One More Chance
Construction on Honolulu’s ill-conceived rail line–at least $5.7 billion, and more likely at least $7 billion, for a 20-mile elevated line–is supposed to start next month. Polls indicate that voters who once supported the project have turned against it. Fortunately, Hawai’ians have one more chance to stop this idiotic project before too much money is […]
Denver’s Northeast Academy Deserves Full 3 Years to Prove Itself During Turnaround
Denver’s Northeast Academy, a rare turnaround charter school that has come through a healthy share of turmoil, looks to be finally making progress with students. On February 9 the Colorado State Board of Education upheld the charter’s appeal to keep it from removing two grades next school year. Why is Denver Public Schools trying to pull the plug before the three-year contract is up and the results are in?
The Future of New Starts
Should federal transportation funds be distributed to states and cities based on fixed criteria, such as population and land area, or should they be handed out based on the political whims of whoever is in power at the moment? While Republicans in Congress are moving in the former direction, the Obama administration is moving towards […]
Contraceptives and Catholic hospitals: The primary issue is Obamacare, not the First Amendment
Does the mandate forcing Catholic hospitals to offer abortifacients and contraception violate the First Amendment? The surprising answer is: Probably not. True, there are serious moral and political issues inherent in requiring religious institutions to offer “treatments” they find theologically offensive. But, despite the claims of many Catholic and conservative commentators, the U.S. Department of […]
Proposed IRS Rule Bad Charter Medicine, But Hints at Needed Pension Changes
There’s a little controversy trickling out of Washington, D.C., that you may not have heard about. A proposed regulation from the Internal Revenue Service would effectively deem charter school teachers to be private employees and not eligible for government pension benefits. Yesterday the Colorado State Board of Education made the bold and unanimous move of […]
Big Solar’s Green Fried Cranes
The eco-dilemma: birds or solar panels? Green advocates find themselves in the awkward position of promoting less than eco-friendly energy that is potentially more devastating to wildlife and delicate eco-systems than the global warming it is supposed to prevent. Such is the case with a massive, commercial solar project in the San Luis Valley. SolarReserve, […]
Big Solar's Green Fried Cranes
The eco-dilemma: birds or solar panels? Green advocates find themselves in the awkward position of promoting less than eco-friendly energy that is potentially more devastating to wildlife and delicate eco-systems than the global warming it is supposed to prevent. Such is the case with a massive, commercial solar project in the San Luis Valley. SolarReserve, […]
Bad News in Colorado Remediation Rates Renews Call for Transformation
I usually don’t like talking about bad news, but sometimes it has to be done. When it comes to Colorado high school graduates needing extra help in reading, writing and math at Colorado colleges and universities, the news is just that: bad. Despite the positive higher education angle headlined by the Denver Post, there’s no […]
Which Republican will crater for carbon tax?
A bill to repeal Colorado’s “phantom carbon tax” was heard today in the Republican-controlled House Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources Committee. It’s the second time in as many years that State Representative Spencer Swalm (R-Centennial) has sponsored the pro-ratepayer legislation. Both times it was heard in the House Ag Committee. Last year, we documented how […]
How Colorado’s Tax Burdens Rank Nationally
Residents of Colorado should know how their tax burden compares with Americans throughout the nation. Colorado ranks 26th nationally, compared to all other states for the combined state and local tax burden, on a per capita basis.
The health spending 1 percent: Accounts for 20 percent of health care spendingt
The 1 percent of the population that has the highest annual health expenses accounts for one-fifth of health spending . … Those in the top 5 percent account for just under half of all spending, with average annual expenditures that exceed $50,000. Continue reading
The Seductive Appeal of Value-Capture Finance
Today, the Antiplanner is in North Carolina, where transit agencies seem to be competing to plan the wackiest, most-expensive rail transit lines that few people will ever use. Right now, the leading contender must be Raleigh, which (according to a paper by UNC-Charlotte transport professor David Hartgen and transit accountant Tom Rubin) is planning a […]
