The Washington Post reports that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine spent yesterday trying to track down the traffic that plagues the region. As part of an effort to build public support for his transportation policies, Kaine drove from Richmond to D.C. and spent the day at various locales around the city. The Post notes that his timing was poor; but for a slowdown near the Pentagon and later on I-66, the Governor sailed along. As a result, the Virginia House has recommended cutting taxes and halting all transportation spending until roads have deteriorated to the point that they’re busy again.
So, they didn’t do that; it at least fell within the realm of plausibility, no? While in Northern Virginia, Governor Kaine stopped by WTOP radio, where he noted that the Washington Airports Authority would not raise tolls on the Dulles Toll Road without public hearings and input. Concerns had been voiced, after the announcement that the Authority would take control of the Toll Road and use its proceeds to fund Metro construction, that tolls could rise quickly and significantly.
District Losing Money to Tax Cheaters: The Post also notes this morning that D.C. fails to collect around $3.4 million a year in property taxes, because residents are giving themselves tax breaks they aren’t supposed to get. In the Post article, D.C. Inspector General Charles Willoughby notes that , “The city’s Office of Tax and Revenue, which collects property taxes, does not have adequate controls to catch residents ineligible for homestead deductions or senior citizen tax relief programs.” We’re very much about transparency in government and all of that, but is it a good idea to tell everyone in the city that if they cheat on their taxes, they won’t get caught? It may be time to practice the fine art of reclassification; call the White House, they’re great at that stuff.
Patriot Press: Media outlets are unable to resist the George Mason cinderella story; no daily sports section is complete this week without at least four Patriot pieces. Of course, this media blitz does result in some barrel bottom scraping, such as in this look at the tension in GMU computer labs as students wait to click on the ticket sale site, or this take on a nerf bat game Coach Larranaga has his team play to build spirit (frighteningly dubbed unityball).
Briefly Noted: Stadium-Armory gets the complete transit police going over…Vienna Metro improvements, to make way for the MetroWest development, will be complete by next spring…America totally gets shafted by solar system, physics.
Picture taken by ohad*.
