Today’s Headlines
Transportation stimulus payouts neared $1 billion in September (JOC) Boxer says the Senate climate bill could be up for a floor vote in time for the Copenhagen climate talks … (Reuters) … but are the negotiations at risk of becoming the failed enterprise that Kyoto was? (Green Grok) White House remaining on edge about job … Continued
October 13, 2009
Today’s Headlines
(ed. note. Streetsblog Capitol Hill will be observing the Columbus Day holiday, but be back with a full publishing schedule tomorrow.)
October 12, 2009
How Congress Can Help Create Suburbia 2.0
As Obama administration adviser Shelley Poticha noted this week, building more energy-efficient and hospitable cities -- not to mention suburbs and rural areas -- starts with clear terminology. "Sustainability" and "livability" are positive concepts that can be hard to define, but how can "transit-oriented development" be brought home to someone unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts of policy?
October 9, 2009
Senate Climate Bill Delayed Yet Again As Obama Takes Nobel
As my colleague Ryan wrote earlier, the congressional climate change bill no represents the most meaningful path for urbanists, and advocates for clean transportation in general, to make their voices heard in the national debate.
October 9, 2009
Inside the Rail Worker Disability Program That Never Says ‘No’
Independent auditors at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have just released the results of their lengthy investigation of the Railroad Retirement Board, the federal agency that evaluates disability claims by commuter railroad workers -- and has historically approved more than 99 percent of them.
October 9, 2009
Today’s Headlines
New report warns that airline delays will only get worse, and recommends high-speed rail to help replace shorter flights (AP) Pittsburgh bus drivers run into trouble after handing out fliers warning about transit cuts that aren’t happening (Post-Gaz) Copenhagen’s bike renaissance: brought to you in part by a 180 percent tax on cars (MoJones) “Alaska’s … Continued
October 9, 2009
When $1 Billion Doesn’t Buy What it Used To — And When it Does
Since Washington's economic recovery debate first began last fall, advocates for greater infrastructure investment have invoked one phrase more often than almost any other: "Every $1 billion spent on transportation creates 47,500 jobs."
October 8, 2009
Two More Senate Dems Back Plan to Devote Climate Money to Transit
This week has brought news of a brewing compromise on the Senate climate change bill, introduced last month amid signals that the upper chamber would give only a bit more to clean transportation than the House's meager 1 percent set-aside of revenue from cap-and-trade carbon regulations.
October 8, 2009
Streetsblog Q&A: Bush DOT Chief Backs Transport Tech Funding
Former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who served for eight years in George W. Bush's DOT, sat down with Streetsblog Capitol Hill yesterday to urge that Congress add a dedicated funding stream of $1 billion each year for transportation technology to the next long-term infrastructure bill.
October 8, 2009
Streetsblog Q&A: Bush DOT Chief Endorses National Transport Goals
Mary Peters, who spent four years as George W. Bush's Federal Highway Administrator before taking over the U.S. DOT in 2006, has entered the simmering debate over whether Washington should set performance goals for the nation's transportation system. Her answer: "Absolutely."
October 8, 2009