Monday’s Headlines Are Already Infuriating
New dads can't take time off, we're not going to meet climate change goals, and giant trucks are killing us. Ugh.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 18, 2021
- Because we live in the darkest timeline, conservatives are mocking Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for taking paternity leave after adopting newborn twins with his husband, Chasten. (NBC News)
- West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin wants means-testing and a work requirement for the child tax credit in Democrats’ reconciliation bill (Axios), a demand that also threatens transit funding included in that bill and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
- Countries’ current plans to cut carbon emissions mean the world will fall well short of the net-zero 2050 target. (The Guardian)
- It’s no secret that vehicles are getting bigger, heavier and more deadly to pedestrians and cyclists. Replacing trucks, SUVS and minivans with ordinary cars would save more than 8,000 lives a year. (Sidewalk Talk)
- E-scooter companies are getting more selective about expansion as they face tougher regulations, more demanding customers and wary insurers. (Reuters)
- The D.C. Metro pulled more than half its rail cars out of service after discovering safety problems. (Washington Post)
- Going against national trends recognizing that jaywalking should not be a crime, the Massachusetts legislature is considering a bill to increase fines for not crossing at a crosswalk (Boston 25). On the bright side, Boston is limiting parking at large new developments (Streetsblog MASS).
- A St. Louis police officer who killed a 12-year-old girl while pursuing a suspect was acquitted. (Post-Dispatch)
- Portland is moving forward with new fees on drivers. (Bike Portland)
- Charlotte’s new long-range development plan includes denser housing in single-family neighborhoods. (Observer)
- Colorado’s new rule requiring greenhouse gas emissions to be taken into account for transportation projects could be a model for the nation, but it needs a stronger equity/social justice component. (NRDC)
- Confused self-driving cars keep self-driving down the same San Francisco dead-end street. (KPIX)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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