TODAY IS Thursday, February 18 2010. If you died today, here are the other stories that would get buried.

Ouch: McDonnell unveils budget cuts, acknowledges they’ll hurt (Lead, Section A)

Jesse reported on this yesterday, when it was announced, but it’s front-page news all over Virginia today because these cuts are going to hurt. A lot.

Disclosure: I am an employee of an agency 100% funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia. This topic deserves a lot more attention than I can give it at 7 am, and my perspective is perhaps too close to home. But this will have major implications around our region, and accordingly it was given a lot of ink this morning. Read it and adjoining articles.

Light-rail budget is way off track (Lead, Hampton Roads Section)

A day ahead of Norfolk’s State of the City, HRT announces its final (we hope) “cost to complete” figure. “Of the 25 light-rail lines constructed since 1997,” Debbie Messina writes in the Pilot, HRT’s Tide is “only the fourth such project in a dozen years to bust its budget.” Unfortunately I think Ms. Messina is being overly kind to lead with this assessment, but kudos for not raking the muck harder than necessary.

Of the other three cities that have gone over budget on light rail in the past 13 years – Minneapolis, Charlotte, and San Diego – none was over budget by more that 17%. We’re over by 47%. In Minneapolis, the 6% increase was due to an extension of the originally planned line. The other popular cost justification strategy has been the dollar-per-mile comparison. AltDaily ran a great article a few weeks ago comparing dollar-per-mile costs to other regions’ projects, but in doing so ignored the fact that our 7.1 mile starter line is without the major geographical hurdles of those places.

When it comes to light rail, I’m as on board as anyone. But for the credibility of future light rail expansions, we need to acknowledge this project as a financial misfire, correct the situation, and move forward. Supporters of light rail won’t win over any cynics by further massaging the numbers.

Governors to come together over wind energy

The Pilot reports: “Gov. Bob McDonnell and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar don’t have much in common when it comes to offshore drilling, but wind energy may be another story. Later this week, McDonnell and other mid-Atlantic governors will go to Washington to discuss how states can proceed in a “coordinated” fashion to access wind energy off the Atlantic coast.”

This is a big step in the right direction, and hopefully this means people in Richmond read the post last Thursday. Remember kids: offshore oil bad, offshore wind good. Keep watching this story.

In Brief:

Va. ‘Respect Choice’ license plate bills approved

An amendment to add the language, “Respect my car’s paint job and tires, you righteous nut job” is still pending.

Dominion drops systemwide smart meters for conservation

I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.

Suffolk to hold public meeting about mysterious smell

Scooby Doobie Doo, where are you?  Like the smell on I-64W entering Newport News, I’m venturing a guess the smell has something to do with the nearby dump site. That, or it’s Old Man Withers.

Cougar spotted around Eastern Shore

Just one?

A-Z Black Eyed Peas (Pulse)

Feb 22, Hampton Coliseum. Then check out the Drop Kick Murphys on Tuesday at the NORVA.

Buy the paper and support its advertisers. If we were all moochers, these guys wouldn’t be able to give you their content for free.

Happy Reading,

Grant