Bacon's Rebellion

  • Our Technology Future: SkyNet… or the Stone Age?

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    James A. Bacon

    I’m having a bad day. First I couldn’t figure out how to auto-post Bacon’s Rebellion posts to Facebook. OK, I’m technically challenged, so I’ll hire someone to do it. Then I updated WordPress, which I do know how to do, but all the comments disappeared. I didn’t know how to fix that but, thankfully, my Internet host provider did.

    Now my iPhone battery has died.

    It’s the old Can’t-fix-A-because-of-B, and Can’t-fix-B-because-of-C problem.

    To get a new battery installed, I went online to set up an appointment at the Richmond Apple Store. To set up an Apple store appointment, I needed to schedule an appointment online. When I tried to schedule an appointment, Apple asked for my username and password. I provided those. Then Apple required a double authentication. It wanted to send me a verification code to my iPhone. My iPhone was dead, so I couldn’t get the code.

    Apple offered these three alternatives: (more…)

  • Place, Class and Race and K-12 Educational Success in Virginia

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    In order to better understand the contributions of place, class and race on K-12 academic achievement in Virginia, I did a great deal of research over a period of several days and from it constructed a spreadsheet, Reading and Math Virginia 2018-2019 SOL results by State and Division by Subject by Subgroup.

    I have found the results very informative, even stunning. If you think you understand Virginia at this level of granularity, you may be surprised.

    My experiment (and the spreadsheet) is anchored by the bottom quartile of 133 Virginia counties and cities as ranked by health outcomes by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for 2020. Poor health outcomes not only represent a major obstacle for academic achievement, but are an excellent proxy for the relative poverty of that bottom quartile.

    I recorded English Reading and Mathematics 2018-2019 SOL results (Virginia Department of Education) among the public school students in each locality. Results are broken out by race, economic disadvantage, English Learners, gender and students with disabilities.

    I then listed for comparison the identical SOL results for Fairfax County, Arlington County, Loudon County and Falls Church City, unsurprisingly the top four Virginia localities in health outcomes.

    Finally, I compiled 2017 demographic information (U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Commerce) for three of these disadvantaged counties that had outstanding SOL scores. You will I think be astonished at some of those data standing alone, much less when put in context of the results in their public schools. (more…)

  • Will “Racial Healing” at GMU Foster More Racial Division?

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    The progressives’ imposition of identity politics on Virginia’s public universities continues apace. Hans Bader has already called attention to a July announcement by George Mason University’s new president, Gregory Washington, of a “Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence.”

    None of Virginia’s media outlets seem to have paid attention. Your humble correspondent decided to take a closer look at what is going on at GMU.

    As Washington acknowledged in announcing the task force, GMU “enters this national conversation with an admirable track record as a pace-setter of action for racial justice and truth-telling about our own past.” He cited the establishment of the Trust, Racial Healing and Transformation campus center, the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (“one of the nation’s very few schools dedicated to social justice and peace”) and the Enslaved People project to “fell the full truth of our university’s namesake.” He also noted that GMU hosts “Virginia’s largest and most diverse university student body.”

    But that’s not enough. The new task force will dig deeper, addressing: (more…)

  • Pardon Our Technical Glitch

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    James A. Bacon

    Note to readers: It seems that all the comments on Bacon’s Rebellion have disappeared. This is likely related to an update to our WordPress software I made this morning. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the source of the problem, much less how to fix it. I have summoned help from our web host provider, but it’s a weekend, so… who knows.

    We’ll get this problem resolved as soon as possible.

    — JAB

  • The Trash Tax Returns; Energy Price Hikes Ignored

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    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Proving once again how rare are the new ideas, Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed Special Session budget amendments resurrect a possible state-collected solid waste tipping fee, which crashed and burned in 2002 after being successfully tagged a “trash tax.”

    The proposal calls for a study to be completed by November 1, laying the groundwork to include the new levy and substantial revenue when the Governor tweaks the budget again before the 2021 Regular Session. When former Governor Mark Warner proposed this, at the Veto Session following the 2002 Regular Session, it would have raised an estimated $75 million annually.

    Frankly, what the language calls for (a plan) is something the Northam Administration can just do. By including this directive in the budget document, all the stakeholders are forewarned and forearmed. What’s the plan for the money? “The plan shall include recommendations for the amount and structure of any proposed fee, and recommendations for use of any revenue that may be generated from such fee.”    (more…)

  • Is There a Government Role for Rural Development?

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    James A. Bacon

    A scene from Dollywood, near Knoxville, Tenn.

    by James A. Bacon

    John Accordino, a planning professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been giving extensive thought to a perennial problem, the nation’s urban-rural divide. As author of a newly published article and State and Local Government Review, he provides a broad overview of his thinking in a Richmond Times-Dispatch column.

    Accordino sees the urban-rural divide — the divergence in incomes and job growth — as unhealthy for America’s economy, society and politics. And he thinks it is something that government intervention can address.

    I know John, and I think he is a very thoughtful guy. And I agree that there may be a limited role for government. But I am skeptical that the federal and state governments can be very helpful. The solutions, such as they are, must come from the bottom-up — from rural communities and local governments themselves.

    But before I get into that, let’s see what Accordino has to say. (more…)

  • Pressure Builds on Northam to Crank up Spending

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    In many ways Governor Ralph Northam has governed as a leftist-progressive Democrat bearing little resemblance to the moderate he proclaimed himself to be when he ran for office. He has expanded Medicaid, mandated a 100% carbon-free electric grid within 30 years, and turned over Virginia’s schools to zealots far more dedicated to expunging “systemic racism” than raising academic performance.

    The main exception to his hard tilt to the left has been fiscal policy. Although it’s impossible to describe Northam as a fiscal conservative — he has backed too many revenue-raising measures for that — it is fair to call him a fiscal moderate. Erring on the side of caution, the Governor built up the state’s cash reserves before the COVID-19 epidemic hit and used revenue sources of limited duration to pay for one-time spending initiatives rather than expanding ongoing programs.

    The question now is how long Northam can hold the line. As the Virginia Mercury writes today, many Democrats are saying that Northam isn’t spending nearly aggressively enough. Forecasting a $2.7 billion revenue shortfall in the two-year budget cycle, he’s not backing Democratic priorities like tuition-free community colleges, teacher pay raises and expanded health care access until the fiscal picture, clouded by the COVID-19 epidemic and recession, clears up. Writes Graham Moomaw: (more…)

  • Who Killed Barbara Jean Monaco?

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    I was alone in the newsroom on that August day in 1985. It was lunchtime and the editor’s phone was ringing incessantly.

    “Dougherty. Virginian-Pilot, Ledger-Star,” I said, reciting the five-word greeting I always used because I thought it made me sound like a hard-nosed reporter.

    “Hello,” began a polite woman on the other end of the phone. “My name is Pauline Monaco. I was wondering if the newspaper would consider writing another story about my daughter, Barbara Jean. She disappeared in Virginia Beach seven years ago. Your newspaper wrote a lot about her at the time.”

    I’d arrived at The Pilot just the summer before that fateful call. I’d never heard of this Monaco girl. I promised her mom I’d dig out the files and get back to her.

    Within a few hours of poring over yellowed clips and staring at the face of a cute teenager I had a new goal: I wanted to find out who killed this 18-year-old from Connecticut. (more…)

  • I Miss The GOP That Welcomed Bob Calhoun

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    Steve Haner

    The late Senator Bob Calhoun, R-Alexandria, with the very much still alive and kicking former Governor Douglas Wilder, in the Senate Chamber. Wilder might have been lieutenant governor at the time. Calhoun family photo attached to the obituary linked below.

    Former State Senator Bob Calhoun’s death on August 6 at age 83 is apparently only Alexandria local news so far, but he was such a colorful and useful member of the Senate that his passing needs more notice. The family is delaying any formal memorial services.

    Calhoun was funny, one very smart lawyer and an experienced government mandarin from the federal realm.  His expertise included transportation. He had a strong political base in Alexandria as councilman and then vice mayor, and when former Senator Wiley Mitchell told us he was stepping down, he strongly pointed to Bob as the next candidate. In his usual fashion I think he called me at the GOP Caucus office and said, “Bob or else.”  (more…)

  • REC Coop to Invest in Battery Storage

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    A battery storage facility: not nearly as photogenic as solar panels and wind turbines

    by James A. Bacon

    Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) is partnering with Charlottesville-based East Point Energy to install the first grid-scale battery-storage project by a Virginia electric cooperative.

    The project has a peak capacity of two megawatts and a duration of eight megawatt hours, enough to power about 1,000 homes for eight hours, the coop stated in a press release two days ago. REC provides electricity to 170,000 connections in portions of 22 Virginia counties.

    There has been much discussion about large-scale battery storage as a supplement to solar and wind power as Virginia moves to a carbon-free grid by 2050. In theory, batteries will be able to store excess electricity generated by the intermittent power sources and release it when the weather isn’t cooperating. But the aim of the REC energy-storage project, to be located in Spotsylvania County, is more modest. Anticipated benefits include: (more…)

  • Democrats Govern in the Dark

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Shaun Kenney

    Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, was greeted with this notification as he attempted to log in for virtual voting:

    Whoops.

    Garren Shipley with the House Republican Caucus was more direct:

    Former Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) raised the flag the highest and longest about what could only be described as a minor revolution in the House of Delegates, one that completely undermines the idea of representative government: (more…)

  • House GOP Refuses Per Diems, Dems Cling to the Loot

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Lemme get this straight.

    The Commonwealth of Virginia is facing a possible $2.7 billion shortfall over the next two years, due to lost revenue from the pandemic shutdowns.

    Yet, in the wake of this fiscal crisis, Democrats decided to award themselves a fat per diem – more than $200 a day it turns out – while working from home. The per diem is intended to be used by members for hotels and meals while in Richmond.

    Are House Democrats insane? Did they think Virginians wouldn’t notice this misuse of public funds?

    Worse, are these greedy politicians unaware that tens of thousands of Virginians remain unemployed and are struggling to support their families while they merrily slurp up extra tax dollars? The optics of this chicanery are obscene. (more…)

  • What About Those Folks Facing Eviction, Governor?

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    In his July 24 letter to the Chief Justice, the Governor requested the Supreme Court extend its moratorium on evictions.  He concluded his request by saying, “This [the moratorium] will provide my administration the time to both work with the General Assembly to develop and pass a legislative package that will provide additional relief to those facing eviction and to expand financial assistance for tenants through our rent relief program.”

    So, now that the General Assembly is in session, what has the Governor done for those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are facing eviction? The answer is: (1) some help in delaying evictions and (2) no help, so far, in getting the money needed to pay the rent. (more…)

  • Sixty School Districts Going All Online this Fall

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    James A. Bacon

    Source: Virginia Department of Education. Click for larger image

    With 132 school divisions across Virginia, it’s hard to keep track of which school districts are doing what this fall to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic. The Virginia Department of Education has published a map, which it will update regularly, showing who’s doing what.

    It turns out the 60 school districts, including those in the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Richmond metros, are going fully remote. Only a few rural counties are still planning to hold entirely in-person classes at this point.

    I’ve been pretty tough on VDOE leadership, but the department has done a good job with transparency. I don’t know whose idea it was to compile and publish this data, but to whomever you are… kudos.

    — JAB

  • Stoney Didn’t Comply with State Procurement Rules Either

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    No Department of General Services records that the City of Richmond filed documentation of the statue-removal contract with the state.

    by James A. Bacon

    The defense of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s awarding of a $1.8 million statue-removal contract to a campaign supporter — that he followed state emergency procurement law, even if he didn’t abide by the City of Richmond’s law — has no basis in fact.

    Stoney’s defenders have argued that the public health and safety were at stake when protesters were trying to tear down the statues, and the Mayor had to act decisively. Stoney executed the contract in compliance with state law that permits the local director of emergency management to forgo “time-consuming procedures or formalities” when awarding contracts during an emergency, Betty Burrell, the city’s director of procurement, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch two days ago.

    “Were it possible to pursue a traditional procurement, the mayor would have done so, but circumstances required him to pursue a different legal avenue,” said the mayor’s spokesman Jim Nolan. “This decision was fully within his authority, and he stands by it.”

    There’s just one problem with this line of argument: Stoney did not comply with state procurement law. The law does not give local officials a blank check; it requires them to leave a public record of their actions. (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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