Author: James A. Bacon
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Net-Zero vs. Zero Carbon
by James A. Bacon The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), an organization advocating market-based solutions to environmental issues, has taken a close look at Dominion Energy’s pledge to become a “net-zero” company by 2050. The Institute sees the company’s commitment as a positive step forward, but concludes there is less than meets the eye. Dominion’s net-zero…
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Proud to Be a Virginian
Virginia does not just employ more than its proportional share of military employees compared to other states, it ranks among the top 5 in the country for enlistments — specifically, the ratio of first-time enlistments to the number of civilian employees. Virginia does not stand alone. It is part of a regional cluster of states…
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Bacon Bits: From Feel-Good to Feel-Bad
Feel-good story of the day. Musical superstar Pharrell Williams, a Virginia Beach native, is collaborating with the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau to create two 60-second commercials, featuring his soon-to-be-released song “Virginia,” promoting Virginia Beach as a city open to tourists. Pharrell contacted city officials after the mass-shooting last year, asking how he could help…
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Richmond’s Pulse Stimulates Mid-Rise Development
by James A. Bacon Sometimes it seems like the City of Richmond can’t do anything right. City Council just nixed a $1.5 billion redevelopment plan for the Navy Hill district in downtown. And no one can figure out where, or how, to build a new minor league baseball stadium. But the city has hit a…
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Bon Secours — a Blessing Indeed
by James C. Sherlock Bon Secours/Mercy Health has acquired hospitals currently owned by Community Health Systems (CHS) in Petersburg, Franklin and Emporia. It is welcome news that brings great credit to this Catholic charity and honors its historic mission. CHS, headquartered in Tennessee, has been in poor financial shape for a long time.[1] CHS hospitals…
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A More Urgent Question than Ever: Who Will Cover the News?
by James A. Bacon Governor Ralph Northam and the 2020 General Assembly has engineered one of the greatest assaults on the middle class in Virginia history. You would never imagine that from reading the coverage by Virginia’s news outlets, whose reporters and editorial writers are so in sync with the new Democratic majority that the…
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Non-Union Construction Workers Need Not Apply
by Ben Brubeck Democratic leadership in control of the General Assembly for the first time since 1993 is close to sending legislation to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk that would raise the cost of construction and maintenance of schools, affordable housing, roads, transportation and other infrastructure projects critical to keeping Virginia economically competitive. Taxpayers should take…
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Norfolk Needs a Newspaper, So Does Virginia Beach
by Kerry Dougherty Come spring Norfolk will no longer have a daily newspaper. Neither will the commonwealth’s largest city, Virginia Beach. Or its second-largest city, Chesapeake. No matter how The Tribune company tries to spin its boneheaded decision to drag the remnants of the once-sprawling Virginian-Pilot staff to The Daily Press building in Newport News —…
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Collective Bargaining in Schools: a Prescription for Problems
by Chris Braunlich Joseph Ocol is the kind of teacher most parents would fight to have teach their daughter. His Englewood, Chicago, girls’ chess team won the national championship in 2016 against 60 other schools, an achievement noted in the Congressional Record, by news media and by the mayor and city council. And the girls…
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Move to Virginia, Live Longer
Virginia doesn’t have a reputation as being one of the healthiest states to live in — too many obese people. But a study on place-based drivers of mortality finds that a 65-year-old person with average health moving from one “commuting zone” in the country to most “commuting zones” in the Old Dominion will add between…
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If Mo’ Money Fails Maryland Schools, Why Will It Be Any Different in Virginia?
by James A. Bacon Members of a Maryland education commission have painted a bleak picture of the state’s education system, reports the Washington Post. Students are failing, and teachers are fleeing. Without drastic reforms, the commission warns, Maryland’s economy will face dire consequences. “The current system is not working,” says Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A.…
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Does Solar Power in Virginia Still Need the M&T Tax Break?
by James A. Bacon Solar energy is the cheapest source of electricity now available, solar advocates tell us, and that’s a big reason we should build more of it in Virginia. At the same time, says the solar lobby, the industry needs local-government tax breaks, in particular a state-mandated 80% exemption from local machine-and-tool taxes.…
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Virginia Dems Shoot Down Assault Weapons Bill
I am pleased to announce an affiliation with KerryDougherty.com published by former Virginian-Pilot columnist Kerry Dougherty. Kerry writes on a wide range of topics pertaining to politics and popular culture from a conservative perspective, and she has given us permission to re-post her commentary regarding the follies and foibles of Virginia here on Bacon’s Rebellion.…
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Virginia’s Remarkably Profitable Nonprofit Hospitals
by James C. Sherlock Moody’s Investor Service, which follows hospital finances and bond issues, has reported[1] that the nationwide nonprofit hospital median operating margin reached 1.7% in FY 2018. The same report defined sustainability operating margins at 2.5% and stated: Revenue growth remained a major hurdle as hospitals faced ongoing reimbursement challenges and weak inpatient…
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Racial Preferences in Energy Bill Are Unconstitutional
by Hans Bader Virginia’s new Democratic legislature is passing an energy law that contains racial preferences. But to try to get around constitutional restrictions on racial discrimination, it is primarily targeting such preferences to “predominantly-minority areas,” rather than to minority individuals. This doesn’t immunize this legislation against a constitutional challenge, but it does complicate things…