On the ballot: Classifying App Based Drivers

Remember how a record breaking amount was spent to defeat driver classification ballot initiative in California? Same for Massachusetts this year. “Uber, a California-based company, donated more than $2.4 million; Instacart, based in San Francisco, donated $1.7 million; DoorDash, also out of San Francisco, donated $1.6 million; and San Francisco’s Lyft donated $1.1 million, according to state records.”

Governing | Millions from Out-of-State Fund Massachusetts Ballot Measures

CATO on high speed rail

CATO Institute says of California’s high speed rail that “[i]f the full high‐​speed rail phase I could somehow be implemented today, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide by less than 0.2%.” They conclude that high speed rail is not a cost effective way to address climate change.

CATO | New Figures Show That California High‐​Speed Rail Won’t Do Much about Climate Change

Valentine’s Day + Ports of Entry

Miami International Airport sees the most flowers pass through it in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. This year, 18,ooo tons of flowers arrived ahead of Valentine’s Day. That’s 832 MILLION stems of flowers, with more than half arriving from Ecuador and Columbia. 90% of the flowers sold on Valentine’s Day came through Miami.

AP | Love (and 460 million flowers) are in the air for Valentine’s Day, but not without a Miami layover