Author: James A. Bacon
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About that Annoying Delay…
We apologize for that irritating five-second delay it takes to open up the Bacon’s Rebellion blog. We experienced some blackouts yesterday, which our Internet Service Provider (ISP) diagnosed as a possible Denial of Service attack. Apparently, the attack was directed at Bacon’s Rebellion and not other websites on the same server. We will remove this…
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Dominion, Apco Leverage Grid Investments to Promote Rural Broadband
by James A. Bacon Virginia’s investor-owned utilities, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Co., could become key players in the Northam administration’s push to extend broadband access to rural communities. A State Corporation Commission ruling is expected today on an Apco proposal to extend “middle mile” broadband in partnership with Bluefield-based GigaBeam Networks, which will provide…
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Bacon Bits: The Madness Continues…
Yes, Virginia, our long statewide nightmare is almost over. Lawmakers in the General Assembly are scheduled to go home next week. In the meantime, life goes on, and we get news like this… Silver Line looking tarnished. Phase 2 of the Silver Line, which extends the Washington Metro commuter rail to Washington Dulles International Airport,…
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How About an Interstate Compact to Phase Out Corporate Incentives?
by James A. Bacon The Northam administration is enamored with the idea of joining interstate compacts to combat climate change. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is likely to be enacted, and the Transportation and Climate Initiative has gotten serious attention. How about an interstate compact to limit the practice of granting subsidies and tax…
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Virginia Has a Plan for COVID-19… But What Is It?
by James A. Bacon In its first media briefing about Virginia’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, the Northam administration said yesterday that public health officials are on top of the situation and that, for the moment, Virginians are at low risk of infection. The state set up an Incident Management Team in January, shortly…
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Why the Supply Shortage of Virginia Docs and Nurses?
by James C. Sherlock Virginia’s political class ignores the severe shortage of doctors and nurses in Virginia — except when it actively works to make the problem worse. This essay will illuminate both the issue and the votes that rejected proven solutions in the 2020 General Assembly. Virginia data – 2019 State Physician Workforce Report…
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How Are Those Inside-the-Beltway Toll Roads Working Out?
by James A. Bacon In late 2017, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) installed tolled express lanes on the congested inside-the-Beltway segment of Interstate 66. Planners hoped the tolls would discourage commuters from driving solo, and surplus toll revenues would be used to expand bus and rail alternatives. There was a frenzy of media coverage…
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Money Can’t Buy You Love (or Elections)
The 2020 election season has been fascinating to behold. Two billionaires, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, attempted to purchase themselves the Democratic Party presidential nomination through massive advertising buys. Bloomberg supplemented his television and online ad buys by hiring every party operative in sight and setting up campaign offices everywhere. “It is an open question…
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Democrats Circled the Wagons, Propelling Biden to Big Virginia Victory
by Kerry Dougherty Wow. What a difference 12 years makes. During the 2008 Democratic primary in Virginia, when Sen. Barack Obama swept the commonwealth with 63.7% of the vote, Joe Biden, 65, straggled in with 0.1 percent. The senator from Delaware finished in 6th place that year, behind Hillary Clinton, John Edwards (remember him?), Dennis…
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Bye-Bye, Bernie
by James A. Bacon If a vote for Bernie Sanders is a vote for the radical restructuring of the American economy and society, yesterday’s 2020 primary elections in Virginia were highly revealing: Democratic Party voters in the Old Dominion aren’t looking for revolutionary change. For the most part, Virginia Democrats are “establishment” Democrats who embrace…
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Now Library Fines are a Social Injustice
by James A. Bacon The Richmond Public Library has joined 200 other public libraries across the country in eliminating the charging of fines for overdue books. Why? Because, in the words of City of Richmond press release, the fines, which make up less than 1% of the library’s total budget, “disproportionately affected low-income, African American…
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How Virginia Blocks Healthcare Innovation
by James C. Sherlock Jason Hwang and Clay Christensen in 2008 published “Disruptive Innovation In Health Care Delivery: A Framework For Business-Model Innovation.”[1] They observed, “Health care remains expensive and inaccessible to many because of the lack of business-model innovation.” They further wrote: “It is almost requisite that any discussion about the future of health…
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Is This What We’ve Come to? Now Terry McAuliffe and Levar Stoney Are Racist?
MEMO TO: LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR JUSTIN FAIRFAX FROM: JIM BACON If you’re seriously interested in running for Governor, you’re not helping your case when you call former Governor Terry McAuliffe a racist, and, more inexplicably, when you call the African-American mayor of Richmond, Levar Stoney, a racist. Sure, I get it: You’re angry about the sexual…
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Virginia Beach: No Reason to Fire Mayor Bobby Dyer
by Kerry Dougherty Virginia Beach Councilman Aaron Rouse — on the job for a mere 14 months — has announced that he’s ready to resign his seat to run for mayor. Sigh. Some of us who supported him for council feared this might happen. It’s a bad move. Very bad. First, Mayor Bobby Dyer is…
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Virginia’s New Suburbia
by James A. Bacon Virginia’s suburbs are undergoing profound demographic changes with tremendous implications for politics and real-estate development strategy, argues Greg Weatherford in Virginia Business magazine. The suburbs are less white than they used to be. Northern Virginia, unsurprisingly, is leading the way. As of 2018, 49.4% of Northern Virginia residents identified as members…