Category: Public safety & health
-
Celanese: The “War on Coal” Versus Reality
By Peter Galuszka The “War on Coal” has marched on Giles County and the propaganda is flying. Yet the problem is a bit more complicated. The latest skirmish involves a Celanese Acetate plant that makes products for cigarette filters and other items. The largest employer in the mountainous county, Celanese opened its chemical works on…
-
Sandy’s Subliminal Messages
—
by
in Business and Economy, Consumer Protection, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Insurance, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Science & Technology, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka You have to love the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They never miss an opportunity to showcase their beloved Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell. As Hurricane Sandy approached, our intrepid governor was pictured everywhere: giving a statement about a state of emergency; looking very leader-like in a command center; appearing concerned as in this TD…
-
No Easy Read
By Peter Galuszka Stealthy, deadly and glamorous, Navy SEALs are what the Army Green Berets used to be back in the Vietnam era. In the case of the Navy commandos, Virginia is a big factor in basing and training, or at least it seems to be, if you should even allow yourself to read about…
-
Taped Senator’s Call Links McDonnell to Uranium Mining Controversy
By Peter Galuszka Jerry A. Hagerman, a supervisor in Pittsylvania County which is at the center of a battle over proposed uranium mining, says that State Sen. Bill Stanley (pictured) told him that Gov. Robert F. McDonnell asked Stanley to lobby the county Board of Supervisors to shelve a resolution regarding uranium at its Sept.…
-
Last Year’s Quake Shook Up Virginia Nukes
By Peter Galuszka A year ago tomorrow, Dominion Virginia Power operators watched dozens of brightly-lit boxes strung across several walls in their control rooms for two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power station about 50 miles northwest of Richmond. It had been a sleepy, sunny afternoon. Suddenly, at 1:51 p.m., delicate sensors noticed that…
-
Virginia’s Pathetic Air Pollution Ranking
By Peter Galuszka Despite a glut of less-polluting natural gas as a source of generating electrical power, Virginia is still a significant air polluter, according to a new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council. One person who should take note is Gov. Robert F. McDonnell whose energy choices have always leaned heavily towards fossil…
-
Hottest July on Record!
—
by
in Business and Economy, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Taxes, Water-waste water‘Nuff said. — PAG
-
Virginia’s Slipping “Best To Do Business” Rating
—
by
in Business and Economy, Demographics, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Property rights, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka Old Dominion politicians and economic boosters love to tout the state’s typically high ranking in various surveys of the “best states to do business.” But the latest such ranking, by CNBC, shows Virginia dropping from first place to third. One reason is roads. “Infrastructure – specifically the state’s perpetually clogged highways –…
-
Hotter Than. . .
By Peter Galuszka …The Fourth of July. Sorry that I have to spell it out, but there are a number of climate change deniers at this blog, including the Big Blogger himself, so it may be necessary to make things simple. In case, you haven’t noticed, this Independence Day marks a period of some extreme…
-
Remake Boards of Visitors Now
By Peter Galuszka An early summer calm has settled on the “The Lawn” at the University of Virginia following 16 days of pointless controversy that damaged the school’s reputation and raised serious questions about how Mr. Jefferson’s school should be run. The most important issues wafting up from the now-quiet battleground are not really whether…
-
A Tale of Two Speeches
By Peter Galuszka Call it a Tale of Two Speeches. One was a clear and resounding defense of one of America’s most prized possessions: its university system. The other was Corporate-Speak – a kind of muddle of platitudes and lofty thoughts with little point that is so common among chief executive officers and company presidents…
-
Ms. Dragas’ Greek Drama
By Peter Galuszka The antagonist in the drama against Teresa Sullivan is a rich real estate developer from Virginia Beach who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia, took over her construction firm from her father and is a major donor to political, mostly Democratic, causes. Helen E. Dragas, 50, president of…
-
The Liquidation of Teresa Sullivan
By Peter Galuszka The putsch had all the markings of Stalin-era intrigue. Select members of the Politburo had whispered for weeks that a key and popular leader had to go. She didn’t fit the Inner Circle’s philosophies. She was too prominent and her “vision” was too slow-moving and dogmatically out of step. Finally, without her…
-
Why Regulation Is Essential
By Peter Galuszka If there is ever an argument in favor of regulation in today’s anti-government political climate in Virginia, one needs look no farther than the interstate highways. Buoyed by a wave of intercity bus deregulation about 30 years ago, new bus lines started up using older vehicles, no frills and often over-tired drivers.…