Author: Steve Haner
-
Somebody Must Think We’re Stupid
David Poole and his team at VPAP have provided another illustration of how the reporting requirements placed on lobbyists at the state Capitol are intentionally vague and useless. The chart above deals with the reports on lobbyist compensation. This is usually the figure at the heart of the occasional stories about the amount spent by…
-
Will Dominion Appeal Latest Loss At SCC?
Michael Martz has a good report in this morning’s Times-Dispatch on the State Corporation Commission’s opinion trimming Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed transmission charge. The SCC ordered the proposed Rider T going into effect next month reduced to reflect the lower federal income tax rates. It also rejected the utility’s argument that a payment it was…
-
Sport of Kings Needs Peasants Playing Slots
The Sport of Kings apparently cannot survive today unless between races the peasants are pumping their copper into slots. “The new law acknowledges what several other horse racing states already have concluded: that the new economic realities to sustain a viable horse racing industry require an alternative form of gaming to offset the high cost…
-
Working? A Republican Anti-Poverty Plan Works?
“The federal EITC, together with the Child Tax Credit, lifted nearly 200,000 Virginians out of poverty each year from 2011 to 2013, including nearly 100,000 children.” Lifted out of poverty. Let that sink in a minute. The writer of that sentence is admitting that the federal Earned Income Tax Credit lifts people out of poverty. …
-
Lobbyist Forms Not Mentioned At Council Meeting
The state’s Conflicts of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council met Tuesday making no mention of my column published in July 21’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, pressing for specific bill numbers, budget item numbers and other details on the state’s lobbyist disclosure forms. I had been told in advance the issue wouldn’t be added to the agenda. In fact…
-
The Underground Saga Continues: I-66
The saga of expensive underground transmission continues: Now comes the Dominion Energy Virginia 230-KV line along I-66 which is needed for an Amazon facility and the growing data center industry. The State Corporation Commission has signed off and reports in the order a cost of $170 million or more to build it. Every step in…
-
The Tax on the Mathematically Challenged
Untold thousands of Virginians just poured their money into the recent multi-state Mega Millions drawing won by someone in California. Governor Jerry Brown sends his thanks for his cut. But based on a recent news release our own governor is also very pleased with the performance of the Virginia Lottery as it approaches its 30th…
-
Ratepayers Cover $760,000 Line for One Customer?
The State Corporation Commission staff audit of Dominion Energy’s ongoing effort to place residential and small business electric service tap lines underground has turned up some expensive examples. A handful of lines will cost ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over time to serve a single residence. The average cost for the first 18,000 customers…
-
An Unfortunate Turn in Bike Lane Debate
As almost always seems to happen in Richmond — and it’s disappointing — a neighborhood debate in Northside over a planned dedicated bicycle lane may turn into something else. “Given the economic environment, the needs of people, anything that limits access to more affordable transportation options does everyone a disservice, but particularly people of color,”…
-
Updates: Money, Power and Politics (Oh, My)
The following are updates on earlier Bacon’s Rebellion stories of mine. Clean Virginia Files First Report Clean Virginia Fund, the political action committee that is trying to buy legislators’ loyalty away from regulated utilities, has filed its first report with the State Board of Elections. Charlottesville financier and hedge fund magnate Michael D. Bills is…
-
Shrinking Community Colleges Looking to Pivot
Nothing like losing a quarter of your customers to get your attention. That basically is what has happened to Virginia’s Community College System, with last term’s enrollment down 57,000 (actually only 22 percent) from its peak six years ago during the early days of the economic recovery. That drop exceeds the total enrollment at the…
-
Virginia Tuition Hikes Exceed Inflation Again
Tuition and mandatory fees at Virginia’s state colleges and universities are rising an average of 5.3 percent for the term starting next month, eighty percent faster than inflation. The increase at the state’s community colleges for next term of 2.5 percent tracks well behind the current 12-month consumer price index (2.9 percent). The report is…
-
SCC Examiner Rejects Dominion Tax Argument
A State Corporation Commission hearing examiner has rejected Dominion Energy Virginia’s arguments that it was correct to ignore a lower federal income tax rate in calculating transmission costs for 2018 and is recommending that the full commission give ratepayers the benefit of the lower tax rate immediately. Chief Hearing Examiner Deborah V. Ellenberg’s ruling was…
-
Back In Top 5, The Challenge Is To Stay There
Corks are popping all over Richmond as the business network CNBC announced this morning that Virginia is back in the top five of its annual survey of best states for business, ranking number 4. It is the only state in the top five east of the Mississippi. The full Virginia report is here. The photo on…
-
State Employees Not Funding Own Retirement
State and local employees, like many of their peers in the private sector, are declining in droves to contribute to their own retirement plans, despite the availability of matching funds, a.k.a. free money which compounds for decades. The Virginia Retirement System has been putting new hires into a hybrid retirement plan that combines a defined…