The Center for Digital Government has released its 2006 Digital Cities Survey, which rates city governments for how they “utilize digital technologies to better serve their citizens and streamline operations.” Virginia cities — and not just those in Northern Virginia — stood out nationally for their embrace of technology. 125,000-249,999 population: 1st: Alexandria (tie with…

One of the ongoing debates on this blog is the extent to which American drivers are willing and able to modify their driving habits in response to higher gasoline prices. Well, here’s the latest data. Reuters reports: HOUSTON (Reuters) — High gasoline prices not only slowed fuel demand growth and cut sales of gas-guzzling vehicles…

I’ve long advocated “car sharing” as one of the many small-bore solutions that, collectively enacted, can relieve traffic congestion in Virginia. (See “Step up to Flex,” May 10, 2004.) The concept of flex cars, in which subscribers make Internet reservations to rent cars by the hour for short trips, was easy to ridicule a couple…

The House of Delegates hasn’t forgotten about the U.S. Supreme Court “Kelo” ruling that expanded the rights of local governments to condemn peoples’ land for economic development purposes. The House passed a bill last year curtailing the application of eminent domain in Virginia but deadlocked with the Senate, so the bill went nowhere. But according…

Now that the Federal Drug Administration has decided to make emergency contraception (the so-called “morning after pill”) available over the counter, the controversy will migrate to the states as local legislators consider local restrictions. As a happily and monogomously married guy who has been surgically “fixed” after having three children, I’ll concede that emergency contraception…

From the Culpeper Star Exponent, citing the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: About 45,000 acres of Virginia’s rural lands are lost annually to development and nearly 120 farms disappear every year. Of all the development that has occurred in the commonwealth in the last 400 years, more than one-fourth of it has taken place…

If quoted correctly, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine made a most perspicacious remark in a speech he delivered yesterday at the University of Richmond. If only his actions conformed with the principle he articulated! Richmond.com quotes him as follows: At the end of the day, this transportation issue on the dollar side will just come down…

The politically incorrect Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has issued its 2006 analysis of how well the 50 states are educating their neediest children. Disdaining the emphasis on self-esteem and feel-good multiculturalism, Fordham argues that schools should teach children the skills they need to excel in the world. Accordingly, Fordham looks favorably upon the setting of…

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has lined up significant support for a Virginia telework initiative, collecting pledges from 32 Northern Virginia technology companies to “expand or implement telework within our organizations” and to encourage their colleagues to do so as well. According to Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra, the Kaine administration also has set ambitious goals…

The Third Crossing over Hampton Roads is slipping further out of reach, reports Christina Nuckols at the Virginian-Pilot. Citing uncertainty about state priorities, the two consortia that submitted plans to build the $3 billion mega-project have asked the state to put the project on hold for two years. Some legislators have said they regarded the…

In a tour of Northern Virginia, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine stated that he would push for land use reforms and extra transportation funding in the 2007 session of the General Assembly. In previous statements, he had said that he would steer clear of transportation issues until after the fall 2007 elections when voters would have…

Kudos to the Virginian-Pilot editorial writers! They really nailed it with an editorial prompted by, of all things, two proposed development projects in Chesterfield County. As the Pilot has come to realize, when the Virginia Department of Transportation pays for maintaining local roads, land use decisions made halfway across the state affect all of us.…

“As a business leader, I am concerned,” declares Katherine Busser, a senior vice president for Capital One and chair of the Strong Start Council. “I need a workforce of critical thinkers, team players, and effective communicators. These skills find their roots in the earliest years. High-quality early-childhood education is a solution.” We can all agree…

The hot new concept in residential real estate now is to build developments around equestrian centers. The Washington Post notes that there are at least three such communities in the Washington metro area. Additionally, I have heard of equestrian/residential projects downstate: one in New Kent County, one near Lynchburg. Unlike golf communities, in which golf…

Dan Morse at the Washington Post has written a light feature story about the spread of golf carts as a mode of transportation, typically in retirement communities but also in small towns and suburban subdivisions. The story doesn’t reach any profound conclusions, but there is some interesting data embedded within it. As many as 40,000…