Welcome Mr. Leahy! Glad to have you on board! I understand your concern for wasting money and diverting a new income stream to unworthy causes. You did not comment on the observation in a past post that the real problem you noted in London is the need for Fundamental Change in governance structure. More on…

At the risk of wearing out my (very generous) welcome, there are a few more pieces to the congestion pricing discussion I’d like to add. First up is this, again from the Daily Telegraph: The London congestion charge has failed to cause a significant reduction in delays on the capital’s roads, it emerged yesterday.In the…

I am delighted to add Norm Leahy to the list of Bacon’s Rebellion contributors. Norm, as many of you know, was a blogging pioneer in Virginia. A talented wordsmith, he published the highly regarded One Man’s Trash blog before calling it quits a couple of months ago. But blogging is in his blood, and now…

House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, was “shaking with anger” yesterday after the Senate Finance Committee rejected his compromise plan for transportation for the second time this month. As reported by Christina Nuckols with the Virginian-Pilot, the Speaker said: I think we may just reject it and go home. I have a very fragile coalition…

Christina Nuckols at the Virginian-Pilot provides a sympathetic portrait of Sen. John H. Chichester and his opposition to the GOP transportation compromise. There is a human side to the ringleader of the Axis of Taxes. Writes Nuckols: Nicknamed “Chichi” by reporters, the senator has a fondness for Labrador retrievers, sushi, the Red Sox and barbershop…

In previous posts, I have made the argument that Virginia needs to incentivize Dominion and other electric utilities to invest in conservation programs and energy efficiency as well as expanding electric-generating and transmission capacity. The logical question is… what kind of programs? Like a program rolled out earlier this week by Pacific Gas & Electric,…

Judged by the volume of significant legislation passed, this has been a productive session for the House of Delegates. I have major quarrels with the transportation-financing scheme the House wants to adopt, as I have illuminated in numerous posts. But there are other bills that might actually do more good than harm. These descriptions come…

The Washington Post reports: Federal prosecutors have launched a far-reaching investigation into potential public corruption in Loudoun County, where officials have overseen billions of dollars’ worth of development projects in one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas. … The investigation and board action come after reports by The Washington Post last month that detailed how major…

The Tysons underground-railroad option arose from the dead yesterday when Frederal Transit Authority officials said that Virginia has until spring 2008 to submit its plans for the Rail-to-Dulles extension of the Metro system. Reports Alec MacGillis with the Washington Post: Reps. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) and Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) warned last summer that…

The state Senate has spiked a proposal to slap a 5 percent sales tax on gasoline, and the House of Delegates has passed its package of transportation taxes, land use reforms and VDOT restructuring. Now it’s time for the House package to cross over to the Senate for consideration. So, this is what it’s like…

Another reason to be proud of Virginia… Three Hooters waitresses from Hampton Roads modeled for the 2007 Hooter’s calendar. How about that — Virginia beach babes nailed three of the 12 spots! Hamptonroads.tv has the video here. (For those who regard this post as tasteless and politically incorrect, I offer no defense. You have my…

If you want a good cross-section of the issues swirling around the move to re-regulate the electric power industry, read Michael Shear’s article today in the Washington Post, and then my column, “Power Politics,” in Bacon’s Rebellion. Shear emphasizes the conflict between power generators and electric customers over how electric rates will be determined. I…

The Feb.5, 2007, edition of Bacon’s Rebellion is now online. Don’t miss a single issue — sign up here to get the e-zine delivered to your in-box for free. Features include: Power Politics Dominion touts electric re-regulation as a way to ensure energy independence for Virginia. But its vision requires building more power plants, not…

By torpedoing the Republican transportation compromise late last week, Sen. John H. Chichester, R-Northumberland, has steered internal GOP politics into a radical new direction. Terrified about facing the voters this fall, Republicans of disparate political viewpoints had overcome their differences to craft a far-reaching package of transportation funding and reforms. By allying with Democrats to…

This letter comes from Mike Wade, chairman of the Republican Party of Hamption and chairman of the Republican Third Congressional District Committee. I will post my own observations in a follow-up post. — Jim Bacon With every political pundit focused on the transportation issue in the General Assembly, it seems fitting for his Excellency, Senator…