Author Archives: leechwatcher

leechwatcher's real name is Tom Baugh. He and his family live at the old school in Manassas, and operate their business there. You can read his full bio by clicking on the Your Host tab at the top of the page.

Kudos to Georgia Power

Last year, during Hurricane Matthew, we lost power for three days. This year, for Hurricane Irma, we were prepared for much worse, given how much damage was expected in Florida and along the Georgia coast. But, despite the huge resource sinks caused by both Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, we only lost power here for a […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Public Interest | Comments: 0

Wasteful Water Increase Goes Into Effect

This past week, Manassas water customers received bills reflecting the new increase in the water base charge, from $14 to $27 ($25 plus a $2 tank maintenance fund charge). As you will recall from a previous article, this increase was approved, along with an insurance franchise tax, at the March city council meeting. There are […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas | Comments: 0

Budget Backsliding

In the past months, Manassas officials have been very busy. From announcing a water base rate increase (nearly doubling the cost of the first drop of water from the tap), to passing a franchise tax on insurance, the city council does its best to find more ways to get money from its citizens and water […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas | Comments: 0

Water Works and Crocodile Smiles

At the Manassas city council meeting on Monday, 10 Apr 2017, I briefly spoke to a guest speaker before the show meeting. The guest was there to share her expertise on third party water system management, a topic for an upcoming article. However, like an amateur video accidentally catching Bigfoot playing poker with aliens, a […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas | Comments: 0

Clever or Criminal?

At what point does a public official become too clever, and cross the line into criminality? Many public officials pride themselves on being very clever, while feigning helplessness or ignorance. Such officials exhibit behavior which is often excused by other officials, although this same behavior, if exhibited by an ordinary citizen, would be considered sociopathic, […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas, Public Cleverness | Comments: 1

Which Story Is It?

Months ago, we posted an article about an attempted improper budget end run on the part of Manassas city officials. This effort was spearheaded by Councilwoman Tonya Edwards, who insinuated that the Georgia Municipal Association was complicit in this attempt. Thinking it strange that the GMA would assist in such a thing, I decided to […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas | Comments: 1

The Manassas Mystery Box

As mentioned in this post about Councilman Shaun Edward’s bio, Manassas officials have declined to produce specific information about grants received and accounts held. We were alerted to a budget problem when Councilwoman Tonya Edwards, back in October, 2016, called for a shady resolution to allow the city to move money between funds. In response, […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas | Comments: 0

They’re Hiding Again

Sometimes, working with the Manassas city government is like baby-sitting unruly small children. Just like ill-mannered tots, they don’t mind making up ridiculous criminal allegations, or avoiding discussions with the public during meetings. Or, like a child with cookie crumbs on its face, refusing to answer simple questions about where the money came from and […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas | Comments: 0

David Hodges To Speak At Library

At 5:30 PM on the 30th of March, David Hodges will be speaking at the Reidsville Library. David is an interesting man. He is an engineer, and author of “How to Build a Hodgepodge Lodge”. As reviewed by Janisse Ray, this book “… chronicles his experience building his own home, pool and hot tub. It […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Public Interest, Reidsville | Comments: 0

Councilman Shaun Edwards Sours

This one is tough to write. I’ve been hard on various local officials when I think they deserve it, and I have given credit when I believe credit is due. Out of all the shady and evasive actions taken by various Manassas city officials, one such official I have always thought was above that fray […]

Have a hot tip on a public leech, or know someone who has been targeted by a local petty tyrant? Have a public interest event coming up? To let us know about anything of interest to the community, see the Contact Us link at the top of the page.

Categories: Manassas | Comments: 2