The Jefferson Journal

Commentary

Leonard Gilroy
February 21, 2013

Though only out of office for a month, it is already clear that one of the most important and potentially lasting legacies of the administration of former Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño will be its work turning the territory into a privatization leader among its state peers. To address Puerto...

Jefferson Forum
February 21, 2013

Smart traffic lights are no cure-all for Virginia’s congested road network but VDOT increasingly regards them as part of the solution. Northern Virginia traffic was quieter than usual in the early morning of January 17. The weather forecast was calling for snow later in the day, and the Federal Office...

Jefferson Forum
February 21, 2013

Companies everywhere extol their sustainable development programs and goals. Sustainability drives UN programs like Agenda 21, EU and US green energy initiatives, and myriad manufacturing, agricultural, forestry and other efforts. But what is sustainability? What is – or isn’t – sustainable? Obama presidential science advisor John Holdren has said we...

David Schnare
February 6, 2013

Virginians care about the health of their rivers and streams. The Commonwealth has long been an active partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in implementing the Clean Water Act. Lately, however, the state roles and the federal roles have become confused and nowhere is this a bigger problem than...

Jefferson Forum
February 6, 2013

An anti-poverty commission appointed by Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones has produced a schizophrenic report recommending how to address poverty in the city. On the one hand, it proffers some common-sense proposals on how to help poor Richmonders find jobs and otherwise improve their condition. On the other, it advocates...

Bob Poole
February 6, 2013

(This article is reprinted from Surface Transportation Innovations, a publication of the Reason Foundation.)Last fall when I began focusing on the impending Jan. 2nd federal sequester (now postponed two months), I concluded that engaging in endless battles over dividing up shrinking federal transportation money is counterproductive. As Congress grapples with...

Christine Chmura
February 6, 2013

(This column ran in the Richmond Times Dispatch on February 4, 2013.) Home affordability in the Richmond region stood at its highest level in the third quarter of last year since 2003. The region had 51.9 percent of households that could afford to buy a median-priced home — with half...

Jefferson Forum
February 6, 2013

In the waning months of service as one of nine Virginia Retirement System trustees, I find myself in simpatico with Rod Smyth, Chairman of the VRS Investment Advisory Committee, and Chief Investment Strategist for Riverfront Investment Group.Smyth describes VRS assets: “stocks (domestic and international), a wide spectrum of bond/credit (from...

Christian Braunlich
February 1, 2013

Virginia this week joined the rest of the nation in celebrating “National School Choice Week” from a special position: As one of states with an education choice program offering new options to students in need of them.

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Christian Braunlich
January 31, 2013

Virginia this week joins the rest of the nation in celebrating “National School Choice Week” from a special position: As one of 11 states with an education choice program offering new options to students in need of them. For the first time, private donors who want to help children find...