Category: Regulations, Gov’t Oversight
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Why We’re Being Railroaded On “STEM”
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in Business and Economy, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Property rights, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka When it comes to education, a constant mantra chanted by the Virginia chattering class is “STEM.” How many times have you heard that our students are far behind in “STEM” (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics)? We have to drain funding from more traditional areas of study (that actually might make them better…
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Virginia: The Energy Guzzler Capital of the East Coast
by James A. Bacon Virginia is the 43rd most energy efficient state in the country, which is another way of saying that it is the 6th most energy inefficient among the 48 states included in a national ranking by the number crunchers at WalletHub. The finding is based on the publication’s energy efficiency rankings in homes…
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Good Luck With McAuliffe’s Ethics Panel
By Peter Galuszka Despite the obvious need, Virginia still has done very little to address its monumental problems with ethics reform. The latest endeavor was announced yesterday by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, but it seems too much like just another panel. And panel it is. McAuliffe has created the 10-member Commission to Ensure Integrity and Public…
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In the “If Your Like Your Health Care Plan, You Can Keep It” Department…
From the Times-Dispatch: “After a year’s reprieve, up to 250,000 Virginians will receive notice by the end of November that their health insurance plans will be canceled because the plans do not comply with the Affordable Care Act and accompanying state law.” Now those Virginians will have to buy new, Obamacare-compliant plans, which means they…
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Richmond’s Tech Star in Kickback Scheme?
By Peter Galuszka Critics of the American healthcare system have long cited hidden charges as one reason why costs are so high and why reform is needed. So, it is disturbing to read a report on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal that Health Diagnostic Laboratory, arguably the most successful of the biotechnology…
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A Better Route
by James A. Bacon The GRTC Transit System, like most municipal bus systems, provides a one-size-fits-all transportation service. Whatever the route, time of day and level of demand, GRTC runs a standard city bus capable of carrying nearly 60 seated and standing passengers along fixed routes. Everyone pays the same fare ($1.50 on local routes),…
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It’s Oh, So Richmond!
By Peter Galuszka When I looked at my Richmond Times Dispatch, I was stunned. I couldn’t find a story that their wunderkind Congressman, Eric Cantor, the kind of Republican they love, had gotten a big deal job with Moelis & Co., a New York boutique investment bank. There was the story in the Wall Street…
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Bob McDonnell’s Big Decision
By Peter Galuszka It was a gubernatorial quandary only Virginia could have . In the summer of 2011, former Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was ready to take a few days off. He and his family had been going to Smith Mountain Lake, a popular destination near Roanoke with lots of golf courses and seven-figure lakeside…
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Innovative Virginia
In his new book, “Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government,” Aneesh Chopra makes the case for using technology to transform government in the United States. Weary of the old liberal-conservative debate of more government/less government, Chopra espouses effective government. In this book, he comes across as conservative in his frank acknowledgment that government often falls…
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Wild Ride
by James A. Bacon Last week Governor Terry McAuliffe gave the Uber and Lyft ride-sharing services provisional permission to operate in Virginia as long as they comply with minimal standards for hiring drivers. Uber entered the Richmond marketplace around the same time, putting six cars on the road. Rates are competitive with those of local taxicabs but…
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State Workers: GiftGate’s Unsung Heroes
By Peter Galuszka The McDonnell corruption trial, now going into its third week, is an enormously sad and tawdry affair bringing shame on the defendants and the prosecution’s key witness, businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. Yet there are heroes — state employees. A number of them have testified over the past week that they sensed…
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Confessions of the Tic-Tac Man
By Peter Galuszka On afternoon last week, I was leaving the seventh floor courtroom at U.S. District Court after Judge James Spencer called for a break. Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the prosecution’s star witness against former Gov. and Ms. McDonnell, had been on the stand for hours, playing various roles as remorseful solicitor, confident businessman,…
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The One Graph that Answers the Central Economic Issues of Our Time
by James A. Bacon If you want to understand the intertwined phenomena of lackluster economic growth, persistent unemployment, stagnant wages and the income gap, I present to you the Rosetta Stone, a graph that explains all. It comes from a new paper written by Ian Hathaway and Robert Litan and published by the Brookings Institution: “The…
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Williams: How to Reach the High and Mighty
By Peter Galuszka The McDonnell corruption trial has its high and low moments. One theme stands out: the trial is a guidebook of how to gain broach and compromise the power elite of Virginia politicians, in this case the Republicans. Here are a few takeaways: Want to break in? Having a private jet is a…
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RAM, Coal and Massive Hypocrisy
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in Business and Economy, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Health Care, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Sure it’s a photo op but more power to him. Gov. Terry McAuliffe is freshly arrived from the cocktail and canape circuit in Europe on a trade mission and is quickly heading out to the rugged and impoverished coal country of Wise County. There, he, Attorney General Mark Herring and Health and…