(Editor’s note: As Virginia contemplates more toll roads, and the interstate highway system needs substantial rebuilding, this article illustrates how today’s technology can help pay for our roads more efficiently than today.) Efforts are under way both nationally and regionally to bring about interoperability among all-electronic tolling systems. This involves...
(Publisher’s note: As we in Virginia continue to debate whether to expand Medicaid coverage and rely on the federal government to pay 90% of the cost forever, it is important for us to understand that the entire health care program is still very unstable financially.) Here’s the news you heard:...
With federal transportation spending outpacing tax receipts by some $1.25 billion/month, the cash balance of the Federal Highway Trust is drawing perilously close to the point where the U.S Department of Transportation will be obliged to institute cash management strategies—such as slowing down or delaying state reimbursements — to keep...
(Publishers Comment: Let us in Virginia take full advantage of public private partnerships wherever practical to increase the transportation funding available to us for resolving our congestion relief needs and economic growth requirements.) The Administration’s proposed surface transportation bill, released the last week of April, generally followed the outlines that...
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has been forceful in claiming EPA’s definition of “waters of the United States” is merely a clarification and not an expansion of EPA’s authority.You can decide whether EPA is expanding its jurisdiction. EPA further claims it is reducing confusion and reducing transaction costs for the regulated...
In a memorable scene from the classic sitcom Sanford and Son, a legal predicament led Fred Sanford to consider hiring a man who was peddling cut-rate attorney services. When Sanford and the man met, the conversation that ensued went something like this: Sanford: So, you’re a lawyer?Man: That depends on who...
A wise boss once told me: “Be careful of what you ask for. You might get it.”In the ongoing discussions over Virginia’s Standards of Learning exams, advocates of SOL reform may want to keep that adage in mind.Those who argue that, without exception, Virginia’s Standards of Learning program is not...
As I have endeavored to develop a conservative vision for Smart Growth, I have relied primarily upon conservative principles with a libertarian slant — limited government, fiscal conservatism, free markets and the like. But there is a vast realm of conservative thinking that I have neglected, which William S. Lind,...
Employment in the nation is finally starting to pick up. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 192,000 in March, which is 1.7% higher than a year ago. The Richmond metropolitan area is seeing similar growth. Employment rose 1.5% over the year ending with February, which is the latest data available at the...
EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, commenting on the new definition of what constitutes a water of the United States says, “To be clear: our proposal does not add to or expand the scope of waters historically protected under the Clean Water Act.”Well, as Ronald Reagan would say, let’s examine how EPA...
