NEW: Raccoon gets drunk at an ABC liquor store in Ashland, Virginia, and passes out in the bathroom.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 2, 2025
Hanover County Animal Protection says the raccoon "ransacked" the store before passing out next to the toilet.
"Officer Martin safely secured our masked bandit and transported… pic.twitter.com/PqDl23pymp
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Released Without Charges
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The SCC Decides: Dominion’s Rates and Profits Go Up, New Rules on Data Centers
by Steve Haner,
The massive data centers behind a growing energy crunch in Virginia will begin to pay substantially more for electricity in Dominion Energy’s territory, but not until 2027. The State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) approval of a new rate structure for the largest users will probably only intensify debates about what is their “fair share.”
On November 25, the Commission issued its final order on a Dominion general rate review, approving the new GS-5 rate class for the large digital customers and a general rate increase for all customers. It was the same day the SCC approved another Dominion application, this one to build a contested natural gas generation plant in Chesterfield County.
It wrapped up the first general review of the utility’s revenues, profits and operating rules since the 2023 General Assembly had relaxed some of the mandates it had imposed to protect the utility’s profits. At the time, the Thomas Jefferson Institute praised the discretion returned to the SCC, but warned it would not lower customer costs, despite promises to that effect. The coming price hikes might have been worse, however, without that added independence.
The bottom line for consumers is their bills will rise as of January 1 and then will rise again a year later. Over 2026 and 2027, the utility can collect more than $1.3 billion more from its 2.8 million customers through higher base rates. The SCC also approved an increase in the utility’s authorized profit margin, from a 9.7 to 9.8 percent return on equity.
For a residential consumer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, a typical month for many, the base rate will rise $11.24 on January 1 and another $2.36 on January 1, 2027. There will be comparable cost increases in the customer categories for businesses of all sizes, as well. The rising cost of doing business usually ends up adding to prices for the customers of those businesses.
The higher authorized return on equity will also apply to all the utility’s various rate adjustment clauses, such as the separate charges it imposes to pay for the offshore wind construction, all the recent solar projects it has added and now the approved Chesterfield County natural gas generator. The Chesterfield project will also spark a price hike next month, initially another 60 cents per 1,000 kWh but quickly rising to over $2.
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The “Gay Marriage Amendment” Does Much More Than Protect Gay Marriage
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AI Comes For That All-Important Christmas Card Photo
by Kerry Dougherty
Every summer I beg my family to pose for a group shot on the beach wearing Santa hats.
It would be such a cute Christmas card picture, I insist.
They stubbornly refuse to cooperate, so I’m stuck trying to get that perfect picture four weeks before Christmas.
It never works. Someone closes their eyes, someone looks away, someone else frowns.
As we move into the holiday season lots of folks have the same simple dream. They long for a single family photograph where the whole gang is looking at the camera. Smiling in unison and in matching clothes without stains. And wouldn’t it be nice if the family dog wasn’t admiring his private parts at the very moment the shutter clicks?
Too much to ask?
Not any more.
The Wall Street Journal’s tech editor, Nicole Nguyen wrote a piece yesterday headlined, “I Fixed My Bad Family Photos. Here’s How to Do It—and When to Stop. New AI-powered tools from Google, Adobe, Apple and others can improve group shots and fun selfies. They can also make them terrifying.”
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About Those Jobs Americans Don’t Want to Do….
How many are jobs the American education system just isn’t training them to do?
How many of the jobs that Virginians “don’t want to do” are jobs that Virginia’s K-12 system doesn’t prepare them for?
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Gas Approval Infuriates a Huge Donor to Democrats, Elates Another
by Steve Haner,
Rendering of Chesterfield project from Dominion’s public website. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) was able to approve Dominion Energy Virginia’s application for a needed natural gas generation facility because the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) includes a safety valve. If energy reliability is threatened, the prohibitions on natural gas at the heart of that law can be waived.
One of the largest donors to the new Democratic political trifecta soon to take power in Richmond quickly threatened to seek that provision’s removal from the law. In response to the SCC’s November 25 final order in favor of the Chesterfield County plant, the activist and lobbying group Clean Virginia wrote: “If this is the decision the Commission came to under existing rules, then it is upon Virginia’s elected leaders to better align these rules with the interests of all Virginians.”
Clean Virginia gave more than $5 million to Democratic candidates in the November 4 election, half of that total to the newly elected governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Lieutenant Governor-elect Gazala Hashmi ($300,000 from Clean Virginia) quickly put out her own statement complaining the Commission was “ignoring the Commonwealth’s policy on environmental justice, endangering the public health and safety…” Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger ($1.2 million from Clean Virginia) did not issue a statement.
An even larger donor responsible for helping Democrats take complete political control will be on the other side of any effort to skuttle that part of the VCEA. Dominion gave $8.7 million to the party’s candidates, with the money targeted to members of the legislature. Speaker of the House Don Scott of Portsmouth and his political committee received $2.35 million from Dominion.
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Jeanine’s Memes
See more memes at The Bull Elephant
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Bacon Meme of the Week
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Apology
I have deleted a post, based upon a tweet on X, highlighting the teaching of a course on “whiteness” at the University of Virginia based on an article in UVA Today. That article was published in 2014, hence irrelevant to current-day controversies. Thanks to commenter Irrwuz for pointing that out. I am embarrassed by the oversight. My apologies to readers. — JAB
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Cultural Imperialism in Fairfax County
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Derangement Update
John Wilson Bennett (left) and Mark Booth Bennett From The Virginia Mercury:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced the arrests of two Virginia brothers accused of plotting violent attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — a case that immediately drew national attention amid the ongoing immigration crackdown and heightened threats against federal law enforcement.
John Wilson Bennett and his brother, Mark Booth Bennett, both U.S. citizens, were taken into custody last week.
According to DHS, the investigation began Nov. 17 after an off-duty Norfolk police officer overheard the men discussing plans to “kill police officers and ICE agents.” Authorities say Mark Bennett also talked about meeting “likeminded individuals” in Las Vegas to buy firearms equipped with explosive rounds.
John Bennett has served as Assistant Principal of Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach since 2009.
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A Thanksgiving Tribute to Governor Youngkin
Image credit: Grok by Srilekha Reddy Palle
This Thanksgiving, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Governor Glenn Youngkin and his administration. My passion for politics and policymaking intensified significantly during his campaign, and I am proud to say I was among those who believed in him even before the primaries. During those early days, I introduced him to the Indian American community and later to the broader Asian American community.
During the height of the TJ Coalition efforts—when many parents and community members were closely watching merit-based education issues—I arranged a meet-and-greet for him at TEJ Restaurant in Herndon. At that event, I asked him directly: If you win the election, will you appoint us to the Asian Advisory Board so that we can continue advocating for these issues?
He gave his word — and he kept it. I remain deeply grateful that he appointed me to the Board, demonstrating once again that promises made are promises kept, just as we have seen with President Trump.Hundreds of thousands of parents in Northern Virginia supported Governor Youngkin because he championed a return to merit-based principles in education, jobs, and public institutions. His leadership ensured that race-based divisiveness did not deepen — and for that, we are thankful.
Despite serving his entire term with a Democrat-controlled General Assembly, he delivered strong, measurable results, including:
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No, Health Care Is Not a “Fundamental Right”
Bernie Sanders isn’t “lying,” as Delegate Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, says here. The Vermont socialist believes what he says. Rather, he’s confused about what constitutes a “fundamental right.” However, Freitas nails it when he explains that a fundamental right such as free speech, freedom of religion, etc., does not entitle you to the property and labor of others without which government-sponsored healthcare is impossible. — JAB
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Let’s Hope the Fiscal Prudence Lasts
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Publication of 2024 “Crime in Virginia” Data a Half Year Late
Source: Virginia State Police as of November 26. For years the Virginia State Police has published its annual “Crime in Virginia” report each May detailing the number of violent crimes, non-violent crimes, arrests, hate crimes, officer-involved shootings, and other crime-related data for the commonwealth. Then something strange happened last year: The 2023 report came out late — in August, as I recall.
This year, something even stranger is occurring. Here it is, nearly December, and the 2024 report has yet to be released. What the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on?
I asked Robin Lawson, public relations director for the Virginia State Police, why the report has not been released. Her response:
“It is still under review by Administration.”I’m sure Lawson is just repeating what she’s been told, but this is totally unacceptable.
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