Once again we find that tax revenues are surging in Virginia. A front-page graphic in The Wall Street Journal this morning notes that Virginia revenues so far are running 14.9 percent ahead of last year — exceeding the national average of 9.5 percent by a hefty margin. That amounts to 9.03 billion for the first…

Margarett Edds, senior political writer for the Virginian-Pilot, can’t seem to understand the fuss about state and local taxes. In her column (requires registration) this morning, she writes: Scan the political ads now clogging the airwaves, and you’d swear Virginians care about one thing: low taxes. Channel flipping during one segment of the nightly news…

Today’s issue of The Washington Post has stories and graphics in three places about rebuilding the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The heroic quotes, striking photos and detailed graphics are very 21st century. A reading of Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond calls to mind a different perspective. One wonders if the…

Monday, June 13th, Governor Mark Mollycoddle will speak at the Communities in Schools of Virginia, Education Policy Luncheon at the Richmond Marriot. The theme of the luncheon is “Ten years into the SOLs, where does Virginia go from here?” Question is, will the Governor report to the media that Virginia gets barely a passing grade?…

Now we know why Sean Connaughton would not sign the Taxpayers Protection Pledge. The Washington Post let the cat out of the bag: ‘…he is honest and pragmatic enough to consider all options, including the possibility of new tax revenue. “I don’t rule out anything,” says Mr. Connaughton…’ What’s rather strange is this observation from…

The Virginia Manufacturers Association doesn’t endorse political candidates, although you might overlook that fact in the glowing press release just issued regarding LC candidate Del. Bob McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach. A new survey of candidates for Virginia attorney general reveals that Republican Delegate Bob McDonnell strongly supports reform of the Commonwealth’s legal climate, lower taxes and…

Doug Koelemay’s VITA column Monday stimulated another reader to write. This comes from a VITA employee who provided me his name, but asked me not to publish it for fear of retribution. Says the state employee: Make no mistake about it, VITA is solely interested in empire and Warner-legacy building, not in customer service or…

In this week’s column, “Re-VITA-lyzing Government,” Doug Koelemay makes the argument that VITA is living up to its goals of transforming the delivery of information-technology services to state agencies, providing better citizen service, new economic development opportunities and more cost savings for localities. Wrote Koelemay: “VITA was never to be about saving money by spending…

Jim Bacon’s post on the “family farm” made a number of good points. The responses raise a lot more good observations, especially the spacial relationship between raising and consuming food. In the discussion of extensive (nonurban) land uses it is important to keep in mind that it is economically, socially and physically important that the…

The Virginia Club for Growth PAC issued a Press Release today on the “Big RINO Lie.” RINO (Republican In Name Only) Delegates that voted for the largest tax increase in the history of Virginia last year are again promoting falsehoods in their coordinated defense regarding their vote against hard-working Virginia families. The mantra being repeated…

Michael Graham on WMAL (AM630 — the ABC affiliate in the Washington, DC area whose signal reaches all of Nortern Virginia) is carrying on a RINO Hunt. He’s targeting three NOVA legislators, namely, Gary Reese, Joe May, and Harry Parrish. Apparently, he plans on carrying this theme through June 14! Graham interviewed Reese, May, and…

Bacon’s Rebellion is launching a new blog, “The Road to Ruin,” which will focus on transportation and land use issues. The blog is a key component of a broader initiative to provide deeper, more insightful coverage of the transportation policy debate. Thanks to the generous financial support of our donors, led by the Piedmont Environmental…

In his new book, “Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much,” Richard Vedder contests a key justification for public investment in higher education: the argument that higher ed spending contributes to the general prosperity. A brief version of Vedder’s argument appears in the current edition of Forbes magazine (requires registration). I haven’t decided…

This comes from “Clean Virginia Waterways,” a Longwood University organization dedicated to the cleanliness and quality of Virginia’s waterways, and organizer of the International Coastal Cleanup here in Virginia: In last year’s clean-up, nearly 4,000 volunteers picked up more than 176,000 pounds of litter, including these top 10 items: 1. Plastic beverage bottles, two liters…

I’ve had it with all this talk about “saving the family farm!” What’s so special about the family farm? Nobody gives a rip about the disappearance of the “mom and pop” store. I don’t hear anyone singing the praises of the “family blog.” So, why do we have this sentimental attachment to the family farm?…