Elana Schor
Recent Posts
CA One of Four Finalists for High Speed Rail?
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That was the eyebrow-raising suggestion reported by the Orlando Sentinel today after Rep. John Mica (R-FL) helped mark the beginning of central Florida’s commuter-rail era, made possible by landmark legislation signed into state law this week. Rep. John Mica (FL), senior Republican on the House transportation committee (Photo: Orlando Sentinel) The Sentinel quoted Mica naming […]
Two Dems Propose to End Bush-Era Rule on Transit ‘Cost-Effectiveness’
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New Starts, the main federal method for funding big-ticket transit projects, is considered sorely in need of a makeover by many in the capital. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) (Photo: MPR) The program’s high bureaucratic hurdles, shoddy record-keeping, and often glaringly low ridership predictions got dissed earlier this year by House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar, […]
Transit Jobs Nearly Twice as Cheap to Create as Roads — By Congress’ Math
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During the first stimulus debate, House Democrats and the White House famously sparred over how quickly infrastructure money could be spent — with the data later proving that transit was just as "shovel-ready" as roads, if not more so. (Photo: DMI Blog) Now that transportation policymakers have turned to stemming the rising unemployment rate, three […]
Senate Climate Bill Invests Big in Transit, Reaps Big Deficit Reduction
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As the Copenhagen climate talks reach a turning point, congressional negotiations over emissions cuts are taking a back seat to global debate. But some undeniably good news on the domestic front came late yesterday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) described the Copenhagen talks this week as a motivator for […]
House Jobs Bill Could Make General Electric’s Amtrak Wish Come True
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The House is poised to take up a jobs bill later today that provides $37.3 billion in new transportation spending, including $27.5 billion for roads, $8.4 billion for transit … and a holiday gift for General Electric? Could this cleaner GE locomotive be coming soon to Amtrak? (Photo: Inhabitat) GE’s transportation division recently joined its […]
Ray LaHood Visits ‘The Daily Show’ to Talk Transportation
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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Ray LaHood www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last night to talk about his department’s role in the stimulus debate, infrastructure modernization, and development of a U.S. high-speed […]
House Jobs Bill Mimics the Stimulus: $27.5B for Roads, $8.4B for Transit
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The House is slated to vote as soon as tomorrow on a job-creation package that includes $27.5 billion for highways and $8.4 billion for transit, according to a transportation committee document obtained by Streetsblog Capitol Hill. House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: Bike Portland via Flickr) That funding divide mirrors the spending levels […]
The Footnote to All Those Complaints About Tax Cuts as Stimulus
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Transportation reformers and status quo-lovers alike smacked their foreheads in frustration when the White House’s first stimulus plan lowballed infrastructure to make room for tax breaks that had little demonstrable effect on job creation — particularly the $70 billion adjustment of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). HOT lanes on Virginia’s I-495 are one of seven […]
Transport Bill Earmark to Help Road Project in Palin’s Hometown
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Sarah Palin is no longer the governor of Alaska, but a project long championed by the 2008 vice-presidential nominee — and staunch earmark critic — stands to benefit from an earmark inserted into the transportation spending bill that cleared Congress over the weekend. Sarah Palin, then Alaska governor, with husband Todd at the Wasilla, AK, […]
House and Senate Agree on $2.5B for High-Speed Rail — And More
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(Editor’s Note: At the end of Elana’s article, I’m attaching a statement by CALPIRG declaring partial victory) After lengthy negotiations, the House and Senate agreed last night on a massive "omnibus" spending bill [PDF] that includes $2.5 billion for high-speed rail — a compromise between the two chambers — as well as $150 million for […]
Livable Streets All-Stars, Blumenauer and Sadik-Khan, Launch Cities for Cycling
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Addressing a packed house in Washington last night, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus, posed a Zen-like ‘universalist cyclist question’. (Photo: Cities for Cycling) "How many people, right now," he asked, "are stuck in traffic on their way to ride a stationary bike in a health club?" The quip got a […]
White House Backs $50B For ‘Merit-Based Infrastructure Investment’
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President Obama today threw his weight behind significant new transportation spending as part of a broad jobs bill taking shape in Congress, with $50 billion slated for transit, roads, bridges, and ports and the administration endorsing "merit-based infrastructure investment that leverages federal dollars." President Obama gave a high-profile jobs speech today. (Photo: NYT) During his […]