Category: Poverty & income gap
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The Cooch’s Freak Show Dream Team
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in Business and Economy, 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, 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, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka Ken Cuccinelli just can’t keep away from the bizarre, but perhaps that’s what makes him what he is. He stages a convention instead of a primary to neuter Bill Bolling. And since a convention is smaller, it draws more GOP hard-righters than June bugs on a humid night and they succeed in…
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The Power of Faith-Based Ministry
by James A. Bacon In my previous post replicating an article published in Style Weekly, I put a human face on the ongoing battle to reduce recidivism, save taxpayer dollars and turn criminals into productive, contributing members of society. It is so easy for policy wonks like me to dwell in the abstract realm of…
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Saving Grace
From the toughest tier at the city jail to new jobs and a fresh start, Kingdom Life Ministries gives inmates a second chance. by James A. Bacon Karl Green recalls committing his last act of violence as if it were yesterday. Three years ago he was serving time in the Richmond City Jail. A veteran…
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The War on the Middle Class: Virginia Tech Edition
Virginia Tech has joined the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and other universities in giving the ol’ raspberry to Governor Bob McDonnell’s request to hold down tuition increases to the rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index. Virginia undergraduates will pay 4.9% more in tuition next school year, while out-of-staters will pay 5.0%…
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From Tiny Seeds, Mighty Collard Greens Grow
The Healthy Corners project is putting fresh produce into two inner-city Richmond markets. If the idea takes root, one of the nations’ worst food deserts could blossom with outlets for healthy food.
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Smart Tree Huggery vs. Impatient Tree Huggery
Everybody loves trees, right? I mean everybody. It just makes so much sense. Trees are aesthetically pleasing. They provide shade and their respiration helps cool their surroundings. They reduce storm water runoff, filter air pollution and provide habitat for wildlife. Indeed, some writers suggest that humans are hard-wired for “biophilia,” a concept that encompasses the…
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First They Came for Our Tax-Subsidized Sodas, then They Came for our Tax-Subsidized Snack Foods
by James A. Bacon I had occasion the other day to visit an inner city convenience store in Richmond while working on an article I hope to post to the blog shortly. I am not exactly Mr. Health Food Guy — I won’t touch tofu, cauliflower or fish oil — but even I was appalled…
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McAuliffe: Can a Schmoozer Transform?
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in 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, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka On Easter Sunday, I was driving in a cold rain to Charlottesville for a family event. My cell phone started beeping with messages from Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe. He said he was on his way to his own family brunch but wanted to tap me for $5. I got similar messages…
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Hens and Self Sufficiency
In a victory for urban chicken lovers everywhere, Richmond City Council adopted yesterday the final set of regulations that will make it permissible to own up to four hens in residential areas. In a setback for gender equality, however, the ban on roosters still applies. (See the Times-Dispatch article.) Just kidding about the gender-equality thing.…
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The Dish on Mission Investing
by James A. Bacon For many years, Richmond’s Cabell Foundation conducted business much as it had since its formation in 1957. Investing the endowment for income, the board took out 5% per year to distribute in grants to worthy causes. In 2011, that amounted to roughly $4.3 million directly for some two to three dozen…
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Surprise! Latinos Not a Monolithic Bloc!
A week ago, I asked whether the high concentration of Latinos in certain Northern Virginia neighborhoods was best described as “segregation” or “self separation.” Are Latinos the victims of residential discrimination, or do they voluntarily cluster together for reasons of income (they can afford to live only in certain neighborhoods) or culture (they like being…
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Food Insecurity… or Child Neglect?
by James A. Bacon We read today in the Times-Dispatch about the trials and tribulations of one Ashley C. Williams, who recently tested positive for cocaine last month while awaiting trial in Richmond for the death of her two-year-old son. The boy died of starvation and dehydration on May 30, 2009, weighing only 14 pounds.…
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A Partial Explanation for Spreading Food Insecurity
by James A. Bacon Food insecurity is increasing in Virginia. Don’t take my word for it — that’s what the people at Feedmore, which runs Central Virginia’s food bank, tell me. The food bank operation, founded in 1980 to provide emergency food relief to poor Virginians, now addresses a chronic need. The organization has evolved…
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IG of the Day: Disability Prevalence by State
From “Disability Characteristics of Income-Based Government Assistance Recipients in the United States: 2011,” published by the U.S. Census. Nationally, 30.4% of all adult Americans receiving social assistance of one kind of another are classified as having a disability, meaning they have impaired vision, hearing, mobility or cognitive functioning. The numbers for Virginia: Government assistance recipients:…
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The Lessons of the 2013 General Assembly
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in Business and Economy, 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, Health Care, Housing, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka If there’s any good news from the 2013 General Assembly session, it is that the hard right’s strange hold on taxation has been broken. Republicans can start acting like responsible adults once again instead of dogmatic shills or spoiled children. Gov. Robert F. Donnell and legislators found a way to raise badly…