Year: 2012
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Another Dismaying Governance Ranking for Virginia
Add another abuse to the list of Virginia’s governance flaws: The Old Dominion ranks 5th among the 50 states for the most gerrymandered congressional districts. In a new study, “Redrawing the Map on Redistricting: 2012 Addendum,” Azavea, a Philadelphia-based GIS company, is careful to say that the metrics it applies to the nation’s 435 congressional…
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The Tea Party Fades Into History
By Peter Galuszka Whatever happened to the Tea Party movement? The other day I found my laminated plastic media credential for the Virginia Tea Party PATRIOTS CONVENTION that happened about this time two years ago at Richmond’s convention center. I was overcome with nostalgia. It was such a fun group: Patrick Henry re-enactors, Jamie Radtke,…
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The Latest in Bicycle Design: Munchkin-Hauling Electric Bikes
If anyone is still skeptical that bicycling will continue to gain transportation market share, consider the new bicycle designs that appeal to every conceivable demographic. The latest case in point: Japan’s Bridgestone, known for its automobile tires, has sold 300,000 of the bicycles (displayed at right) that cater to moms with tots. The electric bike,…
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Are Virginia’s Dropout Numbers Too Good to Be True?
by James A. Bacon Virginia appears to be making extraordinary progress in reducing the high school drop-out rate in public schools, according to data released yesterday by the McDonnell administration. The statewide dropout rate fell to 6.5 percent for the class of 2012, compared to 7.2 percent for the class of 2011 — a huge…
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Could U.Va. Lose Its Accreditation?
By Peter Galuszka Talk about your existential crisis. The University of Virginia is under fire from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission to show cause why it should not face sanctions or even lose its accreditation because of the inane attempted firing of President Teresa Sullivan this summer. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch,…
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A Sensible Idea for Marketing Virginia
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) is partnering with Virginia’s public institutions of higher education to generate more leads for corporate recruitment. A Memorandum of Understanding signed by VEDP, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Virginia public colleges and universities, establishes the goals of promoting “core strengths, assets and expertise of…
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Yeah, Bike Lanes Actually Do Reduce Cycling Accidents
An interesting view about bicycle safety has long prevailed among traffic engineers: Cyclists are better off in the long run learning to ride in traffic with automobiles than having their own dedicated bike lanes. This counter-intuitive idea can be traced back to a certain John Forester, popularizer of “vehicular cycling,” who argued that bikers should…
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The New Reality of U.S. Energy Few Admit
By Peter Galuszka When it comes to energy, the 2012 election campaign may present one version of reality but another world – that of cold, hard economics – presents something else. In the process, a number of myths are being shattered. The most recent news is that Richmond-based Dominion is shutting down its Wisconsin-based Kewaunee…
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Repeat after Me: A Smaller Increase in Defense Spending Is Not a “Cut” in Defense Spending.
Defense cuts may have less impact on Virginia’s economy than many commentators, including myself, have feared. Much ado has been made of what “sequestration” — automatic spending cuts imposed upon the defense budget if Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on any other form of debt reduction — will have upon the Old Dominion’s defense-dependent economy.…
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Va. Defense Spending: Hypocrisy As Usual
By Peter Galuszka You have to love Virginia politicians. One minute they are bashing the federal government and spending. The next, they’re screaming about cutbacks in defense spending. Talk about wanting it both ways. One of the most profound contradictions is the perpetual clash between the idea of skinflint budgets with that of keeping the…
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Revisiting Transportation’s Black Hole
by James A. Bacon Earlier this week, I published data compiled by the Richmond Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization illuminating the vast disparities in regional transportation funding — not just in absolute dollars, but on a dollars-per capita basis. In FY 2012 and FY 2013, Northern Virginia got the lion’s share of state transportation spending, putting…
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Concrete Exec Advocates “Two Pavement” Road System
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) spends only 7.6% of its paving dollars on concrete, as opposed to asphalt, and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Concrete Paving Association wants a bigger piece of the action. Pitching the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) Wednesday, Executive Director Robert R. Long Jr., outlined four “opportunities” for the state…
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McDonnell Team Pushes New Transit-Funding Scheme
by James A. Bacon Virginia should overhaul its funding formulas to reward local transit companies for superior productivity and performance, argued Thelma Drake, director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) during a presentation yesterday of the McDonnell administration’s funding reform plan to the Commonwealth Transportation Board. “The current system dates back to…
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Tell George Allen: U.S. Coal Exports to Europe Reaching Record Highs
By Peter Galuszka This just in from the trenches of “The War on Coal.” How can it be that the U.S. coal industry is heading towards extinction because of Barack Obama’s “war” on the sector when American coal exports to Europe are approaching record highs? Yes, I have that right. It’s actually an unusual flip…
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Virginia: A Bike Semi-Friendly State
Virginia has received a 17th-place ranking in the League of American Bicyclists’ 2012 list of bicycle-friendly states, communities, universities and businesses. States and communities are scored on the basis of physical infrastructure, education programs, incentives and promotions, law enforcement and a commitment to plan for the future. Given the recent emergence of a bicycle movement…