With its upset in Alabama, the Democratic Party has narrowed the Republicans' majority in the Senate to just one seat – energizing the party as it eyes the mid-term Congressional elections 11 months from now. "Now with 49 Democrats in the Senate, a path to a 2018 Democratic Senate majority is possible - still very tough given the seats up, but possible," tweeted Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia.
Jennifer Doleac is one of the very few academics who has studied ShotSpotter. She’s a UVA assistant professor of public policy and economics who specializes in the economics of crime and how technology impacts public safety. “There is very good evidence that this technology detects gunfire,” she told me when I asked her about the Chicago Police Department’s claims that ShotSpotter was behind the decrease in shootings. “But does it have an impact on anything that we care about, such as saving lives by getting victims to the hospital faster, clearing more cases, reducing crimes or decreasing gun...
President Donald Trump has suffered a setback in one of his heartland states after Roy Moore, the Republican evangelical accused of preying on teenage girls, lost a Senate election race in deeply conservative Alabama. “This is a tremendous setback for Donald Trump. He struck out twice – primary and special elections – in a state he won by 28 percent [last year],” said Larry Sabato, a UVA politics expert. “This was mainly due to Roy Moore’s craziness but it’s also due to Trump’s squandering of his chance to lead well as president.”
According to research from the UVA School of Medicine, between 1969 and 2011 cancer incidence declined in every region of the country except rural Appalachia and mortality rates skyrocketed. To address this disparity, the FCC and NCI are initiating a project that will specifically target areas of Appalachia confronted with the dual challenge of higher cancer mortality rates and lower levels of broadband access.
The committee approved two grants on Monday out of 10 submitted in its first round of funding, awarding a total of $1.4 million for research projects led by Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia, respectively. The UVA project received about $256,000 to develop an artificial pancreas that can reduce variations in blood sugar in people with diabetes.
A "promising technology" project at UVA is one of two getting funding from grants. Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced $1.4 million in grants from the Virginia Research Investment Fund on Tuesday. This is the first round of funding to support technologies in development at Virginia universities that have strong commercial prospects.
The historic Boar’s Head Resort is planning full renovations of its restaurant, bar, main entrance and lobby in 2018. The renovations, expected to begin in February and extend through September, will keep traditional elements while providing enhancements that will “add modern character” to the inn, according to a news release. The Boar’s Head is owned and operated by the University of Virginia Foundation.
UVA will receive a state grant to help bring to market an artificial pancreas for diabetes patients. The $225,855 grant was one of two announced Tuesday from the Virginia Research Investment Fund.
(Video) The report features clinical psychologist Dewey Cornell, a professor in UVA’s Curry School if Education and director of UVA’s Virginia Youth Violence Project.
Some MBA students say they've gained marketable experience by joining an investing club, and they encourage prospective students to target b-schools that offer these student groups. Peter Wilson, a second-year MBA student at UVA’s Darden School of Business and CEO of the Darden Capital Management student club, says the club offers an information session for prospective students to let them know what resources Darden offers to future investment managers.
Some suburban voters who have never cast Democratic ballots say they’ve proudly posted Jones signs in their yards, though others say they can’t stomach voting for a Democrat under any circumstance. “In an unusually timed special election where one side may have an enthusiasm advantage, Jones might be able to win,” wrote Geoffrey Skelley of UVA’s Center for Politics.
But while these blue states will be hardest hit, county-level data also shows there is a significant number of Republican enclaves in districts expected to be hotly contested in next year's polls that will feel the pain. Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s non-partisan Center for Politics, estimates that there are 16 counties where 2018 races will be toss-ups between Republican incumbents and Democratic challengers.
A win in the Deep South for Democrats, the first in an Alabama Senate race since 1992, would be a rebuke to Trump and Bannon, who have promoted Moore over the objections of establishment Republicans. The victory would also lend credibility to Democratic efforts to regain control of the Senate next year. "The Democratic path to a Senate majority in 2018 involves a miracle somewhere," says Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at UVA’s Center for Politics. "And we may be on the cusp of a Democratic miracle in Alabama."
McAuliffe ordered the Virginia Board of Education to implement an emergency regulation that would allow the state's public colleges and universities to start offering undergraduate students a major in education by March 1. Robert Pianta, dean of UVA’s Curry School of Education, said the change would streamline a process that can require two degrees and five or more years into requirements that take just four years.
Some researchers question what conclusions can be drawn from studies that show benefits from shared parenting, since children being raised in joint custody arrangements probably have parents who get along better – a situation that would not necessarily extend to those compelled to adopt shared custody. "It's not the amount of parenting time but the quality of parenting and the quality of co-parenting that matter," said Robert Emery, a UVA professor of psychology and author of "Two Homes, One Childhood."
During the annual event, which takes place Saturday at the Paramount Theater, singers will team up with instrumentalists on organ, brass and percussion to perform Christmas music and take some time to celebrate a milestone in their musical lives. “The ‘Christmas at the Paramount’ concerts have become a Charlottesville tradition for several years now,” music director Michael Slon said.
Becker's Hospital Review picked the University of Virginia Orthopedics at the UVA Health System for its list of 100 hospitals and health systems with great orthopedics programs.
Consolidation talks were tabled until this year, and Superintendent Jennifer Parish said it was fortunate they waited – the schools saw a rebound in enrollment from 2,080 last year to 2,139 this year. UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center predicted enrollment would continue to recover, getting close to the 2006 peak enrollment by 2027. The center previously predicted the 10-year enrollment decline from 2006.
Two reports Friday focused on UVA’s broader emergency and safety strategy moving forward.
VA4E, or Virginia is for Entrepreneurs, measures a company’s progress through an online diagnostic survey and application, then links that company with about 50 partnering investment firms and potential funders – not necessarily for financing right away, but at least for guidance in how to reach that growth stage. Other partners in VA4E include UVA’s College at Wise.