President Jim Ryan during virtual Town Hall by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia called in the Virginia State Police to disperse “UVA Encampment for Gaza” protesters because they feared the demonstration was spiraling out of control, said President Jim Ryan, University Police Chief Tim Longo and other University leaders in a virtual town hall early this afternoon. Some protesters had tried to smuggle in wooden structures that could be used as barricades to fortify the encampment, as seen at other pro-Palestinian demonstrations at other universities. Although that effort was thwarted ..read more

Microsoft Image Creator’s AI-generated image of Intellectuals Yet Idiots… well, Intellectuals Yet Fools, actually. The word “idiot” violates its word-usage guidelines. by James A. Bacon Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the Black Swan and Antifragile author and curmudgeonly critic of just about everyone, coined the term Intellectuals Yet Idiots (IYIs) to describe the modern-day class of journalists, academics, and other cultural elitists who think they know everything better than anyone else. The term well describes professors with the University of Virginia Department of History who signed an open let ..read more

by Jon Baliles On Wednesday afternoon at 3:00pm in City Council chambers, City Council will vote and approve the plan presented by the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to allow Richmond to issue $170 million in bonds to pay for the new baseball stadium on ten acres that will be surrounded by about 57 acres of new development built out over the next decade plus. Two years after kicking off the Diamond District process, the new plan announced a month ago was suddenly hailed as the fastest way to build a new stadium so Major League Baseball (MLB) doesn’t move the franchise for failin ..read more

by James A. Bacon Following the decision to take down the tents in the UVA Solidarity Encampment for Gaza “liberated zone” at the University of Virginia Saturday, UVA President Jim Ryan is facing strong blowback from leftist elements in the UVA and Charlottesville communities. Pro-Palestinian protesters had rebuked the administration’s orders to take down the tents and refrain from the use of loudspeakers in violation of University rules. After repeated warnings, the decision was made to send in Virginia State Troopers in riot gear Saturday to break up a tent encampment of anarchists and mili ..read more

NOAA Right Whale graphic, updated this year. By Steve Haner It was disappointing to the see the Richmond Times-Dispatch stoop to a weak ad hominem argument on its front page May 6, seeking to discredit a legal challenge to the Dominion Energy Virginia wind project by labeling the plaintiffs as “climate deniers” and defenders of tobacco. The challenge to the federal permits for the wind project is based on some of the same laws and precedents used to challenge (and successfully delay) the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Southwest Virginia.  The Biden Administration is pushing construction of ..read more

by Kerry Dougherty  By pro-Hamas standards, the protests at the University of Virginia were anemic. Estimates placed the size of the “crowds” that began gathering on Grounds – as they say in Charlottesville – last week ranged from about 12 to perhaps as many as 50. The Hamas fan club was clustered near the chapel and engaged in mostly peaceful demonstrations. According to news reports the demonstrators respected the orders of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who warned last week that Virginia would not tolerate tents or “encampments” on any campuses. When the weather turned wet on Friday, these deli ..read more

Photo credit: U.S. News and World Report by Dick Hall-Sizemore Schools around the country, including in Virginia, are beginning to effectively ban students’ use of cellphones in schools. According to available data, about 75 percent of schools in the country ban the non-academic use of cellphones during school hours.  However, in most cases, the ban is enforced sporadically.  Teachers are put on the spot to enforce it, which creates another source of tension in the classroom.  Enforcement is inconsistent—some teachers are OK with some cellphone use; others might feel that they ..read more

by Jon Baliles A reader alerted us this week that if you have not yet gotten your personal property tax bill (car tax) from the city of Richmond, you soon will — and it will be notably higher than last year unless you bought a newer model of drive a jalopy. The city receives roughly $16.7 million per year from the state to provide for car tax relief originally established by the state in 1998 (which is a whole other topic for another day). During and after the pandemic, car values rose as the demand for used cars skyrocketed and higher tax bills followed accordingly. City Council first approve ..read more

From The Bull Elephant ..read more

Source: UVA Encampment for Gaza Instagram post by James A. Bacon Pro-Palestinian militants erected tents last night at their “liberation zone for Gaza” near the University of Virginia chapel in defiance of orders to take them down. The administration’s immediate response: engage in dialogue. “We are writing to acknowledge the document you shared with us early this morning outlining the interests of your group,” wrote Kenyon Bonner, vice president and chief student affairs officer, and Brie Gertler, vice provost for academic affairs, to the Gaza zone participants. “We thought it would be most ..read more