Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Federal Stimulus Plan

Two Troubling Transportation Numbers for the Obama Administration

By Elana Schor | Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments

Today brought news of two grim transportation numbers from the Obama administration: 2 and $53 million. Atlanta’s Metro won a share of the emissions-cutting transit grants that the White House proposes to cut next year. (Photo: Atlanta Metblogs) The first figure is the percentage of federal transport stimulus contracts that have gone to disadvantaged and […]

Senate Dems to Call Up Jobs Bill Monday … With Transport Details TBA

By Elana Schor | Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments

Senate Democratic leaders appeared this morning to tout their commitment to passing a job-creation bill by the end of next week — but the substance of their jobs measure, including the fate of pivotal transportation provisions, remains up in the air. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) (Photo: LV City Life) Harry Reid (D-NV), the […]

Biden Says High-Speed Rail Money Ignored Politics — Was He Right?

By Elana Schor | Jan 29, 2010 | No Comments

During yesterday’s Tampa event awarding $8 billion in federal rail grants, Vice President Joe Biden pointed to the two states receiving the biggest share of stimulus money for true high-speed train projects: Florida and California, both run by GOP governors. The vice president takes the president’s coat yesterday. (Photo: AP via Politico) "We didn’t pick […]

Transit Riders Launch Grassroots Lobbying Push in Dire Political Climate

By Elana Schor | Jan 27, 2010 | No Comments

Advocates for urban transit riders in 14 metro areas climbed the Hill today to pitch lawmakers face-to-face on the need for extra federal transit operating aid, a grassroots lobbying effort that could face considerable challenges even as Democrats craft a new jobs bill with a focus on infrastructure. Lee Gaddies of Detroit speaks at today’s […]

Democrats Learning to Love the I-Word — But Will Words Bring Action?

By Elana Schor | Jan 26, 2010 | No Comments

The White House is re-centering its message around economic and fiscal concerns ahead of tomorrow’s State of the Union address, with a new package of job-creation measures expected to vault to the top of the agenda and a three-year "spending freeze" pitched to deficit-wary conservative Democrats. Infrastructure: Democrats love it. But how will they fund […]

What if America’s Urban Economies Were National Ones?

By Elana Schor | Jan 21, 2010 | 3 Comments

The U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report this week with some dire conclusions for the nation’s cities: Even the payroll growth that many prognosticators anticipate this year won’t make a dent in double-digit urban unemployment. Half of the 363 biggest metro areas won’t return to their pre-recession jobs levels until 2013 or beyond. (Chart: […]

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