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opinion

OurView: Will AI spell lights out for white-collar workers?
Sep 1, 2025

OurView: Will AI spell lights out for white-collar workers?

Perhaps the greatest symbol of tech companies’ uncanny valley visions or the AI-powered future are dark factories — also called lights-out factories, these AI-managed manufacturing plants are so fully automated that machines perform their work in full or near darkness 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without breaks — and largely without humans. […]

The People Paradox: Why ‘Soft’ Skills Deliver the Hardest Numbers
Sep 1, 2025

The People Paradox: Why ‘Soft’ Skills Deliver the Hardest Numbers

Honestly, this job would be a breeze if it weren’t for the people part.” A regional sales director said that after recounting missed targets, two resignations and a turf war between product and marketing. The room laughed — tired laughter, the kind that comes when you recognize a hard truth. Plans obey Gantt charts; people […]

The Mailroom: No excuses for illegal immigration
Sep 1, 2025

The Mailroom: America needs immigrants

I appreciate your column in the July issue of Virginia Business on the value of immigrants (“Your friends and neighbors”).  I’ve been sounding the benefits of immigrants for years since working in the nonprofit sector helping immigrants and refugees in the 1990s. In addition to the factors and data you cite, I find it also […]

Chelsea Higgs Wise is co-founder and executive director of Virginia-based nonprofit Marijuana Justice. Photo by Keshia Eugene
Aug 26, 2025

Virginia’s chance to legalize marijuana right

As Virginia lawmakers craft the licensing framework for a regulated adult-use cannabis market, there are many lessons to be learned from other jurisdictions.

The Mailroom: No excuses for illegal immigration
Aug 6, 2025

The Mailroom: No excuses for illegal immigration

I was disappointed to see that your July column about illegals had a strong liberal slant. The term “undocumented” is liberal speak for illegal entry. It’s crime. We have a legitimate entry vehicle that includes green cards and visa programs in addition to normal immigration. There is no excuse for endorsing illegal activities in the […]

The People Paradox: Why ‘Soft’ Skills Deliver the Hardest Numbers
Jul 29, 2025

The Manager Multiplier: How Engagement Turns Into Margin

You don’t need a billion-dollar strategy to boost your bottom line. You need a manager who gets it. Here’s the math: move a team from meh to energized, and you’ll see profits rise 23%, sales climb 18%, quality jump 14%. No new software. No flashy rebrand. Just people doing their best work. Yet most executives […]

Gregory Washington took office as the eighth president of George Mason University on July 1. Photo by Lathan Goumas
Jul 10, 2025

George Mason President Gregory Washington deserves to stay

George Mason faculty say President Gregory Washington has led the university to new heights and warn against politically motivated efforts to oust him.

OurView: Our name is United S., and we’re addicted to undocumented labor
Jun 29, 2025

OurView: Our name is United S., and we’re addicted to undocumented labor

Amid all the recent protests, debates and debacles regarding illegal immigration and the second Trump administration’s heavy-handed response to it, one truth seems to be getting lost: America is reliant on undocumented workers. In its October 2024 study, “Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy,” the left-leaning American Immigration Council found that [&he[...]

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Jun 1, 2025

Bad managers drive away talent

When you manage people, you don’t just oversee productivity — you hold careers, livelihoods and psychological well-being in your hands. The data doesn’t lie, and neither do the millions who’ve weighed in on what constitutes leadership worth following. Fact: 69% of U.S. workers would rather clean toilets at a bus station than report to a […]

Tanveer Kathawalla, founder and managing partner of Pioneer1890, based in Alexandria. Photo courtesy Tanveer Kathawalla
May 2, 2025

I voted for Trump. His tariff exclusions don’t reflect conservative strength

Alexandria business founder Tanveer Kathawalla writes in an op-ed that President Donald Trump's tariffs project decline and harm industry and the nation's ability to reduce federal debt.

Mary Baldwin University President Jeff Stein. Photo courtesy MBU
May 1, 2025

Getting full value out of college from day one

Mary Baldwin University's president writes in an op-ed that for too long, the traditional college model has delayed the real payoff — deferring meaningful mentorship, skills-building and career direction until a student’s final semesters.

Ocean freight outlook 2025: tariffs, crisis fuel chaos
Apr 30, 2025

Ocean freight outlook 2025: tariffs, crisis fuel chaos

Ocean freight faces uncertainty in 2025 due to Red Sea crisis, U.S.-China tariffs, and overcapacity from new vessels and shifting port strategies.

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