The Texas Department of Transportation has pitched a rail line that would take passengers from Austin to Houston in three hours. Though funding challenges may keep trains from rolling anytime soon, Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports that planning has already begun.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Economy
At Port of Houston, Jobs Debate Centers on Trucking Limits
At the Port of Houston, which supports hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs, business leaders say outdated trucking regulations hurt their business. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, changing those rules would require legislative action.
Posted in
Transportation
Perry Talks Trans-Texas Corridor in Iowa
On the final campaign stop of his bus tour today, Gov. Rick Perry was asked about the long-ago plan for a 4,000-mile network of highways, rail and utility lines that sparked a public outcry and was ultimately abandoned.
Posted in
Economy
Memo to Voters: There’s No Free Lunch
Voters clearly want good schools and nice roads and low taxes. It’s a political and policy question straight out of a business textbook: What’s the right balance of price and quality?
Posted in
Criminal Justice
How Do TxDOT’s New Salaries Compare to Other State Agencies?
TxDOT’s plan to hire five new executives — each paid up to at least $250,000 annually — has received heavy criticism. How do the salaries compare to those at other public entities? We checked our government salary database to find out.
Posted in
Transportation
Delisi Leaves Transportation Post for Perry Campaign
Texas Transportation Commissioner Deirdre Delisi submitted her resignation to Gov. Rick Perry today. Now she will have more time to devote to his campaign.
Posted in
Transportation
Phil Wilson’s War
Phil Wilson, a former Texas secretary of state and aide to Gov. Rick Perry, on Thursday was named executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation. For Wilson, the new job comes with a big salary — and even bigger challenges.
Posted in
Transportation
Texas Airport Furloughs Delay Construction, but Not Operations
A weeklong partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration has delayed airport construction projects in Houston and Abilene.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
This Will Be on the Test
This week, Secretary of State Hope Andrade conducted a lottery that determined the order of the 10 new proposals on the November ballot. Each amendment already won approval from two-thirds of the House and Senate and now needs a nod from a majority of the voters. Here’s the rundown…
Posted in
State Government
Video: Alex Jones Storms the Capitol
Notorious radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones led a raucous protest at the Capitol Wednesday over the Legislature’s failure to pass a bill criminalizing invasive airport pat downs. “Every one of [those senators] is an enemy of the Republic and the Republic of Texas!” he bellowed.