Know About Journalists

In this episode taken from our Patreon feed, Lauren Burke of the Burkefile Podcast joins us to discuss the latest trends in journalism, as well as 10 tips for elected officials and communications directors trying to work with reporters.

Thomas Bowman 8/14/22 Thomas Bowman 8/14/22

Holly Seibold: The Six-Year Journey to Eliminate Virginia's Tampon Tax

GUEST: Holly Seibold, founder of BRAWS (Bringing Resources to Aid Women's Shelters) discusses her work helping women's shelters and the six-year process of convincing the General Assembly to eliminate the state sales tax from pads, tampons, and other hygiene products.