More gridlock at the capitol?

by Robert C. Powell III
Editor, Virginia Business
January 2007

Like a car stuck in traffic, the Virginia General Assembly may not show much movement on solving the state's transportation problems this year. When legislators convene on Jan. 10, they will face a short session in an election year. That combination of factors could dampen any ambitions for major new initiatives. Special Projects Editor Jessica Sabbath reports that the state Senate and House of Delegates still have not budged from tax and anti-tax positions on transportation funding that led to endless wrangling last year.

If legislators need to see how the current transportation problems affect the state, they should take a close look at Fairfax County. The county's proximity to Washington, D.C., has contributed to its status as one of the most prosperous in the country. Heavy traffic congestion, however, threatens to harm the county's quality of life.

Transportation also affects tourism, one of Virginia's major industries. Tourists who brave Virginia's traffic will find the state's history museums and sites have undergone a building boom in anticipation of this year's 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Richard Foster, a Richmond-based writer, looks at how these museums are trying to attract a younger generation that seems to have lost interest in history.

Virginia Business, on the other hand, is still interested in history. In cooperation with the Reynolds Business History Center at the Virginia Historical Society, we plan to begin a program recognizing the contributions of entrepreneurs to the state's economic history. The first 12 members of the The Virginia Business Shapers of History will be inducted in October in conjunction with a business history conference at the historical society. Their plaques will be permanently displayed in the society's business history wing.

Who knows? Maybe one of the future inductees will be the person who solves Virginia's transportation troubles.