Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Tag: Jon Baliles

  • Revive the Riverfront Plan from Its Coma

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Jon Baliles The James River is often (rightfully) cited as the region’s crown jewel. It is the one thing just about everyone can agree on, rally behind, enjoy in their free time, and show off to out-of-town friends. If you recall the Richmond Riverfront Plan that was developed by the City at considerable expense…

  • Talking Crime

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Jon Baliles Candace Burns of CBS6 sat down with Mayor Stoney this week to talk crime, gun violence, and alleged plots. It was an interesting discussion, and while a lot of it is political fluff and rhetoric, Stoney does deserve some credit for some straight talk. What we recognize is that 26% of the…

  • Water Leaks

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Jon Baliles This week, Jeremy Lazarus of the  Richmond Free Press attended the City Council’s Governmental Operations Committee and found that “more than 6,300 homes and businesses in Richmond — 10% of the customer base — are facing disconnection of their utilities for nonpayment of water, sewer and gas bills.” Yikes. That is essentially…

  • Where Does the Buck Stop?

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Jon Baliles The rise in crime across the region and especially the City is naturally a cause of concern. A rise in crimes against deputies and other inmates in the Richmond Jail is flat-out disturbing. The Free Press went to the City Council Public Safety Committee meeting — that was attended only by Councilwoman…

  • The Rent Is Too Damn High

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    James A. Bacon
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     by Jon Baliles I think RVA needs to recruit retired New York City politician Jimmy McMillan to come to Richmond and run for office. He was the straight-talker who ran for Governor of New York under the Rent Is Too Damn High Party banner in 2010 and said more genuine truths in 35 seconds…

  • Strange Things Are Afoot

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Jon Baliles The story of the July 4th Dogwood Dell Mayoral and Police Chief press conference grows stranger with each day and subsequent stories. Noted philosophers Bill & Ted may have put it best when they said: “Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.” (That’s a 7-11 for all you locals). The July…

  • Crime and Blame

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Jon Baliles One thing we already know, is that crime is out of control in the City. Jon Burkett at CBS is known as the Crime Insider and rightfully so given that is basically all he has covered in the region for two decades. He gave an interview on July 6 on WRVA’s Morning…

  • Crime and (No) Punishment

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    James A. Bacon
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    Bacon’s Rebellion is pleased to begin cross-posting from RVA 5X5, the new Substack publication of Jon Baliles, who worked for the City of Richmond under Mayors Doug Wilder and Levar Stoney and been active in the civic and artistic communities for many years. by Jon Baliles Today’s edition (of RVA 5X) starts off similarly to…