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+1 Texas County Commissioner Court Vote Supporting High Speed Rail. The facts only:

Texas County: Brazos County

Brazos County Commissioner Court Dissent:

  • 1 Commissioner
    • Commissioner Sammy Catalena
  • Dissent based on:
    • Brazos County has no “dog in the fight” as the rail will not traverse Brazos County
    • Concerns of rural landowners

Statements of Brazos County Commissioners in favor of Supporting Texas Central Rail:

  • “Southwest Airlines on the ground,” will be good for all texans
  • “economic boon”
  • it will “allow more students to commute to the Texas A&M University System’s…

1st Operational Privately Owned High Speed Rail in the US. The benefits:

  • Helps Small Businesses.  By bringing new customers & improve quality of life
  • Capitalized its own infrastructure. Unlike CA and TX, the FL project already owned its rail lines
  •  Ease Traffic Congestion & Environmental Impacts. Sustainable alternative to motor vehicles

 

The 1st privately owned High Speed Rail details:

  • began service January 13, 2018
  • service runs from West Palm Beach and  Fort Lauderdale
  • beginning May 19 service expands to Miami
  • the entity behind high speed rail: All Aboard…

Texas Attorney General Opinion Request: Port Authority. Hiring Resigned Congressman.

Background:

  • Calhoun Port Authority wants to know about whether it hired Blake Farenthold illegally.
  • Independently, Calhoun Port Authority is being sued for violating the Open Meetings Act in the hiring

What’s the question for the Attorney General? Whether the hiring of Farenthold, as a lobbyist, erquired posting that the hiring was specific to services as a lobbyist

What’s the brouhaha over the Open Meetings Act? Those who say the Act was violated say there was no posting for the hiring of…

Anatomy of a Transportation Tax Increase Coalition in a Flyover State

Colorado has a new statewide coalition supporting more transportation funding.

Coalition members:

  • Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
  • Denver South Economic Development Partnership
  • Club 20, an association of counties in Western Colorado

The tax increase supprted by the coalition: 0.62 increase in sales tax dedicated for transportation, raising the statewide sales tax to 3.52 percent starting Jan. 1, 2019 for 20 years.

Why are contractors supporting the coalition? maintenance and construction…

+1 State Studying Pay as You Drive in Lieu of Gas Tax. the State. The Study. 6 Questions from Elected officials.

The State: Virginia

Which Virginia Governmental Agencies want to study a pay as your drive funding mechanism for transportation? state association of metropolitan planners and supported by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization,

Which entity is being asked to study pay as you drive? The State Secretary of Transportation 

A state senator raised the following questions about pay as you drive:

  • How much revenue would it bring in compared to the gas tax?
  • How would you measure a…

Anatomy of a Smart City Road System. Funding. Procurement. 6 Goals. 1 Governor Order.

Funding:  $40 million federal grant and $10 million from Paul G. Allen Philanthropies

Goals of Smart Cities:

  • reduce collisions
  • speed first responder response times
  • curb freeway delays
  • get products to consumers faster
  • how to use data to improve city services and quality of life for residents
  • easier access to healthcare services

Procurement Oppostunities:

  • transportation technologies:
    • integrate self-driving cars
    • connected vehicles
    • smart sensors
    • developing transportation technologies

      • …

3 Supporting Reasons for an EV Charging Rebate Program. Electric Vehicle Charging Association.

The Electric Vehicle Charging Association supports AEP Ohio’s first approved utility rebate program for electrical-vehicle charging because:

  • MORE EVs. will improve Ohio’s electric vehicle adoption
  •  Fewer Charging Anxieties. deployment of hundreds of charging stations where EV drivers live, work, and play
  • Good for Businesses. lower barriers for businesses, workplaces, and municipalities to offer electric vehicle charging for customers, employees, and everyday drivers

Norwalk Reflector | EV…

BUSINESS TREND. REGULATORY TREND. 3 Reasons Automakers Want to Work With California Emission Standards.

Why did Automakers adapt their strategy?

  • Concern over Trump Administration. The concern being that the Administration will pick a fight with the 12 states that follow California emission standards & automakers will be left fixing the problems
  • Uniformity & Certainty.  factions of varying regulations isn’t conducive to business
  •  Sales. 50 different EV car sales account for fewer sales than  F150 Ford truck sales

Governing | Long Adversaries, Automakers Now Want to Work With California on…

Lege Trend. Autonomous Vehicles. Cyber Security Researchers + Distributed Ledger Tech (Blockchain)

Texas University with new cybersecurity and autonomous vehicles research:  University of Texas at San Antonio, Institute for Cyber Security

What code words do I need to watch for in regulations or legislation? fog cloud computing 

What’s fog cloud computing?  A distributed ledger system of cloud computing being utilized to improve security of autonmous vehicles

How does it make it harder to hack an autonmous vehicle? more barriers, if the information is in packets and spread across various…