Bacon's Rebellion

  • A โ€˜Joy Bombโ€™ Going Off In Your Heart

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    James A. Bacon

    by John Baliles

    The READ Center provides classroom instruction, one-to-one tutoring, and community programs to adults who want to improve their reading, writing, basic math and digital skills.

    Jake Burns at CBS6 reported last weekย about the 40th Anniversary of one of our regionโ€™s most important non-profits โ€”ย the READ Center, which has been helping improve adult literacy for tens of thousands. READ Center Executive Director Ryan Corrigan is exactly right when he says it is hard to believe that more than 90,000 adults in our region are considered “low literacy,” meaning they read below a third grade level.

    โ€œThere’s nothing that the low literacy doesn’t impact,โ€ย Corrigan said.ย โ€œIf you’re looking at poverty, if you’re looking at crime, if you’re looking at health, if you’re looking at workforce development, this touches everything.โ€

    Corrigan points out how vital literacy is for what many people might consider to be the most mundane of tasks.

    “To read their prescriptions, to take a driver’s license test, to fill out a job application, to read their book of faith, to read a homework assignment with their children or grandchildren,” Corrigan said.

    (more…)

  • $1,900 an Hour to Close the Kids’ Wing

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    James A. Bacon

    by Joe Fitzgerald

    What can you do thatโ€™s worth $1,900? Can you do it in an hour?

    Iโ€™d have to be paid $4 a word to make that much from this post, but Iโ€™m a fast writer. And then Iโ€™d have to write several thousand posts a year to make as much as a hospital administrator, which is what this column is about.

    I have no idea what the schedule is for Sentaraโ€™s chief executive. All I know about him โ€“ I couldnโ€™t tell you his name on a bet โ€“ is that he makes close to $5.8 million a year. Suppose or imagine that he works 60 hours a week and has two weeks off. Those 3,000 hours are worth somewhere north of $1,900 each to somebody, presumably the Sentara board.

    But Sentara is closing the pediatrics wing at what used to be Rockingham Memorial Hospital. It costs too much.

    As state Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, has pointed out this week, parents of children needing hospitalization will have to deal with the logistics of travel to Charlottesville. Thatโ€™s just one of the drawbacks. I agree with Mark on this one. That should be a clue to how bad it is. Anyone with even a surface knowledge of Valley politics in the last quarter century knows that if he and I are on the same page, then either one of us has lost his mind or the situation is dire.

    (more…)

  • Haidt on Cell Phones and Teen Mental Illness

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    James A. Bacon

    You can gain insight into the Youngkin administration’s thinking behind its recommended bell-to-bell cell-phone restrictions in Virginia public schools by watching this video.

    Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera and Secretary of Health and Human Services Janet Kelly make introductory remarks. First lady Suzanne Youngkin follows with a Q&A with former University of Virginia professor (now at NYU) Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation.

    Haidt, who has done more than anyone else to raise the alarm about the relationship between cell phone usage, social media, and the decline in teen mental health, says the Virginia model for addressing the challenge of cell phones in schools is one of the best in the nation.

    I was fortunate to meet Haidt when he came as a guest of The Jefferson Council to speak at UVA, and I’ve read The Anxious Generation. Anything he has to say is worth hearing. — JAB

  • How UVA Holds Students “Accountable”

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    In the recent past, the University of Virginia Division of Student Affairs has dealt with two very different kinds of student-conduct cases. In one, the division probed charges against pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested for trespassing during the tent-encampment fracas last May. In the other, Student Affairs investigated hazing activities of the Theta Chi fraternity.

    Student Affairs officers submitted formal complaints with the Student Judiciary against 11 protesters who refused orders to disband a tent encampment and were subsequently arrested. Local courts dropped the trespassing charges, and after a series of meetings with students, the UVA administration abandoned the code-of-conduct charges as well.

    The outcome of the hazing investigation turned out very differently. In the most serious charge against the fraternity, Theta Chi brothers compelled pledges to eat a “heinous” concoction that included habanero peppers, causing some to vomit. The university ordered the fraternity to cease all functions until 2028-29; the prohibition extended to organizing an “underground” fraternity or even an informal group of former Theta Chi brothers. Additionally, according to the hazing report, individual students accused of trying to obstruct the investigation would be referred to the University Judiciary Committee and the Honor Committee “as appropriate.”

    University officials insist that they followed standard procedures in dealing with the pro-Palestinian protesters. โ€œDespite the high profile of this case, the University followed the same disciplinary practices and processes we always do,” UVa spokesman Brian Coy told The Daily Progress.

    But people I’m in contact with strongly suspect that UVA has two sets of standards: leniency for left-wing student protesters and severity for fraternities. Indeed, there are widespread suspicions that the UVA administration is engaged in a sustained war against the Greek organizations.

    Those fears have been heightened by circulation of an audio recording by a Theta Chi member of an interrogation by Donovan Golich, assistant director of accountability with Student Affairs. In soliciting the student’s cooperation in the investigation, Golich threatened to report him to his ROTC commander, file Honor charges against him, and file obstruction charges with the student judiciary. The student could lose his ROTC scholarship and be temporarily banned from the Grounds, Golich warned. “I’m done with people like you,” he said at one point. “I don’t fuck around.”

    (more…)

  • Youngkin’s Quiet Successes in Government Transformation

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    It’s refreshing to see that legacy media are still capable of publishing articles about the nuts and bolts of good government, a topic that once was a preoccupation of local journalists but no longer seems to be. Michael Martz, an old-timer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, wrote an informative article today about Governor Glenn Youngkin’s record in making state government more efficient and more responsive to citizens.

    Early in his administration, Youngkin hired a “chief transformation officer” to tackle problems that needed tackling. Team Youngkin achieved several successes that, until Martz took note of them, have received little visibility.

    • The Department of Motor Vehicles has slashed average wait times from 37 minutes to 10 minutes;
    • The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) has dug out from more than 1.3 million “work items,” including a backlog of 700,00 inherited from former Governor Ralph Northam after COVID-19 shutdowns threw hundreds of thousands of Virginians out of work;
    • The state has saved $106 million, about 75% of it from renegotiating IT contracts that were โ€œpoorly priced or structuredโ€ instead of allowing them to renew automatically;
    • The administration is reviewing 5,000 other state contracts, and Youngkin aspires to $200 million in annual savings.

    (more…)

  • Anti-Hydrocarbon Advocates Want It Both Ways on Local Control

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    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    The top 2025 legislative goal of Virginiaโ€™s Climate Catastrophe Democrats will be to override local zoning controls on wind, solar and energy storage projects.ย But for now, they are begging Chesterfield County residents to fight a proposed natural gas plant by appealing to that same local control.

    Whatโ€™s a little hypocrisy when you are trying to kill a hydrocarbon plant?

    This appeared in the email inbox, with the request that recipients forward it to one or more county supervisor:

    The residents of Chesterfield County deserve a hearing and a vote on Dominion Energyโ€™s dirty gas power plant.ย Dominion Energy has repeatedly stated that this gas plant is needed to serve the electricity demands of data centers mostly concentrated in Northern Virginia.ย Why should we see our electric bills increase to subsidize some of the richest and biggest tech firms in the world?ย As county leaders, you have an opportunity to keep our bills from rising and ensure Dominion doesn’t build this dirty gas plant in our backyard.

    The message was signed by Glen Besa, claiming the title of chairman of โ€œFriends of Chesterfield.โ€ He is also retired head of the highly anti-hydrocarbon, pro-wind Sierra Club in Virginia, and is still very active. His current employer cries out for a future post. When the bill for state override of zoning on some energy projects is pending, he will be a cheerleader.ย If an amendment is offered to make it easier to site a hydrocarbon plant, as well, expect his opposition.

    And that (giving away some free lobbying advice here) is how to kill that bill when it shows up.ย Insist that the state also take over control of the locations for natural gas and nuclear plants, supplanting local decisions.ย It should be a level field, right? At that point the idea becomes (pardon me, I couldnโ€™t help myself) radioactive.ย 

    (more…)

  • Bacon and the Dragon

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Photo credit: Friends of Dragon Run

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    The Washington Post recently had a story on the original Bacon who led a rebellion in Virginia, and it was not flattering.

    For a long time, Nathaniel Bacon was depicted in Virginia history books and tradition as a romantic figure who led a rebellion against the unpopular English governor and planted the seeds for the American Revolution.

    Historians now paint a different picture of Bacon and his rebellion. It seems that he was a spoiled rich kid who had been sent to the colonies by his father โ€œto escape prosecution for defrauding a legal client in England.โ€ He arrived in Virginia at a time when there were tensions between the indigenous tribes and the colonists. There was a rumor that 10,000 warriors had amassed on the frontier and were preparing to attack the colonists. The story was untrue. But that did not prevent many colonists from calling for the elimination of the Indians.

    (more…)

  • UVA Admin Has Lost Control of the Med-School Abuses Narrative

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Escape velocity

    The controversy over an allegedly toxic work environment at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and UVA Health System reached escape velocity last week.

    On Thursday, President Jim Ryan and the Board of Visitors hired an outside law firm to conduct an “independent review” of allegations made in a letter signed by 128 medical school faculty and others, a tacit admission that the charges are serious.

    The next day, Dr. Stephen Culp, an associate professor in the medical school, told the UVA Faculty Senate that he rejected as “categorically false” assertions made by Ryan in a previous communication to the medical staff. The Faculty Senate unanimously passed a motion to show support for their colleagues in the School of Medicine, reports the The Daily Progress.

    It is unknown from The Daily Progress article whether Culp is one of the 128 signatories to the faculty letter, but he is clearly sympathetic to them. By going public with his concerns, he undercut Ryan’s claim that the accusers were anonymous. Culp, a urology oncologist who was inspired to enter the field after his father died of metastatic kidney cancer, is well known to the UVA medical community. He was profiled in a short UVA video profile about five years ago, and he now serves as a medical school representative in the Faculty Senate.

    (more…)

  • Filling In Missing Pieces of UVA Board Governance

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    I’ve been writing about governance issues at the University of Virginia for years and I’m still figuring out how the place works. Last week in an article, “UVA’s Board: Stacking the Deck for Another Year,” I gave an incomplete explanation of the process by which board members were appointed to the executive committee, which has power to act when the full board is not in session. Furthermore, I underestimated to degree to which the two women on the seven-person committee — Rachel Sheridan and Amanda Pillion — might be agents for change.

    By way of preface for the benefit of the Wahoo-governance junkies among you, I should explain that executive committee members are not chosen by an arbitrary process. Most are selected from among the chairpersons of the board’s standing committees — a point I did not make clear to readers because I was unaware that it was the case.

    Thus, the executive committee is constituted as follows:

    (more…)

  • AG Miyares Joins Effort to Prevent California EV Truck Mandate

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    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Attorney General Jason Miyares

    Fifteen years ago I took my aging father on a sentimental journey to places in Southern California where we used to live, and just north of Edwards Air Force Base on the Mojave Desert we shared the highway for a time with an Old Dominion Freight Line 18-wheeler. The Richmond firm was showing its national reach.

    California is showing some national reach now, as well, and is seeking to force that Virginia trucking company to buy EV trucks if it wants to keep working in the Golden State. It has adopted a new Advanced Clean Fleets regulation imposing zero-emission mandates on both long haul and short haul vehicles that enter the state. Given the importance of Californiaโ€™s industries, markets, and ports to the full U.S. economy, it is effectively a national mandate.

    So argues Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who joined in a joint letter with 23 other state AGs to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.ย  California, the only state authorized to set its own air pollution standards, needs a direct waiver from EPA to impose regulations so divergent from federal rules, and the states are asking EPA to reject the request.ย 

    โ€œCalifornia is playing games with Americaโ€™s livelihood. This mandate doesnโ€™t just affect Californiaโ€”it weaponizes the stateโ€™s massive ports to force the entire nation to bow to an extreme environmental agenda,โ€ Miyares is quoted saying in a news release. โ€œCaliforniaโ€™s so-called โ€˜in-stateโ€™ ban is nothing more than an export of Californiaโ€™s economic chaos, creating real harm across American industries and raising costs for families everywhere. The federal government should not preference California to the detriment of the other 49 states.โ€ย 

    (more…)

  • Atlantic Park Part 11, Epilogue: Costs, Real Costs and Lessons Learned

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    sherlockj

    Atlantic Park Part 11, Epilogue: Costs, Real Costs and Lessons Learned

    Commentary by James C. Sherlock

    People hate to be strung along. Especially for years.

    Atlantic Park wasnโ€™t a “Nigerian princeโ€ scam. No one told us there were millions of dollars unclaimed in a Western Union account. But it was close. A lot of us who do not follow anything but news accounts of City Council activities fell for it repeatedly.

    One of the reasons it has been so hard for citizens to follow the public costs of Atlantic Park is because of the way the city has presented them. We have been misled unfailingly. Still are.

    Consider the city claims made before a council session in 2019 that took public comment on the pending โ€œfinalโ€ agreement with the developer.

    In an October/November 2019 report by TV 10 news.

    The cityโ€™s cost for the project would be roughly $96 million and would be used to construct the parking garages, entertainment venue and common spaces.

    The city would pay off its debt by using the Tourist Investment Program, which is made up of mostly hotel, restaurant, amusement and cigarette taxes. The lead partner, Virginia Beach-based Venture Reality, would secure financing for the remaining $230 million ($282 million in 2024 dollars).

    Developers and city staff have pitched making the dome property a special district to be governed by a โ€œCommunity Development Authority.โ€ …

    The authority has power to issue bonds, but since it is an โ€œindependent authority,โ€ it wouldnโ€™t impact the city debt. Those bonds would be paid through revenues and additional taxes levied on the project.

    Letโ€™s look:

    • Those cost, cost share and sources of payment claims all turned out to be inaccurate in amounts that cannot on the public side be explained by inflation. No cost of capital was mentioned.
    • On the other side of the ledger, developer costs plummeted.
    • And the debt albatross around the neck of the surf park was not on the table.
    (more…)

  • Atlantic Park Part 10: Virginia Small Business Financing Authority

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    sherlockj

    Atlantic Park Part 10: Virginia Small Business Financing Authority

    by James C. Sherlock

    On September 13, 2022, a regular meeting was held of the board of the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority (VSBFA).ย That board has sweeping responsibilities only one of which is the bond program.

    From its 501(c)3 Tax-Exempt Bond Program.

    • โ€œThere is no maximum limit on the dollar amount of bonds which can be issued on behalf of 501(c)3 organizations.โ€
    • โ€œFinancing can provide longer terms than those typically offered through conventional bank loans: average maturity of the bonds can be up to 120% of the economic life of the assets being financed.โ€
    • โ€œQualifying non-profits may be able to finance many of the ancillary costs of the project, including site preparation, capitalized interest during construction and some issuance costs.โ€

    On the agenda of that meeting was authorization of bonds for North Carolinaโ€™s 501(c)(3) P3 Foundation to build a surf park in Virginia Beach.

    Minutes show that presentations were made by a VSBFA staff member and by Mssrs. Anderson (McGuire Woods), Coan (Piper Sandler), Culpepper (Venture Realty Group), Fawcett (Secretary, P3 Foundation) and Smith (Piper Sandler).

    A Q&A session was held, but the minutes give no indication that the questioners were curious about the ability of the borrower to repay the debt. Their bylaws did not require them to inquire on that subject.

    Board members voted unanimously to authorize up to $75 million in bonds with coupons as high as 12%. So they knew of the risk.

    (more…)

  • The Governor Seizes the Power

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    The Virginia Department of Education (DOE) has issued its โ€œguidanceโ€ on the usage of cell phones in schools.

    While there are lots of definitions and clarifications, the policy boils down to this:

    • Elementary schoolsโ€””Cell phones and personal electronic communication devices will not be used by elementary students within the school building or on school grounds.โ€
    • Middle and high schoolsโ€””Students shall not have a cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day.ย If cell phones or personal electronic communication devices are brought to school, they must be stored and turned off during bell-to-bell school day.

    โ€œGuidanceโ€ implies โ€œsuggested, but not mandatory.โ€ย That is not the case here.ย The document concludes with this directive: โ€œSchool divisions are expected to review their existing policies and, if necessary, adopt and implement age-appropriate policies and procedures aligned with the guidance on the bell-to-bell cell phone policies by January 1, 2025. School divisions may adopt policies that are more comprehensive than the guidance.โ€

    (more…)

  • Dismay at Mr. Jefferson’s University

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    The sounds you hear coming from Charlottesville are the sounds of hopes being dashed.ย Critics of the president of the university, Jim Ryan, and what they claim are its bloated DEI bureaucracy, its high tuition, and its โ€œintellectual monocultureโ€ met reality.ย At its just-concluded meeting, โ€œthe Board buttressed the status quo.โ€

    Jim Baconโ€™s complaints about the current Boardโ€™s failure to stir things up boil down to this:ย Itโ€™s all Ralph Northamโ€™s fault.ย This is despite the fact that 14 of the 17 board members are appointees of Glenn Youngkin.

    (more…)

  • Dissecting UVA’s High-Tuition/High-Aid Business Model

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Scott and Beth Stephenson

    During the University of Virginia Board of Visitors meeting last week, President Jim Ryan made a big announcement: UVA alumnus Scott Stephenson and his wife Beth were donating $10 million to provide financial aid to students pursuing a degree in Data Science. UVA would match the gift with another $10 million from its Strategic Investment Fund for a total of $20 million.

    โ€œWith Stephenson Scholarships nurturing the future leaders in data science at the University, their thoughtful and well-timed investment will enable the University to lead the way in this rapidly developing field of study,โ€ Ryan said.

    Stephenson, a 1979 UVA engineering grad, had a successful business career as founder of SGS Capital and CEO of Verisk Analytics. He has served on the School of Data Science board since 2015. The scholarships will meet 100% of students’ demonstrated financial need and allow them to graduate debt free.

    โ€œIn our family, we were fortunate that all three of our children emerged from their undergraduate studies debt-free, and we saw how this permitted them to accelerate into their chosen fields,” Stephenson told the Board. “Weโ€™re excited to support other young scholars down the same path.โ€

    This will sound churlish, but I’m going to say it anyway. Stephenson’s philanthropy is inspiring, his motives are beyond reproach, and his generosity excites our admiration. But his benefaction, like the gifts of many others like him, enable the Ryan administration to perpetuate a high-tuition/high-aid financial model for UVA that (a) is financially unsustainable, (b) is pricing out the middle class, and (c) sustains a large and growing administrative caste.

    (more…)

Now Available

Book cover of 'Dust Mites: A Second American Revolution' by James A. Bacon, featuring astronauts planting a flag with a blue and white emblem on a lunar landscape, with Earth visible in the background.
For sale on Amazon.com

The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….

This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.

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Bacon’s Rebellion is Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy. Read more about us here.

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