Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Obama’s Energy Secretary Reclaims His Bike, for a Day
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Energy Secretary Steven Chu was dismayed about having to give up his bike-commuting habit in order to join the Obama Cabinet, but security concerns didn’t stop him from participating in Friday’s Bike to Work Day in the nation’s capital. As the Wall Street Journal reports: Energy Secretary Steven Chu (center) with colleagues, before he joined […]
Will: Government Shouldn’t Interfere — Except to Benefit Big Highways
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Conservative columnist George Will’s angry screed against the Obama administration’s transportation policy is worth digging into this morning — not just to bring one’s blood to a healthy boil, but also to provide a window on the lack of coherent opposition to expanding transit options and diminishing auto dependence. George Will (Photo by newsweek.com) Will […]
Congressional Climate Bill Includes ‘Complete Streets’ But Not CLEAN TEA
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Henry Waxman (D-CA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has just struck a deal on his long-awaited climate change bill — and though the agreement makes a number of concessions to polluters, it also takes a step forward towards popularizing the cause of "complete streets". House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman […]
National Geographic Reveals the World’s Transit Superstars
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Guess where these people are. Photo by danncer via Flickr. National Geographic released the results of their annual Greendex consumer survey yesterday, ranking the environmental friendliness of housing, transportation and eating habits in nations around the world. Sadly, only one nation can boast that a majority of its population rides transit at least once a […]
Congress Takes a First Step Towards Reshaping Transportation Policy
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Could Washington’s long, unhealthy love affair with the automobile be coming to an end? An encouraging sign of change came today from two powerful Democratic senators who released a proposal that sets out progressive goals for the upcoming federal transportation bill. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) (Photo by Washington Post) Today’s proposal, sponsored […]
Who Cares About the Highway Trust Fund?
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Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) is proposing today to make a small but crucial change in federal transit policy by requiring the nation’s Highway Trust Fund to keep the interest money it accrues, rather than give it up for the government’s general use. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) Photo: politicalkudzu.com. Which brings up an even more crucial […]
Senators Hear From Obama’s Transit Chief-in-Waiting
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One of the Capitol’s sad, secret truths is that members of Congress often skip committee hearings on issues of vital importance to their states — and today’s confirmation session with Peter Rogoff, the president’s nominee to lead the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), was no exception. Just three members of the Senate Banking Committee showed up […]
Less Than One Percent of Transpo Stimulus Money Paid Out So Far
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The New York Times reports this morning that the Obama administration’s $787 billion economic stimulus package has hit a few snags: Some states and cities are beginning to complain that the money has yet to reach them. Others have been slow to get their paperwork to Washington; Virginia has yet to send the Transportation Department […]
A Federal Transportation Bill Is Coming… But When?
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Speaking to members of the National Retail Federation earlier today, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sidestepped what’s becoming one of the peskiest unanswered questions on the Hill: Will Congress delay the federal transportation bill until next year? In his address to the retailers’ group, LaHood stuck mostly to his department’s progress in allocating its $48 billion […]