Category: Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement
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Empty Protest
The “black lives matter” protests in Richmond continued yesterday as about 50 demonstrators laid down on the street at the intersection of West Broad and North Harrison Streets, blocking traffic at a major intersection near Virginia Commonwealth University. What is remarkable about participants in this group is their inability to articulate grievances beyond poster-board slogans like…
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Chutzpah, Thy Name Is Joe Morrissey
by James A. Bacon “Chutzpah” is a Yiddish word for cheek and audacity. Eastern European Jews may have invented the term, but Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Richmond, personifies it. Convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, he won re-election to the House of Delegates in a snap election yesterday while cooling his heels in…
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How to Make Enemies and Lose Influence with People
The traveling radical minstrel show has moved from Charlottesville to Richmond, it appears. Last night, a group of activists paraded through City Council chambers beating drums and making a series of demands, from stronger citizen oversight of police, care for the homeless, more money for schools and public transit, ending mass incarceration and “respect for…
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Is U.Va. Possessed by the Devil?
By Peter Galuszka Over the past weeks there’s been plenty of blogging about Rolling Stone’s coverage of the University of Virginia and lots of comment by two conservatives who believe there is an evil “hook up” culture that involves casual sex and today’s loss of morality. Well, I’ve been feeling sort of down recently (maybe…
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Takeaways From Bob McDonnell’s Sentencing
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka The outpouring of support for convicted former Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was overwhelming at his sentencing hearing yesterday at which he was told that he will serve two years in a federal penitentiary. And this very support stands in marked contrast to McDonnell’s performance on the witness stand during his marathon trial…
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The “Culture of Rape” Demands Moral Reform
by James A. Bacon Over the past few days I have advanced the argument that there is a very real problem with sexual relations on college campuses, and in particular the University of Virginia, but I take issue with the characterization of the problem as an “epidemic of rape.” The root problem is a drunken…
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How Ideology Shapes our Understanding of Sexual Assault
by James A. Bacon On January 22, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum announcing the formation of a White House task force to protect students from sexual assault. “The prevalence of rape and sexual assault at our Nation’s institutions of higher education is both deeply troubling and a call to action,” he said. “Studies show…
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Sexual Assault Reform: UVa’s White House Connection
by James A. Bacon Reed Fawell III and I generated a furious response yesterday when we posted a detailed account of how the University of Virginia administration used Rolling Stone magazine’s infamous gang rape story to galvanize support for what we described as an “ideological” agenda for combating sexual assault on campus. Fellow blogger Peter Galuszka chastised us:…
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In Wake of Rolling Stone Fiasco, UVa Officials Also Have Some Explaining to Do
by James A. Bacon and Reed Fawell III On June 20, 2014, five months before the publication of a devastating article alleging a gang rape at the University of Virginia, Emily Renda, an employee of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, testified on sexual assault issues before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The…
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Virginia’s Top Stories in 2014
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Transportation, Water-waste waterBy Peter Galuszka The Year 2014 was quite eventful if unsettling. It represented some major turning points for the Old Dominion. Here are my picks for the top stories: Robert F. McDonnell becomes the highest-ranking former or serving state official to be convicted of corruption. The six-week-long trial from July to September of the Republican…
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Redistricting, Ethics Panel Pushes Ahead
By Peter Galuszka Against strong chances that their efforts will be killed in the self-serving General Assembly, a panel is pushing ahead with badly needed reforms in government ethics and redistricting. The bipartisan Commission on Integrity and Public Confidence in State Government wants to change the state constitution to create and independent redistricting commission tasked…
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More Mob Rule in Charlottesville
On Monday the Charlottesville City Council broke down in disorder. Sean Tubbs, reporter for Charlottesville Tomorrow live blogged the anarchy but the incident got little media attention otherwise. Louis Schultz, who attended the meeting to address the council, emailed me this account of the event. Although he did not write with the intention of having it published, I…
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Presumed Guilty
by James A. Bacon Suspending the social activities of University of Virginia’s sororities and fraternities is a violation of student rights, said the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) earlier this week in a statement to the Washington Post. The suspension, put into place by UVa President Teresa Sullivan in response to now-discredited allegations of a gang…
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Feds Back Lengthy Prison Term for McDonnell
By Peter Galuszka Spotlighting once again just what a parallel universe Virginians live in, federal probation officers have recommended an unusually lengthy sentence for Robert F. McDonnell, a Republican who was the first present or former governor ever to be convicted of public corruption in the Old Dominion. The recommended sentence is a minimum of…
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Spotlight in McDonnell Trial Shifts to Judge Spencer
Hmmm…. It turns out that Judge James Spencer, the judge who presided over the trial of former Governor Bob McDonnell, is married to Judge Margaret P. Spencer — whom McDonnell voted against in 1997 when she was nominated in an unsuccessful bid for appointment to the Virginia Supreme Court. Republican/ conservative bloggers are wondering if Mr.…