Opinion
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Calif. Bill Would Prevent Local Biotech Bans
Opinion -A bill currently before the California legislature would promote a consistent statewide agricultural policy by preventing individual counties from banning the growing of genetically modified crops. -
Bush Signs Energy Bill
Opinion -President George W. Bush on August 8 signed a comprehensive energy bill that received strong bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. -
House Committee Leaders Issue Mercury Report
Opinion -House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. -
New Milwaukee Accountability Measures Work
Opinion -Five schools have been removed from the 15-year-old Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), and 51 others that applied for inclusion have been turned away over the past 18 months, thanks to stringent accountability measures enacted last year. -
Parental Rights, Student Privacy Take Center Stage on Capitol Hill
Opinion -Capitol Hill watchers can expect to hear a lot of arguing this fall about schools recommending that parents medicate their children before sending them to class. A longstanding U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Pierce v. -
School Choice Opponents Propose Diverting Voucher Funds
Opinion -Two Wisconsin state senators are trying to garner support for a plan to divert voucher money from low-income city children enrolled in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) to a school district in far northern Wisconsin. -
North Carolina Cigarette Retailers Say New Cigarette Tax ‘Stinks’
Opinion -Josie Beasley had an immediate response when asked about North Carolina's increase in the cigarette tax. "I think it stinks," said Beasley, who sells a lot of cartons of cigarettes as manager of Ali's Discount Food Mart 1 off Carthage Road. -
Court Sides with Illinois Taxpayers over Tort Tax
Opinion -In a big victory for Illinois taxpayers, a state circuit court has ruled it is illegal to use tort tax funds for purposes other than those specifically stated by law. -
San Francisco Should Dump Wi-Fi Plans
Opinion -Now that San Francisco has issued its Request for Information and Comment (RFI/C) on its proposed citywide municipal wireless system and Mayor Gavin Newsom has asked for public feedback, the response should be a no-brainer, especially in a city dubbed -
The Coming Push for Cable Censorship
Opinion -In late August, Salon reported that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has met privately with numerous religious and “pro-family” groups to coordinate policies to address “racy content on cable and satellite television. -
Education Highlighted at ALEC Annual Meeting
Opinion -Education policy topped the agenda at the 32nd annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Grapevine, Texas in early August. -
Katrina Cleanup Costs Climb
Opinion -As the costs of recovery from damages caused by Hurricane Katrina mount, so do calls for cuts in other discretionary spending by the federal government. But there is little indication most members of Congress are heeding the call. -
Federal Tax Law Change Brings $210 Billion in Profits Back to U.S.
Opinion -Less than one year after the Invest in USA provision of the American Jobs Creation Act (AJCA) was signed into law, more than $210 billion of "foreign" profits have come back into the United States. -
Multi-State Lawsuits Increase
Opinion -State attorneys general have acknowledged a trend of increasing multi-state lawsuits. At a 2004 event hosted by the U.S. -
Chicago Ordinance Would Allow More Retail Stores
Opinion -Some Chicago aldermen have proposed an ordinance to ban the use of "restrictive covenants" that some businesses use to keep new businesses from moving in if the existing business leaves. Supporters believe the ordinance would be the first of its kind. -
Waste Plagues NJ School Construction
Opinion -Many of New Jersey's poorest students, who have been looking forward to leaving dilapidated school buildings and going to sparkling new ones, could be facing disappointment as a corporation created to build their new schools seems to be falling apart. -
Private Companies Rush in to Help Hurricane Katrina Victims
Opinion -Immediately following the Hurricane Katrina disaster in the Gulf Coast states, the public health crisis became apparent. -
Texas Postpones Drug Importation from Canada
Opinion -A new law intended to make it easier for Texans to buy low-cost prescription drugs from Canada was put on hold just weeks before it was to go into effect, when the federal government pointed out the measure was illegal. -
Oregon Legislature Rebuffs California-Style Vehicle Restrictions
Opinion -In a bipartisan effort to keep the state's consumers from having to pay up to $3,000 more for each new automobile they buy, the Oregon legislature has passed a bill prohibiting the state from adopting California's vehicle emissions restrictions. -
Exposure to Chemicals Is Declining, CDC Finds
Opinion -In its Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, released July 21, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has documented significant declines in the population's exposure to environmental chemicals. -
EPA Properly Refused to Regulate CO2, Appellate Court Rules
Opinion -The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acted within its lawful discretion when it refused to regulate greenhouse gas emissions on August 28, 2003, a three-judge panel of the U.S. -
Home School Educates Children, Parents about ADHD
Opinion -The Sharon School in Nicholasville, Kentucky doesn't advertise, and it accepts only 20 students at a time. Parents must pay $4,000 a year to send their children there. But the school isn't an academy for children of privilege. -
KIPP Foundation Program Trains New Breed of School Administrators
Opinion -The reformers behind the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) are not strangers to innovative education reform. Therefore, it should come as no surprise they are now training principals not only to lead schools, but to found them. -
Student Achievement Emerges as Civil Rights Issue in Maryland
Opinion -The Anne Arundel County, Maryland board of education agreed to settle an 18-month-old federal class-action civil rights lawsuit in August, pledging to improve student achievement, after local and national groups complained the county places
