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Archive of Transportation on Thursday May 08, 2008
Transit systems travel 'green' track
NEW YORK - This year, the surging current of the East River will help provide power to a nearby subway station. The lights that lace the ornate interior of Manhattan's Grand Central Station have largely been replaced by bulbs that burn brightly but save energy. Read More
Texas crackdown on uninsured drivers set to begin in June
Three years after the Legislature passed a law to crack down on uninsured motorists, the number of drivers caught without insurance coverage under the 2005 statute is exactly ? zero. Read More
Senate gas-tax cut hits pothole
The state Senate has passed legislation to suspend state gasoline taxes for the summer, but the initiative has little traction because of opposition from the Assembly and Gov. David Paterson. Read More
Is it time to scrap gas taxes in Michigan?
Michigan's state and local road agencies are dealing with funding problems that could reverse the progress we've made in improving our roadways over the last decade. Read More
Ark. governor, congressional delegation oppose gas-tax holiday
A summerlong suspension of the federal gas tax may be the brainchild of former Arkansas first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, but the idea is resoundingly opposed by the state's governor and congressional delegation. Read More
Governor calls for boost of 1 cent in state sales tax
Gov. Janet Napolitano is defending a proposal to hike the state sales tax to among the highest in the nation to fund transit improvements. Read More
Ritter: GOP stalled road efforts
Gov. Bill Ritter said Wednesday that concern over Democratic lawmakers' re-election chances was partly to blame for legislative failure to approve proposals to fix Colorado roads and bridges. Read More
Two lanes of I-95 north to close this weekend
A state road project that stymied traffic last weekend will be in effect again beginning Friday. Read More
As Florida leads in boating deaths, water education lags
Boating deaths jumped 10 percent in Florida last year, marking the 16th year in 20 that the Sunshine State has led the nation in fatalities. Read More
Foes of Web driving class get Scooby Doo certified
Scooby Doo can get behind the wheel again in Florida. Not in real life, of course. The talking dog doesn't exist. But opponents of a bill to let Georgia's habitual traffic violators take court-ordered driving classes online signed the cartoon canine up for an Internet course in Florida, which has a similar law. Read More
Driving without license felony under House bill
Driving without a license could become a felony under a bill that passed the Georgia House on Thursday. Read More
Ferry must pay for tugboat
The state Department of Transportation has told Hawaii Superferry it must pay for evening tugboat services at Kahului Harbor needed to accommodate the company's expanded Maui service. Read More
Hawaii taps tourism emergency fund
The Hawaii Tourism Authority will spend $3 million from an emergency fund to convince North American travelers that Hawaii still offers a good value for a vacation. Read More
Construction costs a political hang-up
Around the Capitol, the perception is that "everyone" wants new roads, bridges and schools. The problem is no one can agree on how to pay for them. Read More
Lawmaker warns construction funds are in danger
With time running short at the Capitol for a budget deal, one suburban lawmaker said talk of billions of dollars worth of state-sponsored construction may be headed to the political backburner. Read More
Q5 lacks strategy on keeping IDOT jobs
A local economic-development campaign that has pledged to create or retain 4,500 Sangamon County jobs in five years had remained quiet on a plan to move 150 state jobs our of Springfield until Wednesday. Read More
Disabled criticize Pace's dispatch computer service for paratransit
Angered by chronically late or no-show drivers and frustrated at having to sit for hours in paratransit vans for what should be shorter rides, more than a dozen disabled riders castigated Pace Wednesday for what they said were flaws in a new computerized dispatch system. Read More
Officials -- 19 schools get pass on driver's ed rule
Nineteen suburban high schools have gotten a reprieve from a controversial requirement to provide driver-education students with six hours of instructor-supervised street driving, according to state education officials. Read More
Gubernatorial candidates? positions on key issues
With Hoosiers paying record prices at the gas pump and oil prices climbing, what would you do as governor to provide some short- and long-term relief? Read More
Controversial Lawrence bypass gets federal approval
A proposed highway that would route traffic through southeast Lawrence has cleared its last environmental hurdle, but a courtroom battle still looms. The federal government has given final environmental approval to the four-lane South Lawrence Trafficway, which could make it easier to reach parts of Lawrence from the Kansas City area. Read More
Vehicle registration fees likely to go up
Fees to register a vehicle in the state would increase by $4 under a compromise bill sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Read More
Bill raising drivers' coverage advances
A bill that would require all drivers to have higher minimum insurance coverage on their vehicles was approved 6-2 Wednesday by the House Insurance Committee. Read More
Senate says abolish airport panel
A state panel that has spent 16 years trying to build a sprawling airport near Donaldsonville would be abolished under a bill that won Louisiana Senate approval 36-0 on Wednesday. Read More
Airport authority flies into the sunset
The 16-year-old Louisiana Airport Authority should fade into history by Jan. 1, since it hasn't done much to develop a cargo airport between New Orleans and Baton Rouge as intended, the Senate decided Wednesday. Read More
Bill seeks to limit traffic cameras
Traffic cameras aimed at catching drivers who run red lights should not be aimed at the front of cars, says Sen. Troy Hebert, D-Jeanerette. Read More
Broker to return $37m to towns
A major Wall Street firm agreed to return $37 million to 17 cities and towns in the state, as well as to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, after it allegedly misled them into buying investments they thought were as safe as cash. Read More
Relicensed station on 'radar screen,' O'Malley says
Gov. Martin O'Malley suggested yesterday that an automotive safety inspection station in Prince George's County will receive increased monitoring from the Maryland State Police as he defended his administration's decision to issue the facility a new license four years after its previous one was revoked for fraudulent practices. Read More
State high court -- Ambassador Bridge not subject to some Detroit zoning laws
The Michigan Supreme Court Wednesday "declined an invitation ... to second guess" a ruling by now-retired Wayne County Circuit Court Judge James Rashid that found the Detroit International Bridge Co. immune from city of Detroit zoning regulations in certain limited circumstances. Read More
Bridge work didn't need city's OK, high court says
The company that owns and operates the Ambassador Bridge had the right to install new tollbooths and a fueling station on the Detroit side without zoning permission from the city, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. Read More
Crash stats bolster push to restrict teen drivers
A lot of teen death rate statistics, including some misleading ones, have been thrown around in Minnesota's legislative debate over a bill that would restrict times teens can drive and the number of passengers they can transport Read More
Tester slams Real ID Act, executive reach
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jon Tester on Wednesday said recent government programs, including the Real ID Act, have violated privacy and built executive power to the extent that it threatens national security. Read More
Richardson talks health, education in Mexico
Gov. Bill Richardson and several Mexican officials signed various international agreements Wednesday, on topics dealing with rail crossings to border health projects. Read More
Cuomo's power play
A furious Attorney General Andrew Cuomo yesterday demanded that the state Power Authority disclose who destroyed e-mail and BlackBerry messages involving Daniel Wiese, the agency's suspended inspector general and a central figure in the probe of political-espionage activities by the State Police. Read More
Gas prices driving transit ridership higher
TULSA, Okla. ? The pain at the pump is driving Oklahoma metros to become transit-friendly. Read More
Oregonians weigh in on gas-tax suspension
Talk to drivers as they're filling up at the pump, and many say it'd be great if, as Hillary Clinton proposes, the federal gasoline tax were suspended this summer. Read More
Gas prices have some thinking they can drive 55
ALBANY, N.Y. - As other cars zipped by at 70 mph or more, Mike Papin and his wife, Joann, kept rolling along just below the 65 mph limit as they made their way from their winter home in Florida to a summer place in Vermont. Read More
Kaine sets roads session for June 23
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is calling the General Assembly into special session beginning June 23 to consider a new transportation funding package, legislators said Wednesday. Read More
Legislators reach some consensus on roads plan
For the first time in anyone's memory, legislators from Virginia's two most populous regions sat around a table away from the state Capitol, trying to find common ground on how to pay for billions of dollars in transportation projects. Read More
Statewide solutions on roads discussed
RICHMOND, Va. -- Calling themselves the "new urban majority," legislators from Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads inched closer Wednesday to agreeing that any transportation plan must include millions of dollars for road and transit projects across the state. Read More
Phone ban for driving teens goes nowhere
A bill that would have banned cell phone use by teenage drivers had nearly unanimous support in Montpelier this year. Read More
Senate bill includes $64 million for WA flood damage
Sen. Patty Murray says an emergency spending bill headed to the Senate includes $64 million to help rebuild roads damaged in devastating floods in Washington state. Read More
Silver Alert helps rescue lost seniors
(Updated 9:30 a.m EST, May 8, 2008) When an elderly person with dementia is lost, eight states can trigger an alert to let the community know. Proposals in Congress would expand the successful missing persons program to all 50 states. 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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