WEEK’S END A new report finds that Virginia’s tax system is still regressive: Low-income earners pay a higher percentage of their income than high-income earners. Virginia shouldn’t soak the rich, or the middle class. But it absolutely shouldn’t be soaking the poor. Richmond’s Habitat for Humanity is leading the nation in innovation. Its plan to create a community land trust is a creative way to foster affordable housing: Buyers purchase the homes, but not the land under them, which stays in the trust.

WEEK’S END Resurrected Quote of the Day: The Washington Post, in 2006 (emphasis added): “RICHMOND, Sept. 13—Virginia’s U.S. Senate race turned nasty Wednesday as Republican Sen. George Allen launched a character attack on his Democratic opponent’s past views toward women in combat, signaling the start of a two-month barrage of negative campaigning in what has become a close race. Allen, who is fighting for a second term, organized a news conference with five female U.S. Naval Academy graduates who said an article written 27 years ago by Allen’s opponent, James Webb, prompted harassment by male midshipmen at the academy . . . .“

WEEK’S END Will the last potential GOP contender for 2012 to commit adultery please turn out the lights?  The fellow at the next desk quips that, at this rate, Sarah Palin will win the 2012 presidential nomination by default, because all the Republican men have girlfriends . . . .Unless, of course, it turns out that she does, too. On Thursday a bunch of folks—including some from Richmond—rallied in D.C. to demand government health care. Noticeably absent from news coverage of the event was the insinuation, frequently leveled at April’s Tax Day Tea Parties, that the whole supposedly grassroots shebang was mere agitprop whipped up by powerful interests in Washington.

We recently learned from saverichmond.com that the authority responsible for the Triple-A stadium in Memphis has defaulted on its bonds. The item on the local blog sent us to the Web site of the Memphis newspaper, where we read of the financial difficulties of a ballpark often cited as a smashing success. The team and its stadium are up for sale, yet buyers are deterred not only by the economic environment but by the revenue shortfall. Despite drawing strong crowds, the stadium has not produced the predicted bounty.

WEEK’S END Thursday headline: “Board Lowers Grading Scale.“ Headline we would like to see: “School Board Raises Grading Scale.“  Yesterday the Shepherd’s Center of Richmond celebrated its 25th anniversary. The center does not inhabit a place in the physical sense but is a program for older citizens who take classes at area churches and, in the process, enjoy fellowship and nurture their commitment to serve. Retired faculty members from the region’s universities teach the courses. The Shepherd’s Center sponsors field trips and longer tours. Members volunteer. They drive people to the doctor’s office and to the grocery store. The group is ecumenical. Participants bless Richmond.

WEEK’S END Proposals to tap federal stimulus funds to extend unemployment benefits in Virginia would have imposed on private business precisely the burdens that make it difficult to create jobs. The House of Delegates made a tough but correct call in rejecting the plan. We also applaud those who speak of a compromise (1) to assist workers who have lost jobs, without (2) creating obligations that would hamper the overall economy as recovery occurs.

Populists and others denounce bonuses as indicators of corporate greed. Although the bonuses paid to various employees at the Virginia Department of Transportation do not approach the bonuses awarded on Wall Street or by firms receiving federal bailouts, they still create an image dilemma for the agency and for the state. For years Virginians have heard—correctly, we believe—that the state lacks sufficient transportation funding. Indeed, VDOT has announced plans to close popular rest stops to save cash. Bonuses allow critics to press their argument that chronic inefficiencies contribute to the transportation mess.

A stroll through the parking lot tells the story. On race weekends, the cars at Richmond International Raceway boast license plates not only from Virginia but from states near and far. A tag check suggests Canadian fans also attend. A report that RIR annually pumps $467 million into the local economy does not surprise. 

The Rams fell one basket short against the Bruins of UCLA, but VCU’s arts programs continue to dominate their brackets. The school’s Anderson Gallery, for instance, is featuring a series of four exhibitions of art from VCU students.