April’s Headlines

April 8:

• “Cyberspies” from Russia and China have infiltrated the US electrical grid and could potentially disrupt it in a moment of crisis. Water and sewer systems are also at risk. (WSJ)
• Bids for stimulus projects continue to come in cheaper than expected. An projected $50 million project at Baltimore’s BWI airport will be built for only $42 million. (WaPo)
• The proposed high speed rail link between Orlando and Tampa depends on “connectivity” with SunRail, a planned commuter light rail network — you can’t have one without the other, say local officials and transit advocates. (Orlando Sentinel)
• Construction of the smart grid and the smart broadband network “should go hand in hand,” proposes the Center for American Progress.
• Portland, OR, unveils the design for a new mass-transit only bridge over the Willamette River. (KGW)
• Illinois is spending $500 million in state funds on transit projects, including replacing track on Chicago’s red line and refurbishing stations on the network. (Progressive Railroading)
• Taiwain’s highly touted high speed rail network may be cutting back service because of a heavy debt burden and because the recession has driven down ridership. (China Post)

April 7:

• Ray LaHood is Obama’s envoy to the GOP because he has “street cred” with conservatives. Plus, as LaHood says, “When you have $50 billion to give out, people return your phone calls.” (Chicago Tribune)
• “Job Sprawl” continues to afflict American cities, according to the Brookings Institute, as places of employment move toward the suburban fringes. (McClatchy and Brookings)
• Omaha isn’t particularly concerned about Job Sprawl. “All of it’s good,” says one city leader.
• With the appearance of two new reports on public private partnerships for infrastructure — one from US PIRG and one from the Pew Center on the States — the National Journal starts an expert roundtable on the subject.
• Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar is touting the huge potential of offshore wind power on the Atlantic coast, saying it could replace 3,000 coal plants. Is he going a little bit over board? (WSJ - Environmental Capital)
• A new poll finds that 54% of Americans would choose high speed rail as a preferred way to travel, compared to 33% for automobiles and 13% for airplanes. (PR Newswire)
• Despite California’s resoundingly successful $6.5 billion bond sale last month, there are still thousands of infrastructure projects on hold that will not be restarted anytime soon. (SF Chronicle)

April 6:

• With stimulus bucks freely flowing, the firms that audit energy use and weatherizing buildings are starting to hire. (LAT)
• A group has dropped its plan to build electricity transmission lines that would carry green power to NYC, citing a hostile regulatory environment. (Green Inc.)
• Transit cuts in NYC would be a disaster for some riders — leaving them two miles from a stop. (Daily News)
• Obama taps key nominees for Transportation Department. (WaPo)
• Yet another reporter–this one from Gannett–asks: “Will the US Ever Get High Speed Rail?” (This question is “unanswerable,” we find out.)
• A company called Maglev Inc. wants to build a $5 billion train link to Pittsburgh’s airport. They say they project is eligible for stimulus funds. The USDOT sounds skeptical. (Beavery County Times)
• A 200 mph train link could cut travel time in half between London and Scotland. (Scotsman)
• “Are bicyclists free riders?” asks the Freakonomics blog, as an Oregon legislator tries to get bike riders to pony up a registration fee.

April 2:

• LaHood says low bids from contractors suggest the government might be able to fund more stimulus projects than projected. (AP)
• T. Boone Pickens, Harry Reid, and John Podesta call on Obama to invest more in the national grid. (Earth2Tech)
• In New Jersey, a nuclear reactor is granted another 20 year permit over the protests of some. (NYT)
• Sec. LaHood is preparing to expand guidelines that would guarantee a “prevailing wage” to hundreds of thousands of construction workers hired for stimulus projects. (Washington Independent)
• Brookings says that the stimulus would be more effective the investment were better coordinated within metropolitan areas. (Ryan Avent via Streetsblog)
• The NRDC and Audobon society create a map showing wilderness areas where renewable energy infrastructure should *not* go. (Green Inc.)
• Illinois is on track to get $935 million in stimulus funding for roads and bridges. (Chicago Tribune)

April 1:

• After reviewing a random sample of 16 stimulus projects, USA Today finds that in most cases dirt is likely to start flying this spring or summer — and 14 would not be happening at all without the stimulus.
• A sample of stimulus projects across the country includes a bus garage in Missouri and an elevated highway at the Tampa airport. (USA Today)
• California managed to sell $6.5 billion in bonds — meaning it will be able to step up public works spending. (NYT)
• Microsoft gets $11 million in stimulus funds for a “pet” project — an overpass bridge to connect the two halves of it’s corporate campus. The company is chipping in $18 million. (CNN)
• Getting a stimulus job in Rhode Island is a lot harder than getting into Harvard — 84 applicants for one financial planner position? 97 applicants for a word processing position?
• Palo Alto joins two other Bay Area towns in a legal challenge to California’s proposed high speed rail line. (Mercury News)
• The utility company National Grid announces plans for a pilot smart grid program with 15,000 customers in Worcester, Mass. (Fox Business)
• What company is going to emerge as the leading maker of “smart meters”? G.E. is one player in the field, although a bit of a dark horse. (Earth2Tech)