About
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.Fund the Rebellion
Shake up the status quo!
Your contributions will be used to pay for faster download speeds and grow readership. Make a one-time donation by credit card or contribute a small sum monthly.
Can't wait until tomorrow for your Bacon's Rebellion fix?
Search Bacon’s Rebellion
Content Categories
Archives
The Jefferson Council: Protecting Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy at the University of Virginia
Want More Unfiltered News?
Check out the Bacon’s Rebellion News Feed, linking to raw and unexpurgated news and commentary from Virginia blogs, governments, trade associations, and advocacy groups.
Submit op-eds
We welcome a broad spectrum of views. If you would like to submit an op-ed for publication in Bacon’s Rebellion, contact editor/publisher Jim Bacon at jabacon[at]baconsrebellion.com (substituting “@” for “at”).
Forgot Your Password?
Shoot me an email and I'll generate a new password for you.-
Recent Posts
- Greedy Cities and Speeding Ticket Chicanery
- TJ High School Falls From 1st to 14th Place
- Freebees Aren’t Free
- Extensive Plagiarism Alleged for UVA PhD Dissertation
- Some Rural Localities Hit With Big Jump in Local Composite Index
- The Budget Do-Over: A Game of Chicken?
- Jason Miyares–Judicial Activist?
- State Legislatures Control Budgets — Virginia’s More Than Most
- Jeanine’s Memes
- Bacon Meme of the Week
- Ready for Taxes on Netflix, NFL Sunday Ticket?
- Keffiyehs, Yarmulkes and “Belonging” at UVA
- Public School Enrollments Still Declining
- The Incredibly Shrinking Newspaper
- Diamonds Aren’t Forever
Search Results for: layne
RVA 5×5 – New Year’s Nuggets
by Jon Baliles Left In The Cold The Richmond Free Press Editorial Page ends the year batting 1.000 and goes two for two this week. The main editorial covers the disgraceful lack of attention, urgency and concern by the mayor … Continue reading
Bad Times at Richmond Jail
by Jon Baliles If anyone knows what the hell is going on at the Richmond City Jail, please raise your hand. Stand up. Write it down. Grab the mic. Something. Anything. In a bizarre series of stories in recent days, … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Corrections and Law Enforcement, Uncategorized
Tagged deaths, FOIA, Richmond jail
RVA 5X5: A Five-Part Series of Stories
by Jon Baliles STORY #1 — The Pot Overfloweth There have been a lot of stories this week about the $21 million surplus announced by Mayor Levar Stoney and what he is asking City Council to endorse and how to … Continue reading
Not the Normal Governor Means Not the Normal Ethics
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Glenn Youngkin recently declared, “I guess I’m maybe not the normal governor. I think one of the differences is that I am an outsider and I come in with ideas on how we communicate.” We are beginning … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Government Transparency, Political Influence
Tagged Dick Hall-Sizemore
Still Time to Limit Governor’s Emergency Powers
by Barbara Hollingsworth First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Should the governor of Virginia have the power to unilaterally declare an open-ended state of emergency that indefinitely restricts Virginians’ civil and constitutional rights without … Continue reading
Youngkin The Deficit Budgeteer
by Dick Hall-Sizemore As reported on this blog earlier by Steve Haner, Governor Youngkin has proposed new tax cuts totaling approximately $3.0 billion for the biennium. But the governor was not content with tax cuts. He also wants to spend … Continue reading
Financing Public Education–2–Non-SOQ Programs
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Note: This is the second installment of an overview and discussion of state financing of K-12 education in localities. Part 1 of this series was an overview of financing related to the Standards of Quality. The Standards … Continue reading
Posted in Education (K-12), General Assembly, Government Finance
Tagged Dick Hall-Sizemore
Financing Public Education–Part I, Standards of Quality
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The 2022-2024 budget proposed by Governor Northam includes $8.6 billion in general fund appropriations in the first year and $8.3 billion in the second year for state assistance to local K-12 programs. These amounts are a little … Continue reading
Posted in Education (K-12), General Assembly, Government Finance
Tagged Dick Hall-Sizemore
In Praise of Two Great Public Servants
by James A. Bacon Virginia has been blessed to have had many superb public servants over the years. They may not be remembered in the history books, which have a bias toward elected politicians, but we are reminded of the … Continue reading
Posted in Economic development, Efficiency in Government, Government Finance
Tagged James A. Bacon
Of Course Tax Hikes Grew the State Surpluses
by Steve Haner At Tuesday night’s debate Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe dismissed the 2021 $2.6 billion general fund revenue surplus as entirely due to extra federal COVID relief funds, which is absurd on its face. By definition, every dollar … Continue reading
Posted in Business and Economy, Elections, General Assembly, Government Finance, Taxes
Tagged Stephen D. Haner
What Fun! Spending $4.3 Billion in “Free” Money!
by James A. Bacon Before departing for the private sector, former Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne outlined his thinking for the disposition of $4.3 billion in federal COVID-helicopter money: The funds are a one-time windfall. Spend them on one-time projects. … Continue reading
Time to Cut Taxes
by Stephen D. Haner If Virginia ended the fiscal year June 30 with a general fund cash surplus of $2 billion, almost 10 percent of its annual budget, that means taxes are too high. Period. The debate for the 2021 … Continue reading
State Revenue Up a Full Third in Northam Years
by Steve Haner With one month to go in its fiscal year, Virginia has almost met its General Fund revenue target in the first eleven months, as the revenue bonanza described here before continues. Partly it is due to the … Continue reading
North Carolina AG Investigation Quashes Sentara/Cone Health Merger
by James C. Sherlock In the big merger equivalent of “spend more time with our families,” Cone and Sentara issued a joint statement on June 2 that they “have jointly decided not to move forward” with their planned merger. “As … Continue reading
An Achievable Dream Is an Asset to Henrico County
by Aubrey L. Layne Jr. My first experience with An Achievable Dream Academy is one that I never will forget. I remember shaking hands with Newport News elementary school children and seeing the excitement in their eyes. Every encounter since … Continue reading
