Mecklenburg County will receive the lion’s share of $461 million in federal railroad funds — unless one of its legislators, Rep. Ric Killian of Charlotte, succeeds in his campaign to kill the deal.
NCDOT provided a county-by-county breakdown of rail projects worth $520 million. It combines the $461 million in ARRA (stimulus) funds committed by the […]
DURHAM — City Council members are gearing up to fight several bills being considered by the N.C. General Assembly, including one that could prevent the state from accepting federal subsidies for a major rail project in Durham and other cities.
Mayor Bill Bell briefed members last week on what he and other big-city mayors in the […]
RALEIGH — We’ve been here before.
The last time came following Hurricane Katrina, in 2005 and 2006. Refineries shut down. Speculators jumped in. Gas prices started rising. North Carolina’s gas tax, which rises or falls every six months based on the wholesale price of gas, climbed with the increases.
A Republican gubernatorial candidate tried to turn the […]
Area lawmakers say they’re just exercising fiscal caution in endorsing a state bill that potentially could derail $461 million in federal stimulus to create North Carolina’s portion of a high-speed rail corridor between Washington and Charlotte.
However, the bill’s title suggests a different destination: “No High-Speed Rail money From Federal Gov’t.” And, in three states, that’s […]
HIGH POINT, N.C. — City leaders are hoping state lawmakers don’t enact a bill they argue would harm a major transportation funding source.
The High Point City Council next month will consider adopting a resolution in opposition to N.C. House Bill 399, which would cap the state gas tax at the current rate of […]
The war metaphor is often overused in politics, with people talking of battles, clashes, victories and defeats. But the cable industry is waging nothing less than war against Salisbury and other municipalities that have developed their own broadband networks. If the industry succeeds, it will defeat not only city government but also city taxpayers and […]
RALEIGH – With gas prices averaging more than $3.50 a gallon this spring, a bill in the North Carolina House seeks to give relief to drivers by limiting the gasoline tax.
But such a move would cut revenue for highway construction, meaning Fayetteville’s Outer Loop could face more delays.
North Carolina capped the gas tax in 2006, […]
RALEIGH — Driving along the Interstate 85-40 corridor from Raleigh to Charlotte, a motorist will find – in the judgment of Wall Street – the greatest concentration of fiscally healthy cities in America.
The cities are fast-growing economic engines filled with new shopping centers and residential subdivisions, not the depressed urban areas of so much of […]
Sharing isn’t always easy, particularly when you’re talking about one railroad track and two trains. Slow-moving freight behemoths often get in the way of faster passenger trains.
Until that issue could be resolved amicably, the federal government was reluctant to hand over to the state the millions of dollars in stimulus money it wants to improve […]
The bill would allow outdoor advertisers to replace existing billboards with electronic ones – up to seven per mile – and expand the area around them that could be cleared of trees from 250 feet to 400 feet.
It would gut Durham’s existing billboard ban and nullify other local regulations that govern tree removal or sign […]
