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May 9, 2008
 BEWARE THE BELL: Futures signal Wall Street fall as world's largest insurer posts record losses, oil hits another new high
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- OIL PRICE HITS GLOBAL STOCKS, as credit worries return
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- RECORD OIL PRICES BRING FRESH INTEREST IN RETIRED L.A. WELLS: Old sites are being tapped - even in such urban locations as 90210 - the Beverly Hills High School campus
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- PERSONAL FINANCE: Taming food bills - There are almost as many ways to save on food as there are to eat
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GREENSPAN: WORST OF CREDIT CRISIS OVER but house prices still had a long way to fall and that it was unlikely they would stabilize by year-end
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Gas conspiracy to bankrupt Americans continues
VIRGINIA BEACH (May 8, 2008) - - Hearing of how high gasolines prices are elsewhere - $9.58/gallon in Eritrea - doesn't ease the suffering in Tidewater or the U.S.
CNNMoney.com reports that the U.S. is actually one of the cheaper places in the world.
That doesn't have to be: Both Democrats under Clinton and the Republicans under the Bushes have committed crimes of treason against the American economy for kowtowing to special and environmental interests in not formulating a meaningful energy policy that could have avoided the current misery.
Secondly, measures should taken now to rein in speculators who are at fault for the current problems rather than supply and demand.
Write your Congress members. Let them know if they don't vote to protect your interests, you won't be voting to protect theirs.
| As you drive around Tidewater, note the location of gasoline stations
and their prices. Then go to VNS' [INFO BAR] - at the top left of its
home page - click on GAS to find cheap gas and use the site also to
report gasoline prices you've found. |
It's bad when 3rd World countries have cheaper gasoline than the U.S. does. To see a list of the highest and the cheapest, click here:
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HOLD ON TO YOUR WALLETS - KAINE IS COMING WITH NEW TAXES?
by Leonard Gilroy
Director of Government Reform
THOMAS JEFFERSON INSTITUTE (May 8, 2008) - - Virginians, hold on to your wallets. Governor Kaine and the General Assembly are looking for ways to close the large and growing transportation funding gap, and the only ideas we're hearing in Richmond these days involve variations on the tax hike theme. Before considering a variety of sales tax increases of 20% and higher, there should be a fundamental rethink of current transportation policy and planning to ensure that we're taking advantage of all current opportunities for more efficient infrastructure delivery.
Where do we start?
First, we need to make sure we're getting the most bang for the buck from current spending. Chances are that many, if not all, current regional transportation plans in the Commonwealth will spend billions of dollars to achieve little measurable congestion relief. For example, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' long-range transportation plan will spend billions of dollars on DC-area transportation projects in coming decades, but they admit that the percentage of congested lane miles will still increase even after building everything in their plan.
Shouldn't we be aiming to actually reduce congestion, not just slowing the rate at which it worsens? Texas and Georgia are doing this by requiring regional planners (who decide the bulk of spending allocations) to set their sights on reducing congestion relative to today's levels. Like these states, we need to make congestion relief a core goal of transportation planning in Virginia and ensure that the state is making the most efficient use of limited transportation funds. This requires performance-based planning-prioritizing projects based on objective measures of congestion relief. The standard for ranking transportation investments should be the total hours of delay-reduction produced for each million dollars of project investment.
Next, we also need to continue to give priority to maintaining our existing roads and bridges and find more efficient ways of doing it. For several years now, we've seen maintenance costs rise while gas tax revenues fall, and leaders have done the right thing by shifting ever-increasing amounts of funds from the new construction account to the maintenance account. The problem is that the Commonwealth is now at the point where there's not even enough money in the pot to fund all of the state's maintenance needs.
To maintain safety and system quality, the state should be looking to get the most out of its maintenance dollars. Virginia has historically been a pioneer in the use of private-sector contracting for road maintenance, generating significant cost savings and improving the quality of roads and bridges. The Commonwealth has generated an estimated 6 to 15 percent cost savings through contracting with the private sector to maintain over 1,000 miles of Interstates, and Florida has seen an approximate 15 percent savings across some 30 statewide maintenance contracts that account for a substantial portion of their overall maintenance budget. Virginia leaders should consider extending its successful Interstate model to all state-maintained roads and bridges.
And there are some cutting edge, innovative contracting models out there that are worthy of replicating. Missouri's Safe and Sound Bridge Program may be the most impressive. In this project, the state will enter into a fixed-price contract with a private sector team to repair and rehabilitate a whopping 802 bridges over a five-year period and maintain these bridges for 25 years after. Moreover, the private team will finance the half-billion dollar project upfront. Missouri will pay nothing during the five years of construction work, followed by 25 years or more of annual payments that the state will treat as an operating expense using a portion of its federal bridge funds. No tolls are involved. Without private sector financing, it's doubtful that the state could undertake such a large-scale project on its own using traditional procurement methods and revenue sources. Virginia's transportation leaders should be evaluating similar opportunities.
Lastly, when it comes to planning new construction, we need to be far more proactive in pursuing tolling and public-private partnerships to deliver new capacity and to maintain what we have. The private-sector financing of transportation projects like the Dulles Greenway, the Capital Beltway high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, and the I-95/395 HOT lanes is delivering needed new capacity in congestion-choked areas. It would make sense to look at all planned limited-access highway projects with an eye first to private financing opportunities before planning them as tax-funded roads, which generally take longer to build and may take years to stockpile funding for under the "pay as you go" system.
Before resorting to tax hikes that will not solve the state's long-term transportation funding problems, Commonwealth officials should apply strategies to ensure that we get the most out of existing dollars and take maximum advantage of outside private sector funding. Rising congestion threatens Virginians' quality of life and economic prosperity, as the movement of people and goods slows to a crawl in too many places. Before being asked to pony up more to combat system deterioration and gridlock, it's only reasonable to give taxpayers some assurance that their current tax dollars are being spent in the most effective and efficient manner.
-30-
Leonard Gilroy is the Director of Government Reform at the highly respected and nationally acclaimed Reason Foundation in Los Angeles. He is also a Senior Fellow for Government Reform for the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy - the leading non-partisan public policy foundation in Virginia. |
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Local Headlines
SUCKERS? LOCAL COUPLE TAKEN FOR $1.3M IN RI WOMAN'S $7.3M EMBEZZLEMENT SCHEME: VB Dr. Glen McDermott, wife, among VB group swindled. All of VB group named in below affidavit
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- READ THE POLICE AFFIDAVIT:
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LOSERS... Police strike out in 6 raids to find 29 drug suspects - minimal results from massive effort
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LAWSUIT THREATENED over Suffolk Assessor's firing
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TURN A DEAF EAR TO LYING POLITICIANS: Gov., Atty. Gen. top list of graduation speakers
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YOU'LL GET HEAVIER TAXES ... if you want government to spend more money as public asks Norfolk council
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YORK ASSESSMENTS SPARK CONFUSION, ANGER as government can increase taxes without a tax increase
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ARE THEY STUPID OR SOMETHIN'? They want more people to vote? By moving local elections to November?
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DIVORCE WOULD HAVE BEEN CHEAPER! Wifie who tried to hire hit man to kill husband gets 7.5 years in pokey
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TV STATION DROPS 1ST AMENDMENT SUIT against Suffolk over police violation of state law by barring media from disaster scene
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TRIGGER HAPPY COP KILLS NUT-CASE? Knife-wielding Portsmouth man killed by cops
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State & Regional Headlines
BREAKING NEWS! STORMS BATTER D.C. AREA; leaving trails of damage
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1 KILLED, DAMAGE EXTENSIVE after tornado hits NC
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GOVERNMENT SESSION TO RAPE TAXPAYERS set for June 23 by Gov. Timmy; special session to consider 10-years of transportation neglect by lawmakers
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TREE HUGGERS 1, PUBLIC 0 as shore bird buffers close 3 popular OBX beaches
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KILL THE REALTOR? 2 arrested in murder of Shallotte real estate agent
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SELF-INFLICTED? 2 bikers killed in NC collision
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HISTORIC DAN RIVER LONG MILL complex destroyed by fire
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PEANUT FARMERS TAKE HIT in appeals court ruling
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CRIMINAL X-NFL QB ordered by federal judge to pay Canadian bank $2.4 MILLION
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NEW KENT EXPLORES PLAN FOR PAMUNKEY RIVER PORT Envisioned site would handle barge traffic from Hampton Roads
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GUILTY - POLICE SAY UR SUSPECT CONFESSES Man accused of acts that led to lockdown is released on bond
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National Headlines
 CLINTON RACHETING UP RACE CARD in effort to garner votes, super delegate support; preying on uneducated, bigoted whites
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CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN MGR. SAYS RACE WILL BE OVER BY JUNE and 'Hill Dog' will campaign for Obama if she loses
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ABC'S CLINTON SHILL STEPHANOPOULOS says Clinton wants 2nd banana spot on Obama ticket
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CINDY McCAIN'S TAX RETURN - NOT NOW - NOT EVER: She and candidate have filed separately for 28 years - Democrat attack dog Howard Dean's rant on subject draws following response: "Howard Dean continues to lower the bar in this election"
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DEMOCRATS GO AFTER "FREEDOM'S WATCH" Attempt to sully deep-pocketed Conservative group to detract from already demonstrated effectiveness
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FIRST THING LIL' BUSH HAS DONE RIGHT! DEMOCRATS' HOUSING AID BILL FACES VETO BY PRESIDENT: "House Democrats passed bills that they know will never become law. Most Americans understand that we shouldn't create a taxpayer-funded bailout for lenders and speculators," says White House spokesman
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MORE DEMOCRAT RANK AND FILE LOSE THEIR VOTES, as Superdelegates in Clinton-won areas in IN, PA and OH, withhold their endorsement of the overwhelming winner
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10 YO IDAHO GIRL GIVES BIRTH; illegal alien charged with rape
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XXX-LIBERAL TALK SHOW HOST & CATHOLIC PRIEST BERNIE WARD pleads guilty to distributing kiddie porn; faces up to 5 years in pokey
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FRY THE SUCKERS IN THE DARK; Teens admit decapitating corpse and using head to smoke pot
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HACKERS' POSTS ON EPILEPSY FORUM CAUSE MIGRAINES, SEIZURES: "I count this in the same category of teenagers who think it's funny to put a cat in a bag and throw it over a clothesline - they don't realize how cruel it is...It was an opportunity waiting to happen for some mean-spirited kid"
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AL-QAEDA USING INTERNET TO RECRUIT TERRORISTS IN THE U.S. - CONGRESS: Promises to "slit the throats of Americans and Jews"
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International Headlines
ISRAEL'S P.M. SUSPECTED OF ACCEPTING ILLICIT FUNDS FROM U.S. BUSINESSMAN: Olmert says he will resign, if indicted
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OLMERT'S U.S. FINANCIER; A fundraiser who prefers to avoid the limelight
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VENEZUELA'S OIL RESERVES SWELL to record high 130 BBLs
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THE TRUTH ABOUT OIL Rather than implementing harmful, inefficient and expensive substitutes, we should insist that our government lift the obstacles which prevent us from availing ourselves of this superabundant resource - ANALYSIS
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WW III? HEZBOLLAH "SEIZES WEST BEIRUT" Fierce gun battles are raging in other mixed Sunni-Shia-Christian neighborhoods
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U.S., SAUDI ARABIA, EGYPT BLAME HEZBOLLAH FOR BEIRUT FIGHTING; Russia tries to straddle the fence
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U.S. MILITARY DENIES IRAQI CLAIM AL QAEDA'S TOP LEADER IN IRAQ CAPTURED: Abu Hamza's capture announcement seems as erroneous as previous announcements of his death
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SCREW 'EM! MYANMAR WILLING TO RECEIVE DISASTER AID, BUT NO FOREIGN DISASTER AID WORKERS: Junta more interested in pushing referendum on Army-drafted Constitution
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IF YOU CAN'T WIN 'EM, RIG 'EM! MUGABE SUPPORTERS SET "TO RIG" ZIMBABWE RUNOFF: Opposition claims its supporters are being systematically targeted by "war veterans" and other supporters of President Mugabe ahead of the run-off - South African election observer asserts that the violence makes it impossible to hold a run-off
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 | Editorials: Everyone Should See Expelled |
 Joe McGrenra writes "
Last
week I saw a great movie that instantly became one of my favorite documentaries
ever. I am referring to Expelled: No
Intelligence Allowed. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it is a film
by Ben Stein that examines not so much the theory of Intelligent Design, but
the reaction of the establishment against the supporters of the concept of Intelligent Design.
"
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Posted by moerowe on Friday, May 09 @ 06:58:11 CDT
(Read More...)
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| Letters: Force private developers to pay for their own $3.15 M Blvd. bridge |
 Dear Editor:
Virginia Beach’s city council is considering authorizing expending over $3 million dollars to build a foot bridge over Virginia Beach Boulevard at what is known as Town Center.
The bridge will connect private commercial properties, Pembroke Mall on the north side of the boulevard and the Amada - Hoffler [Louis Haddad and Dan Hoffler]- Divaris [Gerald S. Divaris] complex on the south side of the boulevard.
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Posted by moerowe on Thursday, May 08 @ 07:14:42 CDT
(Read More...)
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Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson
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You can now access early VNS investigative reports from our 'off-site' archives.
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