Government / Politics

The coal ash spill, 82,000 tons as of Feb. 8 after being detected on Feb. 2, comes from a pond adjacent to a closed, coal-burning Duke Energy power plant. It is said not to pose a threat to drinking water, though the river has turned black and grey.

February 8, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S.

The former three-term New York City mayor, already president of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group has been appointed to a special United Nations envoy position on cities and climate change by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

February 8, 2014 - Reuters

Harriet Tregoning recently announced the end of her seven-year tenure as planning director of Washington D.C. Called by some the “futurist-in-chief,” Tregoning will head to HUD, where she’ll head the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.

February 7, 2014 - Capital Business - The Washington Post

While road usage fee advocates may be celebrating this key endorsement of what many transportation experts view as the inevitable funding option, Streetsblog's Tanya Snyder is calling it a setback because of what else Rep. Bill Shuster did on Feb 4.

February 7, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

In the first case of its kind, federal regulators fined three oil companies for allegedly either failing to test, or improperly testing crude from the Bakken Shale in N.D., resulting in rail companies not knowing which type of oil tanker cars to use.

February 6, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

In the early part of the 20th century, Europe looked toward the U.S. to learn how to adapt cities to car travel, as difficult as that may seem. It wasn't until the 1990s, in the presence of sprawl and failing public transit that the pattern reversed.

February 5, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

A contributing factor to widespread political disengagement? It's not what you might expect. Here's how the daily commute diminishes citizens' interest and ambition to get involved in their communities.

February 5, 2014 - Tom Spengler

Continued service to many cities in New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas may rest with N.M. Gov. Susana Martinez who has indicated she is unwilling to share in the maintenance costs required by the federal government for a stretch of rail owned by BNSF.

February 4, 2014 - The New Mexican

The city of San Diego adopted the Barrio Logan plan a few months ago, provoking a successful movement to place a referendum on a future ballot. The city’s mayoral race could hinge on the issue, with large military contractors as political donors.

February 3, 2014 - San Diego Reader

Planners can learn a lot about the havoc money unleashes on otherwise benign development plans from the moral fortitude displayed by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.

February 3, 2014 - Ian Sacs

City Hall isn't what it once was. Here are eight new positions that your local government should be hiring for this year.

February 2, 2014 - Future Cities

In Los Angeles, months of agitation by pedestrian and bicycling advocates have finally paid off.

February 2, 2014 - LA Streetsblog

The 10-cent gas tax hike the governor proposed would only meet Delaware's transportation needs half-way. Gov. Markell also endorsed borrowing $50 million a year, matching the additional gas tax revenues. Combined, DelDot's debt load would be reduced.

February 2, 2014 - Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times

In Philadelphia, an alliance of unusual suspects worked together to convince the city to create the land bank. The law isn't perfect but the new land bank will significantly improve the city’s vacant property process.

February 2, 2014 - Shelterforce

Can the nation's largest state department of transportation, long oriented to building highways and fighting congestion, be brought into the modern, multi-modal era? The State Smart Transportation Initiative's report for Caltrans may do just that.

February 1, 2014 - The Sacramento Bee

In the eighth installment of the Urban Juxtapositions series profiled in Planetizen on January 16, Chuck Wolfe asks if we are using the right language when it comes to densifying urban spaces.

February 1, 2014 - myurbanist

David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official who resigned over the George Washington Bridge-Gate lane closures and has refused to answer investigators' questions, indicated in his lawyer's letter that N.J. Gov. Christie knew of the closures.

February 1, 2014 - The New York Times

In his State of the Union address, President Obama touted his "all of the above" energy policy which was bemoaned by some environmental groups who are upset with his embrace of natural gas as a "bridge fuel" to a clean energy future.

January 30, 2014 - Huff Post Green

With the National Flood Insurance Program deeply in debt, homeowners are struggling to afford new insurance rates resulting from legislation passed in 2012. The House could still block the Senate bill that would delay more rate increases.

January 30, 2014 - The Hill

In prior State of the Unions, President Obama has put forth bold plans for building high-speed rail, tackling climate change and transitioning to alternative energy sources. Facing an obstinate Congress, he outlined a more modest agenda last night.

January 29, 2014 - Los Angeles Times