Bacon's Rebellion

  • Legislature Moves To Fill Power Vacuum It Created

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    State Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, new Chairman of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation (Image: Virginia Star)

    By Steve Haner

    State Senator Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, showed today that he had something which the State Corporation Commission now lacks – a quorum.  Surovell and the other legislators will gather in Richmond tomorrow to address the state budget but are expected once again to fail to fill the two vacancies on that vital regulatory body.

    Surovell, however, was chosen this afternoon to chair the newly reconstituted Commission on Electric Utility Regulation (CEUR), a legislative oversight panel that has not met since December 2017 despite several tumultuous years of change in Virginia’s energy sector. The meeting lasted just a few minutes beyond one hour and never discussed the huge problem the legislators have created by refusing to elect new SCC regulators. (more…)

  • Virginia Deserves a Parole Board that Puts Public Safety First

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    Patricia West

    by Kerry Dougherty

    When Terry McAuliffe was governor he found a loyal Democrat lawyer to appoint to head Virginia’s parole board.

    That was Adrianne Bennett, a failed candidate for the House of Delegates in 2011 and undoubtedly the most controversial parole board chair in Virginia history. She was a success if you believe, as McAuliffe apparently did, that the job of that board is to spring murderers and make Virginians less safe. (more…)

  • TJI To SCC: Keep Dominion Gas Plants

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    by

    Steve Haner

    The following has been submitted to the State Corporation Commission via the public comment portal it has established for Dominion Energy Virginia’s pending 2023 Integrated Resource Plan.  It was drafted by Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy Senior Fellow Stephen D. Haner.

    Dominion Energy Virginia is acting reasonably and prudently by planning to maintain most of its natural gas generation and perhaps some of its coal generation for the foreseeable future, despite narrow votes in the Virginia General Assembly in favor of eliminating their use.

    That is the only aspect of the pending Integrated Resource Plan review (PUR-2023-00066) on which the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy is offering an opinion.  However, the opinion is strongly reinforced by data put on the case record by the State Corporation Commission’s own professional staff and cited below. (more…)

  • Labor Day: A New Start

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Labor Day. America’s most ambiguous national holiday.

    Think about it. On other special days – Memorial, Independence, Veterans, Thanksgiving, Presidents, Martin Luther King and Christmas – we pause, however briefly, to honor a beloved person or a historical event.

    We have parades, visit cemeteries, blast fireworks, give thanks, recite a famous speech or watch It’s a Wonderful Life.

    Not on Labor Day.

    Take a peek at the festivities scheduled this weekend. Wait. What festivities? The Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon has moved on, so there’s nothing to do today other than hit the beach and cook out.

    Swimming and eating burgers has nothing to do with Labor Day’s grittier, trade union roots.

    And that’s a good thing.

    I’m not sure anyone wants to mark Labor Day by dragging a picket sign to the beach or by joining a national scavenger hunt to look for Jimmy Hoffa’s body.

    Does anyone plan to watch Norma Rae today? Or gather the family together for a few choruses of “The Ballad of Joe Hill”?

    Anyone inviting the repulsive Randi Weingarten to their cookout?

    I didn’t think so.

    On Labor Day, it’s not what we do, it’s what we don’t do – labor. (more…)

  • Winsome Earle-Sears Makes the Case in Roanoke

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    by

    Bob Rayner

    Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks in Vinton. Photo by Scott Dreyer.

    by Scott Dreyer

    On a late summer Thursday evening at the Vinton War Memorial Senior Center, the Roanoke County GOP met for a fundraiser barbecue dinner to support Sen. David Suetterlein’s fall campaign and to fire up the room full of party faithful.

    Following the meal, several people on the ballot this fall introduced themselves and addressed some key issues facing the region and state.

    But the Roanoke star that evening was Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. (more…)

  • The Virginia State Budget and the Rising Costs of Registered Nurses

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    I was asked yesterday by a reader about the relationship between nursing homes, rising registered nurse salaries and the new Virginia budget agreement.

    Good questions. Virginia’s workforce includes nearly 70,000 registered nurses.

    The state pays its workers, but it also pays its Medicaid share for private sector nurses. Pay for private sector workers is based upon market conditions. The market wage for registered nurses nationwide increased dramatically during COVID.

    Perhaps the only good thing to come out of that mess was that registered nurses, of whom Virginia has 11% fewer than demand calculated by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, got very large pay and bonus raises, and the new wage points appear to have stuck.

    If the laws of economics work here, that will over time increase the number of nurses if we can educate and train them in the required numbers.

    The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for all states show that the median wage for an RN in Virginia was $79,700 a year. In Northern Virginia portion of the D.C. metro area, the median was $92,800.  The underlying data are a couple of years old.

    Wages and bonuses can vary a lot among Virginia hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, nursing school staff and government employees, and are higher or lower depending on specialty. The private sector offers $10,000 to  $20,000 signing bonuses paid out after the first year.

    Employers of course must pay payroll taxes and other expenses related to employees, and thus their costs will generally exceed $100,000 per RN.

    Virginia RNs are still underpaid compared to national figures. The mean annual wage for America’s 3 million registered nurses in May was $89,010 compared to Virginia’s $79,900.

    The federal Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services, aware of some of the questionable business models of bad actors in the nursing home industry, published last week a proposed rule to both increase the minimum number of RNs in nursing facilities and to require all nursing facilities to reveal every year how much of the Medicare and Medicaid payouts go to salaries and related expenses.

    So, Medicare and Medicaid costs will go up yet again. (more…)

  • Roanoke’s Remarkable Symphony Under the Stars

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    by

    Bob Rayner

    Maestro David Stewart Wiley took the baton and launched the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra’s 71st year.

    by Scott Dreyer

    As more folks are putting the Covid lockdowns in the rearview mirror, larger gatherings are occurring, as seen by the crowds at the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra’s (RSO) “Symphony Under the Stars” on Saturday, August 26. The hillside amphitheater in Roanoke’s Elmwood Park was packed by music-lovers as the sun went down, the temperature dropped, and the excitement rose as Maestro David Stewart Wiley took the baton and launched the RSO’s 71st year.

    In an age tarnished by so much disappointment with failed leadership, Wiley stands out as a bright success. The RSO board just announced they had extended his contract for another four years, making him the longest-tenured conductor in their seven-decade history. In fact, Maestro Wiley was recently honored during his 25th season leading the RSO by the governor and a joint bipartisan resolution in the Virginia General Assembly. (more…)

  • Virginia Has an Opportunity to Take the Lead in Nursing Home Technology Insertion to Improve Care with Existing Staff

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    A pending new federal rule defining strong nursing home staffing minimums has finally accomplished something that I thought unlikely in my lifetime.

    It has in a single stroke aligned the interests of patients and their loved ones, nurses, nursing homes, state and federal governments, and taxpayers in finding ways to make existing nursing home staffs more efficient and effective.

    That alignment brings the miracle of the loaves and fishes to mind.

    It takes some explaining.

    1. The value of the new regulations to patients and loved ones and nurses is clear. Better quality of care for patients and better working conditions — less stress and better job satisfaction — for the nurses.
    2. The nursing homes and their lobbyists oppose the new rule, but it appears that it will happen. They face a significant shortage of registered nurses in Virginia and competition for nurses from hospitals with deeper pockets. So, they very much want to somehow reduce the new minimum federal requirements.
    3. The state and federal governments, and thus the taxpayers, will inevitably see demands for Medicare and Medicaid payment increases to pay for the new staff. So, it would benefit taxpayers and the national debt to reduce those ratios as long as the desired levels of care could be maintained.

    One answer to address all of those interests is extensive automation of processes in which nurses are involved. Just some of the requirements:

    • Integrate electronic health records (EHR) and nurse support apps for real-time data entry on mobile devices;
    • Remotely pre-screen, prioritize and automate alert and alarm workflows;
    • Alert to medication administration requirements and help prevent medication errors;
    • Enable nurses to notify the appropriate responders to crises with one click on a mobile device.

    (more…)

  • An Overdue New Federal Rule to Improve Nursing Home Staffing

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    sherlockj

    By James C. Sherlock

    What would happen if the federal government were to propose for the first time specific nursing home staffing minimums?

    We are about to find out.

    A new rule.  A new federal proposed rule introduced yesterday has already survived fierce opposition from the industry, which tried to kill it in the womb.  They are not done opposing, but the administration seems to have its course set.

    And the new rule is clearly within the letter and spirit of the Social Security Act that requires safe, quality care.

    The new proposed federal rule consists of three core staffing proposals:

    1. minimum nurse staffing standards of 0.55 hours per resident day (HPRD) for Registered Nurses (RNs) and 2.45 HPRD for Nurse Aides (NAs);
    2. a requirement to have an RN onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week (currently 8 hours a day); and
    3. enhanced facility assessment requirements.

    While the final rule minimums will be phased in over a three-year period, five for rural facilities, they would, if in force today, render non-compliant 245 of the 281 Virginia nursing homes that are rated for staffing by CMS.

    There are also groundbreaking provisions for transparency on the percentage of Medicare and Medicaid payments spent on direct care staff, not just for nursing homes but also for community and home care.

    The new proposed rule is potentially a great improvement for prospective patients coming out of the hospital to recuperate and rehabilitate or entering long term care.

    Which includes a lot of very vulnerable Virginians.

    (more…)

  • Short Term Rentals — Long Term Impact

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Jon Balilies 

    The City of Richmond has been discussing altering and revising regulations about short-term rentals (STR’s) and the next action will take place at the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday afternoon (September 5th). It is an important decision because it is entirely possible the decision by the Commission and ultimately City Council could have a tremendous impact on housing availability, high sale prices, and neighborhood character.

    For the last few years, the city has done a good job of holding public meetings and soliciting feedback through various methods and gathering information about short-term rental properties (like AirBnB and VRBO, etc.). Until 2020, they were technically illegal and unregulated but they did exist (they rose to a more visible status when the UCI 2015 Bike Championships came to town).

    In gathering information and developing the first ordinance, the city said it wanted to find the right balance to allow property owners to take part, but also make sure it was done right to protect neighborhoods. Some other cities dove in head-first with few, if any, regulations, which led to adverse, if somewhat predictable, effects. Richmond smartly agreed to revisit the ordinance after having some time to evaluate the initial regulations. Currently, in residentially zoned areas, the city requires that owners must claim primary residence at least 185 days (just over half the year) to rent out as a STR. If the property owner has a converted garage, etc., then they may rent that out all year. In commercially- zoned areas, there is no residency requirement being proposed in the new legislation. (more…)

  • Bacon Meme of the Week

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    In case you were wondering, there is such a thing as International Bacon Day. Read about it here. The day brings together the diverse peoples of the world in reverent appreciation of God’s greatest gift to mankind.

    Bacon fun fact: In the 12th century, a church in the English town of Great Dunmow created a tradition of gifting bacon to married men who could take an oath that he had not argued with his spouse for a year and a day.

    Sadly, no man ever qualified. (OK, I made up that last part.)

    Bacon sad fact: Native Americans never tasted bacon before the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Hernando de Soto, known primarily for his explorations, brought 13 pigs with him to the Americas in 1539.

     — JAB

  • Politicians Back Interest-Heavy Fuel Debt Payoff

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Better yet, how about ten years from now? With a decade of interest added on, of course.

    By Steve Haner

    Several Virginia legislators have encouraged the State Corporation Commission to allow Dominion Energy Virginia to convert a $1.3 billion unpaid fuel debt into a ten-year revenue stream for the utility, adding up to $370 million in additional costs onto its customers.

    The SCC will open a hearing Tuesday on the utility’s pending application to convert the unpaid fuel costs for the past three years into a bond. A public comment period on the application just ended, and four legislators and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce filed letters supporting Dominion’s request. The 2023 General Assembly created the bonding option during session as part of an omnibus regulatory change.

    The issue is simple. Dominion failed to foresee the explosion in fuel costs caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the generalized wave of inflation. A year ago the SCC approved a plan to cover the first batch of those unpredicted costs that accrued through June 2022, with a three-year payoff schedule.

    But the second year of unexpected fuel expenses added almost $700 million more to the unpaid balance by June 2023. Years two and three of the original payment schedule and the new additional costs combine to the total of about $1.275 billion, not including interest. And the interest is what this is all about, with the trade-off being smaller installment payments but a decade of interest charges. (more…)

  • A Small Victory – So Far – for Common Sense and Flood Mitigation in Virginia Beach

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    The central Great Neck Corridor drainage system Virginia Beach

    by James C. Sherlock

    Sometimes things work. Perhaps they will this time.

    There was a time in Virginia Beach when a partnership between a developer and a church to build new houses would have breezed through the Planning Commission and the City Council.

    That kind of open season on clearing and building on Virginia Beach’s very low-lying land brought with it lots of problems, including flooding.

    The citizens of Virginia Beach, tired of flooding in every heavy rain and even under a clear sky with a full moon, a couple of years ago passed a very large property tax increase on themselves to create a huge pot of money to deal with it.

    One of the natural flood control systems already in place is a series of contiguous lakes along Great Neck Road in the eastern part of the city. They handle runoff from that major corridor. That system flows into the Lynnhaven River and the Chesapeake Bay.

    To that place comes a developer and a local church with a proposal. (more…)

  • How Many UVa Students Feel Sense of “Belonging”?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    As the University of Virginia Board of Visitors grapples with contentious issues such as equity, inclusion and racial preferences, it could benefit by knowing how well the policies of the Ryan administration have succeeded or failed in making UVa a more welcoming place for students across “every possible dimension” of diversity, to use President Jim Ryan’s words.

    The administration possesses considerable data to answer the question. During the final year of the Sullivan administration, 2018, the university conducted a comprehensive, in-depth “campus climate” survey. Since then, the university has participated in biennial surveys conducted under the auspices of the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) consortium, which, th0ugh less comprehensive than the 2018 effort and fraught with discontinuities in the questions asked, does contain useful information.

    The university’s Office of Institutional Research & Analysis posted results for 2022 for public viewing in August. The graphic below summarizes student responses to the statement, “I feel I belong at university.”

    Three of five (60%) students agreed or strongly agreed with the sentiment that they belonged at UVa. Seventeen percent expressed various degrees of disagreement. 

    Is that a good finding or a bad finding? It depends on context. (more…)

  • Last Year’s SOL Performance — Meh

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Table source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

    by James A. Bacon

    The Virginia Department of Education is running two weeks late in releasing Standards of Learning (SOL) testing data for the 2022-23 school year. The reason cited by state Superintendent Lisa Coons, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch, is to process retake data and appeals.

    The SOL results, as they appeared on a Richmond Public Schools website before being taken down, were disappointing. Far from reverting to the pre-COVID norm, student achievement remained mired in a post-lockdown slump. Reading and writing scores were mostly unchanged, history/civic scores eroded, and math and science scores improved only a little.

    The Youngkin administration has not commented on the results. The only quote cited by the Richmond Times-Dispatch comes from James Fedderman, president of the Virginia Education Association, who dishes out the usual social justice-style rhetoric calling for more money. (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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