The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee has effectively killed two measures designed to encourage the creation of charter schools in Virginia, ensuring that public education in the Old Dominion, one of the most stultifyingly top-down school systems in the country, will remain that way. “Localities and parents need to maintain control...
In what seems to be an admission that the Obama Administration often opts for symbols over substance, a recent editorial in The New York Times asserts that the White House’s latest budget submission is, “like all presidential budgets,” merely “a statement of values and priorities, a blueprint to turning ideas...
Counties in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia have filed a friend of the court brief (Amicus Curiae) in the TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) case between the American Farm Bureau Federation v EPA. Seventeen county governments in these three states spell out why they oppose EPA’s attempt to control non-point source...
From 1982 to 2014 the annual direct cost of traffic congestion in America’s metro areas increased from $42 billion to $160 billion (both measured in 2014 dollars). A major reason for this was that states and metro areas cut way back on adding capacity to their urban expressways and major...
Military triumphs and catastrophes have often hinged on how well (or luckily) armies and navies employed, avoided or benefited from weather and other natural events. Severe storms helped the British navy defeat Spain’s Armada in 1588. George Washington knew horrid weather meant the Hessians would not expect an attack across...
As I write this, the status of major the health care reform passing the General Assembly is in doubt. It seems that the heavy-handed lobbying of the hospitals might keep costs high and competition at bay. The hospitals actually sponsored a television and radio ad that so distorted the facts...
The problem of student debt is finally getting high-level attention in Virginia, as evidenced by a panel discussion on the subject hosted in Richmond over the weekend. It’s less clear that anyone has a realistic idea of what to do about it.Some one million Virginians owe a total of $30...
On February 11, National Review declared “Obama’s power-mad agency claims jurisdiction over land and water use almost everywhere in the United States.” Articles have been written recently regarding whether the U.S. Supreme Court will decide to hear arguments regarding American Farm Bureau Federation v EPA, the TMDL case. On Feb. 19, 2016, the...
In discussions about the ultimate effects of fully autonomous vehicles (robo-taxis), the least attention is being paid to their likely impact on traditional mass transit. To be sure, some suggest that robo-taxis could serve the last-mile function, taking people from home to a transit stop and from a transit stop...
Jefferson Journal: Renting Private Rooms Makes Sense
The General Assembly is debating how best to allow private homeowners to rent their extra bedrooms on a short term basis. That decision may be made this year or next, but it is an important one in this changing economy. Here’s why its a good idea … and some issues...