In case you missed it, today CNN reports: “An oil spill off Louisiana was designated a spill of “national significance” Thursday, meaning assets can be drawn from other states and areas to combat it, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. “The U.S. military may be called on to assist authorities scrambling to mitigate the potential…

The policies of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell have more than a few contradictions. A key one is his stubborn refusal to raise taxes while he also deals with a state highway system that badly needs upgrading. Yet, it so short of money that funds for maintenance are routinely raided from construction funds. Trying to reconcile…

“Drill Baby, Drill” advocates who include President Barack Obama along with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell have been telling us that modern offshore oil technology is so modern that deaths and devastating spills are the problems of yesteryear. Think twice. This Tuesday a powerful blast ripped apart and then sank the Deepwater Horizon platform about 50…

Consumers account for roughly 70% of the U.S. economy, and their spending is the driving force behind economic growth. Over the past three business cycles, consumers increased their buying power through borrowing: running up credit cards, purchasing automobiles and houses on easier credit terms, and tapping their home equity. This trend was particularly pronounced during…

Gov. Bob McDonnell could make good this week on aims of the Republican-dominated House of Delegates to slash state funding for public television and radio. To be sure, a number of revenue-starved states have cut funding to their public television radio stations by at least $23 million this fiscal year, according to the Association of…

Once again we head for the parallel universe! The Tea Party Express Tour, starring Sarah Palin, is heading for downtown Richmond tonight. From 6:30 to 8 p.m., the “Taxed Enough Already” crowd will sling their bile at Big Government, Liberals and Big Taxes. They will flap their rattlesnake “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and call…

Here’s a “top ranking” list you don’t want to be on: Business Insider‘s list of “America’s Most Bankrupt Cities.” Unfortunately, the fair city of Norfolk appears there with a $26 million deficit. I have not been following developments through the Virginian-Pilot, but the Business Insider‘s description is pretty scary: City Manager Regina Williams has whittled…

One wonders after nearly three months in office, just what is going on in the head of Gov. Bob McDonnell. After about a decade of steadily building a reputation for reason and fair-mindedness, suddenly Virginia is the Butt of All Jokes. We’ve made Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show” on the Comedy Channel, Gail Collins in the…

The massive underground coal mine blast that killed at least 25 miners on the afternoon of April 5 in Naoma, W.Va. brought back some doleful memories. Exactly one year ago, I was in Naoma cruising up and down the Coal River Valley working on a story for Richmond’s Style Weekly on Richmond-based Massey Energy Co.’s…

The United States, and Virginia along with it, is entering a new era of budgetary constraints. The economic expansion we’re now entering will be weaker and frailer than in previous business cycles, with lamentable consequences for the productive, tax-paying economy of businesses and workers — and for the government that feeds off them. Two weeks…

Gov. Bob McDonnell may be dancing for joy, if not perhaps for feeling a little upstaged, by President Barack Obama’s reversal of a stand against drilling for oil offshore of Virginia. Exploration could begin in 2012 for a Delaware-sized area of 2.9 million acres about 50 miles off of Cape Charles. The plan is for…