And now a few words in praise of a Democrat – Sen. Janet Howell. As big a problem as the gentle lady from Fairfax has with the Senate’s rules, and as flat-out wrong as she is regarding the Attorney General’s opinion on state aid to private charities, Sen. Howell is absolutely right in her effort to discover whether Virginia’s corporate welfare programs – otherwise known as “economic development” – actually do any good.

Howell’s bill would have the state’s investigative arm, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), “…to study the effectiveness of economic development incentive grants in Virginia.”  Specifically, Howell wants JLARC to determine: