Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Could D.C. Become Transit’s New Civil Rights Battleground?
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A $189 million budget shortfall for next year is forcing some tough choices on Washington D.C.’s local transit authority, which is poised to approve a package of fare increases and service cuts that includes a 35-cent hike for bus trips. One in five of D.C.’s bus commuters lives without a car, compared with one in […]
Today’s Headlines
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White House to host Conference on the Great Outdoors next month — will transportation be on the agenda? (LAT) Could White House urban affairs chief Carrion to become New York state’s No. 2? (Crain’s) Voters in Pennsylvania, where a big-ticket Senate race is splitting time with debate over tolling I-80, favor the new tolls by […]
Oberstar Stays Optimistic About New Transport Bill in 2010
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House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) today renewed his call for action on a new federal infrastructure bill before year’s end, using a hearing on the Obama administration’s stimulus law to urge passage of long-term legislation as well as a second round of short-term investment in roads, bridges, and rail. House transport committee chairman […]
New Stimulus Data: Road Funds 77% Under Contract, Transit at 74%
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As of the end of February, nearly $5.4 billion of transit stimulus money, or 74 percent, was under contract for projects in the 50 states and D.C., according to a Streetsblog Capitol Hill analysis of data released today by the House transportation committee. (Photo: DMI Blog) The success rate of transit stimulus spending was slightly […]
Today’s Headlines
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Cleveland City Council passes resolution backing Sen. Brown and Rep. Kucinich in their push for bike-ped lane on the new Innerbelt Bridge (Plain Dealer Blog) New study examines the stress that a future electric-car boom would put on the nation’s grid, with surprising results (TreeHugger) Questioning the nation’s dwindling investment in its built environment (Grist) […]
Boxer Aims to Put TIGER-Type Program in Next Federal Transport Bill
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During an otherwise-abbreviated hearing yesterday, Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined the chorus of praise for the stimulus law’s TIGER program, declaring her intention to add a version of the competitive infrastructure grants to the next long-term federal transportation bill. Bicyclists in Philadelphia, where $23 million in TIGER money was awarded to build […]
Transport and the Tea Party: How Conservatives Talk About the Gas Tax
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The passage of health care legislation this week, while elating Democrats, has proven an equally potent motivator for conservatives advocates of states’ rights. Appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) was asked about the viability of the legal challenge to the health bill filed by 14 mostly conservative attorneys […]
Today’s Headlines
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More coverage of the new index measuring transportation’s impact on local housing costs (WaPo, Wash Biz Jrnl, Post-Gazette) Look who came to the table for a meeting on "tripartisan" climate legislation: Voinovich (Roll Call) Dallas open to running transit to next year’s Super Bowl, but first it will need the U.S. DOT to relax its […]
Home Builders Net More Than $2.6B From Tax Break in Stimulus Law
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The home-building industry scored a big win last year when Congress voted to double the tax credit for new home buyers and extend the break until next month. But that’s not the only legislative move that’s leaving smiles on home builders’ faces. (Photo: USDA) A tax break included in the Obama administration’s stimulus law is […]
EPA Drops Data Before GOP Forces Shutdown of Transportation Hearing
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The Senate environment panel today was forced to prematurely shutter its latest hearing on the next long-term federal transportation bill after Republicans invoked a rarely-used right to close down committee work as part of their broader protest against the majority party’s health care legislation. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), center, with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) at […]
Feds Begin Redefining ‘Affordable Housing’ to Include Transport Costs
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Comparing the transportation savings in dense versus dispersed neighborhoods for a dozen U.S. metro areas. (Chart: CNT) The process of expanding the federal government’s definition of "affordable housing," a stated goal of the Obama administration’s sustainable communities effort, began in earnest yesterday with the introduction of a new index that integrates transportation prices into the […]
Today’s Headlines
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House transport committee aides start acknowledging the uncomfortable truth: Despite Senate Dems’ vow to Voinovich, a new long-term federal bill could be delayed until 2011 (Bond Buyer) Gauging the prospects, both political and practical, for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s transit-oriented development legislation (Next American City) House takes up proposal to expand infrastructure-centric Build […]