NATIONAL NEWS
The Hill: Infrastructure package must prioritize public transportation
A construction worker gets on a Pace bus at dawn; a student hops on the “L” on the way to his first class; and a doctor starts her commute into the city on a Metra train. Every day millions of Americans from coast to coast rely on buses and trains to get to work, school and everywhere in between. And just as these tireless commuters depend on convenient, reliable public transit, the strength of our local economy depends on them.
The Daily Herald: Trump’s transportation cuts will hurt communities
http://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/trumps-transportation-cuts-will-hurt-communities/
President Trump’s proposed cuts to public transportation will have severe consequences in our local communities and across our nation.
Reuters: Automakers to meet with U.S. transportation, EPA chiefs
http://www.reuters.com/article/autos-emissions-usa-idUSL1N1HZ25Q
Major automakers are set to meet Thursday with the head of the U.S. Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency as the agencies begin a review of federal fuel efficiency rules that are a major piece of the climate change policy enacted by the Obama administration.
Bloomberg: Stuck at LaGuardia, an Infrastructure Bull Doubts His No. 1 Bet
It was during a flight delay over New York’s LaGuardia Airport that David Richardson affirmed his decision to trim his bold bet on water projects.
The Hill: Infrastructure could be Trump's key to tax reform
Getting close to the end of his first 100 days in office, President Trump badly needs a win on domestic policy, and he’s selected tax reform. Tax reform is almost as complicated as health care reform, but most people believe good tax policy can benefit things they care about - incomes, employment and growth - so the political underpinnings are there to bust the bunker of special interests entrenched in the current US tax system.
Washington Examiner: Where immigration, jobs and infrastructure meet
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/where-immigration-jobs-and-infrastructure-meet/article/2621520
This week the separate and heated debates on immigration, jobs and infrastructure crystalized around the question of whether, in some ways, all three can work together. The immigrant investor program known as EB-5 – not a household name outside of real estate development circles — is due to expire at week's end.
The Car Connection: America, we have an infrastructure problem, and this documentary is here to explain it
Infrastructure isn't a sexy topic. When many people hear the word, their eyes glaze over and they begin thinking about to-do lists or vacation plans or anything other than the state of our highways and byways.
CNBC: Why Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan won't work
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/27/trump-wall-1-trillion-infrastructure-plan-wont-work-commentary.html
Conjure up a vision of a plumber in your mind. I know what you're picturing. It's the same one that probably every American sees of a guy, on hands and knees, halfway underneath a kitchen sink. You know the rest.
Huffington Post: Infrastructure for 21st Century Aging America
President Trump’s coming tax reform proposal is expected to include infrastructure spending: one of the few issues where there’s the potential for bipartisan consensus and progress. However, while many may be envisioning updating our 20th century highways, bridges and tunnels, a 21st century approach will be to account for our era’s megatrend of an aging society.
STATE NEWS
Washington Post: Metro workers ‘sick out’ appears to have no impact in Friday morning commute
The “sick out” Metro workers are participating in today appears to be having no impact on the morning commute for riders.
Associated Press: When I-85 reopens, Atlanta mass transit hopes to keep riders
As work on the rebuilding of the section of the Interstate 85 bridge that collapsed last month progresses, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority hopes to keep its new passengers.
Washington Post: Union walkout, board grilling on safety, leave Metro GM Wiedefeld on the defensive
Federal concerns about worker safety lapses combined with growing union tensions and an early morning Red Line meltdown culminated in one of the most contentious board meetings of Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld’s tenure Thursday.
Reuters: Amtrak to Launch Repairs at New York's Troubled Penn Station
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/04/27/us/27reuters-usa-amtrak-new-york.html
Traveling through the nation's busiest transit hub, New York's Pennsylvania Station, will become even more cumbersome as Amtrak takes some tracks out of service for repairs after recent derailments disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of commuters in recent weeks.