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Alexandria Virginia’s long time mayor was unseated by the only city official, Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg (D), to respond to an outdry after a Halloween hit and run left a 7 year old hospitalized.
The city official worked to get speed bumps installed on the busy street, and checked in with the family of the vicitim.
Speed bumps and the personal touch won her the election to defeat a long standing incumbent, a former mayor, and a third candidate.
““Not only are we dedicating more money to building roads, we’re also ending diversions and as a result, providing greater transparency,” said Governor Abbott. “This legislation will have a tremendous and positive impact on the lives of people across the State of Texas.”
Overall pretty good not shabby by the agency that once misplaced $1billion. The State Auditor Office raised these issues with TXDOT construction contracts:
Most of this will be handled by SB 20, which has provisions for docuemnt retention and audits.
Republicans and Democrats joining forces raising questions over whether in the sharing economy that ride share calls home, are drivers indpendent contracts or are they employees who aren’t receiving the benefit of employment?
Liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to a Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board are leaning toward the latter- that the drivers are employees and that companies are avoiding paying benefits.
Rest assured, Liberals and Republicans rational is rooted in different places. The liberals are primarily concerned about the worker and the republicans are concerned about how the economy adapts.
It’s an issue being litigated in court, but some think the NLRB may act first. The FTC is hosting a sharing economy symposium in July. The Hill
Viriginia is rethinking whether it saves money with public private partnerships. Spefically, when the P3 investments involve infrastructure like transportation. The state is considering design-build and bond financing to save state revenue on future transportation projects.
The change of heart from the state that has been actively using P3s for 20 years, is controversy. The details:
” The most significant controversy involved a proposed 55-mile toll road linking the Norfolk area to Interstate 95, a major commercial corridor along the East Coast.The project started as a P3 but morphed into a more conventional contract, albeit one shrouded in the type of secrecy that had been afforded to those public-private deals.”
How the Republican Caucus is talking about transporation funding from the 2015 Legislature:
“SJR 5 is a bipartisan resolution that transfer up to $2.5 billion annually of general sales tax revenue to the State Highway Fund, beginning in 2018. Given conservative estimates, this measure could increase transportation funding by $3 billion annually beginning in 2020.
“SJR 5 would allocate more funding for much-needed transportation projects without raising taxes or fees,” said Simmons. “By capturing existing revenue, we can enhance our state’s transportation infrastructure without placing additional burdens on taxpayers.”
The proposed constitutional amendment also includes measures that allow for flexibility to the transfer should there be a downturn in the economy and collections. If collections for a fiscal year are below $28 billion, then no money will be transferred from the general sales tax collections to the State Highway Fund.” Rep. Ron Simmons
Arlington elected a new mayor in May. According to Empower Texas, the new mayor succeeded based on opposition to red light cameras.
The Legislature cannot seal the deal on red light camera opposition, but the voting public of Arlington can.
Uptown District and Metro have developed a plan to use the center lane of Post Oak Blvd in Houston as a dedicated bus lane.
It is said the proposal will reduce congestion, as more Houstonians opt for park and ride. Uptown Houston PAC has gathered signatures from 1,000 businesses and property owners in opposition to the proposal.
Transportation Controversy is nothing new to Houston. Empower Texas points instead to the Uptown TIRZ and argues that:
“We have mentioned a number of times that TIRZ best serve the taxpayers when there is a high level of transparency and a specific goal in mind. When these unelected boards are given access to a pot of taxpayer funds, they will go to great lengths to find ways to spend it. Repeatedly the line between economic development and personal interest projects is crossed with little accountability.” Empower Texas
Nevada Assembly Bill 175 passed this week to round out a package of ride share legislation. Nevada will now:
Allow ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to operate in the state.
Ride share will be regulated by the Nevada Transportation Authority rather than the Public Utilities Commission.
Legalizes companies that allow people to hail a ride through a smartphone and imposes a 3% fee on taxi and ride share fares.
You can now see TXDMV board meetings live streamed. Welcome to 2005.
To Watch Meetings: http://www.txdmv.gov/about-us/txdmv-board-meetings