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Archive of Transportation on Monday May 05, 2008
Gas tax holiday not in state's future
With gas prices continuing to reach new heights, the part of the cost controlled by federal and state governments is coming under increasing scrutiny as some politicians lobby for a break during the summer driving season. Read More
Bridge repairs in state require $11 billion
A state transportation official says it would cost $11 billion to fix the nearly 6,000 bridges in need of repair in Pennsylvania. Read More
Why -- and how -- the ball on Central Florida's commuter-rail project was dropped
Central Florida's commuter-rail project failed in the Florida Legislature because its backers didn't heed a cardinal rule of politics: Know your enemy. Read More
Photo ID may be required for state's boaters
All Wisconsin boaters may be required to carry photo identification as federal officials consider tighter security of the nation's more than 17 million small vessels. Read More
Clinton, Obama keep up gas tax battle
WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton took their fight over gas price relief to the morning talk shows today as they braced for the crucial Indiana and North Carolina primaries. Read More
Alaskans get new gadgets for their wings
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Alaska Airmen's Association kicked off its 11th annual trade show, Saturday, and the governor made a guest appearance. Read More
Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford to ask council to move forward on free bus service
Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford Tuesday will ask the City Council to move forward on a stalled plan to give four months of free MAX bus service. Read More
Tampa Bay area's legislative rewards small in lean budget year
Stopping lead-laced toys from being distributed and sold in Florida seemed like "an apple pie bill" to Sen. Charlie Justice. The Senate even passed it. Read More
Winners and losers in the 2008 Florida Legislature
A list of legislation that passed in this year's regular session of the Florida Legislature, which ended Friday, from The Associated Press. Read More
It came down to money -- and there wasn't enough
Republicans at the helm kept one eye on a fuel gauge that showed tax collections on fumes and another on the approaching storm of the November elections. The result was a $66.2-billion budget with more than $4 billion in spending cuts targeted largely at school children, the sick and the elderly. Read More
Florida lawmakers lament lack of money
While the budget is the only thing lawmakers must do, they tackled other issues as well, ranging from deadly serious programs to expand insurance coverage of autism, the issue that brought the session to an emotional, last-minute climax to the seriously absurd: the short-lived ban against displaying bull genitalia on bumpers. Read More
Measure on illegal ATV use advances
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources could soon have the muscle it needs to combat a problem that has plagued Wai'anae Coast residents, pedestrians and motorists for years: Illegal all-terrain vehicles tearing along beaches, roadways and wilderness areas. Read More
Shifting gears, Park-and-ride trend grows
With gas prices rising, some Hawaii residents are getting out of their cars and finding other ways to get around. Read More
Culver laments I-380 conditions
Gov. Chet Culver says conditions on Interstate 380, which links Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, are very poor and need to be improved. Read More
ISP targets bad drivers
Idaho State Police say they will join with the trucking industry and other agencies to stop aggressive truck and car drivers. Read More
IDOT to send 150 jobs out of Springfield to Downstate
The Illinois Department of Transportation is preparing to ship nearly 150 jobs from Springfield to southern Illinois, but officials say they haven't chosen the new location and don't know when the move will happen. Read More
IDOT move has hurdles to clear
A detailed analysis and public hearings will be required before the Illinois Department of Transportation can relocate 150 Division of Traffic Safety employees to southern Illinois. Read More
IDOT Annex lease expired in July
The Illinois Department of Transportation's traffic safety division is in what is known as the IDOT Annex, near IDOT's main headquarters, the state-owned Hanley Building, on Dirksen Parkway. Read More
IDOT workers say e-mail proves politics fueled firings
Lawyers for 17 former Illinois Department of Transportation workers say a recently disclosed e-mail supports their claim that Gov. Rod Blagojevich?s administration fired them for political reasons. Read More
Bomke denounces IDOT move as 'absurd'
The southern Illinois city of Benton, apparently the leading candidate to become the new home of the Illinois Department of Transportation?s division of traffic safety, has no building that would accommodate the agency, according to Benton Mayor Gary Kraft. Read More
Democrats work to sway voters in race for governor
Democrat Jill Long Thompson spoke of suspending the state sales tax on gasoline while her rival in the gubernatorial primary, Jim Schellinger, promised to restore collective bargaining for state employees. Read More
House rejects Senate's budget changes
The House voted overwhelmingly Saturday evening to reject a wrap-up budget from the Senate that swept out all new spending. The 4-116 vote sent the bill back to a negotiating committee. Six members of the House and Senate have been working to develop a budget, but haven't been able to come to an agreement. Read More
Bill approved that would test drivers after accidents
Dennis and Denise Bixby wiped tears from their eyes Saturday as they sat in the House gallery and watched lawmakers approve a bill that they helped push through the Legislature. Read More
Bridge police change has no support
A bill to abolish the Causeway Police Department and transfer law enforcement duties on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and the Huey P. Long Bridge to the State Police is failing to attract much support among legislators whose constituents traverse the bridges. Read More
Phone legislation picks its prey
State lawmakers are trying to find ways to protect the public from distracted drivers without imposing a complete ban on communicating with cellular telephones while driving. Read More
Gas prices of from last week's record highs
PORTLAND, Maine -- Gas prices remain high with the start of a new work week, but they're lower than the record highs recorded last week. Read More
St. Cloud man has small solution to gas prices: little cars
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Most days you'll find Brenton Netz under the hood of a car behind his St. Cloud home. Read More
Tax Commission says new Mississippi tags coming
About 20 Mississippi counties are either out of car tags or are running short because officials forgot to reorder, according to the State Tax Commission. Read More
Natives & newcomers: Taxes are key
Eight years ago, before federal courts overturned the Blackfeet Tribe's taxes on railroads and utility companies, it collected roughly $1.3 million in tax revenue - about half the tribe's direct income. Read More
State -- More gas stations cheating
The administrator for the Nebraska Department of Weights and Measures says his agency has found three to four gas stations a week trying to cheat customers. Read More
More gas stations require prepaying
With gasoline thefts rising along with prices, more local gas station owners are requiring customers to pay up before they fill their tanks. Read More
Paterson nominates executive director for port authority
Gov. David A. Paterson announced on Friday that he had nominated Christopher O. Ward, a former executive with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to be the authority's executive director. Mr. Ward, 53, would succeed Anthony E. Shorris, who was appointed to the job last year by Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Read More
Paterson backs away from trooper comments
Gov. David Paterson said Friday in a radio interview that he admitted past marital affairs in part because he feared an "out-of-control" element in the State Police that he said was investigating politicians. But later Friday, he told reporters he had no proof that out-of-control troopers were targeting politicians. Read More
Gas-tax plan draws skeptics
That pain shooting from the gas pump to your wallet is real. But the consensus among economists, industry experts and consumers is that a federal gas-tax holiday won't ease the hurt. Read More
Ohioans warned not to get too wild on Cinco de Mayo
Officials are urging Ohioans to be responsible if they're celebrating Cinco de Mayo today. Read More
Proposed bill would give tire makers a second set of bonds
The state Capitol could prove to be the place where the rubber meets the road. At least that's how the manufacturing industry views a proposal to allow for a second bond issuance for Oklahoma tire manufacturers. Read More
Michelin nears completion of $200 million investment project
Michelin's Ardmore plant is nearing the finish line of its $200 million investment project that began in late 2002. The company has already spent $187 million for upgrades and will wrap up the rest by the end of October. Read More
Fighting global warming block by block
SEATTLE - King County Executive Ron Sims has a simple test for every new public works project, building plan or government land purchase: Will it increase the region's total greenhouse-gas emissions, or reduce them? Read More
A debate over what revived Dulles rail
U.S transportation officials say they reversed their position last week on the proposed extension of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport because Virginia officials and the people overseeing the project made significant enough changes to make it viable. Read More
Little relief for choked secondary roads in Va.
Winding, shoulderless Rolling Road looks like a two-lane country road. But the Newington street has become a major artery, connecting Interstate 95, Route 1, the Fairfax County Parkway and what will soon be a much larger Fort Belvoir. Read More
Lawmakers back I-94 plan
Expanding I-94 from six lanes to eight is an essential part of helping the Racine and Kenosha area grow and will provide needed jobs now, state Reps. Cory Mason and Robert Turner, both Racine Democrats, said Friday. Read More
Repeat offenders a large part of drunken driving problem
HUNTINGTON. W.Va. - Repeat offenders may be the most frustrating component of the drunken driving problem: no matter what sanctions they face, they continue to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Voters' guide promotes phone sex
An Oregon voters’ guide lists a very wrong number. California’s governor insults rural legislators. And Pennsylvania considers selling wine in vending machines. In case you missed those stories this week, “Worth Noting” fills you in. Read More
Legislators prod Congress on Medicaid, Real ID
As some states tumble into what they fear is a recession, state lawmakers from across the country are pushing Congress for relief from impending federal rules that would force states to pick up more Medicaid costs and spend billions to make drivers’ licenses more secure. Read More
With justices' OK, voter ID moves ahead
A decision Monday (April 28) by the U.S. Supreme Court to let Indiana demand photo identification from voters paves the way for other states to do the same during November’s presidential election, experts say. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Illinois gov runs up travel tab
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s commuting costs start to add up. South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds settles a dispute with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a cranky game warden. Read More |
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