Author: James A. Bacon
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Virginia’s Parole Board in the Shadows
by Kerry Dougherty Last spring we ran an accidental series of stories about the Virginia Parole Board, which was busy releasing some of the commonwealth’s most depraved criminals. At first we learned of one murderer being released from prison. A few days later we heard about another and another until we had six. Before we…
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The Long and Winding Road to Net Zero
by Bill O’Keefe State law, embodied in SB 851, requires Dominion Energy to supply 30% percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2030 and to close all carbon-emitting power plants by 2045. In other words, Dominion must develop a plan to be emission free by 2045, less than 25 years from now. The…
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College Education for Free? Eat Your Heart Out, Bernie Sanders
by James A. Bacon Progressive icon Bernie Sanders famously called for “free” higher education. Not free for taxpayers, of course, but free for students. Daniel Pianko, co-founder of the University Ventures fund, thinks that nearly free tuition may be coming — thanks to market-driven innovation. COVID-19 is accelerating trends that were underway before the epidemic…
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$300 Million Bond Refinancing Won’t “Save” Higher Ed from Long-Term Challenges
by James A. Bacon Governor Ralph Northam has unveiled a higher-education refinancing plan that will allow Virginia’s public colleges and universities to reschedule more than $300 million in debt over the next two years. The Commonwealth of Virginia would refinance bonds issued by the Treasury Board of Virginia and the Virginia College Building Authority. Under…
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Bloomberg Buying Votes
by Kerry Dougherty Virginia’s House of Delegates is both doctrinaire and ineffective. Oh, and scared witless of Covid-19. They’re working in their bathrobes, while members of the Senate actually show up every day. If you’re wondering why these lawmakers turned what was supposed to be a short summer special session to deal with a hole…
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Boomerang: Opioid Overdoses Surge
by James A. Bacon When governments shut down economic and social activity to quell the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Bacon’s Rebellion has frequently warned, they run the risk of engendering unintended consequences. We have predicted negative impacts from job loss and social isolation on mental health, substance abuse, domestic abuse, and suicide. Just because…
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No, You Can’t Use Public Streets as Billboards
by James A. Bacon Last month Venture Richmond, a nonprofit organization promoting Richmond’s downtown, obtained approval from the Planning Commission to paint a 200-foot-“Black Lives Matter” street mural on East Grace Street. Then Mike Dickenson, candidate for City Council, submitted an application to paint a “Baby Lives Matter” mural in front of Richmond Planned Parenthood.…
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Special Prosecutor to Investigate Stoney Contract
A Richmond Circuit Court judge has appointed an August County prosecutor to investigate whether Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney broke any laws when he awarded a gave a $1.8 million contract to remove Civil War statues. Richmond Councilwoman Kim Gray, who is running for mayor against Stoney, had requested an investigation, and Commonwealth Attorney Colette McEachin…
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A Capitalist Solution to Food Deserts
by James A. Bacon Yesterday, channeling the spirit of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, I asked what a young person should do if he or she wanted to make the world a better place. Broadly speaking, there are three approaches. One is activism in which people who, informed by a desire to improve the lives of those…
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The Undemocratic Origins of One Fairfax
by Emilio Jaksetic On July 12, 2016, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted a One Fairfax resolution to achieve “racial and social equity” and “direct the development of a racial and social equity policy for adoption.” The Board of Supervisor adopted the final One Fairfax Policy on November 20, 2017. The Center for the…
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Shun Abstract Universalism, Embrace Risk
by James A. Bacon I don’t always agree with him, but I regard Nassim Nicholas Taleb (author of “The Black Swan,” Antifragility,” and “Skin in the Game,” among other works) as the most original and innovative thinker of our era. He is one of the very few people I follow on Twitter. In today’s Sunday…
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What Drives Turnover Among School Principals?
by James A. Bacon Most principals of Virginia public schools — 70% — are “generally satisfied” with their jobs, although half work 60 or more hours and two-thirds feel like they spend most of their time solving immediate problems rather than creating great schools. Those are some of the findings of a survey of 467…
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A Backlash at Last
A message addressed to “Friends of UVA” by Bert Ellis, class of 1975, is passing around virally by email. Reed Fawell posted the message in the comments on a previous post but did not mention Ellis by name. Given the fact that Ellis is a prominent and wealthy alumnus — he is CEO of Ellis…
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The COVID Made Me Do It
by James A. Bacon To nobody’s surprise, we are getting confirmation that lower-income students are suffering the most from the way colleges and universities are responding to the COVID-19 challenge. Higher-ed enrollment has dropped significantly this fall, and the drop-outs are skewing toward the lower end of the income spectrum. Some 100,000 fewer high school…
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Two of Five Virginians Say Nix to COVID-19 Vaccine
by James A. Bacon Don’t count on a vaccine to end the COVID-19 epidemic — not in Virginia anyway. Four out of 10 Virginians say they are likely to not get a vaccine, even if approved by the Food and Drug Administration and made available for free. Only 58% say they are “somewhat” or “very”…