The Jefferson Journal
Commentary
This spring, the Commonwealth will make an important decision on how to move forward with the public-private partnership proposals it has received to privatize The Port of Virginia. Virginia has two well-qualified port operators interested in bringing their expertise and capital to Virginia in return for full business and operational...
(This article is reprinted by Surface Transportation Innovations, a monthly newsletter by Reason Foundation.) The state with the longest track record in public-private partnerships (P3s) for transportation infrastructure is clearly Virginia. It enacted the first workable general enabling legislation for P3s back in 1995 (the Public-Private Transportation Act—PPTA) and despite...
Each of the nation’s 366 metropolitan statistical areas saw a year-over-year increase in personal income in 2011 — the first time since 2007. Richmond had the fastest personal income growth of any metro area in the state — with income up 5.8 percent from the previous year, according to a...
Near the Henrico County government training center, a five-foot pipe spills water into Rocky Branch, a forlorn and forgotten urban creek. When it rains, water from more than 80 acres of roofs and parking lots along Broad Street rushes through the culvert and shoots into the stream at high velocity....
As part of his “ALL STUDENTS” education reform package, Governor Bob McDonnell has proposed removing the barriers that prevent Virginia school divisions from working with Teach for America (TFA), a non-profit that recruits recent college graduates to teach for two years in low-income communities. The Fairfax Education Association – a...
(This column ran in the January 7th edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch.) President Barack Obama signed a law last week that keeps taxes from going up on most Americans, but the potential for sequestration was delayed for just two months.The sequestration — across the board cuts in government spending...
As our national leaders struggle over deficit reduction, Virginians in particular worry about the possible effects of a sequester, or automatic cuts, in the defense budget. But it’s not clear that these would have as much impact on the state as some have predicted. Cuts in defense and non-defense spending...
(Gary Baise columns show the impact of federal regulation on our agricultural economy. Federal government over-reach in one state can happen in Virginia. He lives in Virginia.) EPA issued a 307-page report this past September which claims four Washington State dairies produce “…a considerable amount of nitrogenous organic waste.” (Manure...
(Publisher’s note: The financial solvency of Social Security impacts Virginia, young and old alike. This column is one perspective.) To resolve Social Security’s looming financial shortfalls, one of the primary ideas being promoted is to raise taxes. Such a proposal was recently outlined in a Fox Business commentary by financial...
Two years ago when the General Assembly adopted the Governor’s transportation bonding package, everyone acknowledged that a sustainable funding initiative was necessary to meet the Commonwealth’s ongoing transportation needs. The needs of our transportation system are undeniable: We have taken more than $3 billion out of our road construction program...