Tag: James A. Bacon
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Fact Checker Accusing Youngkin of Leaving Out Important Context … Leaves Out Important Context
by James A. Bacon In his first speech to the General Assembly, Governor Glenn Youngkin stressed the need to upgrade academic standards in Virginia’s public schools. “Education standards for math and reading are now the lowest in the nation,” he said. Warren Fiske with VPM News “fact checked” the statement. Citing the National Center for…
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Has Omicron Peaked?
by James A. Bacon The news media today is chock full of stories about school boards in Northern Virginia and other blue localities defying Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order ending mask mandates. The confrontations won’t be settled until the courts rule definitively whether Virginia’s Governor or the school boards have the last word. By the…
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Who Funded Voter Suppression in Rural Virginia?
by James A. Bacon It caused quite the brouhaha when Axios published a story in September on how a Democratic PAC posed as a conservative outfit to depress Republican voter turnout in Southwest Virginia by raising questions about Glenn Youngkin’s commitment to gun rights. Dominion Energy had donated $200,000 to the effort, run by Accountability…
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Rolling Back Regulations Easier Said Than Done
by James A. Bacon Virginia has lagged the nation in economic growth and job creation for a decade or more, and Governor Glenn Youngkin has made it a priority, as every governor does, to boost economic development. One of his strategies for rebooting the economy is to prune needless regulation. “The growing regulatory burden on…
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Reframing the Debate from CRT to “Divisive Concepts”
by James A. Bacon We all knew that Governor Glenn Youngkin’s campaign to root out Critical Race Theory (CRT) would be controversial. There are tremendous issues at stake and entrenched interests involved. It would be helpful if both sides honestly characterized the issues so we could then have an informed debate about them. Sadly, preliminary…
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Schools Gone Wild — Henrico Edition
by James A. Bacon This story gives a whole new meaning — a literal meaning — to the phrase, “hair on fire.” According to WWBT/Gray News, a teenager at John Rolfe Middle School in Henrico County seta fellow student’s hair afire with a lighter. The boy is at VCU Medical Center suffering from second- and…
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Were Herring’s Last Actions as AG Racist?
by James A. Bacon Attorney General Mark Herring wound up his last day in office today with an announcement that he is holding three more gas stations “accountable” for alleged price gouging during the Colonial Pipeline emergency in the spring of 2021, bringing the total to six enforcement actions. As I noted in a previous…
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UVa on Third-Vaccination Mandate: Trust Us
by James A. Bacon So, the University of Virginia bumped up its deadline for students, faculty and staff to get a COVID-19 booster shot to today, one day before Glenn Youngkin, a foe of vaccination mandates, takes office. In an interview with CBS19 News, UVa spokesman Brian Coy says Youngkin’s ascension to office was not…
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Is Resistance Forming to Youngkin’s Education Agenda?
by James A. Bacon A day after Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin announced the appointment of two vocal opponents of Critical Race Theory-inspired policies in public schools, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) has announced a new executive director… who is a vocal advocate of CRT initiatives. Dr. Scott S. Braband, superintendent of Fairfax County Public…
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Boom! Youngkin Drops a Bomb on Virginia’s Educational Establishment
by James A. Bacon Signaling his intention to transform Virginia’s public school system, Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin announced today the appointment of outsiders to the positions of superintendent and assistant superintendent of public instruction — the top two officials in the Virginia Department of Education. Jillian Balow, superintendent of Wyoming’s public schools, landed the top slot.…
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Imprisoned by the Past
by James A. Bacon As a parting gift to Virginia, outgoing Attorney General Mark Herring has overturned 58 opinions issued by attorneys general between 1904 and 1967 that supported racially discriminatory laws from poll taxes to the prohibition of interracial marriage. “While these discriminatory and racist laws are no longer on the books in Virginia,…
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Bacon Bits: Public Servants in Action
Robert Bobb to the rescue. Robert C. Bobb, a former Richmond city manager turned public-sector turnaround artist, pulled the City of Petersburg back from the brink of bankruptcy. Now he will endeavor to manage the City of Charlottesville, which has been hobbled by racial tensions and interpersonal conflicts. After debilitating turnover in the administration — seven…
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Bacon Bits: Bills of Interest
More transparency for land-use proceedings (HB 626). Submitted by Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas Park. Alters land use disclosure requirements applicable to boards of supervisors, planning commissions and boards of zoning appeals by broadening the language from “relationship of employee-employer, agent-principal, or attorney-client” to “business or financial interest.” The same change is made to existing provisions…
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Northam’s Legacy as COVID Fighter
by James A. Bacon As the hours tick down on his term in office, Governor Ralph Northam is inclined to reflect upon his performance. In the limited remarks he has made in public, he has expressed few regrets and admitted to few mistakes. As demonstrated by the thoroughly documented meltdown in Standards of Learning (SOL)…