Category: Charity, Philanthropy, Nonprofits
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Surf’s Up! And So’s Exposure to Virginia Beach Taxpayers
The biggest wave generated by the city’s Atlantic Park project is debt. The promised tax revenues aren’t sufficient yet to support it. by James C. Sherlock From an article by Stacy Parker in The Virginian-Pilot this morning: To build two parking garages and improve streets in Atlantic Park, a public entity borrowed $53 million and…
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Sometimes You Have to Create the Racism in Order to Defeat It
More details have emerged about the Southern Poverty Law Center’s funding the right-wing extremism it purported to fight. Here’s the updated account, contained in a superseding indictment filed by the Department of Justice, of SPLC Employee-3 who helped organize the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. — JAB The SPLC Secretly Paid F-37 More…
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VPM: Your Philanthropic Dollars at Work
The following missive comes from an email blast distributed by an unidentified “whistle blower” at Virginia Public Media unhappy about public radio’s priorities. I have not vetted this story, and readers should be sensitive to the fact VPM might offer a very different spin, but the allegations seem plausible enough to examine more closely. —…
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Dominion’s Fantasy PIPP Application Should Be Rejected or Resubmitted
by Steve Haner Dominion Energy Virginia has asked the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to allow it to begin collecting the cost of a low-income energy subsidy program, adding a small monthly charge to all its customers. The application should immediately be dismissed because it fails to recognize how the 2026 General Assembly expanded the program.…
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Left-Wing Money Paid For Deadly 2017 Charlottesville “Hate Rally”
by Scott Dreyer On April 21, when many Virginians were focused on the gerrymander election, the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) made a bombshell announcement: The innocuously-named Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which for decades has posted a “Hate Map” where they targeted many right-wing individuals and groups, often including those holding pro-life, biblical, and/or conservative views,…
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Betrayal 4 – Portsmouth
by James C. Sherlock DD/ID (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) refers to services, supports, and classifications for individuals with cognitive, physical, or emotional impairments. The author’s first three articles on this subject provided background on Virginia’s broken system of services to that population. In many instances, it doesn’t work well due to combinations of oversight failures…
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Say Socialized Cost, Not That Other S Word
by Steve Haner A House of Delegates committee has approved expanding a state-managed program to subsidize electric bills for some lower-income Virginians, hoping to reach more people and offer them more assistance. It also approved a new plan to grant lower-income homes lower water rates. The utility companies involved will not absorb the cost of…
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Jefferson Institute Expands
***** Sponsored Content ***** The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy announced the following two appointments today: Ali Ahmad, Senior Visiting Fellow A lifelong Virginian and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Ali is a Senior Managing Director at PLUS Communications, located in Richmond, Virginia. He brings more than 20 years of experience in…
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Mercy Chefs: On the Ground in Texas
by Kerry Dougherty Twelve years ago, I wrote a column for The Virginian-Pilot on a little-known charity called Mercy Chefs based in Portsmouth that was preparing delicious meals for those left homeless by a killer tornado in Oklahoma. Mercy Chefs was founded by Chef Gary LeBlanc and his wife, Ann in the aftermath of Hurricane…
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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 Ride to Remember
by Chap Petersen Yesterday Fairfax City celebrated the annual “Ride of the Patriots” rally at Patriot Harley Davidson in Fairfax City. A Memorial Day staple for 25 years in the City, the “Ride” is a fun way for ordinary citizens to connect with bikers, veterans and significant others who ride into our community from all…
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Why Harvard and the UDC Should Keep Their Tax Exemptions
by Derrick Max Every taxpayer dollar sent to any university or private entity should be closely scrutinized. In the case of the billions sent to Harvard University and other elite schools, the probe being imposed by the Trump administration is long overdue. The research grants which make up the majority of Harvard’s non-medical federal funding,…
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Congratulations Inova
by James C. Sherlock I asked the question in 2022 “Is Inova the best regional hospital system in America?“ We have an answer. Inova has recently been recognized by healthcare analyst firm Press Ganey as America’s Health System of the Year. That was hardly a surprise. Inova has been great for a very long time.…
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King Elon I
How do you feel about an unelected multi-billionaire “moving swiftly to exert control over vast swaths of the U.S. government,” as the Wall Street Journal put it, with plans to shut down spending and programs he does not like?