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Bacon Meme of the Week
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New State Law offers Landowners the “Freedom” to Build Exactly What the Government Wants Built
by James C. Sherlock
Democrats have given Virginians the “freedom” to build:
- what Democrats want them to build,
- where Democrats want it built.
They want single-family homeowners to be able to build an additional dwelling on their property in residential areas without having to comply with local residential zoning ordinances. So Governor Spanberger signed Senate Bill 531 Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) into law on April 13 to take effect in 2027.
The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) praised the law as:
cutting red tape that had prevented property owners from making full use of their land. The new law, championed by the Commonwealth Housing Coalition and Pacific Legal Foundation, requires localities to permit ADUs in single-family zoning districts and caps permit fees at $500.
Let’s deconstruct that:
- The “property owners” affected are only single-family homeowners.
- By “red tape,” PLF and its partner mean local government zoning restrictions.
- The term “full use” is entirely misused. PLFs’ very own model state law, the “By-Right Housing Development Act,” includes the right to build single-family homes and multi-family housing units on an owner’s property, not just accessory dwelling units.
It does nothing to ease rebuilding rules for homeowners who, using the L.A. example, lost their homes in fires or floods. So, let’s call it the “Two Houses, One For Rent, On Single-Family Lots” Act for accuracy. The law clearly intends for the ADUs to be rentals:
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Virginia Lawmakers Exempt Themselves from Their Own Gun Law
Two Virginians. Two handguns. One law.
Image credit: Virginia Christian Alliance by Jeff Bayard
Imagine this scenario: The Walmart parking lot on Midlothian Turnpike is half-empty at 9:47 p.m. A man named David walks out with two bags of groceries, his boots scuffing across wet asphalt. He’s a deacon at his church, a grandfather. His Glock 19 is in the glove compartment — unlocked, the way he’s kept it for twelve years. The car doors are locked. The handgun is out of sight. But the glove box opens with one motion, no fumbling for a second key. That’s the point.
Halfway across the lot, he sees it. A dark sedan idling near his truck, windows down, two figures watching him. The vehicle wasn’t there when he went inside. As he gets closer, the sedan pulls forward and cuts across his path. Both doors open. Two men step out. One shouts something. They’re moving toward him fast.
David taps his key fob. The locks chirp open. He slides in, pulls the door shut, hits the lock, and opens the glove compartment. One fluid motion and the Glock is in his hand. He holds it where they can see it. The two men stop. They look at each other. They get back in the sedan and peel out of the lot.
David calls 911. He’s shaking but unharmed. The police arrive, take his statement, confirm no shots were fired. The officers tell him he did the right thing. Then one of them notices the open glove box. He points. “Was that locked or unlocked?”
“Unlocked,” David says.
The officer pauses. He writes David a citation — Class 4 misdemeanor, violation of § 18.2-308.7:1. The handgun wasn’t in a locked hard-sided container. His locked car doors don’t count under the new law.
Had that glove box been locked — the way HB 110 requires — David would have been fumbling for a second key while two men closed the distance. He’d have been robbed, or worse.
Instead, David drives home with his groceries, his Glock, and a criminal charge for being prepared to defend his life.
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Justin Fairfax Never Had a Chance to Clear His Name
John Reid’s post from The Reid Revolution on X:
Of course this headline is just horrible… and there’s no excusing murder and the devastation I’m sure these children will feel for the rest of their lives- but this blaring fleeting headline is NOT the whole story.
When I heard about this crime and tragedy this morning I couldn’t help but wonder if any of Virginia’s smug and abusive political leaders even consider that political hit jobs (with fake allegations?) can have tragic consequences that often reveal themselves many years later.
I don’t just feel bad for this family and these poor children today… I feel bad about the last several years of horrors these people must have all been living.
Justin called me several times last year after what was done to me to encourage me not to give up.
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A Consequential Fight
by James C. Sherlock
Michael Martz of the Richmond Times-Dispatch published an excellent report April 15 detailing the three-way fight among Governor Abigail Spanberger and various Democrats in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates over the budget.
The Governor proposed “hundreds of changes” to the competing budget bills proposed by each chamber.
Long story short, she supports the spending proposals but opposes the tax increases proposed to fund them. Democrats in the General Assembly accuse her of holding newly discovered, previously unshared positions on just about everything and blaming them for a budget impasse.
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s policies have produced a $700 million surplus in tax collections during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year. (Remember rebate checks?) Even with that annualized billion-dollar running start, Democratic members of the General Assembly plan to far outspend current revenues and have no intention of reducing Medicaid outlays to offset cuts to the federal share of the program.
In fact, the Senate and the House each plan to very expensively expand Medicaid coverage, but not with budget proposals compatible with one another or with the Governor’s newly announced positions.
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Hey, Virginia Beach, Bedtime Is Now 9:30 P.M.!
Image credit: Kerry: Unemployed and Unedited by Kerry Dougherty
They’re waving the white flag in Virginia Beach. After an almost 3-hour public hearing at which speaker after speaker begged their representatives not to impose an adult curfew at the Oceanfront for the next two weekends, city council members surrendered to the thugs and closed the place.
It was an embarrassing admission that these elected officials are incapable of doing their jobs.
The vote was 10-1 with only Jennifer Rouse voting no. Her reason was terrible: She prefers declaring the Oceanfront a “gun-free zone” because as we all know, a few “no guns” signs would cause all the gangbangers to leave their guns at home.
Frankly, I can’t think of a part of town where I’d want a gun MORE than at the Oceanfront on a Saturday night.
This is not a city run by Mensa members.
In response to two separate mass shooting incidents over the past two months, the resort area is effectively closed for business from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the next two weekends. The parameters of the curfew are from Rudee Loop to 31st Street.
Yep, they’re punishing law-abiding tourists and locals who like to stay out past 9:30 to prevent thugs from shooting each other. Continue reading.
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Will Arlington Protect Alleged Rapist?
Nothing in today’s VA News clips about this story, so I’m publishing the Department of Homeland Security press release here. — JAB
WASHINGTON ––U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested Governor Abigail Spanberger and Arlington sanctuary politicians not release Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran, a 28-year-old criminal illegal alien from Guatemala. He is facing charges that include abduction of a person with intent to defile, sodomy by force or victim helplessness, and assault.
Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran On April 14, 2026, ICE requested the Arlington County Jail not release this predator from jail back into American communities. According to local reports, Moran approached the victim on the early morning of April 12. When she walked away, Moran followed her and violently shoved her against a wall and physically and sexually assaulted her. The victim fought back and broke free, but Moran continued to chase after her to further assault her. Moran escaped when two good Samaritans intervened, but local police later tracked him down and arrested him.
According to Arlington County Court records, Moran has at least 25 prior charges dating back to 2020, including nine counts of being intoxicated in public, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer, and several probation violations.
Moran entered the United States at an unknown date and unknown time.
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Tragedy in Annandale
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One Step Closer to Mob Rule
by Kerry Dougherty
Of all the bad bills signed into law by Gov. Abigail Spanberger this week – and there are an abundance – perhaps the worst is the law that commits Virginia to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
With her signature this week, Virginia became the 18th state to violate Article II of the Constitution by pledging its electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, regardless of how Virginia votes.
This means Virginia’s voters could – and probably will – be wiped out by voters in mega states like California and New York if more states rashly join in.
On the plus side, Virginia would be largely ignored in presidential campaigns, with candidates campaigning only in California, New York, Texas and Florida. That might be a relief.
Democrats have been seething about the electoral college since Al Gore in 2000 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 lost their bids for the presidency despite winning the popular vote. These same people develop amnesia when reminded that in 2024 Donald Trump won the popular vote and if this unconstitutional measure been in effect, the Democrat voters in the Old Dominion would have watched helplessly as Virginia’s electoral votes went to Trump. In fact, he would have taken all 538 electoral votes and Kamala Harris would have received zero.
Despite their anger, they are not seeking a constitutional amendment to change the system. Instead they’re trying a sleazy work-around, which will be tied up in litigation and hopefully overturned by the Supreme Court.
Apparently the radical Democrats running Virginia are confident that no Republican will ever win the popular vote again. Continue reading.
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Evidence of Intent
by James C. Sherlock
Evidence of intentional wrongdoing by specific nursing home chains operating in Virginia is hiding in plain sight. The huge gaps and consistent trends in each exhibit below cannot be attributed to happenstance. It reflects business models rigorously applied.
The numbered exhibits draw entirely on a single Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) file, Provider Information.
Medicare Compare rankings, patient acuity and occupancy
Exhibit One:
- Progressively lower-staffed facilities have residents with progressively higher average needs (nursing case-mix-index (CMI) ratio) for medical and activities-of-daily-living support. The national average CMI is 0.99; the two worst chains’ facilities have a CMI of 1.17, 18% higher. CMI ratios are directly proportional to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. They are derived from self-reported resident assessment results. That combination in evidence is unquestionably dangerous and amazingly profitable.
- Those facilities with the worst staffing and health inspection results have the highest occupancy. Hospitals can refer to Medicare Compare as easily as anyone else. It should influence hospitals’ selection of skilled nursing facilities with which they contract to transfer discharged patients who still need skilled nursing. A good regulator would review those contracts.
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Spanberger in Full
Now we’re getting somewhere.
by Gordon C. Morse
Turns out Virginia may have a governor, after all.
You always wonder how long it will take before they get mad. Being inundated with poorly thought-through legislation — much of it portentous and progressive (abundantly so) — may have tested, with telling effect, Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s patience.
She realized that she was being had by her own Democratic Party lawmakers. They were taking her for granted. In such circumstances, even when you’re dealing with members of your own party, you either act like governor or you do not.
Spanberger has not cut the Democrats loose. Far from it. But they will now have to reckon with a new reality. Spanberger thinks for herself and that, frankly, is very good news for Virginia. We’ll see where it goes from here.
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Guv’s Paid-Leave “Fix” Doesn’t Touch Biggest Problems
AI-generated image credit: Grok by Derrick A. Max
Earlier this year I warned that Virginia’s proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave Act would create one of the most expansive and expensive paid leave programs in the country.
I had hoped the Governor’s new amendments issued just before midnight last night would fix those concerns.
They don’t.
The legislation still would establish a statewide insurance system funded by mandatory payroll contributions from workers and employers while offering unusually generous benefits — up to 12 weeks of paid leave replacing about 80 percent of wages.
The Governor’s substitute trims some provisions and clarifies others, but it does not address most of the concerns raised in my earlier analysis. In short, the Governor’s substitute polishes the edges but leaves the underlying policy unchanged.
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April 21: District Madness
by Gordon C. Morse
The “Yes” and “No” signs on the April 21 referendum to amend Virginia’s Constitution are getting mixed up with the “Yes” and “No” signs on the data centers. It’s all very confusing.
And not.
The answer on overhauling Virginia’s congressional districts is “No.” Just go in there and vote “No” and stop thinking about it. Doing so doesn’t send a love note to Donald Trump.
Look at all these crazy people announcing campaign bids for districts that yet do not exist.
My argument for the day: Jesus (he’s been in the news lately and you know why) wants you to vote “No.” I tried this argument on my brother, who voted “Yes.”
In historic and mainstream Christian teaching, you do not do evil on the proposition of doing good. A good end cannot morally justify sinful means.
That is essentially the way that Democrats justify this effort to upend Virginia’s congressional districts. It will stop Trump, they say. We must fight fire with fire. We must meet him in the road and whack his wagon, because that’s the Chicago Way.
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Ending Data Center Exemption – Wrong Policy, Wrong Time
by Chris Saxman
Wise words from former Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte”
In politics, timing is everything.
Timing also matters when it comes to the economy. Virginia is approaching a pivotal moment in its economic strategy—and it is happening at exactly the wrong time.
As global markets reassess the value of technology companies, one thing is becoming clear: the era of easy capital is over.
Investors are demanding discipline.
Massive spending on AI infrastructure—data centers, energy, and computing power—is now under scrutiny. In that environment, where companies choose to invest matters more than ever.
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Good News for Medical Research in Virginia
by Dick Hall-Sizemore
Remember that edict by the Trump administration capping the indirect costs portion of grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at 15 percent? There was vigorous discussion of that announcement on this blog, with many commentators supporting the move.
Well, the Trump administration has given up on that effort.
As soon as the new policy was announced, several state attorney generals challenged it in court. A federal district court issued an injunction prohibiting the implementation of that cap. In January, a federal circuit court of appeals agreed with the district court. In its opinion, the appeals court pointed out that the action by the administration violated regulations of the Dept. of Health and Human Services. It also was in direct violation of a Supplemental Rider to the Appropriation Act that Congress had first passed in 2018, during the first Trump administration, and had adopted in each appropriation act since. The appeals court concluded, “In summary, Congress went to great lengths to ensure that NIH could not displace negotiated indirect cost reimbursement rates with a uniform rate.”
The deadline for the administration to appeal the decision of the appeals court to the U.S. Supreme Court recently passed without action or comment by the administration.
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