Bacon's Rebellion

  • How They Spent That Money

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Steve Haner and I unofficially tag-team on the state budget. Fittingly, he covers the revenues (taxes) and I cover the spending.

    Regarding the revenues available for spending, it is notable what was missing from the presentations by the Governor and Secretary of Finance in their appearances before the money committees last month. There was no mention of the $5.1 billion balance tirelessly touted by the Governor in his public calls for more tax reductions.

    In the presentations and charts presented, it was difficult to discern what that unencumbered balance actually was. Using the data in the staff presentation to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, one is able to tease out the $5.1 billion being touted by the Governor. First, there was $2.1 billion. This is hard to follow, but basically it was a balance designated in 2022 for “Additional Taxpayer Relief” and subsequently rolled into the unrestricted general fund balance. However, both the administration and the money committees were carrying it on their spreadsheets as an amount reserved for taxpayer relief and that is how the Comptroller identified it in her annual report to the Governor.  To that $2.1 billion the Governor added the additional $3.0 billion in general fund revenue projected over the official estimate.

    That was a valid projection of the general fund balance at the end of FY 2023. However, as both Steve and I have pointed out several times on this blog, that was a gross amount. After deducting for the required deposits to the Rainy Day Fund and the Water Quality Improvement Fund, the appropriation in the “skinny” budget bill enacted last spring, and the amount required to fund the Pass Through Equity Tax previously enacted, the net general fund balance available at the end of FY 2023 was approximately $2.4 billion. (more…)

  • Petersburg Public Schools Cheat Children of Their Futures

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    We like to think of ourselves as civilized people.

    Virginia and America are at an advanced stage of social and cultural development.

    Aren’t we?

    For the children of Petersburg, we are not. We continue to let them quite publicly and measurably be cheated of their futures by their public schools.

    Queue the excuses for bad schools. Whatever list you can come up with, it’s not good enough. We are not civilized if we, as a state, continue to let it happen to children with no other option.

    Virginia is unique in that our state constitution explicitly gives local school divisions control of their schools.

    Virginia passed a law in 2013 that created a body to take over schools failing to receive accreditation or what is now accreditation with conditions for three consecutive years. It was found unconstitutional.

    I don’t know why the constitution was written without some provision for dealing with failed schools and school divisions after long-term failure.

    But it was, and it was a mistake. We need to change the constitution to give the children of Petersburg and in other failing schools a chance in life.

    That goal is, and must be, worth the effort it will take to accomplish it. (more…)

  • Cheers to the Man in Plaid

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    .

    by Jon Baliles

    One of Richmond’s great characters and personalities has decided to step away from spotlight that he occupied and managed so well for years (and always with a smile) after enduring incredibly long days and nights, rainouts, major league talent, loyal fans, a street art festival, a crumbling office, broken political promises, and an ocean of awful plaid pants.

    Flying Squirrels CEO Todd “Parney” Parnell announced this week he will be stepping down from his day-to-day role after this season and remain as a senior advisor to the team for the next five years after 34 years in the baseball business. Parney arrived with the team in 2010 and hasn’t slept much since.

    He told John O’Connor at the Times-Dispatch, “I think the key difference is I’m not going to be here from 6:30 in the morning until 1 o’clock in the morning anymore. The toll of that has been taken. I’m downshifting significantly.”

    “I kind of feel like the athlete who’s stepping back a little bit when he still has a step or two left. I really wanted to — chill out’s the wrong term because I’m still going to be around — but I wanted to (leave) the day-to-day operations when I still felt like I was at the top of my game. And I do.”

    And he has been at the top of his game since he arrived. I knew they would be a different franchise when they enlisted the public to help name the team in late 2009. More than 6,000 entries were received and the finalists included Rock Hoppers, Hambones, Rhinos, Flatheads, and Hush Puppies. And I recall not getting the name “Flying Squirrels” after it was selected, but then the very next day, Parney said in the paper (and I am paraphrasing) “We wanted to be fun and we wanted to be a different” and they have been all that and a home run. (more…)

  • A Concept for Simpler and More Compliant Virginia Regulation of Medical Facilities and Services in Virginia

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    by

    sherlockj

    By James C. Sherlock

    UVa Children’s Hospital courtesy UVa

    I saw a comment somewhere that medical facilities are the second most regulated industry in America, just behind nuclear power.

    Yet we see that it has not been working in Virginia in the case of nursing homes.  And compliance is considerably harder in the other medical facilities and services in Virginia than it needs to be.

    A big part of the reason is that Virginia has laws and regulations that either:

    1. Do not implement federal laws or regulations that require the state to do so for facilities accepting Medicare or Medicaid/Children’s Health Improvement Program (CHIP); or
    2. Conflict with the Social Security Act and its executing regulations, which take precedence in the case of those federally-funded programs; or
    3. Both.

    In case of omission or conflict with the federal guidelines, state laws and regulations do not add value, just complexity and confusion.

    And to no avail.

    (more…)

  • Deja Taylor Had One Job: Stay Clean and Sober

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Good grief, lady. You had ONE job.

    Just one.

    Your assignment was to stay clean and sober for four months, but apparently Deja Taylor – the mother of the 6-year-old Newport News first grader who shot his teacher with his mother’s gun – couldn’t do that.

    After pleading guilty in June to charges that she lied about being an illegal drug user on federal firearm forms and for unlawful use of a controlled substance while possessing a gun, Taylor tested positive for pot in July. Wait. There’s more. On August 26, according to WAVY-TV 10, she had cocaine and marijuana in her system. Both drug tests are awaiting confirmation.

    Taylor also failed to take part in substance abuse treatment that was mandated by the court and she didn’t show up for scheduled drug tests, according to court documents. (more…)

  • Revisiting the Intellectual Foundations of Conservatism — One Book at a Time

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Suzanne Munson

    From time to time, members of every great movement such as American Conservatism need to stop, take a breath, and see where the movement is going. Great movements, founded by great individuals, can sometimes be hijacked by lesser minds.

    Many of the founders of modern conservatism were intellectuals. William F. Buckley was able to criticize liberalism articulately from the foundation of a fine education, intellectual curiosity, and deep reading.

    While there are knowledgeable thought-leaders in today’s conservative movement, there are others who call themselves conservatives who may be giving the movement an unfortunate image.

    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines conservatism as “a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change.” Much more can be added to this definition, such as limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a belief in traditional, wholesome values.

    It is interesting to examine a recent incident in Florida to see where some who term themselves “conservatives” have created an embarrassing situation. Members of a book club, reported to consist of conservative members, rescinded an invitation to a respected author to speak to their group.

    The program was a book and author event at $100 a plate, so one would assume some level of education and sophistication. Rachel Beanland, a well-regarded Richmond, Virginia author and teacher, was invited to speak about her new novel, The House Is on Fire.

    She had spent hundreds of hours researching the tragic theater fire of 1811 in which some of Virginia’s most prominent citizens perished. The book features individuals, real and imagined, who resided in Richmond at that time–tradesmen, theater workers, politicians, slaves, doctors, widows.

    Yes, there are slaves in the book and yes, their lives were difficult, and yes, some white characters in the book treated them poorly. What else is new? There were white characters in the story who also had poor treatment at the hands of other whites. There is always plenty of trouble to go around in an interesting novel. (more…)

  • New Bad SOL Data Bring A New Youngkin Administration Plan for Mitigating Learning Losses in Virginia Public Schools

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    The Governor announced today that he and the General Assembly came together on a bipartisan basis to invest $418 million to tackle student learning loss.

    The Virginia Department of Education recommends school divisions allocate the $418 million “to proven programs that will achieve the greatest student impact—approximately 70% for high-dose tutoring, 20% for Virginia Literacy Act acceleration, and 10% for chronic absenteeism response.”

    Press releases today from both from the Governor’s Office and the Virginia Department of Education provide both a lot of data and a plan to assess.

    From VDOE’s “2022-2023 Test Results Show Virginia Students Continue to Struggle with COVID-Related Learning Loss in Reading and Math”

    Today the Virginia Department of Education released the 2022-23 Virginia Assessment Results, demonstrating significant and persistent learning loss in reading and math for Virginia students in grades 3-8. More than half of 3rd-8th graders either failed or are at risk of failing their reading SOL exam, and nearly two-thirds of 3rd-8th graders either failed, or are at risk of failing, their math SOL exam….

    In 2022-2023, the number of chronically absent students doubled from 2018-2019.

    VDOE has also posted the school quality profiles to present the 2022-23 data.  So you can look at your local school division or school. (more…)

  • When Did the RTD Become TMZ?

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Shaun Kenney

    The Richmond Times-Dispatch was given a clip of David Owen — Republican candidate for House of Delegates — where he tells an audience of like-minded souls that he is, indeed, pro-life.

    Charlotte Rene Woods over at the RTD decides to do the work of Democratic campaign operatives in what could only be viewed as an in-kind donation.

    … and did we mention that this video was taken five months ago, in March?

    So, for the sin of stating that he values life and is willing to protect the basic human right to exist, what does this earn Owen? A blistering TMZ-style article where such an admission is caged as if Owen had gone on a drunken tirade motivated by the Dead Milkmen rather than any sort of gravitas. (more…)

  • Youngkin’s Partial Tax Wins are Still Impressive

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R)

    By Steve Haner

    First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy.

    Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and the legislators of both parties who have given him at least some of the tax reforms he asked for need to stop being shy and take a real victory lap.  He has been in office less than two years and has diverted $5 billion from tax coffers back to Virginia’s citizens so far, with more to come in 2024 and beyond.

    Most of that was approved by the 2022 General Assembly and is now in effect for a second full tax year, but the 2023 General Assembly just sweetened the pot.  The long-delayed budget compromise approved September 6 added more than $1 billion in single-shot refunds and long-term tax cuts. (more…)

  • Another List of Best Colleges

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Washington and Lee University.

    Inspired by the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of colleges, everyone is getting into the game, each with its own criteria.

    The Wall Street Journal has just released its list of “Best 400 Colleges in America.” Its rankings are based on student experiences, social mobility, and salary impact. Its greatest emphasis was on the following questions:

    1. How much will the college improve its students’ chances of graduating on time?
    2. How much will it improve the salaries they earn after receiving their diplomas?

    The top school in the ranking was Princeton, followed by M.I.T, Yale, Stanford, and Columbia. Nine Virginia schools were ranked among the top 400, with four landing in the top 100. They were:

    44—Washington and Lee
    76—Virginia Tech
    84—UVa
    95—George Mason
    152—James Madison
    212—W&M
    243—Old Dominion
    318—VCU
    326–Christopher Newport

  • It Was Bound to Happen Sometime

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Click on the images for the full views.  Correlation is still not causation, but the standard industry, utility and Biden Administration line “there is no evidence” is getting thin.  Virginia Beach, here it comes.

  • “School’s Closed Today! It’s the Law”

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Photo credit: Your Teen Magazine

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Now that two of my grandchildren are in public school, rather than being home-schooled, I am more attuned to what is going on in public school.

    Last Friday, I was in Northern Virginia visiting them because they were off from school. Although I was happy to get the extra time with them, I was ranting about the absurdity of a school holiday only two weeks after school had opened and in face of the impending Labor Day holiday. My grandson informed me it was the law. I protested that it couldn’t be, but he showed me that it was. (more…)

  • POLLS: Inflation Top Issue; Virginians Reject Democrats’ Position on Abortion

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Shaun Kenney

    New polling data from Founders Insight reveal that 24% of Virginians are putting inflation as their top concern heading into the November elections, with abortion coming in at 15% and split between Democrats and Republicans.

    To make matters worse for Virginia Democrats, a summer spent pushing abortion rights has backfired spectacularly, as the Planned Parenthood life of 40 weeks (and beyond) is wildly unpopular with most Virginians.

    Making matters worse, Planned Parenthood’s so-called “reproductive rights” state constitutional amendments such as the one in Ohio this year go even further, allowing not only for abortion up to the moment of birth, but even permitting gender reassignment surgeries alongside a repeal of parental notification and parental consent.

    Virginia Democrats are not hiding the football on their abortion-up-to-birth ambitions, as they continue to bring the bill before the Virginia General Assembly whenever they get the chance. (more…)

  • How to Save Loudoun County Public Schools from the Injustice of DEI

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by A.L. Schuhart

    To Loudon Parents:

    Here is the legal strategy to stop Diversity, Equity and Inclusion regimes in your schools.

    DEI violates the principle of in loco parentis, which is the legal foundation of public education in Virginia and America. It is by this principle that schools and educators receive their mandates from the citizens of Virginia to teach children. The Supreme Court has consistently affirmed this legal principle since the beginning of public education. (more…)

  • 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…)

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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