Author: James A. Bacon
-
Studying the Study Group
by James A. Bacon The McDonnell administration hosted a hastily assembled meeting yesterday to address, in the words Deputy Sectretary of Natural Resources Maureen Matsen, the “perceived lack of transparency in the conduct of [the] Uranium Working Group.” The meeting was attended by a couple dozen stakeholders, administration officials and members of the press. If the…
-
IG of the Day: Sprawl in Abeyance
“America’s romance with sprawl may be over,” blares the headline of USA Today. “Five years ago, millions of Americans were streaming to new homes on the fringes of metropolitan areas. Then housing prices collapsed and the Great Recession slowed growth to levels not seen since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Growth remained slow last…
-
Connecting the Dots on the 460 Connector
So, I was digging into the economic and financial assumptions of the U.S. 460 Connector project, and I was reading the public-private partnership proposal put forth by 460 Partners, a consortium led by Richmond-based Moreland Property Group that includes infrastructure giants like Skanska USA and Lane Construction Corp… Like the proposals advanced by two competing…
-
Virginia at Greater Risk of Corruption than New Jersey? Really?
A couple of weeks ago I highlighted the State Integrity Investigation project, which graded Virginia “F” for transparency and accountability, and warned that poor ratings indicate a higher risk for corruption. (Read blog post.) I argued that Virginians should consider the report a wake-up call. But some people — and not just Virginians — find…
-
IG of the Day: Virginia’s Healthiest Counties
The healthiest jurisdictions in Virginia (shown in white) are concentrated in Northern Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, Roanoke/Blacksburg, Charlottesville and exurban counties surrounding Richmond… oh, and Virginia Beach. The least healthiest counties? Pretty much where you’d expect, in Southside and Southwest. Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. Visit the website for details by county: premature death,…
-
What Do You Know, There Is Electoral Fraud in Virginia
by James A. Bacon Not long ago, I dissed the need for a Voter ID law in Virginia on the grounds that it was a solution in search of a problem. Electoral fraud in the Old Dominion, I suggested, was such a rarity that there was no need to get people riled up. It just…
-
Quote of the Day: John H. Cochrane
PeterG. often belittles me for scabbing material from the Cato Institute, which, in fact, I almost never do. (Just search “Cato” on this blog to see for yourself — all “Cato” references originate with my old Wonk Salon squibs or PeterG, accusing me of something I don’t do!) Thus, it is with some trepidation that…
-
Virginia’s Next Economic Boom?
Virginia’s economic developers expect a wave of manufacturing and logistical investment when the Panama Canal expansion is complete. Opportunities this big, they say, come along only once in a generation.
-
Another Private-Sector Initiative to Salvage Health Care
Back in 2006 an estimated 2.2 million Virginians were living with chronic diseases, running up $24.6 billion in health care costs. The numbers are far higher today. One reason costs are so high is that care is so fragmented. Patients often have multiple providers, treatment plans and prescriptions. Physicians, hospitals and other providers operate in…
-
Even NAS Braniacs Have Unanswered Questions about Uranium Mining
by James A. Bacon The National Academy of Sciences report on uranium mining in Virginia covers a lot of ground, as anyone who peruses the 290-page document can attest. But the panel of co-authors attending a public presentation of the report in downtown Richmond last night conceded that there was a lot that they didn’t…
-
More Talk of a New Potomac Crossing
Governor Bob McDonnell recently broached the idea of a new Potomac River crossing with Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, reports Toll Road News. No other project in the Washington, D.C., metro area has comparable potential for improving mobility and taking unnecessary traffic off Beltway, the trade publication quotes Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton as saying. “We are starting…
-
IG of the Day: Religiosity
Mississippi is the most religious state in the country, while Vermont and New Hampshire are tied for least religious. Virginia, where 42% of respondants to a recent Gallup poll described themselves as “very religious,” ranked with the middling states. — JAB
-
Midtown Meltdown
Norfolk Midtown Tunnel. Photo credit: VDOT by James A. Bacon The controversy over tolls on the $2.1 billion Midtown Tunnel/Downtown Tunnel project in Hampton Roads is spreading statewide as transportation advocates in other parts of Virginia ponder the implications of what it means for them. In a missive distributed yesterday Robert Chase, president of the Northern…
-
Veto Power for VDOT
VDOT would gain extensive powers over local transportation planning under a bill awaiting the governor’s signature. That makes local governments and citizen groups very nervous.
-
IG of the Day: Virginia’s Impaired Waters
Virginia’s waters aren’t necessarily getting more polluted, but the Department of Environmental Quality is doing a better job of sampling Virginia’s rivers and streams, with the result that more dirty stretches of waterway are being found. This map shows the varying water quality across the state. Not much of it is pristine. Read the report.…