Bacon's Rebellion

  • Dominion “Bill Relief” Disappears September 1

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Homeowners willing to cut back power usage when Dominion Energy Virginia asks them could earn rebates of up to $28 a year. So reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch, citing yet another final order from the State Corporation Commission.

    The Richmond paper is always bringing us such great news about the folks at the giant utility looking out for us. The headline in the print edition today is even more positive: “New Rebate Program Could Lower Power Bills.”

    Who is actually going to provide the $28 in hard cash? Yep, Bacon’s Rebellion readers get it on the first try. Dominion will raise the rebate money given to the few by raising its cost of electricity to everybody. Even the people getting rebates will pay the surcharge. But your bill just goes up a bit — so little you won’t notice the increase starting on September 1.

    You also won’t notice it because the increase in the energy efficiency program’s rate adjustment clause (a separate charge also known as a RAC or rider), is just one of several such increases, all hitting September 1.

    The higher bill totals will be creeping into your email and snail mail inboxes along with all the campaign brochures about how the 2023 General Assembly provided “bill relief.” That is gone in a puff of smoke. Come September 1 Dominion customers also start paying for, or start paying more for: (more…)

  • The Virginia Board of Health and Nursing Homes – A Strange Appointment

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    I am starting to lose my sense of humor about the whole Virginia nursing home thing.

    The Virginia Board of Health (VBOH) writes state regulations for every health facility and health services provider in Virginia, including nursing homes.

    There is a statutory seat on the VBOH for a nursing home representative. (Of course there is.)

    The incumbent, appointed by Governor Northam, is Melissa Green, RN. I am sure she is a good nurse and a good person.

    But Ms. Green is also one of the three founders and the Chief Clinical Officer (CCO) of Trio Healthcare.

    Trio is rated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as one of the worst nursing home chains in the entire country and the worst in Virginia.

    The senses of humor of all of us are once again threatened by The Virginia Way. (more…)

  • Why Dominion Stays Calm in Wind Industry Storm

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    First published by Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy.  There is some overlap with a post from last week by another author,  but with a slightly different focus.  

    With growing  turmoil in the offshore wind industry finally being reported, it would be nice to turn the clock back a year and revisit the State Corporation Commission’s failed 2022 effort to impose a real performance standard on Dominion Energy Virginia’s $10 billion, 176-turbine project.  No such luck, Virginia. (more…)

  • Virginia Beach’s Bad Habit: Reckless Spending on Wasteful Projects

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Feckless leadership, wasteful spending and escalating taxes have plagued Virginia Beach for decades.

    Despite new faces on city council, the game of spending tax dollars on insane projects that “will pay for themselves” continues.

    But let’s back up.

    Here’s one prescient story from The Virginian-Pilot in 2007. The headline: “Virginia Beach Sportsplex Misses Its Goal” soft pedaled what was going on. It was yet another pricey project, dreamed up by developers and approved by their political puppets.

    And it was failing. (more…)

  • The Ugly American

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    When The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal publish articles about a heretofore unrecognized social phenomenon at about the same time, you know something is going on. People are behaving rudely in movie theaters. They are taking selfies, chatting on their cell phones, talking smack to characters on the movie screen, getting into slap fights, and in one case cited by the Post, wearing no clothes. When asked to “shush,” they don’t shush. They lambaste the shushers.

    Some commentators blame COVID, isolation, or “trauma.”

    “It is clear that the past three years have been challenging for many people in our country. We have experienced a series of collective traumas, cascading one to the next,” said Roxane Cohen Silver, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Irvine quoted by the Post. “The combination of the pandemic, inflation, mass shootings, climate-related disasters, political polarization and so on, has taxed our capacity to cope.” (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    from The Bull Elephant

  • How Did VCU Miss the Red Flags?

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner


    by Jon Baliles

    The unravelling saga of a failed development proposal downtown a block from City Hall that was supposed to rise out of the ashes of the failed Navy Hill project is still smoldering. The failed deal has come with a price tag of about $80 million so far (and growing) for VCU Health. They were supposed to be the main tenant of the project and, by all accounts, approved and signed a deal in July 2021 in which VCU accepted heavily one-sided terms that have become so expensive it could still ripple throughout the city, the university, and the state.

    Eric Kolenich has peeled back the latest layer of the onion in an eye-popping article in the Times-Dispatch this week, with emails that revealed grave concerns with the deal that would leave VCU Health holding the bag, and also emails that showed more concern to close the deal than what was in it. The emails show both bad communication and miscommunication among those at top levels of VCU’s administration at both the Monroe Park campus and the medical campus. They were sent in a flurry in the weeks leading up to VCU inking and approving the deal, and ignored warnings that were raised in favor of a closer analysis or alternative parachutes that would offer a way out.

    After the Navy Hill project failed in early 2020, Capital City Partners, the developers who led that attempt, returned to the city with a proposal for a development for the city’s dilapidated old Public Safety Building at 500 N. 10th Street (aka the Clay Street Project because it is at 10th & Clay Streets). The proposal was for a 17-20 story building that would be leased by VCU Health for office use. They would pay $650 million in rent over 25 years that would produce close to $60 million in tax revenue for the city.

    VCU would have to pay rent starting in 2024, whether or not the building was completed, as well as pay for repairs and maintenance. If the project faced cost overruns, VCU would also be on the hook for those.  And strangely, since it was office space, it would not generate any revenue for VCU Health like other facilities they had recently built (e.g. the Children’s Hospital). (more…)

  • You’ve Been to Paris but You’ve Never Been to the Luray Caverns?

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Today we’re taking a break from politics, woke culture and indictments. It’s Explore Beautiful Virginia time. A midsummer palate cleanser!

    But first a question:

    Why does every tourist destination sell fudge? More precisely, is there some sort of law that mandates every vacation spot feature a “fudgery”? Is there something about salt air or mountain breezes that creates a sudden craving for a calorie-dense chunk of flavored sugar?

    I don’t have the answer, but yes, there is the requisite fudgery just outside the entrance to Luray Caverns. No, we didn’t go in during a family trip to Luray last weekend. The getaway to Virginia’s amazing natural wonder was sweet enough.

    Let me just say this: if you’re a Virginian who’s been to Paris but you haven’t been to Luray, shame on you. (more…)

  • Restoring Sales Tax Holiday is Not Tax Relief

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    Virginia’s Democratic legislators are convinced that citizens are happy to pay taxes for state services and will rebel at the polls if taxes are cut when there are “unmet vital needs.”  That is why they have so far resisted any and all proposals from Governor Glenn Youngkin and Republican legislators to split the state’s fat cash surplus between tax relief and more spending.

    So, why are those same Democrats not applauding the 2023 General Assembly’s failure to extend the state’s previous pre-school sales tax holiday? Shouldn’t the voters be happy to pay more for school supplies and clothes since the schools need the money? Instead they are joining the scramble to reinstate that tax break, open to all taxpayers, rich and poor.

    The good news is the Assembly’s incompetence (or was it an accident?) in letting the sales tax holiday lapse is providing another prod to keep Democrats at the table for tax policy discussions. Frankly, from a tax policy purist point of view, these tax holidays are not good policy, but they are wildly popular.

    That is because the sales and use tax is one people can see at the checkout counter. If you are saving $6-$7 on a Target run or Amazon bill, you notice. The other tax cuts under discussion – a higher standard deduction, a tweak to the income level that triggers the top income tax rate – only come up at tax-filing time, and if you use a computer program or outside accountant to file, you may never notice.

    The bad news is that now the General Assembly can come together and fix this oversight (if it was an oversight) and claim a victory for taxpayers. They will claim a bipartisan victory over something that leaves those taxpayers exactly where they were a year ago, no better off at all. From the beginning, the claim that nobody had put the sales tax holiday on the Assembly’s radar during the session has lacked credibility. If so, retailers need new lobbyists. (more…)

  • Lost Kids of Southwest Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Kingsolver, Barbara. Demon Copperhead.  Harper, 2022

     A review by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Barbara Kingsolver is an award-winning author who lives on a farm in Washington County, Virginia. Her latest novel, Demon Copperhead, is what she calls her “great Appalachian novel.” It was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year.

    Kingsolver grew up in Appalachia, in eastern Kentucky. After graduating from college in Indiana, she spent several years backpacking around Europe. Upon returning to the United States, she wanted to see the West, and ended up in Tucson. She says that she did not go to Arizona with the idea of settling there, but life happens. During her two decades there, she published several well-received novels. She began to feel the pull of Appalachia and, thus, several years ago, she and her family moved to a farm in Washington County. (more…)

  • Another Skirmish in the Book Wars

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Botetourt County resident demonstrates her opposition to proposed restricted access to library by juveniles. Photo credit: Cardinal News

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    After hearing from residents in two meetings demanding that LGBTQ+ material be removed from the county library, the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors has come up with a suggestion that, indeed, would put parents in charge, but would create great inconvenience for everybody involved.

    As reported by Cardinal News, the Board of Supervisors has recommended that the local library board adopt a policy requiring that all persons under 18 be accompanied by a parent or guardian while visiting a library branch. There would be an exception for 16- and 17-year olds who had written permission from their parents on file with the library.

    The result would be a great inconvenience for parents of kids younger than 16 who are not worried about the materials in the library. Likely, those kids would end up reading less.

    A better solution would be for those parents who do not want their children exposed to LGBTQ+ material to take on some responsibility themselves. Prohibit their children from going to the library or, as an alternative, accompany them to the library.

    Fortunately, the Board of Supervisors has little authority over the library. As the county attorney noted, public libraries are overseen by the Library of Virginia. It seems that the Board of Supervisors may have been doing a little posturing.

  • Nurse Staffing in Virginia Nursing Homes in July Ranked 49th in the Nation

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its national nursing home quality data for July.

    It provides summaries of nursing home performance for each state, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories.

    I sorted it for Reported Total Nurse Staffing Per Resident Per Day. I did that because Virginia’s lead nursing home lobbyist in January insisted, on video, to a hearing of an always-compliant General Assembly that the Commonwealth’s nursing homes be judged by that metric.

    In July, our nursing homes ranked 49th by their own preferred total nurse staffing measure. Nurse shortages are nationwide, so that fact cannot explain it.

    Those same nursing homes in those same data ranked 45th in total nurse turnover at 57.5% annually. Some of the worst individual Virginia nursing homes experience nearly 100% nursing turnover annually.

    That creates a vicious cycle.

    • Virginia has too many nursing homes that are understaffed, some by design;
    • Nurses quite naturally don’t like to work in them and, with many job options, will not remain in such places;
    • When staffing falls, nurses know it from CMS data or reputation and won’t take a job where they will be overworked and unable to provide optimum care to patients;
    • The understaffed nursing homes get worse.

    (more…)

  • Example Number 3,632 in the Decline of Local Newspapers in Virginia

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    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    The newspaper business in Virginia continues its rapid descent into well-earned oblivion.

    It is fair to disdain Donald Trump and hope that he is not our next president. Indeed, I have gone on record on BR with my views supporting that conclusion. This is an opinion blog.

    But there is, or should be, such a thing as standards in newspapers. News here. Opinion there.

    Many local newspapers now go too far as policy in a desperate attempt to survive. Or because the few remaining personnel simply don’t know any better. Or both. (more…)

  • Virginia Redefines Student Progress in Grades 3-8 for Distributing Federal School Improvement Funds

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on June 16th notified the federal Department of Education (USDOE) of its updated State Plan.

    Such updates are required annually to allow the states to receive federal school improvement funds appropriated for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as updated by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

    The change was designed under the Northam administration to give credit for the first time in Virginia to a school for the progress of any student who has:

    • failed two consecutive state assessments on SOLs or the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) test (eligible students with significant cognitive disabilities); but
    • does better in the current year than the previous one.

    It has been in the works for several years. This past school year was the second year of data collected under that system. That in turn provides comparable year-to-year data to show progress or lack of same for a student and the work of his or her school. Thus, the formula change will be implemented in the coming school year.

    The change was designed to help identify the schools in Virginia who most need the ESEA funding rather than repeated cycles of identifying the same schools with poor minority student populations without giving credit for such progress.

    It appears to be at least partially an attempt to improve morale — to give teachers in such schools credit for improvements with kids, say, who enter 5th grade unable to read but show progress on the next set of tests.

    I don’t know what effect it will have, but I believe it is a good thing to try.

    We’ll look at the entire process for distributing that particular pot of federal money in Virginia. (more…)

  • Big Donors Leave DeSantis and Turn to Youngkin

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Jeanine Martin

    Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign has failed to catch the attention of Republican voters. His support now hovers in the upper teens. DeSantis has recently fired one-third of his campaign staff. He is now losing major donors and many of them are turning to Governor Glenn Youngkin whose job approval is at an all-time high of 57%.

    Governor Youngkin’s fundraising efforts are also hitting all-time highs.

    Former DeSantis supporter billionaire businessman Thomas Peterffy is now backing Youngkin for President.

    From USAtoday.com:

    “I very much hope that he’s going to enter the race. People I speak to are all favorably inclined towards him,” Peterffy told Fox Business Wednesday. “If he entered, I think there would be tremendous enthusiasm.”

    According to The New York Times, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is also hoping for a Youngkin run for President.

    More from USAtoday.com:

    “In no uncertain terms, Rupert Murdoch made clear that Ron DeSantis is his golden boy, no longer,” Trump’s team wrote in a press release Tuesday.”

    “Wilbur Ross, former commerce secretary to Trump, will host top donors and party leaders at his Hamptons mansion Friday for “a chance to listen to Youngkin talk about how he’s going to take over the Virginia legislature,” according to the invitation.

    While explicitly not a fundraiser, the event gives key party figures the opportunity to meet the governor and potentially boost Youngkin’s national profile.

    How does Governor Youngkin respond to all of this support for a run for President?

    “It’s really humbling when people talk about 2024 and a national role for me. And I thank them, and then I reiterate that I’ve got a big job to do here,” Youngkin told USA TODAY.

    It seems there needs to be a Republican candidate who can gain the support of the voters as the candidate who can beat Trump in the primaries and any Democrat opponent he faces in 2024. With Youngkin’s high approval in the purple state of Virginia, and his fundraising skills, he just might be the candidate who can do it.

    Republished with permission from The Bull Elephant.

     

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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