Bacon's Rebellion

  • A Trusted Source Crawls Out on a Political Limb

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    One nice thing about detailed economic prognostication is that the predictions can later be checked and compared to reality. But the grim forecast for Virginia produced recently by the Weldon-Cooper Center for Public Service will have done its political damage long before the results are tallied.

    The predictions of job losses and at best a flat state economy for 2026 were highlighted on the Richmond Times-Dispatch front page and gave Cardinal News editor Dwayne Yancey fodder to predict it will hurt Republicans in the coming election. The spin will intensify when Democratic campaign messaging kicks in, with a heavy dose of blame placing on President Donald Trump.

    Weldon-Cooper has long been the trusted repository of key economic and U.S. Census data. It has earned quite a bit of brand impact and that is why this report is potent political ammunition.

    Weldon-Cooper is new to the economic forecasting game. It started publishing what is planned to be a quarterly analysis in February, “as a useful resource for the good of the Commonwealth.” The rule on economic models is the same as on all the others out there: all models are wrong, but some models are useful. Many economists count themselves as good at predictions if they successfully call four of the next two recessions.

    Weldon-Cooper is not displaying any genius in predicting that federal government layoffs and the wave of new tariffs will have a disproportionate impact on Virginia. Virginia is home to major federal agencies, huge federal contracting operations, and a major deep channel port.  

    But this new August report is already proving its April report was too pessimistic. The April report predicted Virginia would lose 32,000 jobs overall during 2025 and the August report has already retreated and now predicts 11,700 fewer jobs this year. Too late however — the higher 32,000 figure is already highlighted in Democratic attack ads on Republicans and expect it to stay there despite Weldon-Cooper’s downward revision.

    (more…)

  • Will Richmond Tackle Corruption or Pretend It Doesn’t Exist?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Jon Baliles

    A chaotic scene inside a city hall office, with startled officials reacting to scattered papers flying around, depicting a sense of urgency and confusion.
    Image credit: Bing Image Creator

    Inspector Generals are (and should be) vital cogs in any governmental or organizational machine. Many federal agencies have them, state governments use them, and local governments depend on them. They bring to light the waste, fraud, and abuse that can permeate and be hidden so well at the local level they aren’t caught for years, and deprive localities of millions of dollars that could be used for needed city services.

    Take for example the ongoing case in Richmond where Reginald Thomas, a former employee, over the course of several years set up three fake businesses and used city credit cards and purchase orders. The news of that scandal at City Hall, however, broke not from the release of an Inspector General (IG) report but because of Samuel Parker at the Times-Dispatch.

    When Parker first reported the story in May, he had uncovered almost $840,000 in highly questionable expenses (like $75,000 for custom cabinets). In June, Parker kept digging and reported the amount of alleged fraud had grown to $2 million that began in 2017 and apparently went undetected for eight years. Now that it is a known story and in the media but there are still invoices to be examined and uncovered and that amount could easily pole vault past $2 million. The city cut Parker’s FOIA requests off after that, but recently agreed to again allow him to examine other invoices related to the spending — but only after the Times-Dispatch sent a copy of a lawsuit they were preparing to file against the city.

    That is why the not-so-distant history of the IG office and the recent turmoil this summer is something the city simply cannot afford to continue. IG Jim Osuna was fired/resigned/relieved by City Council in May at a surprise personnel meeting with no explanation or comment. This week, the latest news is that Craig Johnson, the former Deputy IG, is no longer with the city and, once again, no one knows why (personnel decisions are usually not commented on) and unsurprisingly, no one on City Council responded for comment.

    (more…)

  • Selling JMU to Itself

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Academic department puts million-dollar mark on football field

    by Joe Fitzgerald

    Aerial view of James Madison University's football field, showcasing the field's markings, including the JMU logo at center field and 'DUKES' at the end zone.
    Image credit: Helix Steel

    There either is or should be a rule that says if your organization is doing something that makes absolutely no sense to most of the people outside and many of the people inside, you should explain it better or do it differently.

    Specifically, if one of your academic departments is paying a million dollars to the athletic department to advertise on the football field, you might want to explain it as more than a partnership. But first, you’d have to figure out what it is.

    Paraphrasing the Daily News-Record story, with sponsorship logos on the playing surface now allowed by the NCAA, the JMU School of Professional and Continuing Education had purchased the right to place its logo at each 25-yard line at Bridgeforth Stadium. JMU SPCE will pay JMU athletics $1,066,675 total through the 2028-29 academic year.

    Images in JMU’s marketing of this deal show just the name of the SPCE painted on the field. Nothing about what the school does or what it can do for the average football fan. Just the name.

    (more…)

  • Another Violent Immigrant Caught

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    On August 8, ICE officers arrested and detained another violent immigrant in the Richmond area. Arman Momand, a 19-year old rising senior at Henrico’s J.R. Tucker High School, had been charged by Henrico police with reckless driving, evading police, and driving without a license following a driving incident last December. However, the Commonwealth’s attorney had downgraded some of the charges and dropped others. He pled guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and reckless driving charges, with no jail time ordered by the judge.

    He was arrested by ICE shortly after his court appearance and eventually transferred to a detention facility near Farmville.

    These intrepid officers did not let the fact that Momand was in the United States legally deter them from protecting Henrico citizens from this dangerous criminal. He has a special visa granted for his family’s help to the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

    Henrico citizens can sleep better knowing that this violent criminal has been caught and detained.

  • All Dominion’s Solar Plants Are Failing Their Energy Promises

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    The average number of minutes Dominion customers lost power in 2023, compared to various peer utilities, including Appalachian Power and PEPCO. Source: SCC testimony

    by Steve Haner

    Every solar facility in Dominion Energy Virginia’s expanding fleet of silicone panels is failing to perform up to its initial energy promises, according to a State Corporation Commission staff analysis.  In many cases the shortfalls are dramatic. 

    The data popped up in testimony that is part of the utility’s application for a base rate increase. There are dozens of issues in that pending case, set for a public hearing September 2. One issue is whether the company has earned a bonus on its profit margin due to good performance, and the SCC staff has recommended it not get it, in part because of the poor solar performance.

    Neil Joshipura of the SCC staff wrote in his testimony:

    Based on the data provided, all of the Company’s solar facilities had average actual capacity factors that were lower than their respective design capacity factors. The absolute differences between the design and actual values ranged from 1.2 to 10.3 percentage points, with an average difference of 4.3 percentage points. Piney Creek Solar had the largest absolute difference; its design capacity factor was 22.6 percent, while its actual capacity factor for 2024, the only year with available data, was 12.3 percent. This represents a 48 percent shortfall relative to the design value.

    Capacity factor is a measure of how often a power plant produces electricity, and it is never 100% over time. When the plant is advertised as producing 100 megawatts or 500 or more, that is the nameplate value at 100%. That must then be multiplied by the capacity factor, and in the case of solar fields here in Virginia, that capacity factor is a very low number, usually below 25%. 

    (more…)

  • Virginia Feminists Resist the Gender Borg

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Margot Heffernan

    It’s a dangerous time to be a woman, a female, regardless of age. I’ll tell you why: “Transgenderism,” the grand ideology that has corrupted virtually every corner of our society is a straight up threat to everyone, but especially to women and girls.

    It is a lie, a hoax, a jacked-up scam promoted by medical societies and corporations alike, a dangerous scheme that goads the most vulnerable into believing that their troubles are caused by a misalignment between one’s sex and a mythical  “gender identity.”

    And, no, Virginia, Loudoun County has not gotten the message. In fact, the commonwealth represents a microcosm of the problem writ large as scandal after scandal brings more real-world harm to women and girls each day in Loudoun and four other counties that define northern Virginia.

    Hysterical? Overblown? Hyperbole you say? No, no, and no again.

    When Governor Ralph Northam released the original set of “Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools” in 2021, red flags were raised by those concerned about women’s rights and private spaces. These policies crush the material reality of human biology by elevating the illusory concept of gender over sex.

    (more…)

  • Virginia’s Unaffiliated Numbers

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    And the limits of partisanship

    A cartoon character in a suit, sitting at a desk while writing and using a calculator, with dollar signs above indicating a focus on finances.

    by Gordon C. Morse

    He’s at least consistent.

    And so is the press.

    Gov. Glenn Youngkin told General Assembly members last week that Virginia’s economy is as strong as ever and concerns that federal employment reductions (thanks to the Trump administration) would drag down Virginia’s overall fiscal condition were exaggerated.

    Every news story that followed – as best I can tell – expressed skepticism and, let’s face it, it ain’t skepticism at all. It’s flat out political opposition. The uniformity of press opinion, as expressed in the news columns (not the opinion spaces) is stunning.

    “Rosy picture,” reported the Virginia Mercury.

    “Rose-colored,” said the Associated Press.

    “Looks rosy,” declared the Virginia-Pilot.

    “Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously. Moses he knowses his toeses aren’t roses, as Moses supposes his toeses to be!”

    Those are lyrics from “Singing in the Rain” and at least song-writers Adolph Green and Betty Comden made roses fun.

    In point-of-fact, Youngkin and his fiscal managers have been saying this since last year, that the impact of federal job reductions would not be so severe and they have numbers to support this conclusion.

    In response, the Democrats appear to not like these numbers and the press scribes nodded in unison.

    (more…)

  • Virginia Dems Woo the Felon Vote

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Close-up of prison bars with shadows and a chain lock.

    With support from top Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Jay Jones.

    by Hayden Ludwig

    A proposed amendment to Virginia’s constitution would automatically grant voting rights to felons, part of a nationwide push by the Left to curry favor with—and earn votes from—ex-criminals.

    Under current Virginia law, criminals permanently lose their voting rights after a felony conviction and must have their rights restored by the governor. The amendment, introduced as a bill by House Democrats, would restore all felons’ voting rights immediately after finishing their prison sentence. To go into effect, the bill must pass both houses during two General Assembly sessions, at which point it would go before voters on the November 2026 ballot.

    Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor this year, has praised the amendment. “I’m glad to see the VA House of Delegates move forward a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated Virginians,” she tweeted in January, later calling it “real progress.”

    Jay Jones, the ex-delegate running for Attorney General, introduced a similar bill to restore felon voting rights in 2021 (HJ 546) and later voted for a similar bill incorporating his own legislation. In 2023, Jones also represented the left-wing NAACP in arguing for a rights restoration pipeline under the Youngkin administration.

    Other Democrats in competitive House districts voted for the amendment, among them the radical pro-abortion pastor Joshua Cole (HD-65, Stafford), Michael Feggans (HD-97, Virginia Beach), Josh Thomas (HD 21, Chesapeake), and Nadarius Clark (HD-84, Franklin).

    (more…)

  • High School Abortion Coverup: Read the Tick-Tock.

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    School district learned of abortion scandal just last week? Teacher says she warned the school district seven times.

    Headshot of a woman with light blonde hair wearing a red shirt and green earrings, smiling at the camera.
    Zenaida Perez

    by Asra Nomani

    There is an important story happening in Fairfax County, Va., about a school system’s social worker who allegedly arranged and financed an abortion by a 17-year-old girl without her legal guardian’s consent or knowledge. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has told the Virginia State Police to conduct a criminal investigation.

    If you have any tips about minors getting abortions without parental or guardian knowledge, please contact me at [email protected]

    Here is what I reported on Monday in an article at Fox News:

    Public school teacher reveals years-long effort to expose alleged student abortion scandal.

    Zenaida Perez claims she warned Fairfax County school officials seven times about social worker allegedly facilitating student abortion.

    Please read the story at this link.

    As part of our work at the Pearl Project, a nonprofit journalism initiative dedicated to reporting in the public interest, we are publicly providing documentation in this case so other journalists, investigators and the public can see the evidence themselves. If you seek additional information or have a tip, please contact me at [email protected].

    I am uploading documents for public use, media reporting and investigative research in a folder on DocumentCloud at this link and sharing the links in this timeline, which I will keep updating.

    Here is the summary timeline with links to the evidence. Below is a fuller chronology of events. I call this my Tick-Tock, something I do for every story I report. Contact me if you want unredacted content.

    (more…)

  • Youngkin: Virginia In “An Extraordinary Position of Financial Strength”

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Governor Glenn Youngkin (R)

    The Commonwealth of Virginia ended its last full fiscal year under Governor Glenn Youngkin with a large stash of ready cash, $1.7 billion, despite more than $7 billion in tax cuts and tax rebates over the past three years. That includes the $200 rebate income taxpayers will get before the November election.

    Another $4.7 billion was resting in the largest two reserve funds as of June 30.  Four years earlier, before Youngkin took over, that balance was $1.5 billion. He has tripled it. 

    The state is in “an extraordinary position of financial strength” Youngkin told a meeting of the General Assembly’s financial committees on Thursday. Yes, the future is marked by some uncertainty and reasons for caution, thanks to action at the federal level, but unencumbered cash is there to deal with what comes.

    Because the fiscal year just ended saw revenues $2.7 billion ahead of initial estimates, and even $572 million ahead of the revised estimate adopted later, revenue really doesn’t have to grow to cover the new budget. The required growth for fiscal year 2026, already underway, is just 4 tenths of one percent more money than was collected this year.

    And that is after accounting for the fourth year of tax relief under Governor Youngkin, another $1.6 billion in taxes which otherwise would have been collected in FY 26. They include the lower taxes resulting from the higher standard deduction, elimination of state sales taxes on groceries, two increases in the Earned Income Tax Credit and the elimination of income taxes on the first $40,000 of military retiree pay.

    (more…)

  • Curbing Crime and Evicting Hobos Not the Actions of a Dictator

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    View of a city street leading to the U.S. Capitol building, lined with vehicles and trees under a cloudy sky.

    by Kerry Dougherty

    If you clapped like a trained seal when blue state governors closed churches, schools and beaches in 2020, I don’t want to hear a word from you about President Trump being a dictator as he exercises his legal authority to restore safety to the nation’s capital.

    If you happily wore a face diaper for months – and scolded those of us who didn’t – if you eagerly rolled up your sleeve for an experimental vaccine, if you thought it was fine for the governor to tell you how many people you could have in your home, I don’t want to hear a word from you about Trump being an authoritarian.

    If you supported vaccine mandates, if you wanted the unvaxxed to stay in their homes, if you were fine with draconian rules that left dying patients separated from their loved ones, you’ve already signaled that you don’t value American civil liberties and no none wants to hear your opinions on Donald Trump. Continue reading.

  • Crime, Bloodshed, Bedlam, Squalor in D.C.

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Man confronting federal officers in D.C. Photo credit: Washington Post

    Now we know what qualifies as a serious crime for the Trump administration.

    On January 6, 2021, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol. Several law enforcement officers were assaulted, some seriously injured. In January 2025, President Trump pardoned them all.

    On August 10, 2025, as reported by the Washington Post, a man confronted a group of federal law enforcement officers on a Washington, D.C., street and shouted obscenities at them. As he turned to walk away, the man threw a wrapped Subway sandwich at one of the officers. He was arrested and has been charged with assault of a law-enforcement officer, a felony. I wonder if Trump will pardon him if he is convicted.

  • Spanberger Wants Trans Boys to “Be Themselves” in School

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Does that include girls’ locker rooms? Spanberger wouldn’t answer Restoration News‘ question.

    by Victoria Manning

    Winsome Sears has been outspoken about taking action to prohibit boys in girls’ spaces, while Abigail Spanberger wouldn’t respond to Restoration News’ questions. Yet her record proves she won’t protect girls or support parents’ rights. Spanberger says she believes kids should “be themselves in schools”—whether parents like it or not.

    Just two years ago, Spanberger voted against a bill that would prohibit boys from participating in girls’ sports. She also loudly declared she was against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s policy that prohibits boys from using girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms. She claimed the changes rolled back “the rights of kids to be themselves in schools”:

    A tweet from Abigail Spanberger criticizing a mandate from Gov. Glenn Youngkin regarding transgender students, featuring a close-up image of Spanberger speaking.
    (more…)

  • Hurricane Season. Are You Ready?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Satellite image of a large hurricane approaching land, with swirling clouds and ocean patterns visible.

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Unexpected guests show up and you have nothing to serve them. Suddenly, you remember your hurricane supplies.

    It’s happened to all of us.

    Next thing you know, you’re on your hands and knees in a desperate search for emergency snacks.

    I know there are crackers in here somewhere. Oh look, peanuts!

    Days later, you’re craving a tuna sandwich and remember that big can of Bumblebee. Then one of the grandkids gets a new battery-operated toy and you grab a pack of fresh AAs. 

    The electricity blinks off and you fish out a flashlight.

    That’s the way raids on your hurricane stash start. Here’s how they inevitably finish:

    You turn on the TV one day and find Jim Cantore lashed to a lamp post on the boardwalk as a Cat 3 bears down on Hampton Roads. You’re off to the supermarket with all the other unprepared storm schlumps, filling your cart with an embarrassing amount of toilet paper and instant coffee.

    After more than 40 years in hurricane country I’ve finally figured out why this happens.

    We’re not savers. Continue reading.

  • SCC Raises Dominion Wind Price, Exempts PIPP Participants

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    The four-part rate hike hitting Dominion Energy Virginia bills by September 1 is now five parts. The increase of more than $14 on a 1,000-kilowatt hour residential bill will now be just under $17 instead. The price we are paying for Dominion’s offshore wind project is also going up.

    The expected additional $2.60 price hike to cover that construction project was mentioned in the earlier article. The State Corporation Commission blessed it with a final order August 11. Rather than reading that, if you really want details read the earlier supportive report from the SCC staff hearing examiner, which summarizes the case record.   

    Where credit is earned, it should be given. Dominion’s massive and complex project is proceeding on schedule and largely on budget. Sometime next month people on Virginia Beach may be able to peer out and see the first of the full turbine blades sets installed and towering 840 feet above the sea. Also worth a read is the construction progress update included in the case file. 

    Yes, Dominion has experienced cost overruns, but they seem to be things Dominion could not control, such as higher transmission charges for interconnecting the facility to the PJM Interconnection grid, and the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The import taxes remain a moving target, but if he European Union base tariff remains at the current 15% then the full tariff impact could reach $640 million. That is not inconsequential.

    (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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