Will Henrico County embrace its inner urbanity? Highwoods Properties, owner of roughly one-third of the Innsbrook Corporate Center, has asked the county to rezone 188 acres to allow intensive, mixed-use development, including office towers up to 16 stories tall. If approved by the county, the project would commence the transformation of the second largest employment…

I celebrated Independence Day yesterday. Not America’s — the Southern Sudan’s. I joined a couple of  hundred Southern Sudanese, the so-called “lost boys” and their families, who had gathered from all corners of Virginia at a Methodist church in Richmond’s West End to mark the birth of the world’s newest nation. These black Africans were…

Saving Mass Transit: Competitive Contracting Heritage Foundation To become an economically competitive form of transportation, mass transit needs to bring down costs. One place to start is to implement competitive contracting. Putting Low-Income Fathers Back to Work Brookings Institution Low-income men need to financially help support their children. The authors point to Texas’ Noncustodial Parents’…

Note: Some may have seen that AZA and TMT have been playing “I post, you post” in the comment threads following somewhat unrelated posts concerning the parameters of functional density of Alpha Communities and how these densities relate to the Beta Community of Reston. In response to TMT’s latest note I have tried to put…

As I argued back in April (see “Sandy Alberta, the Saudi Arabia Next Door“), America can import its oil from our democratic, market-oriented, environmentally friendly neighbor to the north, or from anti-American crackpots like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and anti-American madmen like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Obama administration appears to be leaning toward the crackpots and madmen.…

Studying Health Care DisparitiesNational Academy for State Health PolicyA Virginia study of health care disparities is one of two initiatives highlighted in this report. That document, the 2011 Health Equity Report, should be published soon.

A half year ago, I didn’t think that I had a weight problem. At 6′ tall, I tipped the scales at 193 pounds. I exercised fairly regularly, ate balanced meals and indulged little in desserts, snacks or fast food. I had a little flab around the waste but didn’t feel overweight, much less obese. Then,…

To be frank, I have always had a bad feeling about blogging for Bacon’s Rebellion while its sister electronic magazine of the same name was controlled by a right-wing, lobbyist-infested outfit grandly called the Thomas Jefferson Instutute for Public Policy. Thankfully, this unholy arrangement will be coming to an end soon. Bacon’s Rebellion has achieved…

A lawsuit seeking to block the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority from assessing tolls on the Dulles Toll Road has been dismissed by Anthony J. Trenga, United States District Judge in Alexandria. The judge ruled against the plaintiffs in all important particulars. Details to come tomorrow. I so unhappy! Update: I talked to Pat McSweeney, one…

Someone is finally going to bat for the much-abused users of the Dulles Toll Road. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-10th, took the first step by introducing legislation that would increase Virginia’s representation on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which oversees the toll road, and make it easier to replace directors serving on the board. But…

Stalemate in the War on PovertyBrookings InstitutionForty-seven years and trillions of dollars later, Americans haven’t come close to winning the war on poverty. Unemployment, low wages, dissolving families, mediocre education and an influx of ill-educated immigrants keep poverty rates high. Want Better Schools? Deal with the Bad TeachersHoover InstitutionReplacing the worst 5% to 10% of…

Kentucky Medicaid: Expensive and IneffectiveBluegrass InstituteObamacare will suck people people out of private health plans and accelerate the rising cost of Medicaid. Program incentives thwart sound medical practice, and participants show little improvement in their health. Maternity Leave Has Little Impact on Childrens’ Cognitive DevelopmentNational Bureau of Economic ResearchPaid maternity leave is often justified on…

The General Assembly had the right idea in 2007 when it passed legislation to enable Virginia’s urban counties to take over responsibility for secondary roads from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Accountability for road-building decisions should be seated at the same level of government as accountability for land use decisions. But as Jonathan Gifford, a…

The Disconnect Between Government Supply and Private Demand in Highway InfrastructureHeritage FoundationThe private sector manufactures cars; there is no shortage of cars. The public sector owns and operates most transportation infrastructure; there is a chronic shortage of roads, highways and bridges. Connect the dots. Public-Private Finance Tools for Energy EfficiencyWorld Resources InstituteFinancing has long been…

Upon the 4th of July, one’s thoughts naturally turn to the founders of this great country who risked everything to protect their liberties. As 21st-century Americans, we look back upon the people and events of 1776 from a vantage point that views the struggle for independence as entirely natural. Of course Americans wanted their freedom!…