Just how successful is Bob McDonnell at being the “Jobs Governor?” The question gets more interesting week by week as Virginia struggles through the anemic recovery. Last week, the news was good. Some 213 new jobs were announced as International Paper reconfits its Franklin plant that it shut down with a loss of 1,000 jobs…

Over at the Score, Norm Leahy continues his battle against incentives or, as he calls it, “corporate welfare” by subjecting a recent op-ed piece by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to withering scrutiny. Read the blog post. There is so much to say on this topic, but I’ll let Norm carry the ball right now.

Cutting Women and Children FirstCenter on Budget and Policy PrioritiesProposed congressional cuts to the WIC nutrition program could deny benefits to between 325,000 and 475,000 eligible women, infants and children under five.

For what it’s worth: It appears that I can no longer post comments to my own blog. I get an “bX-rynfwe” message, whatever that is. Others who report that error message on Blogger’s forum appear to get no satisfaction. So, as much as I would like to respond to some comments, I am not able.…

Who is Dennis L. Martire? For all the controversy over cost overruns in the Metrorail-to-Dulles project, his name has barely figured in media accounts. But he is the central figure in the decision by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board to require a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for Phase 2 of the multibillion-dollar construction…

How to Get Effective Teachers in All SchoolsCenter for American ProgressThe best teachers are distributed unevenly around the nation’s school systems. To reduce educational inequities, pay teachers more… and more equitably. Evaluating Patient-Centered Medical HomesThe Urban InstitutePatient Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs) are an emerging model for medical care. Lots of pilot projects are underway around…

A “spatial mismatch” has emerged between the location of jobs and people in metropolitan America, argues a new Brookings Institution study, “Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America.” In a study of 371 mass transit providers in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, the authors find that nearly 70% of the residents of large…

It might seem like a simple question: Is it hard to quit smoking tobacco? For Philip Morris, past and present, it depends on what kind of barriers your corporate lawyers have erected. To Louis C. Camilleri, CEO of Philip Morris International, now conveniently based in Switzerland, the answer is no. While smoking is addictive, he…

Virginia saw a 20%+ increase in Temporary Assistance for Need Families (TANF) between 2007 and 2009. Some states are severely cutting back on their TANF programs, according to a report by the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities. Virginia is not mentioned as one of them.

The Redundancy in Federal Economic Development ProgramsGovernment Accountability OfficeUncle Sam spends $6.5 billion a year on 80 economic development programs, most of which offer small business assistance. Bonus question: How much overlap is there between federal programs and Virginia’s Department of Business Assistance?Unintended Pregnancies Cost Taxpayers $11.3 Billion YearlyBrookings InstitutionAnd that counts only public spending…

The tale of Dominique Strauss Kahn would seem too lusty for an international thriller: The managing director of the International Monetary Fund and a member of the pampered Parisian elite is plucked from the first class section of an Air France jetliner just as it is about the leave the U.S. by New York cops…

Well, well, the Commonwealth through Transportation Board voted yesterday to designate a swath skirting the western fringe of the Washington metropolitan area as a “Corridor of Statewide Significance” in an action widely interpreted to presage the development of a Western Bypass for the metropolitan Washington region. Pro-developer groups say improvements to the corridor could reduce…

An interesting initiative will go into effect in the new fiscal year. Federal “Regional Surface Transportation Program” funds will be granted only to Metropolitan Planning Organizations in urbanized areas greater than 200,000 that have developed regional transportation and land use performance measures. The metrics include traffic congestion, safety, HOV usage, transit usage, jobs-to-housing ratios, jobs…

Public Sector Unions: A Driving Force of Big GovernmentMercatus CenterPublic service unions now constitute a majority of all union members. They accomplish their aims as much through the political process as through collective bargaining.

Constitutional challenge could stop the train The Dulles Corridor Metrorail project has a way to go before it surpasses Boston’s Big Dig in the annals of the most ill-conceived, poorly managed public works projects of the modern era. But give it time. There is ample opportunity for things to go wrong. Last month, the Metropolitan…