Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Redistricting: the First Stab at Statewide Maps
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Virginia Redistricting Commission started out by dividing the state into eight regions. Its original plan was to proceed with drawing House and Senate districts, region by region, starting with Northern Virginia. That quickly proved to be inefficient, slow, and impractical. Last week the map drawers were instructed to produce statewide House…
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Convicted, But Innocent–Emerson Stevens
by Dick Hall-Sizemore In August, Governor Northam granted a full pardon to Emerson Stevens. Stevens had been convicted of killing a young mother of two in 1985 in a small fishing village on the Northern Neck. The pardon was based on evidence that “reflects Mr. Stevens’ innocence.” Stevens maintained from the beginning that he was…
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Redistricting: Let the Lawsuits Begin!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The first draft maps had not been drawn when the first lawsuit challenging Virginia’s redistricting process was filed. Sen. Travis Hackworth. R-Tazewell, along with several other plaintiffs, is challenging 2020 Virginia legislation that required, for redistricting purposes, prison and jail inmates to be allocated to the population counts of the locality of…
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What We Want the Future to Know About 2020
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Several commenters to the previous post on the removal of the Lee Monument expressed interest in the items that were placed in the new time capsule that was to be placed in the base of the former Lee Monument. According to a news release from the Governor’s office, these are the items:
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Lee Monument Removed
Yesterday morning the Lee Monument, the last major and most prominent celebration of the Lost Cause, was removed. Virginia and Richmond have now truly embraced the 21st Century.
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Former Norfolk Sheriff Convicted of Fraud and Bribery
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Here is another name to add to the list of corrupt public officials — former Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe. Earlier this week, a federal jury convicted him of all 11 counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. The charges covered actions committed over a 22-year period. They included accepting gift cards to…
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Driving While Black Redux
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Some participants on this blog have voiced skepticism regarding the claim that Black drivers are more likely than white drivers to be pulled over by law enforcement. Jim Bacon even went to great lengths to demonstrate that it was difficult to determine the race of a driver in a moving vehicle. These…
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Republican Senator Quits Redistricting Commission
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Sen. Steve Newman (R-Lynchburg) has resigned from the Virginia Redistricting Commission. He was one of two Republican Senators appointed to the Commission. Newman did not give any reasons for his decision. However, it is difficult to think it was not out of personal pique at the turn the decision process has taken.…
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Redistricting, Part 2: Squabbling Among Democrats, Republicans, and Citizens
by Dick Hall-Sizemore (Author’s note: This is the second installment of my reporting and comment on the Virginia Redistricting Commission. Warning — it is long. I apologize for the length, but it seemed best for interested readers to have a fairly thorough summary of the Commission’s doings up through the end of August in one…
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Redistricting: Say You Want Nonpartisanship?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore (Author’s note: The following is the first of several articles on the redistricting process that is underway in the Commonwealth. There is a lot going on that merits discussion, but it is my sense that relatively short articles, as opposed to long ones with lots of detail, are more appropriate for the…
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Enough Inefficiency to Go Around
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Folks here on BR seem to take great pleasure in pointing out and criticizing the shortcomings and inefficiencies of government. I have spent my entire professional career working in state government and I have suffered through more than my share of meetings at which nothing was decided and have seen a lot…
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A COVID Report From Southside
by Dick Hall-Sizemore With the exception of Carol, the contributors to Bacon’s Rebellion (and, I am guessing, most of the commenters) are in the NoVA, Richmond, Hampton Roads bubble. Therefore, I thought it would be enlightening to bring in some COVID news from my home area, Halifax County, in Southside. The first is an article…
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Supreme Court Refuses to Block Vaccination Mandate; Judicial Review Generally
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The U.S. Supreme Court has flatly turned down a request for an injunction against the enforcement by Indiana University that all students and staff be vaccinated against COVID-19. This request was an appeal of a unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denying the request. The order was…
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Oyez, Oyez. The Virginia Court of Appeals is Changing.
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the General Assembly’s most cherished prerogatives is the election of judges. When one party controls both houses of the legislature, that power is particularly relished. The Democrats had the opportunity in this special session to exercise its prerogative in a big way by electing eight judges to the Virginia Court…
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Recidivism: The Rest of the Story, Part 3–Who Comes Back to Prison?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Prior posts (here and here) discussed the increase in the Commonwealth’s recidivism rate and the possible explanations for that increase. This post, the last in the series, will examine the characteristics of recidivists, or which offenders are most likely to commit new crimes upon their release from prison. Despite what is depicted…