Reaction to Florida
Ray LaHood says Florida’s loss is someone else’s gain, as he will immediately redistribute the funds to other states. More like, Florida’s gain is someone else’s loss as any other state taking on a high-speed rail project will end up spending a lot of money on that project. Meanwhile, Florida Senator Nelson (D) says he […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #5
It is bumper-to-bumper traffic in the tunnel under the Hudson River, but it appears the bus will arrive on-time — 10:35 am — at Penn Station, or even a few minutes early. Scheduled at 4 hours and 20 minutes, this trip is about 95 minutes longer, but $131 less expensive, than Amtrak’s Acela.
It’s Dead Again
Florida Governor Rick Scott killed the Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail project, seven years after the state previously killed it once before. Scott cited three reasons for killing it: the potential for cost overruns, overly optimistic ridership projections, and the fact that, if the project turned out to be a dud and the state shut it down […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #4
Still in Maryland, not yet halfway to New York, the bus gets off the freeway — for a weigh station? Yes, we pass through the station along with the trucks. It only adds a minute or two to the journey, but . . . why? I’ve never seen buses have to stop at weigh stations […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #3
The old model bus system (such as Greyhound) would run a bus from New York to Washington, stopping at perhaps Newark, Trenton, Philadelphia, WIlmington, and Baltimore along the way. Most bus stations were downtown, so each stop required lengthy trips through traffic to and from the station. In contrast, the new model bus system (Megabus, […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #2
The I-95 corridor is supposed to be heavily congested, and it is no wonder. Here we have the most densely populated corridor in the U.S. and it is served by a freeway that is mostly just six lanes. Moreover, the lanes are distinctly narrower than freeway lanes that I am used to in the West […]
Live Blogging the Megabus
As has been widely reported, the Antiplanner is taking the Megabus to New York City today. I’ve been on the Megabus before from New York to Washington, but this is my first trip in the other direction. Taking Megabus at a cost of $8 cost the Antiplanner an extra hour of sleep but saved Fox […]
Thank the Internal Combustion Engine
American forests are growing 42 percent faster than they are being cut and 380 percent faster than they were growing back in 1920. At least, that was true in 2000 when this report evaluating the state of forests in the United States was published by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Though the report is […]
From ACORN to Working America: AFT Spends $2.6 Million in 2009-10 Dues on Advocacy Groups
Most teachers union members in Colorado are affiliated with the National Education Association, but a smaller (though significant) number belong to the American Federation of Teachers. Some of that AFT dues money goes to national headquarters. How is some of that money spent?
Well, union organizations under federal oversight annually have to post a financial disclosure […]
Obama’s 2012 Transportation Budget
“The Obama administration’s embrace of high-speed rail . . . ignores history, evidence and logic,” argues Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson. “The case against it is overwhelming. The case in favor rests on fashionable platitudes. High-speed rail,” he concludes, “is not an ‘investment in the future’; it’s mostly a waste of money.” Yet Obama’s 2012 […]
Another Smart-Growth Plot?
“Under Obama’s proposal, fewer to own homes,” reported the Antiplanner’s local paper. The paper was reprinting an article from the New York Times, whose original headline was the slightly less inflammatory, “Administration calls for cutting aid to homebuyers.” Is this another smart-growth plot to restrict homeownership only to the wealthy? Or is it a rational […]
New Forest Planning Rules
A curious article in the New York Times says the Forest Service has a “new plan to manage the national forest system.” This new plan, says the Times, is 97 pages long (actually only 94) and has environmentalists upset because it no longer requires the agency to protect minimum viable populations of wildlife. In reality, […]
