By Mariam Rasooli On December 9, 2021, employees of a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York voted to become the first unionized Starbucks in the nation, by a vote of 19-8.[1] The unionization of this store triggered a surge of organizing efforts in other locations across the country. Within less than a year, in October 2022, Read more about The Unionization Surge of Starbucks[…]
By Rachel Ranieri The Trafficking Victims Protection Act criminalizes human trafficking under federal law. [1] Concurrently, all states have criminalized human trafficking.[2] The laws surrounding human trafficking have a substantial impact on victims, who are often forced to commit criminal offenses.[3] Many state criminal laws do not recognize exceptions or give immunity from prosecution for Read more about Human Trafficking: Victims Treated as Criminals[…]
By Heather Barden The Department of Energy, in consultation with other key stakeholders, has developed a Virginia Energy Plan every four years since 2014 as prescribed by state law.[1] In 2021, the General Assembly amended the requirements for the Virginia Energy Plan in order to ensure future plans are in compliance with current statutory law.[2] Read more about Governor Youngkin’s 2022 Virginia Energy Plan[…]
By Reagan Cavanaugh The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, after the virus reached 118,000 cases in over 110 countries and territories around the world.[1] The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 quickly spread to all corners of the world and proved to be deadly to many of those in its Read more about The End of the Pandemic[…]
By Daniel J. LaLonde Virginia’s mass incarceration problem started in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1925, Virginia’s prison population was 1,920.[1] In 1925, .0008% of Virginia’s population was incarcerated.[2] Between 1925 and 1965, Virginia’s prison population remained relatively steady.[3] If, between 1965 and 2005, the prison population grew at the 1925 to 1965 Read more about Mass Incarceration, From the View of Virginia’s Department of Corrections[…]
By Erin Sweet March 2020 changed the way we operate not only in public spaces, but also in public schools. Not only were students sent away from school buildings for at least a year, but when they were brought back, there was friction and fighting between students, parents, and school staff around Covid policies, Read more about Post-Covid Safety in Schools[…]
By Ben Raab The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”[1] Often times, people focus on the second part of the Amendment on bearing arms, without focusing Read more about The Second Amendment: What is a Well-Regulated Militia?[…]
By: Marley Manjarrez Imagine you are a pediatric nurse. Today you are treating a child suffering from an acute asthma exacerbation. You know this child because they are often in your office with asthma flare-ups. You do the best you can to help and are working with a parent dedicated to their well-being. However, you Read more about Medical Legal Partnerships: A Collaboration Tackling Social Barriers to Health[…]
By: Amanda Palini Generally, when people think of domestic violence programs, they imagine the necessary support systems for addressing domestic violence after it has already occurred such as shelters, advocates, court ordered therapy/rehabilitative programs, and court personnel. While these resources are crucial to addressing the needs of victims, they alone cannot solve the problem of Read more about Stopping the Cycle of Abuse Before it Starts: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Primary Prevention Programs in Reducing Instances of Domestic Violence[…]
By Owen Giordano With filing season just around the corner, many Americans are currently getting ready to fill out their tax forms. With the filing process often characterized as a tedious and nerve-wracking process, there have been multiple calls to make the system more user-friendly.[1] Most recently, representative Brad Sherman (D-CA-30) (re)introduced the Tax Filing Read more about Making Taxes Less Taxing: A Short Primer on the Tax Filing Simplification Act’s Viability[…]
