Author Archives: matt ohern

Carilion Wants it Both Ways

The Roanoke region needs more health care availability according to Carilion, the area’s mega hospital.   It now recognizes a problem that other health care providers have long known – the Roanoke area is underserved and has inadequate access to many important … Continue reading

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Immigration Reform: “Redirect, Not Reduce”

President Trump last week endorsed legislation introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Representative David Perdue (R-GA) that would reform legal immigration in America through a “merit-based” system and slash immigration based on family ties – for a 41 percent … Continue reading

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Autonomy and Accountability in Higher Education – Part 3

The General Assembly enacted the 2005 Restructuring Act with the idea of holding public universities accountable to a set of performance metrics. Many measures have fallen by the wayside. This is the third of four articles exploring higher-education accountability in … Continue reading

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Getting to Yes on Mileage-Based User Fees

Here are two recent headlines about efforts to begin the transition to paying for highways based on miles driven rather than gallons of fuel: “Senate Votes to Prohibit Mileage Tax,” Connecticut Post, May 25, 2017 “States Considering Taxing Drivers by … Continue reading

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U.S. Appeals Court supports EPA and Farmers

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit handed farmers another win on July 18, 2017. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) challenged EPA’s decision not to restrict or eliminate the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, used … Continue reading

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