Author: Peter Galuszka
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Good Riddance, Bill’s Barbecue!
By Peter Galuszka Hold the Texas Pete while I wipe away my tears. The Mitt Romney campaign is featuring a two minute video of Richmond’s venerable Bill’s Barbecue restaurant chain. The firm’s president, Rhoda Elliott, narrates the spot claiming that growing unemployment under President Obama was the reason for the demise of the chain which…
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Celanese: The “War on Coal” Versus Reality
By Peter Galuszka The “War on Coal” has marched on Giles County and the propaganda is flying. Yet the problem is a bit more complicated. The latest skirmish involves a Celanese Acetate plant that makes products for cigarette filters and other items. The largest employer in the mountainous county, Celanese opened its chemical works on…
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Sandy, Nukes, the Internet and Climate Change
By Peter Galuszka Super-storm Sandy raises more issues about nuclear power, the internet and also about global warming. As the storm struck the New Jersey coast and flooded New York City, three nuclear rectors were shut down because of problems with high water levels and electricity. Another reactor went on standby “alert” because its water…
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Sandy’s Subliminal Messages
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Insurance, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Science & Technology, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka You have to love the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They never miss an opportunity to showcase their beloved Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell. As Hurricane Sandy approached, our intrepid governor was pictured everywhere: giving a statement about a state of emergency; looking very leader-like in a command center; appearing concerned as in this TD…
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The Tea Party Fades Into History
By Peter Galuszka Whatever happened to the Tea Party movement? The other day I found my laminated plastic media credential for the Virginia Tea Party PATRIOTS CONVENTION that happened about this time two years ago at Richmond’s convention center. I was overcome with nostalgia. It was such a fun group: Patrick Henry re-enactors, Jamie Radtke,…
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Could U.Va. Lose Its Accreditation?
By Peter Galuszka Talk about your existential crisis. The University of Virginia is under fire from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission to show cause why it should not face sanctions or even lose its accreditation because of the inane attempted firing of President Teresa Sullivan this summer. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch,…
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The New Reality of U.S. Energy Few Admit
By Peter Galuszka When it comes to energy, the 2012 election campaign may present one version of reality but another world – that of cold, hard economics – presents something else. In the process, a number of myths are being shattered. The most recent news is that Richmond-based Dominion is shutting down its Wisconsin-based Kewaunee…
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Va. Defense Spending: Hypocrisy As Usual
By Peter Galuszka You have to love Virginia politicians. One minute they are bashing the federal government and spending. The next, they’re screaming about cutbacks in defense spending. Talk about wanting it both ways. One of the most profound contradictions is the perpetual clash between the idea of skinflint budgets with that of keeping the…
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Tell George Allen: U.S. Coal Exports to Europe Reaching Record Highs
By Peter Galuszka This just in from the trenches of “The War on Coal.” How can it be that the U.S. coal industry is heading towards extinction because of Barack Obama’s “war” on the sector when American coal exports to Europe are approaching record highs? Yes, I have that right. It’s actually an unusual flip…
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Trouble in the Paradise of Digital Education
By Peter Galuszka The pioneer of for-profit, digital education that we all so love and respect on this blog is in trouble. The University of Phoenix, a behemoth, has announced it is closing down 115 of its on-site locations, including 25 main campuses and 90 smaller ones, according to The New York Times. About 800…
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The Problem Privatizing Virginia Ports Won’t Solve
By Peter Galuszka Many years ago – 37 years to be precise – I stood in the fancy dining room of a blocky-looking Japanese cargo ship and drank a toast to the captain with his Suntory scotch. The ship was docked at Portsmouth Marine Terminals, part of the Virginia Port Authority, and it was an…
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The Big Picture on Coal
By Peter Galuszka Coal mining continues to be a flash point in the presidential campaign as Mitt Romney accuses Barack Obama of proposing onerous regulations designed to kill Appalachian coal jobs. In the two years I spent researching my new book, “Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets Behind Big Coal,…
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What Massey Energy? What Mine Disaster?
By Peter Galuszka A follow up on the “Governor’s Conference on Energy” in Richmond this week. Yesterday, I attended a session titled “Coal: Rhetoric Versus Reality.” As expected, the “rhetoric” was that of environmentalists and the “reality” was what was presented by two coal company executives and a lobbyist from the American Coalition for Clean…
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More On Coal and Utility Money Ties to Va. Politicians
By Peter Galuszka This isn’t exactly breaking news, but coal companies and utilities pay to be a dominant force in Virginia politics, a trio of environmental groups charges as The Governor’s Conference on Energy opens in Richmond today. The three groups – Appalachian Voices, Sierra Club Virginia and Chesapeake Climate Action Network – note that…
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A Coal-Fired Power Plant Shuts Down
By Peter Galuszka For Northern Virginians who love the Potomac River, sailing out of the Washington Sailing Marina just south of Reagan National Airport is a special treat. From little boats, sails flapping in the wind, they can see the broad sweep of the D.C. and Alexandria waterfront: the Jefferson Memorial, Memorial Bridge , Hains…