Category: Courts and law
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What's the Deal with Dominion and Coal Ash?
By Peter Galuszka So what’s the deal with dumping coal ash and Dominion Virginia Power? A story in the Associated Press that is getting wide attention suggests that the utility may be consolidating five coal ash dumping ponds at its Possum Point generating plant into one that may or may not be properly lined. If…
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What’s the Deal with Dominion and Coal Ash?
By Peter Galuszka So what’s the deal with dumping coal ash and Dominion Virginia Power? A story in the Associated Press that is getting wide attention suggests that the utility may be consolidating five coal ash dumping ponds at its Possum Point generating plant into one that may or may not be properly lined. If…
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A Landmark Day for the Rule of Law
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that wording in the Affordable Care Act — that subsidies should be limited to health care exchanges “established by the State” — did not mean what it plainly said and that Congress “meant” for subsidies to be made available to federally established exchanges as well. In a series of other dramatic…
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Why There's No Swimming Pool at Gilpin Court
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Demographics, Economic development, Housing, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t OversightBy Peter Galuszka Heat and humidity seem to have been especially intense this summer. But it can be much worse at an inner city public housing project where there are few trees and other vegetation and lots of bricks and concrete that and retain heat. So, wouldn’t a swimming pool seem nice, especially when your…
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Why There’s No Swimming Pool at Gilpin Court
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Demographics, Economic development, Housing, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t OversightBy Peter Galuszka Heat and humidity seem to have been especially intense this summer. But it can be much worse at an inner city public housing project where there are few trees and other vegetation and lots of bricks and concrete that and retain heat. So, wouldn’t a swimming pool seem nice, especially when your…
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"Spankdown" at Woodlake
By Peter Galuszka Homeowners Associations are double-edged swords. They can preserve home values by enforcing covenants but sometimes morph into Neo-Nazi privatized governments that make life miserable by meddling. One HOA in suburban Richmond is in something of a unique situation. Woodlake, a 2,800 home, 1980s-styled PUD in Chesterfield County, has been having problems. The…
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“Spankdown” at Woodlake
By Peter Galuszka Homeowners Associations are double-edged swords. They can preserve home values by enforcing covenants but sometimes morph into Neo-Nazi privatized governments that make life miserable by meddling. One HOA in suburban Richmond is in something of a unique situation. Woodlake, a 2,800 home, 1980s-styled PUD in Chesterfield County, has been having problems. The…
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Dubious Oil Lobby Bankrolls Dubious Poll
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Public safety & health, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka In a recent post, Bacons Rebellion extolled the findings of Hickman Analytics Inc., a suburban Washington consulting firm hired by the Consumer Energy Alliance, which found that according to a survey of 500 registered voters, the vast majority of Virginians support Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The $5 billion project would take natural…
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Is SEAL Team 6 Out of Control?
By Peter Galuszka Dam Neck Annex is a forgettable piece of beachfront landscape amidst the strip malls of Virginia Beach. F-18s Hornet jets roar past from nearby Oceana Naval Air Station and the traffic is typical for the area: vans with soccer moms, bikers’ choppers and sedans with families headed for the sand. Surrounded by…
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A StrikeForce about as Effective as the Iraqi Army
In 2013 former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli lost to Terry McAuliffe by 56,000 votes in a gubernatorial race in which he was outspent by two to one. Would $85,000 more in his campaign war chest have made a difference in the election? Probably not — the number was a small fraction of the $21 million Cuccinelli spent…
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Finally, Tobacco Commission Gets Reforms
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Economic development, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka Virginia’s infamous tobacco commission appears to be finally getting needed reforms 15 years after it went into existence. Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced today that he was appointing a new executive director, Lynchburg native Evan Feinman, ordering a slimmed down board of directors and requiring a dollar-for-dollar match on grants the commission doles…
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How to Frame the "Loving" Movie
Hollywood is producing a new film about Richard and Mildred Loving, who were arrested in 1958 for violating a Virginia law prohibiting interracial marriage. Ruling on a lawsuit they filed in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws against mixed marriages. In a press release, Governor Terry McAuliffe Thursday said, “Loving is a significant American story that should…
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How to Frame the “Loving” Movie
Hollywood is producing a new film about Richard and Mildred Loving, who were arrested in 1958 for violating a Virginia law prohibiting interracial marriage. Ruling on a lawsuit they filed in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws against mixed marriages. In a press release, Governor Terry McAuliffe Thursday said, “Loving is a significant American story that should…
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Blankenship's Incriminating Tapes
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka It may sound like something out of the Nixon White House, but embattled coal baron Donald L. Blankenship regularly taped conversations in his office, giving federal prosecutors powerful new ammunition as he approaches criminal trial in July. According to Bloomberg News, the former head of Massey Energy taped up to 1,900 conversations…
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Blankenship’s Incriminating Tapes
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in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka It may sound like something out of the Nixon White House, but embattled coal baron Donald L. Blankenship regularly taped conversations in his office, giving federal prosecutors powerful new ammunition as he approaches criminal trial in July. According to Bloomberg News, the former head of Massey Energy taped up to 1,900 conversations…