Bacon's Rebellion

  • DPU Billing Mess: You Can’t Thrive Without Crossing the “T”

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Jon Baliles

    A tall building surrounded by flying papers marked with overdue utility bills, set against a clear blue sky.
    AI-generated image: Grok

    The city’s Department of Public Utilities had perhaps their worst week since the January 2025 water crisis this past week (the May boil water advisory is close) and, like the big crisis, it may last a while and require an after action report to figure out just what happened to keep it from happening again. We have commended Mayor Avula and DPU Director Scott Morris for righting the ship when it comes to the reliability of the water plant to function as intended and the city’s ability to keep the water flowing since the crisis. They took a deserved victory lap in January about how much progress had been made and the water plant endured through one the nastiest ice storms we have seen in decades (unlike the two inch snowstorm that brought the water plant down when less competent people were in charge).

    But just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the city suffered another self-inflicted wound in the last month. They tried to get their error past the goalie without anyone getting wise, but the people of Richmond were watching and paying attention, as they usually are. Instead realizing the mistake and proactively dealing with the mess they created and get out ahead of it, the city tried to keep the problem silent. It began on May 21 when the city issued a press release about DPU transitioning to new back office systems “to improve customer service operations and streamline field service management for utility customers across the city.”

    You may recall back in November 2025 DPU was dealing with billing issues related to about 5,000 customers in Southside with faulty meter readings after new and updated meters had been installed. Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald said issues and problems can always arise, but also pledged:

    “Our goal is to deliver best in class service to our customers. Service rises to elite status, when we proactively correct issues and our customers can have confidence that we will do what it takes to get it right. This small adjustment is the first step in building that transparency and trust with our customers.”

    (more…)

  • Spanberger Retreats on Weed Market to Get Budget

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    Steve Haner

    by Derrick A. Max

    Governor Abigail Spanberger announced her support for a deal to create a legal retail cannabis market in Virginia — only weeks after vetoing a bill to do much the same thing.

    That should give Virginians pause.

    Virginia has yet to pass a budget and is only two weeks from a government shutdown. While lawmakers were still deadlocked over the data center tax exemptions, the governor announced that she is now prepared to accept a retail marijuana market as a part of the budget package — weeks after vetoing a similar cannabis bill. That makes the proposal look less like a carefully crafted framework and more like a legislative sweetener to weaken the opposition of Senator L. Louise Lucas, who is both a vocal supporter of marijuana legalization and the owner of the Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth, VA. 

    When the governor vetoed the earlier cannabis legislation, she said that the bill needed stronger protections for children, clearer enforcement authority, more resources for product testing and inspections, better tools to shut down illicit operators, and a regulatory system that would put public safety first.

    Those were not minor objections.

    Now, with a government shutdown threatened, the governor says those concerns have been sufficiently addressed. The new cannabis agreement would allow retail cannabis sales beginning in July 2027, authorize hundreds of retail licenses, increase the legal possession limit, impose new state and local taxes, regulate intoxicating hemp products, and direct some revenue toward education, substance-abuse prevention, public health, and equity programs.

    (more…)

  • Is Virginia Swimming Against the Tide on Illegal Immigration?

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Look what’s happening in Europe.

  • Paving the Way for Permanent Democratic Rule

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    by

    James A. Bacon

  • School Abortion Claims Found Baseless

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Following up on allegations made in a previous column in Bacon’s Rebellion, we bring an article in FFX Now to readers’ attention.

    A Senate committee and Virginia State Police have concluded their separate investigations into a Centreville High School teacher’s claims that school staff facilitated abortions without parental consent, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said this week.

    “Neither investigation found any evidence of wrongdoing or any need for further action,” Reid wrote in a letter to the school’s staff and families. 

    Teacher Zenaida Perez had alleged that staff had “helped the students, who were minors, obtain abortions without the consent of their parents or guardians—in violation of Virginia law—using school funds. “

    Note: The newspaper article does not contain links to either the U.S. Senate committee or Fairfax reports and relies upon Reid’s characterization of the findings.

  • Getting Control of Nursing Home and Autism-Treatment Chains

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    sherlockj

    Getting Control of Nursing Home and Autism-Treatment Chains

    by James C. Sherlock

    Virginia is awash with out-of-state nursing home and behavior-analysis chains operating as LLCs. Our state regulators know little to nothing about them and have no control over their presence in Virginia because they are not licensed by those regulators.

    The problems we are experiencing in both industries are centered on rogue chains.

    • Individual nursing homes are licensed, inspected, and regulated, but not their chains.
    • In the booming applied-behavioral analysis business, behavioral-health companies are not regulated at all, just individual providers. Physical behavioral-health centers are not even inspected. Telehealth services in general are a problem that DMAS is trying to address with individual providers. But chains employ a lot of them.

    After a dozen years of investigating major scandals in those industries, this author has concluded that Virginia must change course.

    The ongoing scandals in both industries indicate they must be brought under tighter regulation. A standard LLC

    • Can be owned by anyone;
    • Files a registration with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) Clerk’s office to do business in the state; and
    • Shields owners from the company’s general business debts and liabilities.

    Registration with the SCC provides little information about LLCs and none about their members.

    We will examine how the state might proceed to establish regulatory control of chains organized as LLCs in problematic medical services industries.

    (more…)

  • The Governor Knows How to Throw Some Sharp Elbows

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    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Governor Abigail Spanberger

    All governors have ceremonial “signing” events for legislation that has already been officially signed into law. The purpose is to highlight both the legislation and its patrons.

    On June 16, Gov. Spanberger had a ceremony in Richmond in which she signed a batch of bills relating to gun violence. As she signed each bill, she announced the bill number, the patron, and the purpose of the bill. After she signed it, she held it up for a photo op with the patron and presented the signed bill in a special folder, along with a ceremonial pen, to the beaming patron. The video of the entire ceremony, along with her opening remarks, can be found here. (The actual signings begin at about the 42:30 mark.)

    According to a report in the Virginia Political Newsletter, a member of Spanberger’s staff approached Sen. Mike Jones (D-Chesterfield) and Sen. Russert Perry (D-Fairfax), who were waiting in the audience, before the ceremony began and informed them that their bills (SB 727 and SB 160, respectively) would not be among the bills being “signed” by the governor that day. The reason was that both Senators had appeared with Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, at stops on her recent “listening tour” in which she tried to drum up public support for her proposal to repeal the sales tax exemption on equipment for data centers. The senators left the meeting before it began.

    This action does not have any effect on the legislation itself. The governor earlier officially signed them, and they will become law on July 1.  =But their patrons will not have a glossy photo of themselves with a beaming Gov. Spanberger holding up a copy of their bill.

  • Strangling the Goose

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    An elderly woman with silver hair is holding a large goose while sitting on a patterned rug. Surrounding her are several golden eggs scattered across the floor.
    We don’t need no stinkin’ golden eggs. AI-generated image credit: Grok

    Question posed to Microsoft CoPilot : How much tax revenue do data centers generate in Virginia? How is that revenue split between state and local government?

    Answer: State tax revenue from data centers: ≈ $1.5 billion annually

    The Northern Virginia Technology Council’s 2026 economic impact report finds that data centers contributed over $1.5 billion in annual state tax revenue in 2025.

    This includes:

    • Corporate income tax
    • State sales/use taxes except the exempted equipment
    • Individual income tax from data‑center employees
    • Other state‑level business taxes

    Local tax revenue: ≈ $1.3 billion (property taxes alone)

    The same NVTC report finds about $1.3 billion in local property taxes in Northern Virginia alone, even after incentives.

    (more…)

  • Virginia on the Brink

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    With Virginia’s top two Democrat females mud wrestling in Richmond, it’s time to think about what a Virginia state government shutdown might look like.

    With 13 days to get a budget, the unthinkable may actually happen: Virginia government may shut down because the Democrats fundamentally don’t like each other.

    None of us know exactly what to expect because it’s never happened before. Best of all, according to news reports, Gov. Abigail Spanberger has not made plans for the looming shutdown.

    This is what passes for Democrat leadership.

    It’s actually delicious. Democrats control both houses of the General Assembly and the Governor’s Mansion and it turns out they can’t govern.

    Frankly, I’m here for every minute of the rancor. The primary division is on the issue of tax breaks for data centers. The governor supports them, so does Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott. Continue reading.

  • Virginia Democrats Are in Serious Trouble

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    State Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) announces a Democratic “Civil War” over the budget, while nationally Democrats aren’t exactly pivoting well.

    A giant blue donkey with a radioactive symbol stands menacingly in a chaotic urban setting, while panicked people flee from it in terror.
    Image credit: Chat GPT

    by Shaun Kenney

    Let’s start with the basics.

    As of this moment, the generic congressional ballot is D+5. Which isn’t great for Republicans. Yet when compared to other midterm elections? Democrats enjoyed a D+10 environment in 2018 and a D+11 environment in 2006.

    This is the problem with the race to the bottom. For as radioactive as Democrats have made Trump in the public eye, ignored is the fact that the only thing more unpopular than Trump in the eyes of the American public are the Democrats themselves. Unwilling or unable to sideline their own progressive base, Democrats have to hope that they can convince enough people that Republicans are slightly more dangerous and crazy.

    Which is — of course — dangerous and crazy.

    In the pages of The Atlantic, whose contempt for intellectual insight is seconded only by its devotion to the partisan screed, the navel gazers are still amazed and in wonderment that the tagline “save democracy!” simply isn’t convincing middle America:

    (more…)

  • Blue on Blue: Scott vs Lucas

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

  • Judge Denies Motion to Compel Abigail Spanberger to Testify in Defamation Case

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Tyler O’Neil

    A Richmond judge denied two motions against the Democrat Party of Virginia and Gov. Abigail Spanberger Monday in a defamation case, and the plaintiff told the Daily Signal that he plans to appeal the decisions.

    “I will be appealing these decisions,” Thomas Speciale, a retired Army intelligence officer and a former Republican U.S. Senate candidate, told the Daily Signal outside the courtroom of the Richmond City Circuit Court.

    Speciale sued the Democratic Party of Virginia for allegedly defaming him. The party issued a press release on Nov. 3, 2022, claiming that Speciale “attacked the U.S. Capitol” on Jan. 6, 2021, and suggesting that he “bloodied and beat law enforcement officers.” Speciale, who vehemently contests both claims, sued in 2023, and in the course of discovery, he found that then-U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s 2022 reelection campaign had drafted the press release.

    “The press release defames me, stating that I was a ‘notable insurrectionist who attacked the United States Capitol’ and that I ‘bloodied and beat law enforcement,’” Speciale previously told the Daily Signal. “The truth is the exact opposite—I was warning the government of possible violence at the National Counterterrorism Center and the FBI, and I was there trying to stop potential violence on January 6th.”

    (more…)

  • Teacher Pipeline Programs Infiltrated by the Southern Poverty Law Center

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A workforce solution has been turned into a social justice factory to indoctrinate children.

    "Woke" Indoctrination written in white chalk on a blackboard.

    by Victoria Manning

    Grow Your Own (GYO) teachers’ programs around the nation that receive federal funding have been hijacked by leftist extremist groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). To tackle the national teacher shortage, school districts have implemented teacher training programs in high schools often in partnership with local colleges. Many of these programs have been infiltrated by outside groups with social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agendas.

    In GYO programs, high school students can take dual-enrollment courses that give them a boost toward a degree path to becoming a teacher. Often local districts will guarantee a job to these students who successfully complete their program and go on to earn a degree.

    It’s a great idea that’s gone astray from its original purpose. Instead, teachers are being indoctrinated in social justice and political agendas that are then used in K-12 classrooms across the country.

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  • Perhaps the Governor Can Lead Campaign Finance Reform

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    sherlockj

    Perhaps the Governor Can Lead Campaign Finance Reform

    by James C. Sherlock

    Organizing for Virginia Seniors, a pop-up PAC formed by New Jersey nursing home chain owners with uniformly awful facilities in Virginia, gave Gov. Spanberger $100,000 with a check written to her “Inaugural Committee” the day before the General Assembly met.  

    This author wrote about that donation in January and asked that she return it because of its source. Good luck with that.

    It appears that Virginians are inoculated against outrage at corruption among our state politicians. The politicians are, in turn, inoculated against caring what we think. They believe that campaign finance reform is for losers. Losers don’t get to have Inaugural Committees.

    November 4 was election day. Spanberger Inaugural Committee 2026 was established on November 5.  

    Once everyone knew who had won, the biggest donors to the Inaugural Committee were a different group from the biggest donors to Spanberger for Governor. The newcomers clearly felt the need to back a winner and correctly figured there was a list somewhere that they needed to be on.

    (more…)

  • Fairfax Schools’ Pricey Legal Advice Disguised as ‘Independent Investigation’

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora

    Foggy view of the Fairfax County Public Schools Administration Center with flags in front.
    Fairfax County Public Schools main office. Image credit: Grok

    Earlier this year, 13 girls attending Fairfax High School told school administrators that Israel Flores Ortiz, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador attending the school as a junior, groped their genitals in the hallway as they were transitioning between classes.

    In April, Ortiz was sentenced to 360 days in jail for multiple counts of assault and battery. 

    Following Ortiz’s arrest and the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement of a Title IX investigation into the district, Fairfax County Public Schools leaders hired McGuireWoods to conduct a comprehensive review of this matter. As the district signed a contract with the law firm agreeing to pay lawyers up to $1,850 per hour, Superintendent Michelle Reid—who earns $445,353 this year—told the public that the district retained “an independent outside law firm to conduct a comprehensive review of this matter.”  

    The district’s contract with McGuireWoods, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, suggests that the investigation is not “independent” nor for the purposes of public accountability.

    (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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