Today’s Headlines

  • President Obama Urges Stimulus Passage Without Republican Support (WaPo)
  • Bay Area Activists Should Urge Pelosi to Rescue the Stimulus Package (Beyond Chron)
  • Newsom Won’t Be Among California Mayors in D.C. to Plead for Stim Money (Merc)
  • Oakland Cyclist Who Was Victim of Hit-n-Run Still in Hospital (CBS5)
  • China Close to Taking Over as the World’s Number One Auto Market (NPR)
  • BART Moving Forward With Its Warm Springs Extension (KCBS)
  • Muni Releases Translink Survey (Akit’s Complaint Department)
  • Life Within Walking Distance (Rebuilding Place via Streetsblog Network)
  • Fremont Planning Commission Pick Not Sitting Well With Some (Merc)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

New Report: Minority-Owned Businesses Left Out of Transport Stimulus

By Elana Schor |
Women and minorities are getting shortchanged in the chase for transportation stimulus contracts, according to a report released today by the Transportation Equity Network (TEN) and Good Jobs First. (Photo: WBEZ) Using federal procurement data — which, the two advocacy groups acknowledged, represents just a slice of the White House’s economic recovery pie — the […]

New Dem Campaign Brands Stimulus Critics as ‘Highway Hypocrites’

By Elana Schor |
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) joined others in her party in voting against the stimulus before praising its local impact. (Photo: Seattle Times) As more media outlets note the phenomenon of GOP lawmakers who voted against the Obama administration’s economic stimulus law before seeking — and taking credit for winning — a share of its […]

SPUR Evening Symposium: The Federal Stimulus Plan, One Year Later

By Michael Rhodes |
"In February of 2009, as dour economic conditions threatened to worsen unabated, President Obama warned that massive government intervention was necessary to prevent "a much deeper economic downturn." Congress responded with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion federal stimulus package. Did it work? A year later, Dan Bernal, District Director for Speaker […]

AASHTO Stimulus Report Omits Jobs Data Comparing Transit With Roads

By Elana Schor |
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the trade group representing state DOTs in Washington, yesterday unveiled a website and report billed as a one-year "progress report" on the White House’s $34.3 billion in formula-based transportation stimulus spending. (Photo: WBEZ) AASHTO’s report, citing data furnished to Congress, noted that 77 percent of […]

House Lawmakers Hail Transportation Stimulus — But Add Three Caveats

By Elana Schor |
At a House transportation committee hearing today that marked the one-year anniversary of the Obama administration’s economic recovery efforts, lawmakers offered praise for the stimulus law’s impact on local infrastructure investments even as they hit upon three key areas of concern with its implementation. The Port of Los Angeles was shut out of the stimulus’ […]