Category: Government Finance
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Cuccinelli Hints at New Formula for Road Construction
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has yet to roll out his promised comprehensive transportation plan, but he hinted in a Washington Post op-ed Friday that he won’t mince around with baby steps when he does. Instead of political reasoning, my administration would rely on a statewide traffic congestion index to determine how new construction is…
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Carnival Torpedoes Norfolk Homeport
by James A. Bacon Bad news for the City of Norfolk: Carnival Cruise Lines has confirmed its intention to pull the Carnival Glory out of Norfolk, leaving the city-owned cruise terminal, the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, virtually bereft of business. Carnival, which has experienced declining bookings and revenue, attributed the decision to a…
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Richmond’s $11.25 Million Investment in Gateway Plaza Seems Justified
by James A. Bacon Richmond City Council has approved $11.25 million in general obligation bonds to build a public parking garage for the proposed Gateway Plaza, a $110 million office tower in downtown Richmond. I’m often skeptical of municipal “incentives” to stimulate “economic development” projects, but I think this undertaking will withstand scrutiny. Chicago-based Clayco…
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Norfolk’s Cruise-Line Gamble Could Turn up Snake Eyes
by James A. Bacon Norfolk city officials are worried that Carnival Cruise Lines, the only cruise line serving Hampton Roads, may not schedule any departures from the port in 2014. The Miami-based company confirmed that it is reviewing the 2014 deployment of several ships, including the Carnival Glory, the only ship with scheduled sailings from…
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Six-Year Improvement Program: a Blueprint for Failure
by James A. Bacon With the adoption of the new Six-Year Improvement Program, the details of Governor Bob McDonnell’s transportation priorities plan are coming into clearer focus. There are some worthy elements to the plan but glaring deficiencies guarantee that Virginia will see minimal benefit from the billions of dollars dedicated to new construction. On…
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CTB Authorizes New Transportation Spending Plan
by James A. Bacon With no debate over spending priorities, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) affixed its stamp Wednesday to the Six-Year Improvement Plan submitted by the McDonnell administration. Drawing upon a revenue influx from the transportation tax package passed earlier this year, the commonwealth will increase spending on rail and highway projects from $11.4…
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“Jac” Cales’ PPTA Monkey-Wrench
By Peter Galuszka For four decades, James A. “Jac” Cales Jr. was a fixture on the judicial halls of Hampton Roads, albeit not one to take himself too seriously. As Portsmouth commonwealth’s attorney for a decade in the 1970s, he would lean back in his chair, his hands folded over his stomach and nod vigorously…
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The Good and Bad of Exporting LNG
By Peter Galuszka Riding a chunky, balloon-tire bicycle may seem awkward enough, but imagine pedaling in a six-feet-wide concrete tunnel for one mile on the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It’s amazing what we Bacon’s Rebellion bloggers do to keep you readers informed, but it’s all in a day’s work — just like…
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State Revenue Surges, but Growth Not Sustainable
by James A. Bacon There’s good news on the state budget front. Governor Bob McDonnell announced yesterday that thanks to a spike in May collections, General Fund revenues have grown 6.0% through May, ahead of the 3.6% forecast growth. The fiscal year ends in June. While advising caution, McDonnell said, “At this moment, it does…
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Don’t Look to Uncle Sam for Help
by James A. Bacon One of the reasons I’m so pessimistic about the long-term fiscal health of state and local governments is that they rely so much on federal funding to sustain ongoing operations. The perilous state of affairs is highlighted in a new American Enterprise Institute (AEI) report, “State and Local Spending: Do Tax…
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Yet Another Owner for Richmond’s Unwanted Road
By Peter Galuszka Richmond’s “Road to Nowhere” is about to get yet another owner, showing again how the public-private partnership craze can result in unneeded transportation projects while denying resources elsewhere. Australia’s Transurban which owns Route 895, otherwise known as “Pocahontas Parkway” is dumping the tollroad it picked up in an emergency financial deal in…
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Everything’s Big in Texas, Including Spending and Borrowing
Texas has been stomping every other state, including Virginia, when it comes to job creation. Some of that’s due to the oil-and-gas boom, some to a favorable tax and regulatory structure. And some, no doubt, can be attributed to the splurge in state and local borrowing and spending. Writes Steven Malanga for City Journal: While…
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Dead End Thinking in the Richmond Region
by James A. Bacon Sometimes, I despair for the transportation future of the Richmond region. If there is a problem, the first instinct of our civic leaders is to raise taxes to subsidize initiatives of unknown economic viability. The latest case in point is a set of recommendations issued by a work panel to the…
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My Moment of VPAP Clarity
By Peter Galuszka Last week, the Virginia Public Access Project held its annual luncheon and invited gubernatorial candidates Kenneth Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe to speak. No debate. No questions. Just a few minutes of remarks. The ballroom of the downtown Richmond Marriott was filled with the usual suspects, including lobbyists, lawyers, corporate officials and politicians.…
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Baby Bull
by James A. Bacon New York City, home to the “masters of the universe” and Wall Street, is typically thought of as the center of the financial world. And by most measures it is. But the city ranking No. 1 in New Geography‘s ranking of 2013 best cities for financial-activities jobs was… (drum roll)… Richmond,…