Speaking of white elephants (see previous post about U.S. 460), the Virginia Department of Transportation has nixed the idea advanced by STAR Solutions to build an an eight-lane, border-to-border upgrade for Interstate 81 that included truck-only tolls and lanes. Instead, writes Ray Reed with the Roanoke Times: Transportation planners said Virginia needs to move faster…

Three conglomerates who want to build a new, improved U.S. 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk have submitted cost estimates ranging from $1 billion to $1.5 billion — two to three times what the Virginia Department of Transportation thought it would cost. And all three companies want public money to help defray the costs, Malcolm T.…

Sixteen-year-old Steven McDonaldson, who attends Waynesboro High School, has been twice expelled from class and lectured by the principal — for wearing a t-shirt bearing the Confederate battle flag. As the News Virginian reports: The school dress code prohibits clothes that “reflect adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, national origin, or…

As many have argued in this blog, the gas tax has its flaws as a vehicle for raising money to fund ongoing roadway maintenance and construction. The flaws will become increasingly evident as Americans shift to vehicles with better gas mileage — or to electric automobiles that don’t consume any gasoline at all. Some, including…

The stories are flying fast and furious as the General Assembly prepares to convene again to discuss transportation. Among the more significant: Congestion pricing pilot project. Garren Shipley with the Northern Virginia Daily writes about a legislative package filed by Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, to authorize a congestion-pricing pilot program. On an interstate yet to…

As veterans of the 2004 tax debate recall, Warner administration officials forecast that Virginia would face chronic budget deficits within a few years. Thanks to the 2004 tax increase — and economic growth — Virginia now may be facing chronic budget surpluses. The magnitude of these surpluses are obscured by the wise General Assembly practice…

As readers of the Rebellion know, we avoid commenting upon electoral mud-slinging and the politics of personal destruction in favor of focusing on the issues. The particular issue that I want to address arises from the much-blogged flap over Sen. George Allen’s ethnic heritage. But I don’t give a hoot whether or not Allen’s grandfather…

There are two bills from Republican Hampton Roads Delegates for the special Transportation session of the GA. (http:/leg1.state.va.us – click on ‘2006 Special 1’) Delegates Jones, Oder, Iaquinto and Suit (HB5072) have dressed up the failed ’02 Transportation Tax Scam with new funding, Private-Public Transportation Act authority and people-less tolling with congestion tolling. Delegate Waldrup…

Speaking in the coalfield burg of Norton, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine unveiled yesterday a “Return to Roots” campaign that aims to reach an estimated 15,000 Southwest Virginians who graduated from high school during the past 20 years but left the region. The program, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, will try to reach the alumni…

The House Appropriations Committee had its chance yesterday to question John Bennett, Mark Warner’s Secretary of Finance, about miscalculations that led to a $137.2 million error in school funding formulas. According to Christina Nuckols with the Virginian-Pilot: Bennett, the top budget adviser to former Gov. Mark R. Warner, said he did not know the full…

Tourism should play an important role in a balanced approach to economic development in Southwest Virginia. So argues James C. Thompson, chairman of the Thompson & Litton engineering firm, in a column published in the Galax Gazette in response to an earlier column by Jerry Fuhrman (See “Selling Bottles of Water and Granola Bars“). The…

Patricia Nicoson, president of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, puts an optimistic spin on the recent decision by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to pursue the “aerial” option rather than the “tunnel” option for the METRO rail extension through Tysons Corner. Many advocates of the project were dismayed by the decision because running the rail above…

The price of gasoline, which hovered above $3 per gallon not long ago, has dipped beneath $2 a gallon at an Exxon gas station in Gainesville, the Washington Post has reported. The relief from high prices is certainly welcome. But no one should be deceived that the era of cheap gasoline is returning for any…

Today’s Daily Press editorial (‘Going Somewhere? Transportation progresss requires action, not more roadblocks’, Sep 18, 2006) cites Bacon’s Rebellion as an ‘asphalt adverse Internet blogger’.Their story about Republican delegates Glenn Oder, Terrie Suit and Sal Iaquinto supporting Republican delegate Chris Jones’ unelected, unaccountable, tax-and-spend Regional Government solution for Hampton Roads leaves out the part about…

The American Dream Coalition, a think tank funded by Dulles-area developer Chris Walker, has published a paper, “The Planning Penalty: How Smart Growth Makes Housing Unaffordable.” The starting premise of this report is that the price of the house pictured above can vary region by region by as much as a factor of eight. The…