Category: Regulations, Gov’t Oversight
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While Harrisonburg Slept, a Gadfly Arose
by Joe Fitzgerald Laura Dent is not a stupid person. She’s probably an honest person. But those aren’t qualifications enough to help run a city. You also have to know what’s going on. Frankly, she’s missed that boat a couple of times. Two issues I’ve written about repeatedly are uncontained school growth, which the Harrisonburg…
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Virginia Beach Nixes Kitty Hawk Wind Cables
by Steve Haner The political leaders of the City of Virginia Beach have informed an offshore wind developer that they oppose its plan to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach. No formal vote was taken on the application, however, according to media reports. The story appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and on local television station…
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Excess Profits Squeezed Out From Dominion Rates
By Steve Haner The long struggle to prevent Dominion Energy Virginia from earning excess profits in its base rates year after year appears to be over and consumers finally won. That is the main takeaway as the first general review of its base rates since the 2023 regulatory re-write is moving toward a quick settlement.…
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Virginia Must Investigate and Control the Relationships of Its State Institutions of Higher Learning With the Government of China
by James C. Sherlock The title of this article seems at first glance axiomatic. After all, the power “to conduct … all intercourse with other and foreign states” is granted in the state constitution to the Governor. Yet that power has been assumed by some Virginia state institutions of higher education (IHEs) with the apparent approval…
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Dominion Wind May Be Sued, Hikes Customer Bills
by Steve Haner Two national activist groups on energy and environmental issues, both with connections to Virginia, have taken the first legal steps to challenge the recent federal approvals for Virginia’s planned offshore wind complex. Most of what follows is directly from their announcement dated November 14. The Heartland Institute and the Committee for a Constructive…
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William and Mary and the Chinese Communist Party – Dangerous Allies – Part 3
by James C. Sherlock Chinese fighter and U.S. jet over South China Sea. Courtesy CNN and YouTube. William and Mary’s superb AidData program makes major contributions to America’s understanding of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The school is justly proud of it. AidData published in December of 2021 a study Corridors of Power –…
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Some Virginia State Colleges and Universities Host Chinese Government Student Control Organizations
by James C. Sherlock Virginia Tech’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association is the largest international student society at Virginia Tech, with more than 1,000 Chinese students and scholars and their families. It is also one of the largest Chinese student and scholars organizations in the United States. [Go to link and click “translate” in URL…
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SCC Approves Paying Extra for Fuel As “Relief”
by Steve Haner The Virginia State Corporation Commission has approved Dominion Energy Virginia’s request to stretch out the back payments on $1.3 billion in old fuel bills from previous years over more than seven years. While the ultimate dollar cost to customers is millions higher because of interest charges, even the SCC news release touted…
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The Impact of Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need Laws on Nursing Home and Home Health Care Availability and Expenditures
by James C. Sherlock I have come across a major study in the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine that made a point that I have not explored sufficiently to this point. It discusses the intersection of nursing homes, home health care, CON laws like Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) law, and…
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NY Ratepayers Better Protected Than Virginia’s
By Steve Haner The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) last week told several offshore wind developers it would not approve changes in their state contracts, putting several planned ocean turbine projects into jeopardy. The story is important for its contrast to how Virginia faces the same future.
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National Academy of Sciences Offers Superb Recommendations for Fixing Virginia’s Nursing Home Crisis
by James C. Sherlock Sometimes, we need to listen. I just finished the 806-page 2022 report “The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff” by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). It is downloadable at the link. That study and report were utterly professional and thorough, as…
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Miyares Seeks Dismissal of Suit to Save RGGI
By Steve Haner Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) is defending the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board’s decision to exit a multi-state carbon cap and tax compact as within the regulatory agency’s authority. He has also claimed to the circuit court hearing an appeal of that decision that the plaintiffs were not affected by the action…
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Principles for Virginia’s Energy Future
By Steve Haner First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Energy is our economy. Energy is the basis of wealth and a comfortable life. As Virginia chooses a new set of legislators to wrestle with the old and new energy issues facing the Commonwealth, here is a review of some…
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Did Assembly Trim Dominion Bills $7-$14? No.
by Steve Haner When the Virginia General Assembly passed a complicated electricity regulation change a few months ago, the Richmond Times-Dispatch parroted as fact this Dominion Energy Virginia claim in a front-page paragraph: The compromise on electric bills — in legislation that passed nearly unanimously — would bring an immediate $6 to $7 cut in…
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Legislature Moves To Fill Power Vacuum It Created
By Steve Haner State Senator Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, showed today that he had something which the State Corporation Commission now lacks – a quorum. Surovell and the other legislators will gather in Richmond tomorrow to address the state budget but are expected once again to fail to fill the two vacancies on that vital…