Bacon's Rebellion

  • Why They Fought — and Deserve to be Remembered

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    Units descended from both Confederate and Union forces are now part of the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 138th Field Artillery Brigade. These campaign streamers, from the brigade’s colors, commemorate that service. Streamers with a gray top commemorate Confederate service, blue tops honor Union service.

    by Donald Smith 

    Soldiers go to war for many reasons — home, country, duty, glory, personal adventure. But, in the midst of battle, soldiers fight for their comrades — “the man to the left of me, the man to the right of me,” as the saying goes. Good soldiers are driven by an intense desire to not let their comrades down. That drive is one of the main reasons why Americans have always honored combat soldiers. Now, the United States Congress has arguably left out one segment of America’s past fighting force — Confederate soldiers — and indicated that those men don’t deserve the same level of respect from today’s military. (more…)

  • Unaffordable Housing, Redux

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    by Joe Fitzgerald

    Proposed housing construction in the city of Harrisonburg could add about 1,200 students to the Harrisonburg City Public Schools, with housing already under construction in Rockingham County possibly adding 400 more.

    A quarter of the 1,600 potential students could be absorbed by the opening of Rocktown High School, leaving the city to build however many new schools it takes to educate 1,200 elementary and middle school students.

    This projection is based on my using other people’s multipliers on a compilation by the invaluable Scott Rogers on HarrisonburgHousingToday.com. The housing count is Scott Rogers’; the school estimates are mine.

    The multipliers in question come from Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) and from Econsult Solutions Inc. (ESI). HCPS came up with its numbers based on who lives where in the city, and ESI does it for a living. They vary, somewhat. ESI thinks a townhouse will generate .52 students and the HCPS method forecasts .45 students.
    (more…)

  • Snow Day in April: Something in the Water

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    When the first Something in the Water Festival came to Virginia Beach in 2019, some lemon-sucking locals balked at allowing school buses to be used to transport revelers  from satellite parking to the resort area.

    How will bus drivers be able to drive festival goers until 11 p.m. on Sunday and be rested enough by Monday morning to safely transport kids, they fretted.

    As if bus drivers were toddlers who need 10 hours of sleep.

    What if the festival goers leave their drugs or guns on the buses and the kids find them on Monday morning? whispered others.

    Puh-leez. (more…)

  • Central State Hospital – the State’s Only Maximum Security Mental Health Facility, a Legacy of Jim Crow and Not Nearly Good Enough

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj



    By James C. Sherlock

    I have written often about the state of mental health support in Virginia. The Governor has a major initiative to improve it.

    But it does not go far enough.

    The state maximum security mental health facility at Central State Hospital needs to be disbanded and the duties dispersed across the state.

    The legacy of that hospital is indefensible, and carries over to today.

    The video published showing the death in Central State Hospital (CHS) of Irvo Otieno showed an almost entirely Black group of people — victim, sheriff’s deputies, and CHS staff.

    It turns out not to be an anomaly.

    Before integration, Central State was Virginia’s Black mental hospital.

    Based on records provided by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Central State Hospital, the state’s only mental hospital built to maximum security standards, is today:

    • a largely Black institution;
    • with a largely Black staff. Of 930 current staffers at CHS, 649 are Black; 77 are “other” races and 204 are White;
    • providing services to a largely Black patient population. Of 264 patients, 160 are Black, 80 white and 24 other races.

    That arrangement is not working, even it you think it should, because in the current location it cannot.

    And the victims of substandard treatment and their families, as in the death of Mr. Otieno, tend by the relative numbers of patients to be Black as well.

    (more…)

  • Partisan Takeover of the Electoral Process?

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    It appears that Republicans in some localities are moving to place the election machinery under partisan control.

    Before discussing the basis for this allegation, a little background might be useful.

    Each city or county has an electoral board consisting of three members. They serve three-year terms, with the terms staggered so that one term ends on December 30 each year. The members are appointed by the chief circuit judge of the locality, or his designee, from lists provided by the political parties that cast the highest and the next highest number of votes for Governor in the last gubernatorial election. Two members of each board shall be from the party that cast the highest number of votes for Governor in that election. However, no member’s term may be shortened to comply with the party representation requirement. All these provisions are set out in Sec. 24.2-106. (more…)

  • Is the Commanders Stadium Coming to Loudoun?

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    by Jeanine Martin

    The deal for Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder to sell the team to Josh Harris hasn’t even been inked and yet speculation begins again that the team may move to eastern Loudoun County.

    Supervisor Tony Buffington (R-Blue Ridge), is opposed to the stadium moving to Loudoun. He said today that he and his constituents do not want a stadium in Loudoun. However, Chairman of the Board Phyllis Randall is entertaining the idea.

    From the LoudounTimes.com:

    ‘We look forward to welcoming the Washington Commanders to the Loudoun County Board Room to share their vision of a new stadium as part of a multi-use development in an urban setting,’ Matt Rogers, Randall’s chief of staff, wrote in a statement to the Times-Mirror April 15.

    ‘Loudoun and the Commanders have enjoyed a long business relationship that has proven financially beneficial to both parties. An expansion of their football operations in Loudoun County is an idea we’re eager to discuss, provided that Loudoun County taxpayers will not experience a single cent of tax increase to finance a stadium,’ Rogers said.

    (more…)

  • Strategic Insanity Off the Coast of Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    As I warned in three columns in late December, the Pentagon has now objected to Department of the Interior plans to develop offshore wind farms along the central U.S. coast.

    It has warned that almost all of the areas planned for development of the huge turbines conflict with current military operations.

    That is the public pronouncement.

    DOD also knows that, because the wind farms are designed to provide a high percentage of the electric power on the East Coast grid, it will be charged to defend them against attack.

    And it knows that defending those sitting ducks clustered together in fixed positions in international waters against modern weapons is not just a problem, but as a practical matter impossible.

    But DOD apparently won’t admit that publicly. Yet. It is not clear that the Department of Homeland Security, with oversight of the Coast Guard, has even thought about it.

    But if the turbines are built, DOD and the Coast Guard will be tasked to try to protect them. Their defense can’t even be attempted without a cost to the defense budget that will dwarf both in acquisition and ongoing operating costs the cost of building and operating the fields themselves.

    The Navy and Coast Guard will need far more ships and the Navy more submarines, and the personnel to operate them, than they currently have.

    The additional resources will need to be used for defense of the wind farms, not to meet our under-resourced national defense obligations overseas.

    And the attempt will still fail against modern weapons. (more…)

  • Snow Angel Philosophy

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    by Joe Fitzgerald

    Snow angels or philosophers? It seemed like an easy choice to me. A James Madison University admissions official read the letters from a male who wrote about how well he understood the great philosophers and a female, from Ohio if memory serves, who wanted to know if she’d be able to make snow angels in Virginia. Easy choice. Somebody who’s read philosophy in high school is going to be better equipped to learn at a post-secondary level.

    The admissions official went with the snow angels. I don’t remember the adjectives she used but I remember thinking they didn’t have a lot to do with education.

    Only a moment, and a long time ago. My kid turns 34 next week, so it’s been a while since I had a reason to attend an admissions event.

    I think of that when I hear references to JMU’s selling points. The school has a rock wall, claims the best food service among Virginia’s colleges, and is the best-looking campus. (Ron Carrier said he loved mulch so much he’d roll around in it if he could; the last time I saw him he was spreading mulch in a public area, apparently because he could.) (more…)

  • The Strike at the AdvanSix Chemical Plant in Hopewell – A Complex Story

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    AdvanSix Chemicals Plant Hopewell Virginia Courtesy AdvanSix

    by James C. Sherlock

    We don’t see very many industrial strikes in Virginia.

    Regular readers know that I have often supported blue collar unions in the private economy.

    My family roots are linked to Pennsylvania coal mines. Those miners’ strongest claims were for their own safety. Followed very closely by their demands for living wages.

    I started researching the story of the current strike by unions representing some 340 workers at the AdvantSix chemical plant in Hopewell with a bias towards supporting the strike.

    Safety. I still do support it to the degree that they are striking for worker and plant safety. They reasonably want the company to prevent excessive overtime of current employees under inherently dangerous conditions that require close attention to detail.

    Hopewell employees tell stories of consecutive 18-hour shifts.

    They want the company to hire more workers to solve that.

    But that workforce is far more skilled — better educated and trained, and higher paid – than I assumed.

    AdvanSix has been unable to readily fill the jobs that they already advertise. It is hard to attract skilled workers to Hopewell. The company may need to cut production instead.

    Wages. I thought I would also support the union wage increase demands in excess of what the company has offered, but I have found that issue is complicated and the public does not have a clear picture of the differences. (more…)

  • Tuition Showdown May Be Approaching

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Christopher Newport University campus

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Virginia colleges and universities are saying that they will have to raise tuition for the next school year unless the General Assembly gives them more money.

    This is going to be fascinating to watch. Governor Youngkin has been able to get appointments to the boards of visitors, but not yet enough to constitute a majority for most. Most boards have three or four members whose terms expire June 30 of this year. With those appointments, some of the boards would have a majority of Youngkin appointees, but not all of them. Another factor is whether the current boards will wait for Youngkin to replace the members with expiring terms before taking action. After all, Democrats in the General Assembly have made it clear that there will be no action on any amendments to the budget until after the primaries in late June. The Virginia Tech board, for example, has scheduled a virtual meeting on April 21 to vote on tuition hikes (no public comment will be accepted). In any event, whenever the boards decide on tuition for next fall, it will be interesting to see how the Youngkin appointees vote. (more…)

  • Increasing Teacher Vacancy Rates

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    by Matt Hurt

    The teacher vacancy rate in the Commonwealth has become such a problem that the Virginia Department of Education created a database to track this problem. The Staffing and Vacancy Report found on the Education Workforce Data & Reports page of the VDOE website displays unfilled Virginia educator positions at the state, region, division, and school levels as of October of each year.

    This data was first published in 2021 and reported that approximately 3% percent of Virginia’s teaching positions were vacant at that time. Historically, few hires are made after the beginning of the school year, as all willing and eligible potential teachers have already been hired by that point. Anecdotally, I am aware of and have heard many more instances of teachers leaving throughout the year, whereas in the past most would wait until summer to leave the profession.

    When one compares the October 2021 teacher vacancy rates to the 2022 Standards of Learning (SOL) pass rates at the division level, that seemingly insignificant teacher vacancy rate statistically accounted for 26% of the variability in division SOL pass rates that year. In October 2022, the teacher vacancy rate across Virginia increased 26% percent to almost a 4% teacher vacancy rate. Given this increase, it is reasonable to believe that this problem will more significantly and negatively impact student outcomes this year than last.
    (more…)

  • Youngkin Pumping The Presidential Brakes

    Posted on

    by

    Robin Beres

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Looks like Gov. Glenn Youngkin may have some natural immunity to the presidential virus that seems to infect most Virginia governors.

    At one time or another it seems almost every Virginia governor has his head turned by the seductive intoxication of presidential or vice presidential ambition.

    Anyone else remember L. Douglas Wilder? He was elected governor in 1989 and his term ran from 1990 to 1994. By 1992, he was running for president as a Democrat, although Wilder dropped out before the primaries got underway.

    In 2010, Gov. Bob McDonnell was selected to give the GOP rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, a sign that he was being groomed by the national party for higher office, perhaps vice president in 2012. In fact, when Sen. Mitt Romney came to Norfolk that year to announce his choice for veep, many assumed it was going to be the popular Virginia governor from Virginia Beach.

    Instead, it was a head fake. Romney chose the USS Wisconsin as a backdrop to make his surprise announcement of Rep. Paul Ryan, from the Badger State’s 1st congressional district.

    At various times during their 4-year terms former Governors George Allen, Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine also were mentioned as top contenders for their party’s presidential ticket. In fact, Kaine ran with Hillary Clinton in 2016. Mike Pence filleted him in the single vice presidential debate, however. Kaine was virtually invisible for the rest of the campaign.

    There have been signs for weeks that, although he clearly flirted with the notion of running for president, Youngkin was pulling back. For instance, in the past couple of months several of his top political consultants, Jeff Roe and Kristin Davison, departed to join a DeSantis super-PAC.

    Well, once The New York Times weighs in, it must be official. Youngkin is tapping the “brakes” as The Times wrote this weekend in a piece headlined “Youngkin Gives 2024 Presidential Run the Cold Shoulder.” (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    From The Bull Elephant

  • Assault and Battery in Schools – Virginia Law and School Division Policies Make “Marks” of Principals

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    This is addressed directly to Virginia public school principals.

    You are compliant with current Virginia law whether you report assault and battery to police or do not.

    Bad law makes for bad policy.

    Depending upon your school division, your requirements may vary. A lot.

    In gambling, and this issue is a big gamble for you, if you don’t know who the mark is, it is you.

    The current law on reporting of assault and battery to police reflects a poorly conceived and poorly written attempt by Virginia Democrats in 2020 to break what they called the “school-to-prison pipeline.” They made reporting to police conditional upon on-scene medical and legal findings – by you.

    The Board of Education has done nothing to improve the matter. School divisions are all over the spectrum on what to do about reporting. You cannot carry out either the law or many of the school division policies without personal jeopardy. (more…)

  • Hmm. I think I’ll Stick with Google for Now

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon


    Supposedly, Microsoft is integrating ChatGPT artificial intelligence technology into its search results. I’m not sure how far along the tech giant is in this process, but what I’m seeing so far is not impressive.

    Just for yuks, I posed the following query to Microsoft’s Bing search engine: “What is causing the breakdown in discipline in Virginia public schools?”

    Here was the answer:

    According to a report by Bacon’s Rebellion, the root causes of disproportionate exclusionary discipline in Virginia public schools are bias and schools and their principals and teachers not aligned with progressive thinking¹. A 2020 report by Virginia Commonwealth University and Penn State found that school segregation by race and income was deepening in Virginia and that Central Virginia, including the Richmond metro area, reported “severe school segregation”³. Implicit bias is heavily implicated as a contributing factor when we analyze the causes of racial disproportionality in school discipline⁴. (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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