Tax money spent to advertise stimulus projects (WRAL.com)
Fayetteville, N.C. — The state Department of Transportation has spent $135,000 in taxpayer funds to install signs touting road projects paid for with more than $800 million in federal stimulus money.
Signs like one on the Fayetteville loop highway construction project near Fort Bragg aren’t directional and don’t point […]
Southern states do a U-turn on toll roads (USA Today)
ATLANTA — When the Florida Department of Transportation decided to add congestion-easing express toll lanes to Interstate 95 last year between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, public resistance was muted, partly because south Floridians are used to tolls.
That’s not the case in the Deep South, a […]
N.C. unemployment rate dips slightly to 10.8% in November (WRAL.com)
Raleigh, N.C. — The jobless rate in North Carolina dipped again slightly in November to 10.8 percent, the state Employment Security Commission reported Friday.
The unemployment rate fell below 11 percent to 10.9 percent when the percentage was revised downward from previous reports.
Employment in the state grew […]
House Approves $154 Billion Job Bill (The Wall Street Journal)
The House approved a $154 billion package aimed at stimulating the labor market with a combination of infrastructure projects, aid to states and funding for several safety-net programs.
The bill passed late Wednesday on a 217-212 vote, with no Republicans voting for the plan. The hastily assembled […]
Foxx signs mayors’ pact on climate (Charlotte Observer)
Agreement first drafted by McCrory in ’05, but City Council approved alternate resolution.
New Mayor Anthony Foxx has added Charlotte to a long list of U.S. cities committed to taking action on climate change.
Foxx on Thursday signed a U.S. Conference of Mayors climate-protection agreement that his predecessor, Pat McCrory, […]
I love it when two of my passions come together, The Daily Show and transportation policy!
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-december-15-2009/ray-lahood
Legislation would return interest earned to Highway Trust Fund (Journal of Commerce)
The House is expected to vote this afternoon on a trio of intertwined measures that will extend the Department of Transportation’s highway program at current budget levels, puts the Highway Trust Fund on a firmer financial footing, and allocates nearly $49 billion for infrastructure […]
Senate losing business advocates (News and Observer)
RALEIGH — Business leaders knew where to go in the North Carolina Senate to push legislation through or squelch a regulation they didn’t like: Democratic Senators David Hoyle and Tony Rand.
Within the past few weeks, Rand, who was Senate majority leader, resigned effective at the end of the year, […]
LaHood: Ban lobbyists, earmarks in second stimulus (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON — The latest government effort to create jobs should have the same tough restrictions on lobbyists and lawmakers’ pet projects as the $787 billion stimulus plan did, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.
LaHood is the first official to say whether the administration wants to replicate the […]
House Approves Conference Report for FY 2010 Transportation Spending (AASHTO Journal)
After months of delay, the House of Representatives approved Thursday the conference report for the Fiscal Year 2010 transportation appropriations bill. The report would greatly increase spending for the U.S. Department of Transportation, kill a proposed national infrastructure bank, provide new funding for high-speed […]
