Category: Regulations, Gov’t Oversight
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Is Now the Time for a Carbon Tax?
By Peter Galuszka With the 2012 election decided, there seems to be some movement towards considering establishing a carbon tax to cut greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change. Despite the Kyoto Protocols of 1997, which the U.S. did not sign, and a slew of renewable energy projects in places such as Europe, there has been…
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President Barack Obama!
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, 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, 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, Transportation, Uncategorized, Water-waste waterBy Peter Galuszka President Barack Obama’s re-election and success with Virginia in Tuesday’s contest could provide a fresh opportunity to solidify more economic recovery than what have otherwise may have happened. It could be a real chance for bipartisan progress. Here’s my takeaway at 2:30 a.m.: Virginia has again shown that it is morphing into…
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No Need for Question 1 on Eminent Domain
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Economic development, Environment, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Money in politics, Planning, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka It hasn’t gotten a lot of attention during this campaign, but Virginia will decide Tuesday whether to go with an amendment resulting in the toughest law in the country regarding eminent domain. Virginia has a law already that requires fair market compensation for private property taken for “Public Good” such as building…
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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…
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Sandy, Nukes, the Internet and Climate Change
By Peter Galuszka Super-storm Sandy raises more issues about nuclear power, the internet and also about global warming. As the storm struck the New Jersey coast and flooded New York City, three nuclear rectors were shut down because of problems with high water levels and electricity. Another reactor went on standby “alert” because its water…
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The New Reality of U.S. Energy Few Admit
By Peter Galuszka When it comes to energy, the 2012 election campaign may present one version of reality but another world – that of cold, hard economics – presents something else. In the process, a number of myths are being shattered. The most recent news is that Richmond-based Dominion is shutting down its Wisconsin-based Kewaunee…
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The Problem Privatizing Virginia Ports Won’t Solve
By Peter Galuszka Many years ago – 37 years to be precise – I stood in the fancy dining room of a blocky-looking Japanese cargo ship and drank a toast to the captain with his Suntory scotch. The ship was docked at Portsmouth Marine Terminals, part of the Virginia Port Authority, and it was an…
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The Big Picture on Coal
By Peter Galuszka Coal mining continues to be a flash point in the presidential campaign as Mitt Romney accuses Barack Obama of proposing onerous regulations designed to kill Appalachian coal jobs. In the two years I spent researching my new book, “Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets Behind Big Coal,…
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More On Coal and Utility Money Ties to Va. Politicians
By Peter Galuszka This isn’t exactly breaking news, but coal companies and utilities pay to be a dominant force in Virginia politics, a trio of environmental groups charges as The Governor’s Conference on Energy opens in Richmond today. The three groups – Appalachian Voices, Sierra Club Virginia and Chesapeake Climate Action Network – note that…
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Contesting the CON con
If anyone is laboring under the delusion that Virginia is a state that favors private-sector competition and innovation, they need look no further than its Certificate of Public Need (CON) law to see how, in the health care field at least, we can stifle entrepreneurial activity just like the blue states. The experience of Dr.…
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Rumors of Big Coal’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
By Peter Galuszka Beware the power of Big Coal, especially in a swing state such as Virginia during election year. The state that ranks 12th in production in the nation, the Old Dominion has been the source of much coal company campaign contributions, most of it going to Republicans like George Allen, who is running…
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Scary Stuff Out of New Kent’s Tea Party
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Economic development, Education (K-12), Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and EntitlementsBy Peter Galuszka If you read some bloggers on this site, you come away with the idea that conservatives are one, big happy tent where everyone is welcome. They are the new inclusivity; open to “ethnics” such as Hispanics, African-Americans, Indian-Americans and others. As they become educated, earn more money and move up the food…
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Sen. Stanley Now Says Uranium “Call” Was His Idea Alone
By Peter Galuszka State Sen. Bill Stanley has told a Southside newspaper that he “misspoke” when he brought up the name of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell during his Aug. 31 telephone call that was taped recorded by Pittsylvania County Supervisor Jerry A. Hagerman. Stanley admitted that he “misspoke” when he told Hagerman that McDonnell had…
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Questions Surround Bizarre Telephone Call on Uranium Mining Resolution
By Peter Galuszka Many questions surround the bizarre situation in which a Pittsylvania County supervisor taped and caught in an apparent lie prominent Republican State Sen. Bill Stanley who made a late night call to urge that a resolution involving uranium mining be shelved. It raises questions about the integrity of Stanley, who is one…
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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.…