Today’s Headlines

  • Texting while driving is a primary offense for Missouri teens, but very few tickets are getting written (STLToday)
  • More evidence that transportation stimulus spending is viewed through the prism of job creation — not sustainability or connectivity (CNN Money)
  • Dispute over hiring of local workers for the stimulus law’s largest Amtrak project sparks controversy in Connecticut (The Day)
  • The Twin Cities’ Central Corridor rail line is set to get three new stops (Finance & Comm.)
  • Denver planners are looking anew at HOT lanes and toll roads amid a state budget crunch, but still holding out hope for federal stimulus money (Post)
  • Electric car-charging company Better Place draws a massive $350m investment (GreenBeat)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Is the Stimulus Working For Cities? Not So Much, Mayors Say

By Elana Schor |
As the Obama administration today faced new criticism of its methods for tracking jobs created or saved by the $787 billion stimulus law, a bipartisan quartet of mayors was weighing in at the Brookings Institution about the recovery effort’s impact on their local economies. As budget cuts hit Florida’s Tri-Rail line, shown here, the state […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
House Ways and Means Committee joins the Senate in shutting the door on Rep. Jim Oberstar’s (D-MN) push for a new transportation bill (The Hill) The field-testing of a future alternative to the gas tax kicks into high gear (AP) Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) calls for a second stimulus that’s targeted to infrastructure … […]

Biden on Stimulus Aid to Cities: ‘We’re Trying … It’s Imperfect’

By Elana Schor |
Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged today that the White House’s economic recovery push has created stumbling blocks for cities hoping to take advantage of the stimulus, but he defended the administration’s efforts to take a more holistic view of transportation, housing, and other urban concerns. Vice President Joe Biden (Photo: PolitiFact.com) After a speech touting […]

A High-Speed Rail Reality Check for Texas

By Elana Schor |
Despite data backing up the White House’s assertion that politics played no role in high-speed rail decision-making, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) — waging a re-election bid against a GOP primary challenger as well as the Democratic mayor of Houston — wasn’t shy about complaining after his state received less than one-hundredth of the $1.8 […]