Today’s Headlines

  • Very bad news for train riders in the northeast: The Obama administration’s first rounds of high-speed rail money are unlikely to help improve Acela service, due to lengthy environmental reviews required by U.S. DOT (Globe)
  • Two disparate takes on the House jobs bill: Does it represent "room for
    real debate" on a new federal transportation bill or "Groundhog Day" for entrenched bureaucracy? (GreenWire, HuffPost)
  • Pennsylvania state legislators head to the Hill to lobby against state leaders’ push to toll I-80 (Pocono News)
  • Embattled head of Washington D.C.’s transit agency vows to win back public confidence and work with Obama administration on its new safety bill (WaPo)
  • Virginia becomes the latest state to slash transportation spending in a rough economy (AP)
  • Maryland edges closer to approving per-mile tolls for its massive new ICC highway, sparking one Democratic candidate to rage against a "drive-to-work tax" (Gazette, Arora for Delegate)
  • A less sexy but cheaper electric-car company is quietly making inroads (SFGate)
  • Not transportation-related, but telling just the same: LaHood goes to bat for longtime friend Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff (Bloomberg)

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Good News: Cardin-Cochran Amendment Incorporated Into Senate Bill

By Ben Goldman |
Majority Leader Harry Reid has incorporated much of the Ben Cardin/Thad Cochran amendment into the so-called “manager’s mark” of the Senate transportation bill. The move means that the amendment’s provisions letting local governments directly access funding from popular bicycle and pedestrian programs will be included in the bill without having to come up for a separate […]

NJ Rep. Frelinghuysen Goes After HSR Money Destined For His Own State

By Tanya Snyder |
As towns flanking the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers continue to be inundated with historically high water, it’s good to see Congress taking action to provide some relief. Unfortunately, that relief comes on the back of high-speed rail programs. Last week, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), who chairs the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, introduced an amendment […]

Almost Every State Chooses to Retain Recreational Trails Funding

By Angie Schmitt |
Since Congress passed a disappointing transportation bill in June, all eyes have been on the states, which were granted new leeway to forgo investments in safe walking and biking. This week, sustainable transportation advocates have at least one encouraging sign. Almost every state has chosen to put its federal “recreational trails” funding to use. Sam […]