Monday’s Headlines Drink Your Milkshake
How does a president end wasteful subsidies for the highly profitable fossil fuel industry? Many have tried, but none have succeeded, including Joe Biden.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on March 18, 2024
- President Biden is trying for the fourth time to eliminate tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry. But backed by the powerful oil lobby, Republicans and a few Democrats, those subsidies are the impossible-to-kill zombies of the federal tax code. (New York Times)
- Smart Cities Dive breaks down the Biden administration’s 2025 budget request for the U.S. DOT.
- The transportation plan Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell will put before voters this November includes 86 miles of new sidewalks and 38 miles of dedicated bus rapid transit lanes. Notably, it doesn’t include any light rail, in contrast to a plan that voters rejected in 2018. (Tennessean)
- Maryland Democrats introduced a $1.2 trillion package consisting of online gambling, electric vehicles fees and higher tolls to fund education and transportation, including the Red Line, which is in danger of cancellation once again due to Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed budget cuts. (Washington Post)
- Almost 3,000 drivers have been fined in Washington, D.C. for blocking bus lanes since the city started cracking down in late January. (WTOP)
- A $140 million federal grant for Indianapolis’ Blue Line BRT project came just days after city officials were able to halt a bill in the state legislature that would have delayed or scuttled the project. (Recorder)
- A new study found that 80 percent of downtown Cleveland streets should be put on a road diet. (Scene)
- Biking is bouncing back in Portland, which lately has seen an alarming drop despite being a famously bike-friendly city. (Momentum Mag)
- Florida officials and some residents are trying to stop St. Petersburg from painting a dedicated lane for the SunRunner BRT line. (St. Pete Catalyst)
- Seattle Bike Blog says the city could inspire support for a transportation funding referendum by pledging to improve safety on high-injury streets.
- Bikeshares in Harrisburg (The Burg News) and Burlington (WCAX) reopen for spring today.
- An empty office tower in Omaha is being redeveloped into housing, thanks to the forthcoming streetcar. Sadly, though, it will still have a parking deck. (Nebraska Examiner)
- Hawaii issues jaywalking tickets at an unusually high rate, with little correlation to safety, according to an advocacy group’s new report. (KHPR)
- Ann Arbor is seeking to take over four streets from the state because the Michigan DOT is an impediment to adding bus and bike lanes. (MLive)
- The Milwaukee Record rightfully mocks The Hop streetcar ridership truthers.
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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