Opinion
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Charter School Facilities & Finance
Opinion -Charter school operators cite lack of start-up funds, inadequate operating funds, and inadequate facilities as the three largest barriers they face in developing and implementing their charters, according to Richard Seder of the Reason Public Policy -
School Choice and Job Training
Opinion -What if, for a moment, we look at publicly funded school choice programs as "government-sponsored training programs"? After all, the U.S. government and many state governments sponsor training programs and give people money to attend them. -
Does Improved Student Achievement Require Increased Resources?
Opinion -Public school administrators are increasingly being quoted as saying that improved achievement requires more resources. Cost per pupil, they maintain, is an excellent gauge for analyzing education investment and estimating return. -
Indianapolis Awards First Charters
Opinion -After taking two months to review the 21 applications received last October, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson in early December gave the go-ahead to two community organizations and two corporations to create the city's first four charter schools. -
Federal Tax Credits Would Uninsured by 85%, Studies Say
Opinion -People with employer-provided health insurance receive a substantial tax saving because this benefit is not taxed as income. By contrast, people who buy their own insurance must do so with after-tax dollars. -
Irradiation: It’s Not Just for the Mail
Opinion -After Sen. Tom Daschle's office was the target of an anthrax letter last fall, he declared all mail should be irradiated "as soon as possible" to make the postal system safe for workers and the public. -
RAND Study Grudgingly Reveals Good News about School Choice
Opinion -A RAND study primarily funded by foundations that have been skeptical of--if not downright hostile toward--school choice reported many positive and promising results of private school vouchers and public charter schools. -
What Government Giveth, it Can Taketh
Opinion -As work begins in the 2002 sessions, state legislators will have their hands full with two major issues: budgets awash in red ink, and homeland security issues related to the events of September 11, 2001. -
Just the Facts: Death and Violence in the Schools
Opinion -From July 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999, there were 47 school-associated violent deaths in the United States, according to a report issued last December by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) titled Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2001. -
Time for EPA to clean up StarLink mess
Opinion -The controversial StarLink bioengineered corn, which found its way into the human food supply even though it was approved only for animal feed, is on its way out, and good riddance. -
California to change enforcement of second-hand smoke measure
Opinion -By now, many commercial enterprises in California that permit the legal sale or use of tobacco on their premises have been confronted with 60-day notice letters and civil complaints for allegedly failing to post required warnings, in violation of -
Maryland county ridiculed for attempted smoking ban
Opinion -Montgomery County, Maryland, already nationally known for its stringent anti-smoking laws, passed and then retracted a law penalizing people for smoking in their own homes. -
County goes back to the drawing board
Opinion -Montgomery County's aborted decision to criminalize at-home smoking was not the first, nor will it likely be the last, of its notorious anti-smoking laws. -
Daschle thwarts ANWR vote, unveils own proposal
Opinion -Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) successfully thwarted efforts for the full Senate to vote on an energy plan before the year 2001 came to an end. -
New Russian oil pipeline recognizes benefits of increased production
Opinion -While U.S. politicians debate the pros and cons of natural resource recovery in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Russia and Kazakhstan have opened a new oil pipeline, assuring their roles as major players in the international oil trade. -
Feds block Michigan’s shoreline drilling plan
Opinion -The State of Michigan suffered a blow to its economy and its environmental programs when President George W. Bush on November 14 signed a federal water and energy bill halting oil and gas drilling in and around the Great Lakes. -
District court upholds Clinton national monuments
Opinion -A federal district court on November 15 upheld former President Bill Clinton's designation of six national monuments on federal lands in four Western states. -
What Do State Tests Measure?
Opinion -By linking federal resources to school performance, the recently revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has generated considerable optimism that additional resources will finally produce the desired outcome of improved student achievement -
Choice Gains a Foothold in Education Bill
Opinion -The year 2001 brought promising first steps in the direction of changing Washington's posture toward K-12 education. -
Increased Choice Linked to Higher Educational Quality
Opinion -Exercising educational choice in the U.S. generally requires parents to pay private school fees or move to another school district. Is the quality of public ("free") education affected by the competition from those other schooling options? -
State Takes Over Philadelphia’s Failing Schools
Opinion -At 6:30 p.m. on December 21, 2001, Pennsylvania Education Secretary Charles Zogby signed a Declaration of Distress for the Philadelphia School District, triggering the formation of a School Reform Commission to oversee the troubled public school system. -
Appeals court limits prior owners’ Superfund liability
Opinion -In a long-awaited decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit substantially limited liability for most prior landowners from Superfund liability. Carson Harbor Village v. Unocal Corp., __ F.3d. __, 2001 DJDAR 11365 (9th Cir., Oct. -
Utah fights temporary storage facility
Opinion -With the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage facility at least eight years from becoming operational, local energy companies are finding it increasingly difficult to store their accumulating spent nuclear fuel. -
Density no solution for traffic, obesity problems
Opinion -The January issue of Environment & Climate News described a recent report published by Sprawlwatch as a "fake CDC" study. (See "Fake CDC study full of holes," Environment & Climate News, January 2002.
