Category: Science & Technology
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Under the LiDAR
New technology is taking cost, time and uncertainty out of highway design. For Virginians, this quiet revolution means less traffic disruption, lower costs and faster turn-around times on big projects. by James A. Bacon Last fall Fluor Transurban was negotiating a contract with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to build or upgrade 29 miles…
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Five Ways Virginia Sucks
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in Blogs and Blog Administration, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Government Finance, Gun rights, LGBQT, Money in politics, Science & Technology, Social Services and EntitlementsBy Peter Galuszka An alternative blogger is listing five ways Virginia may be the worst state in the union, a.k.a. “Bob Land.” Tara Lohan of AlterNet notes that generally, watching the news these days is like going through a time warp when it comes to debates about birth control or teaching science in the classroom.…
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Hate ObamaCare? Try Social Media
By Peter Galuszka For all the chatter before the U.S. Supreme Court and pundits, ObamaCare has raised critical questions striking at the heart of individual rights and the Constitution. Yet there’s another, far more powerful and potentially more sinister force out there that is far more ominous along similar grounds: social media. True, “social media”…
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The Uranium Quagmire
By Peter Galuszka For the 50 or so people sitting in the quaint Pepsi-Cola building Tuesday in Danville’s tobacco warehouse district, the information seemed to spawn more frustration than clarity. They had gathered to hear two economic impact reports regarding controversial plans by Virginia Uranium to mine an ore deposit a dozen miles to the…
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Who Will Report the News? 2012 Update
More bad news for news junkies: The press is the fastest shrinking industry in the United States. Advertising sales have halved since 2005. For every digital ad dollar earned, newspapers have lost $7 in print ads. Digital advertising is expected to surpass the combined advertising of newspapers and magazines combined. “There’s no doubt we’re going…
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¡Viva la Revolución!
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Transportation, Uncategorized, Water-waste waterEstimado Jefe! Usted nunca debe salir de la ciudad, señor! Ahora que usted está ausente, la revolución comienza! Amados lectores de ya no ver los artículos que glorifican a los ricos y privilegiados. Vamos a ayudar a la tierra y los pobres y redistribuir los fondos de cobertura. ¡Viva la Revolución!
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Brace Yourself for the Next Transportation Revolution
Bill Ford with the new B-MAX, which supports cellular phones and portable media devices for hands-free operation. by James A. Bacon In articles in the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of Fort Motor Company, has unveiled his new vision for how automobile technology can improve traffic safety and…
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Thumbsucking, Richmond-style
By Peter Galuszka The incredible, shrinking Richmond Times-Dispatch offers a lot less to read these days. Under the leadership of Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri, many staffers have been fired to boost parent firm Media General’s top line. The effort hasn’t been entirely successful since its stock, once around $65 a share, is now a little better…
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Good Bye and Good Riddance to 2011
by James A. Bacon Good riddance to 2011, 365 days of misery that brought us the Gulf Oil Spill, Quantitative Easing 2 and the bulge in Anthony Weiner’s briefs. Most distressing of all, the year marked another failure by the country’s political leadership to address the nation’s fiscal free fall and avert the hard, hard…
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Secondary Payloads Lower Cost of Satellite Launches
by Jack Kennedy Earlier this month, news of a proposed Virginia tax incentive for sending cremated remains into space went viral around the globe. Stories appeared in Germany, the Arab Emirates, Australia and throughout the United States. Most mocked the idea. All missed the underlying storyline of opportunity to boost primary satellite payloads at a…
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Boosting the Productivity and Quality of Road Design
Here’s how state highway departments do their project design work: An engineer sits at a work station equipped with Microstation 3-D modeling software and downloads topographical data provided by VDOT surveyors. To get new data, the engineer sends a request over to the surveying department. When a surveyor is available, he is dispatched to the…
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The Wonk Salon, November 17, 2011
Students without Borders Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy Providing education in virtual classrooms costs 65% of what it does in traditional bricks-and-mortar classrooms. But Virginia’s education funding formulas get in the way of more widespread adoption. Chris Braunlich has a plan. By 2030, K-12 Education Will Be Privatized Hoover Institution Eventually, the United State…
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The Wonk Salon, November 2, 2011
Thirty-four Referenda this Year National Association of State Budget Officers It’s an off-year for elections so there are only 34 ballot measures in nine states this year, down from 160 last year. The referenda range from voting on slot machines in Maine to approving/rejecting an Ohio law limiting collective bargaining. Implementing Common Core State Standards…
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The Wonk Salon, October 26, 2011
Custom Education through Online Learning Goldwater Institute Students sitting in rows, teachers lecturing in front of blackboards… Teaching hasn’t changed much in the past century. The growth of online learning solutions changes the conversation from choosing a school to choosing individual services that specifically meet a student’s needs. Do Special Programs for the Gift Really…
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The Wonk Salon, October 12, 2011
State Spending Still Outpacing Inflation, Population Growth Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission Despite the recession, state spending over the past 10 years has outpaced inflation and population growth by a wide margin. General Fund spending hasn’t kept up — the growth comes from Non-General Fund spending. Medicaid Errors Costs the State $ Tens of…