One quarter into the new fiscal year, despite the ongoing COVID-19 recession, Virginia state government is blowing the roof off its revenue estimates. The reason is tax increases Governor Ralph Northam has signed. Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne recently reviewed the July through September 2020 results with state legislators, offering...
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — This past weekend (this article originally published October 20), about 100 families, students, alumni and community members Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology stood on the grassy lawn in front of the school and held a symbolic memorial service for the nation’s No. 1...
My first post election observations are consistent with my pre-election ones. America is a deeply divided country led by a deeply divided dominant generation that is ending its political reign and that the 2024 election will be far more important than this one. The first All Baby Boomer election was...
A week after party-line votes killed Republican initiatives to assist parents of school-aged children financially with federal COVID-19 dollars, Governor Ralph Northam proposed sending another $223 million of those dollars to public schools, adding to millions already sent. There is a major divide in the way Republicans and Democrats view...
Now that the Virginia General Assembly’s “Cops and COVID” special session is all but finished, will it be easier or harder for the state’s struggling economy to recover in 2021? It will be harder, probably. The initial reason Governor Ralph Northam recalled legislators starting August 18 was to review the...
So, you think the rolling blackouts experienced in California were a fluke and of no relevance to Virginia? Well, then, consider what’s happening right now in the United Kingdom, where “unusually low wind output” and a series of planned power plant outages puts the nation at risk of blackouts. You...
The official kickoff to the holiday selling season starts next month, but Christmas trees have already started showing up at retail stores.It is an important time of year for retailers as holiday sales represent about 20% of the retail industry’s total sales. The typical signals forecasters use to predict holiday...
Having imposed a carbon tax on Virginia electricity generation in 2020, the General Assembly starting in January 2021 will consider adding a similar tax on every gallon of gasoline and diesel sold for vehicle use. The Transportation and Climate Initiative, an environmentalist dream for a decade, is finally ready for its close...
The Loudoun County School Board expects public school employees to conduct themselves in a professional manner. A draft policy for professional conduct contains all the usual things one would expect. Teachers and other employees should treat students and peers with dignity, respect and civility. They should not bully people, consume...
The Jefferson Journal: Economic Recovery Made Harder
Now that the General Assembly’s “Cops and COVID” special session is all but finished, will it be easier or harder for the state’s struggling economy to recover in 2021? It will be harder, probably.
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