Virginia Roundup

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Va. Pays Dearly for Computer Troubles | The Washington Post

RICHMOND, Oct. 13 — A scathing legislative audit released Tuesday shows Virginia’s outsourcing of a massive $2 billion computer upgrade has been so troubled that core government services have been disrupted but that canceling the contract could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Civil engineers give Virginia infrastructure a D-plus | The Virginia Pilot
A new report card grading Virginia’s network of roads, bridges, dams, water systems and other vital infrastructure gives the state a barely passing grade of D+.The state was rated in 13 categories by the state section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which released a summary of its findings Wednesday.
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Sept. report shows Va. finances continue plunge | Forbes
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s tax collections continued to decline in September, even compared to the same disastrous month of stock market meltdowns from 2008, a monthly state revenue report shows.
Transportation program faces more cuts | The Roanoke Times
RICHMOND — Virginia faces the prospect of cutting an additional $883 million from its already lean six-year transportation program, state officials said Wednesday.The grim report delivered to the Commonwealth Transportation Board was based on a prolonged economic downturn that has eroded revenue normally earmarked for roads, rail and transit.
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Road funding to be cut $134 million more this year | The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Jim Webb: Brave Thinker | The Atlantic
Why he’s brave: He’s taking on the nation’s neglected prison system.
Quote: “I think you can be a law-and-order leader and still understand that the criminal justice system as we understand it today is broken.”
VITA overseers battle over control of boss | The Richmond Times-Dispatch
The overseers of Virginia’s embattled computer agency are quarreling among themselves over proposals to rein in the agency’s new boss.
Hiram Johnson and Mary Guy Miller, members of the Information Technology Investment Board, are pressing the panel for greater accountability from Chief Information Officer George Coulter.
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Virginia Railway Express wants alternative to Amtrak | Washington Business Journal

The Virginia Railway Express Operations Boardwants its governing commissions to award VRE’s next operating contract to Keolis Railroad Services America instead of Amtrak.

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Virginia’s Mediocre R&D Showing | Bacon’s Rebellion Blog

Despite all the hype put out by the state’s universities, the fact remains that Virginia is distinctly an “also ran” when it comes to research and development.

Study: Jail re-entry program working | The Daily Progress
The eight-week re-entry program for inmates at the Albemarle-Charlot-tesville Regional Jail has had a positive impact on the recidivism rate, according to a University of Virginia study.
Cardin unveils federal Bay bill | The Washington Examiner
ANNAPOLIS | Federal legislation to restore the Chesapeake Bay will create funding and incentives and mandate enforcement penalties if states don’t meet restoration goals, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin said Monday.
Trade mission to Cuba builds on past success | The Star Tribune
This November Todd P. Haymore, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), will lead a delegation of agribusiness leaders and exporters to Havana, Cuba, as Virginia pushes to expand international sales for a diverse offering of agricultural products.
College tuition rises sharply in Virginia | The Roanoke Times
WASHINGTON — Tuition and fees for public four-year colleges are now $7,020 on average and for private colleges $26,273, the College Board reported Tuesday, with prices rising faster in the public sector.
Va. lawmakers’ state pay exempt from disclosure | The Virginia Pilot
The 2009 General Assembly was a fiscal nightmare. The national recession had left Virginia a record $3.7 billion short of revenue needed to balance its two-year budget, and everything was on the chopping block.
Judicial selection works … can be improved | Virginia Lawyers Weekly
STAUNTON—Virginia may be one of only two states where the legislature appoints the judges, but most participants at a recent conference agreed the system works well in the Old Dominion, at least for now.

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