• Since 2004, one in six Americans consumed chemicals or substances in their drinking water in amounts that exceed legal limits. Apparently, the EPA is doing a lousy job of enforcing its rules; a Senate committee will take it to task today. (NYTimes)
• Who doesn’t want a fancy “urban village” on their waterfront? Cleveland will remain a port city, but it’ll soon transform 100 acres into retail/hotel/park spaces and build a “Crystal Palace.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• New York’s MTA is in trouble again: Revenue is $200 million short because of faulty predictions about how much the agency would get from a state payroll tax. Some “very difficult choices” are about to be made. (NYTimes)
• The Department of Transportation awarded Dallas and San Diego $14 million to develop Intelligent Transportation Systems; the pilot program aims to reduce congestion in dense urban transit areas. (DoT via Focus on Construction)
• You know how, in the olden days, animals used to drive mills? Well, now human animals drive Christmas lights! The spectacle, of course, is in Copenhagen. (CNet – pic via)
• And lastly, don’t forget to keep an eye out for President Obama’s announcement today about new job programs. (TheCaucus)
That Cleveland thing sounds ridiculous. The city of Cleveland has enough abandoned buildings, parking lots and half-deserted neighborhoods to go around. Why not focus on redeveloping them before building a brand new neighborhood on the lake?