In The News

Because of the explosive growth of metro areas in states such as Texas and Georgia, suburban congressional districts that Republicans can win in the near term might not remain winnable for long. “One of the things that map drawers in places like Texas or Georgia have to be wary of is spreading themselves too thin in an effort to grab a maximal number of seats in 2022,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “Maybe you win some extra seats in 2022, but you can’t hold them in the future, and the maps unravel.”

“In a state like Virginia, the places that are growing are generally more Democratic or toss-ups, and those shrinking lean toward the GOP. That explains what has happened politically in Virginia over the last several decades,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the UVA Center for Politics.

“I don’t think these various infrastructure bills have animated the electorate the way that, for instance, recent battles over health care have,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of election forecaster Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the UVA Center for Politics. “It’s possible that none of this will really have a major impact on the campaign next year,” he said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the man described by UVA political analyst Larry Sabato as “smarter than Trump, and a bit more careful and coldly calculating,” seems unwilling to change course. If his tough-sounding declarations are more than a little reminiscent of former president Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric from the White House, it is no coincidence.

First impressions are critical in job applications. Requesting special role privileges, including a remote work setup, right out of the gate can make you look selfish, said Jim Detert, a professor at UVA’s Darden School of Business. “When you’re early in the hiring process, you’re still a pretty indistinguishable applicant,” Detert said. “But the more you interact with a potential employer, the warmer their perception of you will become, and the more open they’ll be to your requests.” 

Lunula that have a blueish tint could suggest Wilson’s disease, a rare inherited genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in the liver, brain and other organs. Red lunula may indicate heart failure, research shows. And in patients with severe kidney disease, it’s not uncommon to see half-and-half nails, where the white from the lunula extends halfway up the nail bed, and the other half of the nail is darker in color, says Dr. Richard H. Flowers, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Virginia.

Television reflects and reinforces the importance of wealth, said Jim Burroughs, a professor who leads a master’s program in global commerce at the University of Virginia and studies materialism. “People would be materialistic without TV,” he said -- noting that France’s extravagant Palace of Versailles predates TV and film. But watching so much content about the lives of the rich influences the value we place on material things and personal wealth, he said. “We might initially be attracted to television because of the affluence it depicts, but then viewing this most definitely reinforces the ...

A decade ago, the school board decided to close three struggling middle schools in predominantly black West Charlotte and send their students to eight new K-8s. In an effort to sell the plan, supporters pointed to research on the benefits of the K-8 configuration. The new model, they argued, could raise achievement at the poorly performing West Charlotte schools. Denise Watts, who was a top administrator for the district at the time and now works for UVA advising districts on school reform, believes the board picked the West Charlotte schools for a K-8 experiment over others on its initial lis...

J. Corey Feist, CEO of the UVA Physicians Group and the co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, pointed to a host of recent data about physician distress – that physicians and nurses die by suicide at two times the rate of the general population, for instance – as another sign that the focus on HCP well-being is long overdue.

A member of the UVA community is getting some high honors. Senior Assistant Attorney General and University Counsel Timothy J. Heaphy was just appointed to serve a new position, away from the University. Heaphy will serve as chief investigative counsel for the Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Margaret Foster Riley, a public health sciences and law professor at UVA, said unvaccinated health care workers probably do not have a case that their rights are being violated. The nation has a long history of legal vaccination requirements, especially for health care workers, she said. What’s different is that entities are requiring vaccines that are under emergency use authorization and not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

HIPAA doesn’t apply to conversations you might have on the street, said Margaret Riley, a UVA professor of law and a legal advisor for the school’s Health Sciences Institutional Review Board. “I can ask you on the street what your vaccine status is. I can ask you in my business what your vaccine status is. If I’m not your supervisor, that’s not a violation because I have no impact on you,” Riley said. “On the other hand, you have no obligation to answer me.”

(Podcast) Bakari is joined by Dr. Ebony Hilton, UVA associate professor of anesthesiology, to talk about the COVID vaccine, face masks, and the Delta variant.

While Virginia’s population growth outpaced the national average, especially in northern Virginia, demographer Hamilton Lombard at UVA’s Weldon Cooper said the state’s growth is not as rapid as it has been in past decades, especially in northern Virginia. “It’s the slowest growth we’ve had overall since the Great Depression,” Lombard said.

(Commentary by Bob Gibson, communications director and senior researcher at UVA’s Cooper Center for Public Service) When tours of Monticello began for the public in 1924 and up until 1951, the men conducting them were Black and dressed as enslaved servants, according to a new book that addresses how current American society reflects the nation’s legacies from slavery. In “How the Word Is Passed,” Clint Smith tells readers important stories from Thomas Jefferson’s plantation home and other sites where Black Americans’ experiences remain largely untold.

(Commentary by William Shobe, professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, director of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, and a member of UVA’s Energy Transition Initiative) The International Energy Agency recently released a report that addressed how countries around the world can transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It found that governments can rapidly boost clean energy to create millions of jobs, lift economic growth, and keep net-zero in reach. Globally this is admittedly a tall ...

(By Dr. William Petri, professor of medicine) The increasing prevalence of new coronavirus variants is raising questions about how well protected those who’ve already had their COVID-19 shots are against evolving forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here, UVA microbiology and infectious disease specialist William Petri answers some common questions about COVID-19 booster shots.

(Co-written by Jenny Roe, Mary Irene DeShong Professor of Design and Health and director of UVA’s Center for Design and Health) There is an ongoing battle for every inch of ground in our cities. Developers want to monetize it. Cars are allowed to monopolize it. People who just want to walk, rest, play, exercise and socialize in it have historically held the weakest ammunition in this battle. But COVID-19 has changed the rules of engagement.

On this episode of “Everything is Canon,” Steve is talking to UVA English professor Amber McBride all about her debut YA release, “Me (Moth),” which is a novel in verse about self-discovery with a splash of Hoodoo, a little magic, and a lot of heart. It follows a teen girl who is grieving the deaths of her family, and a teen boy who crosses her path.

UVA Health will now offer vaccines in its outpatient pharmacy at UVA’s Education Resource Center.