Subversive Idea: We Can Keep Our Lifestyles
Instead of giving up our cars, says the August issue of National Geographic, we can simply scrub the skies of CO2. The article describes a process of removing carbon from the atmosphere that is technologically feasible. Though it is hard to guess how expensive it will be, the article suggests it will be a lot […]
Kit Carson: Innovation Rural School Pioneer?
Since Colorado pioneered the Innovation Schools Act in 2008, enabling district-run public schools to seek greater autonomy over program and personnel, only schools in Denver have seized the opportunity. Until now, that is. Kit Carson superintendent Gerald Keefe discusses how his rural district is pursuing innovation school status in order to enact new policies for evaluating and dismissing teachers.
Health care bill will not contain costs
Of the health care bill (HR 3590), Peter Suderman writes:
Just days after President Obama first took office, Peter Orszag, in his new role as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) … declared that “the single most important thing we can do to improve the long-term fiscal health of our nation is slow […]
Private Bus Takes Over from Taxpayers
Here’s a heartwarming story: Late last year, Clayton County, Georgia (a suburban Atlanta county) decided to terminate its subsidized bus service to Atlanta, saying it was costing $10 million a year but only bringing in $2.5 million in revenue. Despite protests from bus riders, the service was duly ended on March 31, leaving many riders […]
iVoices: Kit Carson District Looks to Break the Mold on Innovation Schools
Colorado has been a national leader in public school choice. One of the small facets of that choice is the Innovation School concept pioneered by a 2008 state law. These public schools or school districts can seek waivers from some state laws to have more flexibility in program and/or personnel policies.
Up till now, the handful […]
What abortion costs can tell us about medical care costs
Note: This post is not about the proper legal status of abortion or whether it is moral. It’s about medical care costs and how patients pay for it. Readers can appreciate the content of this post regardless of their position on legal abortion.
Politicians like to talk about how to keep medical care costs in check, […]
Oregon Land-Use Board Says Zoning Unconstitutional
In a stunning move, the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, which reviews citizen challenges to zoning and other local land-use decisions, has ruled that a zoning code in the Portland suburb of Hillsboro is unconstitutional. The decision applies to an zone that required that all owners of land within 6,000 feet of the Hillsboro […]
Colorado Teacher Membership Opt-Out Periods Coming in August and September
August has arrived — which not only means that the new school year for most Colorado students lies just around the corner, but also opens a short window of time for many Colorado teachers to make important decisions.
Teachers and other education employees in Colorado of course have a variety of professional and union membership […]
Colorado State Board of Education Adopts Common Core Academic Standards
I’ve been listening this morning to the Colorado State Board of Education discuss their decision to adopt the Common Core standards. If you want a play-by-play, check out my Twitter page.
Bottom line: the State Board just voted to adopt Common Core by the margin of 4-3. Republican Randy DeHoff joined the Board’s three Democrats […]
The American Medical Association as part of America’s ruling class
In “America’s Ruling Class” published in the American Spectator, Angelo M. Codevilla writes:
To the extent party leaders do not have to worry about voters, they can choose privileged interlocutors, representing those in society whom they find most amenable. In America ever more since the 1930s — elsewhere in the world this practice is ubiquitous and […]
LA Rail Transit a Failure
Los Angeles’ rail transit system is now 20 years old, but the Antiplanner’s faithful ally, Tom Rubin, questions whether it should have been built at all. “The push for rail has forced transit ridership down,” says Rubin, who was the chief financial officer of L.A.’s transit agency when the rail lines were planned in the […]
