Year: 2012
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Taxpayers against the Bypass
In a new report, “Sliding Past Sequestration,” Taxpayers for Common Sense have outlined a program to cut $2 trillion in federal spending over the next 10 years without touching entitlements. Among the many ideas are proposals to delete low Return on Investment transportation projects. Along with the likes of the Upper Mississippi River Navigation Locks…
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Koching up a New Test of Online Learning
Speaking of James V. Koch (see previous post), the former Old Dominion University president-turned-economics professor has posted on his website a research paper he is publishing about the efficacy of online learning. Many studies have found “no significant difference” between students learning online and in bricks-and-mortar environments, Koch says. But the finding of those studies…
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Virginia’s Economy Still Precarious
Two sets of data reaffirming the extent to which Virginia’s two largest metropolitan regions remain dependent upon federal spending, especially military spending… While the Hampton Roads economy is outperforming the national economy at the moment, the future remains “murky,” according to Old Dominion University’s 13th annual State of the Region report. “We’re doing better than…
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Contesting the CON con
If anyone is laboring under the delusion that Virginia is a state that favors private-sector competition and innovation, they need look no further than its Certificate of Public Need (CON) law to see how, in the health care field at least, we can stifle entrepreneurial activity just like the blue states. The experience of Dr.…
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A Coal-Fired Power Plant Shuts Down
By Peter Galuszka For Northern Virginians who love the Potomac River, sailing out of the Washington Sailing Marina just south of Reagan National Airport is a special treat. From little boats, sails flapping in the wind, they can see the broad sweep of the D.C. and Alexandria waterfront: the Jefferson Memorial, Memorial Bridge , Hains…
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Message to VCU: Not Good Enough
In apparent deference to Governor Bob McDonnell, the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors has revised its six-year plan to assume tuition increases averaging 5.5% annually rather than 12.1% per year in the plan approved last September. The decision will diminish the increase in funding to hire new faculty and staff to $18.1 million from…
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It’s Time For Loudoun to Dump Delgaudio
By Peter Galuszka Since 1999, Loudoun County voters have strangely backed radical conservative Eugene Delgaudio as Sterling District supervisor despite his eccentric antics. When not working at his county job, Delgaudio leads a group called Public Advocate of the United States that bashes gays and pushes limited government. The group has been tagged by the…
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Heads I Win, Tails I Still Win
The McDonnell administration figures the state can’t lose with an $80 million loan to build roads for the Kincora development in Loudoun County. Not everyone agrees.
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No Easy Read
By Peter Galuszka Stealthy, deadly and glamorous, Navy SEALs are what the Army Green Berets used to be back in the Vietnam era. In the case of the Navy commandos, Virginia is a big factor in basing and training, or at least it seems to be, if you should even allow yourself to read about…
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Uh, Oh, Charlottesville Needs Another $132 Million
Construction has not yet begun on Charlottesville’s Western Bypass but the Charlottesville Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization outlined yesterday an idea for building an 8.3-mile extension of the bypass for possible inclusion in the region’s long-range transportation plan. Using standard unit costs without the benefit of engineering studies, the commission estimates that the project would cost…
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A Wave of Innovation from the Bus Industry
Municipal bus operators across the country are introducing a wide variety of innovations to a long-stagnant transportation mode. They’re replacing the old bread-loaf vehicles with sleeker, more train-like designs. They’re outfitting buses with Wi-Fi and and they’re adding racks where cyclists can load their bikes. They’re creating apps so passengers can time a bus’ arrival…
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Rumors of Big Coal’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
By Peter Galuszka Beware the power of Big Coal, especially in a swing state such as Virginia during election year. The state that ranks 12th in production in the nation, the Old Dominion has been the source of much coal company campaign contributions, most of it going to Republicans like George Allen, who is running…
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Online Learning Strikes Again
Here’s another example of how online learning continues to make inroads in K-2 education. Twenty-five elite private academies in the United States, Jordan, China, Japan and Indonesia are offering full-credit, online courses through the Global Online Academy. One of those schools is Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C., which President Obama’s two daughters attend. The program…
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Has “Peak Car” Arrived?
by James A. Bacon Worried about “peak oil?” Never fear, the world also may be reaching “peak car,” to borrow a phrase coined this summer by Scientific American. The average American is driving less and less each year — a trend matched by the citizens of economically advanced democracies across the globe, from France and…