Category: General Assembly
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General Herring: Air All Data in Wind Application
An open letter to Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring: Dear General Herring: As was reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dominion Energy Virginia filed on Friday its application for approval to build offshore wind turbines with a nameplate capacity of 2,600 megawatts. The very first motion made to the State Corporation Commission was a request to…
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Personnel is Policy On Future Energy Reform
by Steve Haner Does Tuesday’s election result mean Virginia is going to move back towards a rational energy policy? Watch two key personnel decisions, both entirely matters for the next legislature to decide. State Corporation Commissioner Angela Navarro was elected by the 2021 General Assembly to fill the unexpired term of Mark Christie, who moved…
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Biden and McAuliffe to Complete the Roundup of Toddlers by the State
by James C. Sherlock Updated 26 October 1:48 PM The progressive dream of government control of children from birth is approaching reality in Virginia. Terry McAuliffe shares that dream and wants to lead Virginia to that promised land. Governor Ralph Northam and the Democratic General Assembly have established state control of our youngest children, but…
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JLARC Agrees: VA Economy Lags National Growth
by Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. This makes if official: Even the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) has documented and highlighted how poorly Virginia’s economy is performing, how far our state is lagging national growth averages. The admission comes in the most recent summary…
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Richmond Public Schools – Adult Misbehavior Cripples Children’s Futures
by James C. Sherlock This space this morning published a great column by Kerry Dougherty about the City of Richmond Public Schools (RPS). She was as desperate for a solution as the rest of us. I have found over the years that it is absolutely impossible to talk or embarrass the RPS into improving its…
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Redistricting: Fairness is in the Eye of the Partisan
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Virginia Redistricting Commission has hit another wall. This one, over Congressional districts, is good, old-fashioned partisan politics, dressed up as differing perceptions of fairness. Last week, the Commission decided to keep Congressional districts Three and Four intact, with only those changes needed to bring their populations in line with what was…
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The State Tax Gravy Train Accelerates
by Steve Haner First published today by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Any claim that Virginia cannot reduce taxes on its citizens without damaging state programs has been further eroded by two recent announcements. The explosion of revenue from recent state tax increases is continuing into this new fiscal year, pointing to a…
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Dominion and Despicable Voter Suppression
by Steve Haner Dominion Energy Virginia’s knowing participation in an effort to suppress the November 2 vote, aimed mainly at Western Virginia Republicans, is a truly despicable act. It should enrage all Virginians, without regard to party. This is a state-created and regulated monopoly and the $200,000 it spent on this underhanded activity was provided…
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Stronger Teacher Unions = Weaker Parents
Allowing collective bargaining will put yet another special interest ahead of the parents who simply want a say in what is best for their children. by F. Vincent Vernuccio First published by Virginia Works and reprinted with the author’s permission. Virginia parents soon could lose even more control over their children’s education. Parents frustrated with school…
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Virginia Elections: Endanger Kids, Lose Your Seat
by Kerry Dougherty I tried to warn you that kids would get hurt. I tried to warn the governor. On February 2, 2020 we published “Insane Bill Will Endanger Kids” after Democrats in the General Assembly passed HB257, reversing a law that had compelled school principals to report cases of sexual battery, stalking, assault and…
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McAuliffe Lets the Cat out of the Bag
by James C. Sherlock Current Virginia law and Terry McAuliffe cannot coexist. “A parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child.” Code of Virginia § 1-240.1. Rights of parents. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Terry McAuliffe, Sept 28,…
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How Does Virginia Budget Early-Childhood-Education Money Wind Up in a Park in Detroit?
by James C. Sherlock – updated Oct 15 I’d like to report an organized crime. It’s just not illegal in Virginia. The political Left, fully in control of Virginia government, sends taxpayer money to leftist non-profits, who take their cuts and then send it on to local government entities and yet more nonprofits. It is unethical,…
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More Proof Virginia Disclosure Laws are Crap
by Steve Haner In 2020, according to documents filed with the State Corporation Commission, Dominion Energy Virginia paid former state Senator John Watkins $92,297 for lobbying services. At the end of the reporting period, it officially claimed spending only $1,641 for him to influence the legislative process. In a similar manner, former Fairfax Delegate John…
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Redistricting: Breakdown!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The redistricting process has broken down here on the eve of the deadline of the Virginia Redistricting Commission to report to the General Assembly. The divisions and distrust are so deep that the members could not agree even on which maps to use as a starting point in session on Friday. When…
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Why Virginia Job Growth Lags Region, Nation
by Steve Haner “Virginia’s economic recovery continues to outpace the nation… Our unemployment rate remains well below the national average and has fallen consistently every month for the past fifteen months… I’m proud of our roaring economic growth…” So claimed Governor Ralph Northam (D) in a September 17 news release. It came just after Virginia’s…