Author: James A. Bacon
-
CTB Advances $1.4 Billion U.S. 460 Project
With a new financing plan, the interstate-grade U.S. 460 Connector is a go as the McDonnell administration touts the highway’s economic development potential.
-
Bypass Foes Take their Case to the Feds
by James A. Bacon An Environmental Assessment (EA) of the Charlottesville Bypass prepared by the state and submitted to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is based on an outdated highway design, uses a deeply flawed traffic model and fails to consider transportation alternatives, charges the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in a formal response to…
-
A Small Victory for Private Property, the Environment and Oysters Everywhere
Photo Credit: Fox News Greg Garrett and Anthony Bavuso won a ruling from Virginia judge earlier this week that will allow them to continue to engage in commercial oyster farming at their York County residences. That ruling reversed an earlier Board of Zoning Appeals decision that had sided with York County in determining that Garrett…
-
Virginia Ports “Financially Unsustainable”
If you wonder why the McDonnell administration official are giving serious consideration selling the Virginia Port Authority to private interests, there may be more to their thinking than a fetish for privatization. As Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton the Virginia House Appropriations Committee yesterday, port operations are “financially unsustainable” under its current setup. The commonwealth is…
-
Re-Thinking the Black Hole of Richmond
by James A. Bacon Is your region of the state getting its fair share of transportation dollars? Lots of people would respond with a resounding, “No!” If they were all right, it would mean that there are no winners in the transportation sweepstakes, only losers, and that the Virginia transportation budget is the biggest black…
-
Racing on the River
The five-mile To The Bridge And Back race is the latest and greatest attraction of the James River, and a sure sign that Richmonders are increasing their commitment to outdoor fitness.
-
Smart Growthers Blast GMU Study
The Coalition for Smarter Growth takes an even dimmer view than I do of a new George Mason University study, “Connecting Transportation Investment and the Economy in Metropolitan Washington.” Based upon “flawed and outdated assumptions,” says Executive Director Stewart Schwartz, this report was intended to “promote massive new spending on roads and sprawl.” While acknowledging…
-
Washington Metro Economy to Boom, GMU Study Says. More Transportation Investment Needed.
The economy in the Washington metropolitan region will quadruple over the next 30 years but, despite an expansion of the METRO line to Washington Dulles International Airport, regional transportation will be almost as dependent upon the automobile in 2040 as it is today. That’s the central argument of “Connecting Transportation Investment and the Economy in…
-
IG of the Day: State PE Requirements
Source: “The Impact of Physical Education on Obesity among Elementary School Children” published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, the authors found that PE classes in elementary school reduces the probability of obesity among 5th graders, especially for boys, without crowding out time for academic courses…
-
Wolf Trap: the Best of Suburbia
The five best suburban communities in which to live in Virginia are all located in Northern Virginia, if you believe the methodology employed by Caldwell Banker in a national survey of “Suburbanites Best Places to Live.” Wolf Trap took the top honors, sufficient to rank it No. 5 in the entire country, followed by Great…
-
Do Virginians Still Love the Exurbs?
As a follow-up to the previous blog post, let me bring to readers’ attention the work of Hamilton Lombard, Demographics & Workforce research specialist for the Weldon Cooper Center. In a May blog post, his analysis of census data in Virginia led to this conclusion: “The recession significantly altered the growth patterns in Virginia, smoothing…
-
Do Americans Still Love the Suburbs?
by James A. Bacon One of the hottest debates today among urbanists and economic geographers is the extent to which population growth and development are shifting from the periphery of U.S. metropolitan areas back to their urban cores. The latest contribution to this discussion, “Even after the Housing Bust, Americans Still Love the Suburbs,” by…
-
McDonnell to MWAA: Cut More Costs from Dulles Rail
In a letter sent yesterday to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Chairman Michael A. Curto, Governor Bob McDonnell pressed for further actions to drive down costs of the Rail-to-Dulles project, with the ultimate goal of keeping tolls low for Virginia taxpayers and Dulles Toll Road commuters. McDonnell said that MWAA should reevaluate the bond financing…
-
A Rising Tide Raises… Questions. Lots of Questions.
A new William & Mary Law School clinic will address prickly legal and policy questions arising from endemic flooding in Virginia’s vulnerable Tidewater lowlands. by James A. Bacon No one knows how fast the sea level off Virginia’s coast will rise by the end of the century. It could be more than a foot, if…
-
Tax Incentive Disease
The Cato Institute and I share a pet peeve: business tax incentives. In its “Fiscal Report Card on America’s Governors 2012,” author Chris Edwards chastises a practice that is prevalent in Virginia: the granting of special-interest tax breaks to favored businesses under the guise of economic development. States the report: While some governors are pursuing…