The Jefferson Journal
Commentary
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...
In an effort to leave a lasting legacy as the “Transportation Governor,” Bob McDonnell has proposed a tax increase to achieve that goal this year. “Virginia’s Road to the Future,” as it is billed is paved with a mixture of both good intentions and bad solutions. It is legislation that...
“If we are remembered at all, we will all be remembered for what we actually got done, Not what we promised to do.” Governor Robert McDonnell State of the State Address January 9, 2013 When we read that Governor McDonnell had developed a plan for generating additional revenues for transportation,...
America’s future – and Virginia’s – depends in large measure on whether we will be good stewards and wise users of our abundant, God-given natural resources. It is rarely good stewardship to leave your assets buried, talent-like, in the ground. But if America’s most valuable uranium deposit is to remain...
Whenever someone opens a discussion about uranium mining and milling in Virginia with, “trust me – we’ll get it right once the regulations are in place”, it should surprise no one that principled and thoughtful Virginians would seek a more thorough discussion of whether mining and milling should even be...
In 1971 fax machines were “high tech.” China was an isolated country, not a world economic player. And the TC Williams Titans were about to win the state football championship, an act made notable because it was the school’s first year of desegregation. Much has changed since then. Yet, Virginia...
Second Amendment supporters must rise to another challenge in coming months. The horrific Newtown, Connecticut school massacre has heightened anti-gun rumblings to a crescendo. It was also predictable that weapons sales would surge in Virginia and nationwide, at least partly in fear that new federal laws might be enacted. Although...
(This article is reprinted from Surface Transportation Innovations, Bob Poole’s monthly publication by the Reason Foundation. ) There’s been a lot of discussion in some transportation circles about a paper in the November 2012 issue of Public Administration Review: “The Indiana Toll Road Lease as an Intergenerational Cash Transfer.” Author...
(This article first ran in the Richmond Times Dispatch on December 3, 2012) 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...
(Gary Baise is a Virginia resident. This article shows the extent to which some will go to use the legal system to harm farmers all in the name of the environment. Our Virginia farmers are a little safer because of this legal case.) A U.S. District Court judge has ruled...