Category: Public safety & health
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The Return of the “Cooch”
By Peter Galuszka Early this past Wednesday morning, Mark Pettibone and Connor O’Shead were walking on their way home after a peaceful protest in Portland, Ore. Suddenly an unmarked van pulled in front of them. Men wearing green uniforms, tactical gear and generic signs reading “POLICE” hustled them into the vehicle. They were not told…
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Bacon Bits: COVID-19 Heroes and Villains
Somebody’s got to do it. Linda Echols has driven school buses for Pittsylvania County for 48 years. At 75 years old, she’s at elevated risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. She is concerned about her safety when the school year starts back up this summer, but worries more about her students. In marked contrast to…
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Thank Europe For a Badly Needed Reality Check
By Peter Galuszka It’s time for a pandemic reality check, especially at Bacon’s Rebellion. The blog is flooded with post after post about how the coronavirus crisis is exaggerated and how Gov. Ralph Northam “King Ralph” is Public Enemy No. 1 and wields improper power by closing schools, bars, beaches, businesses and so on. I…
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First Cops. Now Firefighters.
by Kerry Dougherty I’ve had enough. Chances are you have too. Enough of lawlessness. Enough of destruction of property. Enough of despicable disrespect for law enforcement. It’s time to send a message to those bent on mayhem that there are some lines they may not cross. Interfering with firefighters trying to save lives IS that…
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A List of the Police Reform Proposals So Far
By Dick Hall-Sizemore As we have discussed on this blog over the past few days, the Democrats in the General Assembly have put together extensive and far-reaching packages on police reform. Steve Haner was considerate enough to provide a list of the Senate Democrats’ proposals, as well as a link to the package released by…
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Senate Democrat Promises on Police Reform
By Steve Haner What follows, without edits, is the full list of legislative proposals now endorsed by the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus. With 21 members, if they all show up and vote aye on all of these, they pass in the upcoming special session. Bills would then have to also pass the House of Delegates…
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“Bring That Sucker Down Without Anyone Getting Hurt”
By Peter Galuszka In a striking sign of the times, Popular Mechanics magazine has published a how-to article regarding removing statues on your own. The article is titled: “How to Topple a Statue Using Science: Bring that sucker down without anyone getting hurt” by James Stout. The force need to bring down a controversial statue…
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Stop the Problem Before It Starts
by Chris Braunlich With the General Assembly taking up policing reform in this summer’s special session, there should be at least one bill stopping a problem before it begins. Most big problems are created by a small number of people. The same is true of police officer transgressions. Most police officers are good police officers,…
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COVID Regs Unclear, Unneeded, Contradictory
By Steve Haner More than two dozen Virginia business associations have asked that the state’s Safety and Health Codes Board reject proposed workplace regulations to prevent COVID-19, stating they are unclear, contradictory, and not needed in light of other existing worker protections. Some of the largest statewide associations, such as the Virginia Manufacturers Association, National…
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The Systemic Racism of Monument Avenue
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in Blogs and Blog Administration, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Culture wars, Demographics, Electoral process, Federal issues, Housing, Labor and Workforce, Money in politics, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka Richmond’s grand Monument Avenue, a double lane, tree lined thoroughfare, has been the epicenter of the Black Lives Matter campaign that has focused on the statues of several Confederate figures one the road, including Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and Jefferson Davis. All are up for removal, but the…
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Sweeping COVID Workplace Regulation Proposed
By Steve Haner The Northam Administration’s Safety and Health Codes Board will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday –- in a virtual process allowing no public interactions – to impose sweeping new regulatory mandates related to COVID-19 on Virginia workplaces. They could take effect immediately upon Governor Ralph Northam’s signature, and will not disappear if an end…
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The Very Real Threat of “Boogaloo”
By Peter Galuszka White protestors have smeared a statue of Arthur Ashe, the African-American tennis star who faced systemic racism when he was growing up in Richmond. True, the Ashe memorial had earlier been defaced by “Black Lives Matter” messages spray painted on its base. On Wednesday, a small band of protestors painted over the…
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Coming to a City Near You: Middle-Class Flight
by James A. Bacon As the City of Richmond becomes increasingly ungovernable in the face of continued protests and vandalism, a lot of people are saying to themselves, “I’m out of here.” Here’s a prediction: Middle-class flight will become the next big thing. Richmond, like many other cities around the country, has enjoyed a strong…
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Virginia Democrats Gearing Up for Police Reforms
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The upcoming special session of the General Assembly will be about budget cuts and police reform. Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn announced last week that actions on police reform would be allowed to be taken up at the special session to be held on a to-be-announced date. Whenever it is held, it apparently will…
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The Ups and Downs of Felix Dzerzhinsky
By Peter Galuszka For three decades, a 15-ton statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky loomed over a square in downtown Moscow. He rose high near the Lubyanka building, a turn of the century, yellow-colored one-time insurance office that served as the national headquarters for the KGB. “Iron Felix,” born of Polish nobility, is best known as V.I.…