Author: Steve Haner
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New Governor, New Chance to Actually Improve Education
By Chris Braunlich It shouldn’t be hard for both political parties to agree that among those who suffered most from covid school shut-downs were low-income children. In the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the assessment against which all states judge their progress, the percentage of Virginia students scoring at proficient or above in the 2024 NAEP…
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This Week Showed Again Wind and Solar Don’t Beat the Heat
By Steve Haner Once again, a spell of hot weather has proven that our economy and comfort depend on hydrocarbon fuels. As you can see from these simple pie graphs from the PJM regional energy market, two-thirds of the electricity sustaining Virginia on a recent hot afternoon was produced by natural gas, oil and coal. …
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NC Assembly Repeals a Key Carbon Emissions Goal
By Steve Haner The North Carolina legislature has retreated from its aggressive targets to reduced hydrocarbon-fueled electricity in the state, eliminating the goal of being 70% carbon free by 2030. Strong Republican majorities in both chambers supported Senate Bill 266 last week, but so did some Democratic legislators. That smattering of Democratic support could weigh…
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Politicians Are Not Punching Bags, Gun Range Targets
By Ken Reid “Political violence” reared its ugly head in the Saturday shooting deaths of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the wounding of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife – all of them shot at their respective homes outside Minneapolis. Shooting any human being and killing them is heinous, but…
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More Eye-Popping Late Donations from Dominion, Clean Virginia
By Steve Haner Dominion Energy Virginia has contributed another $1 million plus to Virginia state-level politicians in large, late pre-primary donations, with the largest amounts given to Shannon Taylor’s run for Attorney General and Levar Stoney’s campaign for lieutenant governor. This close to the vote, state law requires rapid reporting on late large checks. According…
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Pennsylvania Joining RGGI is All Cost, No Benefit: PJM
By Steve Haner A Republican leader in the Pennsylvania legislature asked the regional electricity market PJM Interconnect what would happen if that state joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. PJM reported it would raise consumer costs but have next to no impact on carbon dioxide emissions. The report, dated April 25 but just shared with Bacon’s…
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The Energy Policy Minefield Facing a New Virginia Governor
By Steve Haner When the smoke clears on the November elections and Virginia has a new governor and a different House of Delegates, energy policy will still head the list of crucial issues. It is in the state’s best interest to highlight those issues during what’s left of the campaign season and force candidates to state…
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PIPP Electricity Subsidies Finally Flowing
By Steve Haner The subsidy program to help low-income customers of Dominion Energy Virginia with their bills, funded by involuntary contributions from all the other customers, is beginning to show signs of growth. It is called the Percentage of Income Payment Program, or PIPP. In its most recent filing on the program with the State…
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The Case of the Disappearing VPAP Data
By Steve Haner Revised June 5 The pro-green energy activist group Clean Virginia has announced a live television attack advertisement in opposition to Shannon Taylor, one of two Democratic candidates seeking the nomination for Attorney General. The ad (see it here) was authorized by the other candidate, Jay Jones. Taylor, currently Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney, accepted…
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New Maryland Law Open to More Gas Electricity
By Steve Haner Democrats who run Maryland have passed major energy legislation calling for expanded electricity generation in the state, including potential fast track approvals of new natural gas plants. They are considered “dispatchable energy generation” under the new law’s definitions, and more than 3 gigawatts of new dispatchable generation is called for. Maryland’s 2025 session…
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Governor Northam Raises Your Fuel Tax Again
By Steve Haner For the record, since the dying traditional media do not cover this, a brief note that Virginia’s motor fuel taxes will rise once again July 1. The increase will be automatic, based on consumer price inflation, because of legislation passed in 2020 and signed by Governor Ralph Northam. Another example of the…
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Separate But Unequal Lives On Without School Choice
By Chris Braunlich May 17 marked the 71st anniversary of the 1954 court decision called Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS — but the case began here, in Virginia. In 1951 Virginia public education operated under the doctrine of “separate but equal,” but the definition of “equal” left much to be desired. In Farmville’s high school for African-American…
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Solar Advocacy Argument One-Sided, Short-Sighted
By Steve Haner I don’t often dispute with my former colleague Dwayne Yancey, now running Cardinal News, but his short-sighted and one-sided column this morning on the changing tax environment for solar panel manufacturers demands an answer. Yes, certain solar-specific tax expense subsidies are set to expire in the House-passed version of the new federal…
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Warned Again of Energy Shortfalls, Democrats Again Pretend to Care
By Steve Haner Here we go again. As the 2025 election year heats up and warnings rise about electricity shortfalls this summer, the legislators behind Virginia’s coming ban on hydrocarbon electricity are pretending they see the problem. A May 22 headline out of a recent legislative meeting on energy claimed that “Democratic leadership signals willingness…
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Youngkin Vetoes More Energy Bills, Again Criticizes Clean Economy Act
By Steve Haner, With one exception, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) has now vetoed the contested energy bills that he sought to amend at the 2025 General Assembly’s reconvened session last month. The rejection of his amendments or substitutes gave him a final opportunity for a full veto of the legislation. Friday night was his deadline…