Friday’s Headlines Got Charlie Brown Again
Why won't Democrats punt and then try a field goal if and when they take more power next year?
By
Blake Aued
12:22 AM EDT on August 14, 2026
- Once again, Congress is pulling back the football on transit, Beth Osborne writes. Some of the same politicians and advocacy groups that raised hell about the Trump administration canceling grants and slow-walking approval for transit projects are now lining up behind a transportation funding bill with the same old highway-friendly formula.
- Hatred of Flock’s license place recognition cameras seems to be the one thing that can bring left and right together. (New York Times)
- At some point somebody in Congress is probably going to try to eliminate the tax exemption on municipal bonds like Bay Area transit agency Muni’s. (Governing)
- The new Sound Transit rail bridge over Lake Washington has truly connected the Eastside to the rest of Seattle. (Seattle Magazine)
- A report from the Twin Cities’ Met Council found that the region will need 90,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2040, compared to the 2,000 it has today. (Minnesota Public Radio)
- There’s a bipartisan effort in New Hampshire to overturn Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s veto of a 10-year transportation plan because she dislikes tolls. (Bulletin)
- Walking tours used to be for tourists, but now Philadelphia residents are getting together to explore their city on foot. (Citizen)
- Fort Worth is considering zoning changes to create mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods around rail stations. (Report)
- The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority named interim CEO Jonathan Hunt to the job permanently. (Saporta Report)
- What if “Maximum Overdrive” except with AI instead of aliens? A former New York City transportation commissioner attempted to answer that question in a new novel. (NYT, Streetsblog)
- The kids are alright: A Virginia high school student wrote in Greater Greater Washington about how the D.C. Metro is adjusting to post-pandemic travel patterns by improving all-day service instead of focusing on rush hour.
- India’s Supreme Court recently ruled that people have a right to safe journeys on foot. (Transport Matters)
- Latin American cities are now collectively operating 10,000 electric buses. (Pressenza)
- Singapore is a great example of how to keep transit users cool without relying solely on air conditioning. (The Cool Down)
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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