Government / Politics

President Obama signed the transportation bill known as MAP-21 on July 6 that also maintains low student loan rates, ending the three-year process of three-month extensions of SAFETEA-LU. He praised the bill as bipartisan and job-saving.

July 9, 2012 - The Hill's Transportation Blog

Without a vote to spare, the CA state senate voted to authorize $5.8 billion to begin construction in the Central Valley of the nation's first true HSR system. The assembly passed the bill earlier in the week.

July 7, 2012 - Capitol Alert (Sacramento Bee blog)

Willamette Week interviews U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon about the shenanigans going on behind-the-scenes of the newly-approved Transportation Bill.

July 6, 2012 - Willamette Week

In what Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg calls a "dramatic power shift", England's largest cities have gained new powers to control their economies and transportation, reports Sam Lister.

July 6, 2012 - The Independent

An environmental economist and a law professor pronounces the increased carbon tax in British Columbia "the smartest tax in the world" and advise the U.S. to get onboard.

July 6, 2012 - The New York Times - Opinion

According to new data, state and local governments hired 828,000 workers in the first four months of the year, "up 20% from a year earlier, and the most since 2008," stoking hopes that government job growth may be on the way.

July 6, 2012 - USA Today

Planners in major urban areas have long been touting the virtues of density, mixed use, and public transit. But can these smart growth principles apply in a wilderness area dedicated to seasonable tourism?

July 5, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

In the coming days readers will learn more about America's new transportation funding plan MAP-21, which will guide surface transportation planning through 2014. In this piece, Tanya Snyder centers on changes to the popular TIFIA lending program.

July 5, 2012 - Steetsblog Capitol Hill

The nation of Iraq is building itself anew after the last of the US troops evacuated six months ago, but experts are saying that their wealth, which has created an invasion of shopping malls around the country, is subsidizing the public agenda.

July 5, 2012 - The New York Times

Singapore has a robust public housing program, which comes from the government operating 80% of the housing stock. Neal Peirce spells out how the system works.

July 4, 2012 - The Citistates Group

Josh Barro offers his take on the charge, oft resorted to by transit advocates, that subsidies for road maintenance encourage driving. Instead, he argues, we should turn our attention to the mechanisms that make it hard for transit to compete.

July 3, 2012 - The Washington Examiner

A new report documents the dramatic growth in the average length of environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects. While some have called for easing environmental protections as the solution, the report authors have different suggestions.

July 3, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Energy shortages in coal, natural gas, and diesel fuel are constraining India's growth. At the heart of the shortages are government subsidies that keep prices low, state-run monopolies that are unable to increase production, and costly imports.

July 3, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

The alternative plan directs a sizable percentage of the initial $6 billion allocation to the Bay and LA regions to upgrade existing commuter lines at the expense of greater investment in the Central Valley. Funding plan may be determined by July 6.

July 2, 2012 - California Watch

Just how does a transportation bill that doesn't increase fuel taxes or introduce new user charges, and maintain the same level of spending reduce the deficit by $16.3 billion? Ask the Congressional Budget Office.

July 1, 2012 - Taxpayers For Common Sense

David Steel explains how Buffalo's zoning code not only makes it impossible to build the type of neighborhoods people love, but also guarantees that low density development pays less taxes.

June 29, 2012 - Rust Wire

Often downplayed of their role in both planning efforts and in the economy, tribal governments are working collaboratively with other local governments in Oklahoma to help build and maintain roads.

June 29, 2012 - Tulsa World

In pollution-heavy San Joaquin Valley of California's Central Valley, some cities are considering replacing Fourth of July fireworks with laser light shows. Locals aren't so sure.

June 28, 2012 - Governing

On Friday, the US DOT awarded TIGER 2012 funds to 47 projects totaling $500 million -- far less than the $10.2 billion that was asked for from an astounding 703 applications from all 50 states.

June 28, 2012 - Transportation Nation

A unanimous decision by a 3-judge panel affirmed a central 2009 finding of the EPA that greenhouses gases pose a threat to public health, clearing the way for applying regulations controlling their emissions to stationary sources and vehicles.

June 28, 2012 - Reuters