The catastrophic chemical spill that put 300,000 people in West Virginia out of public water for ten days inevitably raises questions about the safety and security of water systems nationwide. On Thursday, January 9, 2014 some 5,000 gallons of an industrial chemical called 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, spilled from a storage tank,...
Today our local newspapers headlines were that the president was backing off from Social Security cuts in his budget which will be released early in March. As someone who receives Social Security, and also one hoping his own children will have a decent retirement which will include Social Security, it...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pushing to control the waters of the United States. And at least one political leader is pushing back. “To let EPA begin to regulate all waters of the United States would have devastating impacts on rural towns, farmers and local governments,” says Congressman Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. ...
Can you name one thing on which Governors George Allen, Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and Bob McDonnell agreed? Here’s one: the importance of Virginia’s Standards of Learning. The Standards of Learning, or proverbial “SOLs,” became the basis of our public school accountability system under Allen in the 1990’s....
Most parents of children with disabilities don’t worry about the nuances of school governance for full-time virtual schools in Virginia. They just want their child to receive the services he or she needs. The Virginia Virtual Academy provides full-time online instruction to nearly 350 children throughout Virginia, including students with...
Urban Mining is the Way of the Future BackgroundAround the world as historical commodity prices climb and metals and raw materials become more scarce and more valuable, utilizing and recycling all such materials is becoming more prevalent each day, starting new industries and creating jobs, and monetizing traditional waste streams....
How many golf courses does the Commonwealth of Virginia own? No, that is not a ‘how many people does it take to screw in a light bulb’ question. Owning and operating golf courses is not a core government function. It is effectively competing against private enterprises that usually do the...
In September House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, gave a major policy speech to the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce declaring that money alone cannot solve Virginia’s transportation problems. He called for a “new way” to think about those problems that relies heavily upon new technology and prioritization of projects by Return...
Watch the government bureaucrats in December of any year. The Government Accountability Office issued a report (CLEAN WATER ACT –Changes Needed if Key EPA Program if to Help Fulfill the Nation’s Water Quality Goals) in late December, 2013, which will put another EPA bull’s-eye on farmland and ranch operators and...
In 2007, the Virginia General Assembly replaced one eighth-grade social studies Standards of Learning (SOL) exam with three required middle school SOL tests. In 2009, Virginia’s state superintendent proposed eliminating the third-grade social studies SOL exam, but backed off after opposition from members of the General Assembly. My. What a...
