Category: Public safety & health
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Shown the Door, Petersen Calls Out COVID Fascists
By Steve Haner Reading Chap Petersen’s biographical “Rebel,” it is pretty easy to understand why a year ago his fellow Democrats threw him out of office in a primary. In fact, the mystery is that he survived as long as he did. The book tells a history that many would like to ignore or actively…
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Fewer Children Seeking ER Treatment for Cannabis Ingestion
by James A. Bacon The number of pediatric patients visiting hospital emergency rooms in cannabis-related incidents fell 21.5% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period the year before, a decline that some attribute to bipartisan legislation regulating the production, sale, and potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana-related products. A Virginia Hospital…
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Yes, MSNBC Morons, Virginia IS a Border State.
by Kerry Dougherty Remember back on the night of Super Tuesday when MSNBC’s far-left host Rachel Maddow and former Biden mouthpiece Jen Psaki convulsed in laughter as they reported that the number one issue for Republican voters was the border? “Well Virginia does have a border with West Virginia,” Maddow cackled, sending the panel of…
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“Blessed“ Is the Second RVA Casino Referendum
by Jon Baliles Early voting has begin in Virginia and the Richmond casino advocates have gone all-in with the mayor and City Council to make sure the referendum got back on the ballot and now are betting the house with an absurd amount of money to make sure the referendum passes this time. Jimmy Cloutier…
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Virginia Deserves a Parole Board that Puts Public Safety First
by Kerry Dougherty When Terry McAuliffe was governor he found a loyal Democrat lawyer to appoint to head Virginia’s parole board. That was Adrianne Bennett, a failed candidate for the House of Delegates in 2011 and undoubtedly the most controversial parole board chair in Virginia history. She was a success if you believe, as McAuliffe…
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Heat Wave? Here In Southeastern Virginia We Call It July.
by Kerry Dougherty Stop the presses. It’s July 26th. And it’s hot. My trusty iPhone weather app says it will hit 91 today, 94 Thursday and 96 on Friday. Who could have predicted such temperatures? Actually, all of us. It’s called JULY. And yes, much of the country is in a record heat wave with…
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Past Time for Serious Sanctions for the Commonwealth’s Worst Nursing Homes
by James C. Sherlock Effective May 1 of this year, Karen Shelton M.D. became Virginia’s Health Commissioner. Dr. Shelton is now the licensor and regulator of Virginia’s nursing homes. By law, state-licensed nursing homes must comply with federal and state laws and standards. By regulation, the Health Commissioner “may impose such administrative sanctions or take such…
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Virginia Nursing Home Regulations and Inspections – A Strategic Improvement Recommendation
By James C. Sherlock Those who read this blog know that Virginia has far more than its share of bad nursing homes. They just do not know what can or should be done about it. This third in a current series on Virginia nursing homes will take on a problem that is self-inflicted – the…
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Note to Hybrid and EV Owners and Those in Collisions with Them – Don’t Try to Extinguish a Battery Fire
by James C. Sherlock CNBC reported today as breaking news a concern about hybrid and electric vehicle fires that professional firefighters have known about for some time. Vehicles with lithium-ion batteries can be especially dangerous when they catch fire. CNBC offers a video showing smoke billowing from three electric pickups parked tightly together. Moments later,…
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Central State Hospital – the State’s Only Maximum Security Mental Health Facility, a Legacy of Jim Crow and Not Nearly Good Enough
By James C. Sherlock I have written often about the state of mental health support in Virginia. The Governor has a major initiative to improve it. But it does not go far enough. The state maximum security mental health facility at Central State Hospital needs to be disbanded and the duties dispersed across the state.…
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School Bullying and Victimization Data: Just the Facts
by Dr. Kathleen Smith Earlier this week on Bacon’s Rebellion, James Bacon posted “The Fruit of School Disciplinary ‘Reform.’” Regarding the matter of bullying, I am adding a few additional statistics from the Youth and Juvenile Justice System 2022 National Report from the National Center for Juvenile Justice. The abstract embedded in the report includes the…
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The More Things Remain the Same
by Joe Fitzgerald Stop me if you’ve heard this one. The Hopewell chemical plant where Kepone was born and raised has been cited 66 times over the past eight years for releasing toxic chemicals into the air and into the James River. The Richmond Times-Dispatch tells the story better than I do. What makes this…
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Continuing Turmoil at Danville and Martinsville Hospitals Raises Questions of Oversight – Again
by James C. Sherlock Beckers Hospital Review reports that Sovah Health hospitals in Danville and Martinsville have eliminated the Chief Operating Officer (COO) positions at both hospitals. Sovah announced that the responsibilities of those two positions will now be absorbed by “other members of the existing team.” Whatever that may mean. Management turmoil at Sovah…
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We Have a Problem and It Reflects Poorly on Prince William County
by Kristina Nohe Go to almost any parking lot in Prince William County and invariably you will see discarded gloves and masks, littered reminders of the pandemic we all lived through. Litter tells others what the people in a community think about where they live. If someone walked into your home and there were chip…
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Crime in Virginia — the Statistics of Race and their Causes
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in Children and Families, Civil Rights, Individual Liberties, Corruption and Scandals, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Culture wars, Democracy and Western Civilization, Demographics, Education (K-12), Efficiency in Government, General Assembly, Governance, Government Finance, Health Care, Housing, Land use & Development, Mental illness and substance abuse, Politics, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversightby James C. Sherlock Crime, especially violent crime, is a constant topic in private conversations and in public politics, and thus here on Bacon’s Rebellion. Comments on BR crime-related articles turn quickly to race, often without basis in fact. I will offer below the actual crime statistics by race from 2021, the latest available year,…