Category: Science & Technology
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The Wonk Salon, October 8, 2011
Open Source IT Architecture in Houston James A. Baker Institute It’s time for Houston to move from expensive, proprietary IT platforms an open source architecture. Among other initiatives, the city should develop a wiki platform to capture institutional knowledge. Uh, Oh, Our Water Infrastructure Is Decaying, Too Economic Policy Institute Rebuilding America’s decaying water/waste water…
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The Wonk Salon, September 23, 2011
Comparing Public- Vs. Private-Sector Compensation: Private Wins by a Hair Boston Center for Retirement Research Private-sector workers earn about 9.5% more than state-local government workers with comparable skills. If benefits are included, total compensation is just about equal on a national level. Immigration Assimilation: It Takes Two to Tango Center for American Progress Historically, Americans…
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Chart of the Day: Top Regions for Biotech Patents
How about that? The Washington metropolitan region has emerged as the No. 4 biotech region in the world based on the number of biotech patents between 2004 and 2006, according to a new Milken Institute report, “The Global Biomedical Industry: Preserving U.S. Leadership.” (Click on chart for more legible image.) Of course, it’s one thing…
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Virginia’s Path to Digital Cities
by James A. Bacon Songdo, a city 40 miles from Seoul, South Korean, can easily generate a case of “thinking big” envy. The Songdo International Business District, being built from scratch, aspires to become “the world’s smartest, greenest city” and “the commercial epicenter” of Northeast Asia. It’s a 1,500-acre mixed-use project with 600 acres of…
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The Wonk Salon, September 11, 2011
Free Market Telecom Works in Texas Texas Public Policy Foundation Texas has deregulated local telephone service and promoted competition in video. Since 2001, the number of broadband subscribers has grown more than 1,015%. The Unproven Case for Missouri Aerotropolis Show-Me Institute Missouri legislation would subsidize the air cargo industry at the St. Louis airport to…
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The Ghost of June Allen
By Peter Galuszka The ghost of a classical piano player with a knack for penetrating huge engineering reports is watching over the latest problems at Dominion Virginia Power’s North Anna nuclear power station. Throughout the 1970s, June Allen, who headed the North Anna Environmental Coalition and died of breast cancer in 2010, fought Virginia Electric…