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)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Pennsylvania’s Bid to Toll I-80 Rejected by Feds

By Elana Schor |
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) has scheduled a press conference this afternoon to discuss his pitch for new tolls on Interstate 80, but local media reports are already suggesting that his news is not good: the federal government has rejected the state’s bid to toll the highway, leaving its transportation budget short at least $450 […]

Six Lies the GOP Is Telling About the House Transportation Bill

By Ben Fried and Ben Goldman |
The transportation-plus-drilling bill that John Boehner and company are trying to ram through the House is an attack on transit riders, pedestrians, cyclists, city dwellers, and every American who can’t afford to drive everywhere. Under this bill, all the dedicated federal funding streams for transit, biking, and walking would disappear, leading to widespread service cuts […]

Freight Panel Chair Says House Will “Balance Out” Transportation Modes

By Stephen Miller |
This article was adapted from an earlier report on Streetsblog NYC. A Congressional road show on freight arrived in New York last Friday afternoon, bringing together air, trucking, and rail industry representatives to testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s freight panel. While the House is holding hearings like this one, U.S. DOT is working toward […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
Oberstar urges Obama to back quick passage of his new transportation bill during a closed-door Dem meeting, to no avail — POTUS would only back general infrastructure investments (The Hill) Will Democrat’s loss of their 60-vote margin in the Senate, and its subsequent consequences for climate legislation, hamper a global agreement on emissions? Nope, says […]