Opinion
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Indiana Lawmakers Propose ‘Dramatic’ School Reforms
Opinion -Indiana Democrats are balking at votes on several labor and school reform bills winding through the state legislature. Despite a walkout, in which some House members reportedly fled to adjacent Illinois, Gov. -
Obama ‘No Child’ Reforms Would Eliminate School Choice Options
Opinion -President Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan have renewed their call for Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act this year, proposing, among other changes, that the 2001 law be stripped of public school choice provisions. -
Kentucky Senate Passes Historic Charter-Schools Bill
Opinion -The Kentucky state Senate has passed a bill opening the state to charter schools, overcoming opposition from the state’s teachers union and culminating nearly a decade of work by school reformers in the Bluegrass State. -
California Judge Approves Class-Action Status Against Wal-Mart, Netflix
Opinion -A federal judge in California granted class-action status this past December to a group of Netflix subscribers who allege the company and Wal-Mart conspired to monopolize the DVD market.Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the U.S. -
Extreme Weather and Global Warming
Opinion -In "Clean Air Act" (Feb. 10), Miranda Carter of Environment Illinois claimed global warming is causing more extreme weather. -
#259: Keeping an Eye on CMS Head Don Berwick
Opinion -On Thursday, C-SPAN chose not to broadcast live the Ways and Means subcommittee hearing with Don Berwick, the controversial head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in his first appearance before the House. -
Property Insurance Reform: Living on Borrowed Time
Opinion -Sometime soon, maybe even this year, the run of good luck that has brought Florida five consecutive hurricane-free years will end. When it does, the state could face a fiscal crisis that would make this year’s $3.6 billion budget gap appear trivial. -
A $53 Billion High-Speed Rail Program to Nowhere
Opinion -Vice President Joe Biden has announced a plan to spend $53 billion over the next six years on passenger high-speed rail projects that will help reach the goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years. -
California State Schools Chief Proposes Parent Empowerment ‘Clean Up’
Opinion -California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and his staff say the state’s groundbreaking parent empowerment law may be too vague for the state department of education to write clear regulations. -
DOLINAR: Obamacare Yields Fewer Choices
Opinion -One thing many patients may not know is that their doctor may not prescribe the treatment he thinks most effective - because he's penalized for doing so. -
ought to appoint Public Service Commission members who care about keeping consumers’ costs down, creating jobs
Opinion -Gov. Rick Scott has pledged to cut state taxes while simultaneously reducing the budget deficit. This is a tall order, but opportunities exist. Florida energy policy offers a perfect example.According to the U.S. -
Education Problems Reside at ‘Core’
Opinion -President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address illustrated just how much political duplicity has entered the debate about national education standards. -
Lawsuit Abuse Fortnightly #10-3
Opinion -A Maryland attorney is becoming known as the “bedbug barrister” after filing eight lawsuits for bedbug bite victims in Maryland, seeking a total of $7 million in damages. -
Outgoing New York Governor Fires Final Shot on Fracking
Opinion -Shortly before departing the Governor’s Mansion for good, outgoing New York Governor David Paterson (D) vetoed a legislative moratorium on natural gas drilling permits utilizing hydraulic fracturing techniques—but then issued an alternate moratorium of -
Study: No Increase in Northwest Australian Tropical Cyclones
Opinion -A recently published study in the peer-reviewed Journal of Climate shows tropical cyclone activity is not increasing in the southeast Indian Ocean basin. -
#258: Thoughts on Ronald Reagan’s Legacy
Opinion -The anniversary of the birthday of Ronald Reagan led to a glut of “what would Reagan think” columns concerning all sorts of topic areas. -
Organic Myths Debunked in Entertaining Style
Opinion -Review of Is It Organic? -
Marin County Votes to Ban Smart Meters
Opinion -Marin County, California has voted to ban the installation of “smart” electricity meters, claiming the devices pose electromagnetic health risks that create a public nuisance. -
Schools Teaching Tree-Hugging 101
Opinion -One of the hottest K-12 public school educational trends today is operating environmental academies within school districts. -
Minneapolis Zoo Teaches Activism, Disruption
Opinion -The School of Environmental Studies (SES) at the Minneapolis Zoo is the environmental academy for juniors and seniors within the public school district serving the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. -
EPA, Oklahoma Clash Over Regional Haze Plan
Opinion -Oklahoma environmental officials, consumer advocates, and environmental groups are clashing with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over regional haze standards that could cause electricity prices to rise by more than 15 percent in the state. -
Conservation Group, Native Americans Challenge Solar Power Project
Opinion -A nonprofit conservation group and a Native American cultural group have sued the federal government, claiming officials illegally rushed approval of a major solar power project in California’s Mojave Desert. -
Florida County Sues EPA Over Nutrient Restrictions
Opinion -Pinellas County, Florida has decided to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over recently announced water nutrient restrictions. The decision is noteworthy because Pinellas County has a long record of aggressively protecting its water quality. -
Obama Administration Continues to Block Offshore Energy Production
Opinion -More than three months after the Obama administration announced an end to its moratorium on deepwater oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, the administration has nevertheless yet to approve a single new drilling project.
