Much of the play-by-play information on the current budget fight and how Virginia government will address our exploding transportation needs in Northern Virginia is simply inside baseball.

I try to stick to the basics. Most citizens in eastern Prince William know:

• that we have a transportation problem;
• that we enacted the largest tax increase in Virginia history just two years ago;
• that Northern Virginia is the economic engine of the state with real transportation needs, yet gets back less than a third of the money we send to Richmond for transportation;
• that the state is running record surpluses;
• that state government doesn't adequately prioritize taxpayer dollars to transportation, especially given the state budget is growing at a rate of 10% a year;
• and finally, that the bigger challenge in areas such as eastern Prince William isn't just money for roads, but the out-of-control growth and development that has quickly turned nice neighborhoods into traffic jammed gridlock (not to mention crowded schools and overburdened public safety).

• Budget Negotiators to Try Again to Clear Roadblocks
  Washington Post, March 21, 2006
  The 10 Virginia lawmakers who will resume negotiations Tuesday on the state budget know they are far apart on transportation spending, but that is about the limit of their mutual understanding. Transportation aside, the House and Senate still must negotiate on spending for other state services. In those areas, the two sides can't even agree about whether they disagree...
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• Kaine quit early on growth law
  Virginian-Pilot Editorial, March 21, 2006
  Gov. Tim Kaine campaigned across Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia on a promise to better link transportation and land use planning. He swept both, in part because it appeals so much to suburban voters weary from overbuilding...
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• Development lobbyists build strong presence
  Virginian-Pilot, March 18, 2006
  Last fall, candidate Timothy M. Kaine won votes in the Republican-friendly cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake by blaming developers for traffic congestion and promising to help control sprawl. The new governor's effort to make good on that campaign pledge, however, won him some hard knocks from home builders and developers, one of the state's most powerful interest groups...
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• On Road Funding, Kaine Finds Slow-Growth Camp Is No Ally
  Washington Post, March 16, 2006
  In 2002, Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) put his chief political strategist (now helping to run his presidential exploration) in charge of winning a referendum on a sales tax for transportation in Northern Virginia. He made sure that Mary K. " Mame" Reiley had $2 million and a virtual who's who of the business world to counter the expected barrage from anti-tax activists and lawmakers. But the tax effort lost, and it was the surprisingly strong opposition from another quarter -- the slow-growth and environmental crowds -- that caused Warner to fume about betrayal. Fast-forward four years. Just elected and planning another fight for transportation funds, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) was determined to woo the green and slow-growth groups to his side. It looks as though he has failed...
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• Never Satisfied: Kaine, Chichester Bang on Their High Chairs and Wail for More
  Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial, March 14, 2006
  With budget negotiations having ground to yet another impasse, Virginians can expect all the parties involved to try to depict the others as rigid, uncompromising ideologues...
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• Grading on a curve
  Potomac News Editorial, March 13, 2006
  Tax-hike enthusiasts and apologists for incessant governmental growth are fond of comparing Virginia's tax burden with that of other states. They delight in pointing out that state and local taxes in Virginia consume a lower share of personal income than elsewhere...
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