Category: Planning
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“Spankdown” at Woodlake
By Peter Galuszka Homeowners Associations are double-edged swords. They can preserve home values by enforcing covenants but sometimes morph into Neo-Nazi privatized governments that make life miserable by meddling. One HOA in suburban Richmond is in something of a unique situation. Woodlake, a 2,800 home, 1980s-styled PUD in Chesterfield County, has been having problems. The…
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Dubious Oil Lobby Bankrolls Dubious Poll
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Public safety & health, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka In a recent post, Bacons Rebellion extolled the findings of Hickman Analytics Inc., a suburban Washington consulting firm hired by the Consumer Energy Alliance, which found that according to a survey of 500 registered voters, the vast majority of Virginians support Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The $5 billion project would take natural…
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Hottest Primary May Be 10th Senate District
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in Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t OversightBy Peter Galuszka Primaries in Virginia used to be a bore, but no longer. Last year, Dave Brat’s Tea Party-backed insurgency against the seemingly impregnable Eric Cantor garnered national headlines in the 7th Congressional District. This year, you have several General Assembly races come June 9 that will seek to replace several prominent politicians who…
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Two Stories on Change in Richmond's Suburbs
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Public safety & health, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Well, well, Jim Bacon has this month’s cover story in the Henrico Monthly about the changing nature of office parks in one county that has plenty of them. Not to be outdone, I have my own cover story in the Chesterfield Monthly, a sister magazine published by the same people. My…
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Two Stories on Change in Richmond’s Suburbs
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Public safety & health, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Well, well, Jim Bacon has this month’s cover story in the Henrico Monthly about the changing nature of office parks in one county that has plenty of them. Not to be outdone, I have my own cover story in the Chesterfield Monthly, a sister magazine published by the same people. My…
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New Film Documents Horrors of Coal Mining
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in Business and Economy, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Government workers and pensions, Health Care, Housing, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka Several years in the making, “Blood on the Mountain” has finally premiered in New York City. The documentary examines the cycle of exploitation of people and environment by West Virginia’s coal industry highlighting Massey Energy, a coal firm that was based in Richmond. The final cut of the film was released publicly…
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Layne's Law
by James A. Bacon After spending a year and a half cleaning up the mess left by the previous administration — the Charlottesville Bypass, Norfolk’s Midtown-Downtown Tunnel, the U.S. 460 Connector in Tidewater — Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne now has the opportunity to show whether or not he has the chops to handle a complex, politically…
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Layne’s Law
by James A. Bacon After spending a year and a half cleaning up the mess left by the previous administration — the Charlottesville Bypass, Norfolk’s Midtown-Downtown Tunnel, the U.S. 460 Connector in Tidewater — Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne now has the opportunity to show whether or not he has the chops to handle a complex, politically…
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Finally, Tobacco Commission Gets Reforms
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Economic development, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka Virginia’s infamous tobacco commission appears to be finally getting needed reforms 15 years after it went into existence. Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced today that he was appointing a new executive director, Lynchburg native Evan Feinman, ordering a slimmed down board of directors and requiring a dollar-for-dollar match on grants the commission doles…
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Private Immigrant Jail May Face Woes
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in Business and Economy, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Federal issues, Government workers and pensions, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Privatization in Virginia has been a buzzword for years among both parties. In this tax-averse state, contracting off public functions is seen as a wise and worthy approach. But then you get debacles such as the U.S. 460 highway project. And now, you might have one brewing down in Farmville. The small…
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Adapting to Climate Change: 11 Proposals
Working under the direction of University of Richmond professors Peter D. Smallwood and Stephen P. Nash, eleven UR environmental studies majors wrote papers on topics relating to the environment and climate change in Virginia. Each paper defines a problem and lays out a practical solution. All eleven papers are compiled in a document entitled, “Nature…
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Dave Brat’s Bizarre Statements
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in Business and Economy, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Resilience, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka Almost a year ago, Dave Brat, an obscure economics professor at Randolph- Macon College, made national headlines when he defeated Eric Cantor, the powerful House Majority Leader, in the 7th District Republican primary. Brat’s victory was regarded as a sensation since it showed how the GOP was splintered between Main Street traditionalists…
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Beware Stalling Growth in Northern Virginia
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in Business and Economy, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka For at least a half a century, Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington County have been a growth engine that that has reshaped how things are in the Greater Washington area as well as the Old Dominion. But now, apparently for the first time ever, these Northern Virginia localities have stopped growing, according…
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Non-Coal Jobs Thriving in Energy Sector
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in Business and Economy, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka Is there a real “War on Coal” or is it part of a natural transition to more non-polluting and less destructive forms of energy? One way to find out is to track job creation. A new study at Duke University shows that since 2008, more than 49,000 jobs in the coal industry…
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Amateur Hour at the General Assembly
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in Business and Economy, Demographics, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Resilience, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka If you are an ordinary Virginian with deep concerns about how the General Assembly passes laws that impact you greatly, you are pretty much out of luck. That’s the conclusion of a study by Transparency Virginia, an informal coalition of non-profit public interest groups in a report released this week. Their findings …