Rail to Vail is Bound to Fail
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently organized a series of “public” meetings about the weekend traffic congestion on Interstate-70 west of Denver. The so-called solution? A new high-tech magnetic levitation train that would be built along and above the existing highway from Denver to Vail.
Reality, Rights, and R-Rated Movies
The Douglas County school board recently voted to ban showing R-rated films in Douglas County classrooms. The fact that a school board would find it necessary to make such a rule, and the reactions to it, vividly illustrate the pathetic state of the public debate on education. Newspaper accounts were full of criticism. The how […]
Environmental Audits: Colorado Carrots versus Federal Sticks
Environmental regulation has experienced tremendous growth in the last quarter century. Much of this growth has occurred at the federal level, resulting in a heavily centralized, command-and-control bureaucracy overseeing virtually all aspects of environmental protection, including enforcement. State and local governments are a significant part of the enforcement scheme, but under strict federal oversight. This approach to achieving compliance has several limitations, and is beginning to show signs of obsolescence. The current system is inflexible, inefficient, costly, unduly adversarial, and does not maximize environmental protection.
