Here’s video of Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith’s Thursday interview of SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the 10th annual Texas Transportation Forum.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Texas Poised to Cut Some Specialty License Plates
If fans of Dr Pepper and the Fort Worth Zoo don’t get it in gear, their chance to buy specialty license plates might soon be gone. The Houston Rockets are hanging by a thread.
The Playlist: The Best is Yet to Come
For this week’s playlist of the news, weโre using our reporters’ own predictions for 2015. Kicking things off: โThe Best Is Yet To Come,โ by Olโ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, backed up by the Count Basie Orchestra.
A Toll Road Strategy That’s “as Big as Texas”
There’s no doubt that Gov. Rick Perry has left his mark on the stateโs approach to funding roads. Aman Batheja writes that under Perry’s leadership, Texas has been the countryโs most aggressive supporter of tolling and private-sector investment in transportation.
Analysis: Skill or Luck, It Has Worked for Perry
Thirty years is a lot to attribute to mere luck. Like Rick Perry or not, his considerable political skills have sustained him throughout his career in state politics.
Video: New Senators on Transportation
At our 12/11 conversation, incoming Texas Senators Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, and Van Taylor, R-Plano, talked about the need for and possible sources of greater transportation funding.
Lawmakers Set $7 Billion “Floor” for State Savings Account
Lawmakers on Thursday chose $7 billion as an appropriate minimum balance for the Rainy Day Fund in a meeting that took just a few minutes but will have far-reaching consequences.
Abbott Plans to Add $4 Billion to Road Funding
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott wants to add $4 billion each year to build and maintain Texas roads, nearly closing the annual budget shortfall at the Texas Department of Transportation.
Lower Speed Limits Coming in Drilling Areas
A rule change will allow the Texas Department of Transportation to move more quickly in lowering speed limits on particularly dangerous roads in the state’s drilling regions in West and South Texas.
Prop 1 Passed. Now What?
With the support of 80 percent of Texas voters, Proposition 1 is expected to add billions to the state highway fund without raising taxes or fees. For lawmakers, state officials and local stakeholders, now the real work begins.


