By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
Independent voices from the TWT Communities

Credit Gov. Bob McDonnell for his fourth-quarter Hail Mary pass in a bid for a meaningful legislative legacy, partly by pursuing profound transportation funding reforms that have eluded several previous governors.

An analysis by a nonprofit tax-policy institute says that Maryland and Virginia could have collected hundreds of millions of dollars per year since their last gas-tax increases if they had raised the tax regularly to account for inflation.

Virginia's Health Reform Initiative Advisory Council is busy prepping final recommendations on how to set up a state health benefits exchange as mandated by President Obama's health care overhaul — even as the commonwealth remains locked in litigation over the constitutionality of the law.
Pressure mounts on airports authority over Dulles Metro station; Warner, Webb introduce bill to lift drilling moratorium; Redistricting work begins in Maryland; Attacker on B-W Parkway remains at large; O'Donnell PAC took in $1.4 million from major donors in 2nd quarter; Virginia Democrats meet next week for elections; Cuccinelli gives opinion on University of Virginia's firearms policy.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell is asking Virginia government workers to pay into the state's underfunded pension system for the first time in 27 years.