The Jefferson Journal

Commentary

Jefferson Forum
November 14, 2013

To get an idea of just how crazy the parking problem was in downtown Richmond before City Hall decided to give focused attention to the situation, consider this. In the 23-block Capitol District, dominated by city, state and federal office buildings, there was more than enough parking to handle the...

Chris Saxman
October 30, 2013

By this point – EVERY YEAR – in Virginia, the electorate decides. Whether the electorate shows up or not determines the outcome. But the decisions have been made. We’re on final approach. Please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their locked and upright positions. This one...

Jefferson Forum
October 30, 2013

(Editor’s note:  this is the continuation of the article that began in the last issue of the Jefferson Policy Journal, on October 17, 2013. This article discusses the extent of public private partnerships in Virginia’s transportation spending and the active work that is being done by the Office of Transportation...

Jefferson Forum
October 30, 2013

“The ecological and economic importance of the Chesapeake Bay is well documented….And yet, nutrient pollution and sedimentation remain a critical concern.” So says Judge Sylvia H. Rambo, U.S. District Court judge in Pennsylvania. Judge Rambo, in a 99-page opinion filed on September 13, 2013, challenged and dismissed the arguments of...

Bob Poole
October 30, 2013

Fortune magazine’s Leigh Gallagher got a large amount of publicity over the summer for her book, The End of the Suburbs: Why the American Dream is Moving. Major newspapers did articles repeating her claims, and she expounded them on various blogs and talk shows: Millennials hate the suburbs, Baby Boomers...

Jefferson Forum
October 30, 2013

What a few weeks it’s been. Rejecting claims of looming cataclysm, the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) issued Climate Change Reconsidered-II on September 17. This report by 50 experts documents actual planetary temperature, climate and weather in recent decades – and the ways alarmist scientists have manipulated data,...

Mike Thompson
October 29, 2013

The Thomas Jefferson Institute asked that question of 513 candidates for local office in Virginia for whom email addresses were available, asking them to pledge to support efforts to make government more transparent for the voters. Sixty-four candidates took the pledge and signed the “2013 Government Transparency Pledge.” Michael Thompson,...

Christian Braunlich
October 28, 2013

Judging from the platforms of both gubernatorial candidates, Virginia’s Standards of Learning exams may be in for a tougher time next year. But in the rush to reform, advocates are ignoring the unintended consequences of reform done badly.

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Christian Braunlich
October 16, 2013

Judging from the platforms of both gubernatorial candidates, Virginia’s Standards of Learning exams may be in for a tougher time next year. Both Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe have called for a commission to review and revise the SOLs and SOL exams, even though the Standards are regularly benchmarked against...

Jefferson Forum
October 16, 2013

Earlier this month Infrastructure Investor, a magazine covering global transportation investment, recognized Governor Bob McDonnell as its fifth “Public Infrastructure Official of the Year.” It was the first time the publication had bequeathed the honor to an American, and the first time to a public figure who ranked less than a...