Acacia Johnson, a creative writing graduate student at the University of Virginia, took the photos accompanying this article.
Air pollution is a persistent problem in California’s Central Valley. A new study finds that the places that were most polluted nearly 40 years ago generally remain the most polluted today. “The persistence of these relative disparities were striking,” says Jonathan Colmer, an economist at the University of Virginia and one the authors of the study, which was published in the journal Science. “Federal and state guidelines aim for all people and places to enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental hazards,” he says. “We’re falling short in terms of addressing relative disparities.”
Republican federal lawmakers are calling for added protections at a time when a handful of states have enacted their own versions of a liability shield against COVID-19 claims. Some companies – and President Trump’s re-election campaign – have also asked consumers to sign waivers. Whether these types of waivers will hold up in court remains an open question, some experts say. “In the absence of this shield, ordinary tort liability would apply and you could sue for negligence, carelessness and unreasonable behavior, the way most tort suits are brought,” UVA Law professor Kenneth ...
Some of the most successful governors lead states that have largely controlled the spread of the virus, including Vermont and Massachusetts, where the seven-day case average has declined through much of July. Ray Scheppach, a UVA professor of public policy and former executive director of the National Governors Association, attributed Northam’s dip in approval to Virginia’s current upward trajectory – especially in the Hampton Roads region – but also to a more nationwide dissatisfaction as cases climb, unemployment rises and the economy again shows signs of stalling.
(Commentary by Caroline E. Janney, John L. Nau III professor in the history of American Civil War) Even as Confederate monuments tumble this summer, we may be witnessing an attempt to form a new lost cause. Today, President Trump describes his opponents as “unfair,” the pandemic sapping his popularity as a “hoax,” the polls that show him losing to Joe Biden as “fake,” and the election in which he’ll face ultimate judgment in November as “rigged” or potentially “stolen.” His defenders are already laboring to cast him as a righteous, noble warrior martyred by traitors and insurmountable forces. ...
The Tom Tom Foundation is beginning to announce the lineup for its upcoming Cities Rising Summit, which replaced this year’s Tom Tom Summit and Festival. The Cities Rising Summit will run virtually for several weeks, beginning Sept. 15.
Researchers at the UVA School of Medicine say a brain parasite that is spread by cats and contaminated meat likely isn’t making most people sick. According to a release, more than 30 million Americans are infected with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii but they never show symptoms, and this research may have important implications for infections, neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune disorders.
A low insulin level coupled with euglycemia or modest hyperglycemia are the most favorable conditions for exercise for people with type 1 diabetes, findings from a small pilot study suggest. “It is unsafe to exercise shortly after taking a dose of insulin,” Dr. Rita Basu, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and clinical education director of the Center for Diabetes Technology at the UVA School of Medicine, said.
The session will describe the momentum of the project, beginning with student-led initiatives as early as 2010, the ideas competition, final design resolution, and the guiding work of the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University. Participants will also learn of the robust community engagement process, including descendants of the enslaved and how the shared vision informed each element of the Memorial’s design.
Attorneys at UVA Law’s First Amendment Clinic will represent Charlottesville Tomorrow in an effort to obtain public records from Albemarle County Public Schools.
Dominion Energy Inc. Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II will become executive chair effective Oct. 1. Robert M. Blue, the Richmond-based Fortune 500 energy utility’s executive vice president and co-chief operating officer, will succeed Farrell as president and CEO, the company announced Friday. Farrell is a double Hoo Award recipient and served on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors. Blue serves on the UVA Board of Visitors and is a graduate of UVA, Yale Law School and UVA’s Darden School of Business.
A UVA graduate has been named the new president and CEO of the New York Times. Meredith Kopit Levien graduated from UVA in 1993.
The real number of Virginians infected with coronavirus could be at least twice as high as the number that have tested positive, according to new research being conducted by UVA Health and the Virginia Department of Health.
It is troubling that the districts have no metric system to close the schools, said Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton, a UVA associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care. It is difficult to pin down a metric when the numbers change so quickly, she said, adding that not being able to narrow down a metric is also one of the reasons school divisions should hesitate before they reopen.
Rachel Harmon, professor of law and director of UVA’s Center for Criminal Justice, used to work on Code 242 violations at the U.S. Department of Justice. She said the cases are complicated and “very difficult to prove.” Harmon said that if she was investigating McClain’s case for the federal government, she would focus on whether the stop and arrest was legal and whether police used excessive force.
Nonpartisan U.S. election analyst Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia said the tweet seemed to follow Trump’s typical approach of trying to distract voters from bad news. “Trump suggesting delaying the election (he can’t do this w/o congressional approval) seems to be one of his more obvious attempts to change the subject given this morning’s wretched GDP numbers,” Kondik wrote on Twitter.
Oregon’s governor said on Wednesday the federal government had agreed to withdraw agents from Portland, while the Justice Department said it would send law enforcement officials to Cleveland, Milwaukee and Detroit – all in crucial battleground states – in an expansion of a separate program aimed at curtailing a surge of violent crime in some cities. Kyle Kondik, a non-partisan analyst at UVA’s Center for Politics, believes Trump ordered federal police into Portland “to create scary images for suburban voters.”
Gov. Ralph Northam recently emphasized that case growth in four of the state’s five geographic regions is currently stable – a statement that Dr. Taison Bell, an infectious disease expert at the University of Virginia, described as “factually accurate” but not necessarily reflective of signs of trouble at the local level.
Questions about this latest photo challenge also mirror reaction to the #blackoutTuesday push in early June. “Successful selfie protests made what’s invisible visible,” said Mona Kasra, an assistant professor of digital media design at the University of Virginia. “They are effective when they shift public perception, when they create a counterculture, when they resist, when they claim a place online.”
(Commentary by Molly Harry, a Ph.D. candidate studying higher education with a focus on intercollegiate athletics) In 1955, while competing as an offensive lineman for Fort Lewis A&M, Ray Dennison suffered a knee to the head, which shattered his skull and eventually killed him. Dennison’s widow filed for death benefits since her husband’s death was the result of his work while serving as an employee of the institution. The NCAA and Fort Lewis A&M took her to court in what is arguably one of the most important cases in intercollegiate athletics history. Here, the NCAA introduced member ...