Virginia Rates A- in P&C Insurance
Heartland Institute

In marked contrast to the miserable performance of its schools (see previous post), Virginia rates an A- in the Heartland Institute’s ranking of the states by the freedom of its property and casualty insurance markets.

Hawai’i’s P-3 Initiative: A First-Year Evaluation
Rand Corporation
Hawai’i’s P-3 initiative in two demonstration schools hopes to have all children reading by third grade. But the program is beset by lack of clarity about who does what and a lack of rewards for success or punishments for failure.

State-Consumer Partnerships for Health Care
National Academy for Health Policy
The Southern Health Partners initiative, which includes Virginia, calls for closer ties between state officials and consumer advocates in devising state-level health care policy, especially in the creation of state health exchanges.

Examining the Excise Tax
Mercatus Center
Excise taxes account for roughly 15% of states’ revenue. Virginia has relatively low excise taxes. The big revenue earner in the Old Dominion is the tax on gasoline, followed by insurance, alcohol, tobacco, public utilities and pari-mutuel betting.