BAF IN THE NEWS:
New York Times: Can Cities Adjust to a Retreating Coastline?
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/can-cities-adjust-to-a-retreating-coastline/?_r=0
Last June, in rolling out an ambitious $20-billion plan to gird New York City against the impacts of rising seas and storm surges in a warming climate, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg gave a classic “no retreat” speech, including this line: [A]s New Yorkers, we cannot and will not abandon our waterfront. It’s one of our greatest assets. We must protect it, not retreat from it.
NATIONAL NEWS:
New York Times: Skateboards for Work and Working Out
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/nyregion/skateboards-for-work-and-working-out.html
AMID the thousands of New Yorkers who walk, bike and run to get around the city, skateboarders are often overlooked. But a fervent bunch use their boards as their primary mode of transportation — and as a strategy for staying fit.
Atlantic Cities: Exposed: America's Totally Inconsistent Minimum Parking Requirements
Architect Seth Goodman is on a mission to popularize the unglamorous topic of parking policy. To that end, he's produced a series of infographics that explore, in detail, the varied minimum parking requirement regulations of major U.S. cities.
CNET: Apple buys transit-app maker Embark
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57599771-37/apple-buys-transit-app-maker-embark/
Apple has picked up another mapping company, its third this year.
Better Roads: VIDEO: Amtrak offers electric locomotive facility preview, discusses new train’s power
Amtrak on Wednesday offered Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) a preview of its Wilmington Maintenance Facility, where the company is testing its new electric locomotives, according to Delaware’s WDDE.
Washington Post: AP: Wal-Mart hosts two-day summit that it hopes will drive more US manufacturing
ORLANDO, Fla. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spearheaded an effort Thursday to bring together retailers, suppliers and government officials so they can figure out how to bring more manufacturing jobs to the United States.
STATE NEWS:
Smart Growth America: Building region-wide support for new development along Arizona’s Valley Metro light rail line
The City of Phoenix, AZ, is working to encourage development along the Valley Metro light rail line, and it’s getting some help from a region-wide effort that’s working to link Phoenix’s investments to others throughout the region.
National Journal: Ray LaHood, Back Home in Illinois, Still Active in National Politics
Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has two new gigs in his home state of Illinois, both drawing extensively on his more than three decades of Washington experience.
Next City: Philadelphia Needs Money. Why Doesn’t It Sell Its Municipal Parking Lots?
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and City Council President Darrell Clarke have been feuding over how to pay for an emergency funding plan for public schools so they can open on time. Nutter wants to borrow $50 million against an extension of the city’s sales tax hike, while Clarke wants to buy unused school buildings and resell them to developers.
News OK: Citizens board approves streetcar route through Oklahoma City central business district
http://newsok.com/article/3874873
Oklahoma City could be poised to catch innovation's leading edge with its downtown streetcar.
Transit Wire: Pittsburgh starts testing real-time bus updates
http://www.thetransitwire.com/2013/08/22/pittsburgh-starts-testing-real-time-bus-updates/
The Port Authority of Allegheny County (PA) started testing a system that provides real-time bus location information on its website. For now, riders can track the P1 bus route along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.
Progressive Railroading: Gov. Quinn appoints task force to overhaul transit in northeastern Illinois
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn ordered last week that the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task Force be formed to overhaul the region's transit system to better serve riders.
Politico Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider | 8/23/13 5:26 AM EDT
Featuring Kevin Robillard
MT SCOOP — Lawmakers circulating letter on trucker hours: Four House Republicans are gathering signatures on a letter asking Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to say when exactly a study on hours of service for truck drivers will be delivered to Congress. The members — Reps. Richard Hanna, Tom Rice, Trey Radel and Todd Rokita — say they’re worried about the new HOS rule that took effect in July, singling out the 34-hour restart provision. The letter should be sent to Foxx next week, according to a source with knowledge of the effort. FMCSA was supposed to file a “statistically-valid field study” in March, several months before the rule took effect, the members say. That report still hasn’t been filed, a situation the lawmakers call “counter to a commonsense approach to regulation.”
Their request: “We request that the FMCSA establish and provide to us the date on which the efficacy study required by MAP-21 and full report will be completed and submitted to Congress,” the GOPers write. The letter also says the rule would “mandate inflexible rest periods, greatly decrease driver flexibility, and raise costs for the already over-burdened trucking industry,” costing the industry as much as $376 million each year. The lawmakers ask for a reply from Foxx by Sept. 12. Pros get the letter: http://politico.pro/12tzaSZ
THE BUZZ OVER DRUNK DRIVING: Don’t look for DOT to lead the charge for a lower blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving. Foxx said Thursday that if anyone’s going to take the lead on lowering the limit to 0.05 percent, it should be the states. “To the extent that states adopt measures to lower the limit, that would give us the basis to study the data and to understand the impacts nationwide,” Foxx said at an event announcing DOT’s annual crackdown on drunk driving.
MADD isn’t mad: This isn’t just the case of a reluctant federal bureaucracy — even MADD was lukewarm on the issue. “MADD is laser-beam focused on what will save the most lives,” the group’s national president, Jan Withers, told Kevin. For Withers, that includes installing interlock devices in cars to prevent convicted drunken drivers from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated a second time, and vigorously enforcing current laws — not necessarily embarking on another legislative crusade. “It took us 20 years to get down to 0.08,” said Withers, whose 15-year-old daughter was killed by a drunken driver in 1992. “It will take us another 20 years to get down to 0.05.” Kevin’s story has more: http://politi.co/19MLbZr
Speaking of drunk driving … Just in time for the fall semester, the Texas DOT is testing a new app designed to help students get a ride home instead of driving drunk. The P.A.S.S. (Person Appointed to Stay Sober) app integrates with Facebook, letting students RSVPing for a party or event also line up a sober ride. More: http://bit.ly/16AvFLl
HAPPY FRIDAY! Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes and automobiles, where today we’re celebrating the 109th anniversary of Harold D. Weed’s patent for “Grip-Tread for Pneumatic Tires” — aka tire chains, something your MT host wish he owned for that cold year he spent in northern Ohio, where there was more snow in one day than there had been over a decade back in South Carolina. Please be in touch: asnider@politico.com. And follow on Twitter: @AdamKSnider and @POLITICOPro.
“I lost you on the subway car, got caught without my metro card …” http://bit.ly/13IN3zs
PROGRAMMING NOTE: MT is taking an August break, though it’s decidedly shorter than Congress’s five-week vacation. Today is the last MT until Tuesday, Sept. 3, when your favorite transportation newsletter will be back in your inbox with a round-up for what went down over the break and what to expect from Congress in September. MT might get a break, but your host will still be working, so keep sending over the tips, rumors, news and more.
**A message from POWERJobs: New jobs on our radar this week: Manager/Director of Government Affairs at American Land Title Association, Senior Legislative Counsel at Human Rights Campaign and Software Engineer at The Boeing Company. Interested? Apply to these jobs and more at POWERJobs.com; finally, a career site made for YOU!**
FLYING OUT OF OFFICE: The founder of a Cape Cod-based airline is resigning his seat in the Massachusetts Senate and dropping a gubernatorial bid after the state said he violated ethics laws because of the airline’s agreements with Boston’s Logan Airport. State Sen. Dan Wolf, a Democrat who founded Cape Air in 1988, said the decision set a disturbing precedent that would make it difficult for successful citizens to start careers in politics. The Ethics Commission told Wolf earlier this month he needed to end the airline’s leases and operating agreements with MassPort, which operates Logan, sell his shares of Cape Air or resign from office. Wolf chose the third option. Kevin rounds it up for Pros: http://politico.pro/17NWquJ
OSHA IN THE AIR: Flight attendants and other air crew members will gain new workplace protections under a policy announced Thursday by the FAA and OSHA. In 1975, the FAA claimed exclusive jurisdiction to crafting workplace regulations for airplane crews. In the 2012 FAA bill, Congress required the agency to work with OSHA to develop a policy on when requirements could apply to crew members. Under the new agreement, OSHA will be able to issue its own protections, provided they don't conflict with FAA regulations. Much more info: http://1.usa.gov/16jdKoY
HAPPY TRAILS: DOT press secretary Justin Nisly is leaving the friendly confines of 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE. Nisly, who’s been with DOT for over four years, starts a new gig next week as national press secretary for Enroll America, a non-partisan group working to raise awareness of health care options under Obamacare. Nisly gets major kudos for putting up with MT’s constant badgering and staying good-natured about it throughout over the years.
IN TODAY’S FEDERAL REGISTER — Trucker database: FMCSA puts out a final rule calling on truckers and other carriers under the agency’s jurisdiction to file registration and biennial updates through a new online “Unified Registration System.” http://1.usa.gov/1d8gA90
COMPETING WITH UBER: Uber might be your top choice when you want a ride, just not in a cab — but not everybody is happy with how they’ve done things. “They came in like cowboys, thinking that if they came in strong they could do whatever they want because they have so much money from investors,” said Robert Slinin, senior vice president at Allstate Private Car and Limousine (no relation to the insurance giant). His company — founded by his father in 1980 — has 1,500 vehicles serving New York City and the tri-state region. Slinin said that while Uber flaunted city regulations — the company is in yet another battle with the D.C. Council, this time over its hybrid car service — Allstate has played by the rules. There are other distinctions, too — while Uber uses a GPS-based meter system, Allstate uses a flat fare. Hop on their website or app, type in your route, and you’ll see a flat fare that doesn’t change no matter how long you’re stuck in traffic. That pricing model, Slinin said, means a fairly loyal customer base. “Do customers leave us and go to them? Yes, they do. But a lot of them do come back,” he told MT.
THIS WEEKEND ON METRO: The rail system runs a normal weekend schedule — without closures — for the 50th anniversary of the famous March on Washington. But due to the large crowds expected, bikes aren’t allowed until after 10 a.m. on Saturday — unless you have a fancy folding bike, in which case you’re good to go any time. More from WMATA: http://bit.ly/1f4VcOC
New York Ave. closed: DDOT will close New York Ave. NE between Florida Ave. and Penn St. from 9 p.m. today until 5 a.m. on Saturday. The agency recommends drivers use nearby H St. and Rhode Island Ave. instead.
NTSB PRELIMIARY REPORT: The safety agency has released an early report on an Aug. 13 plane crash in Paradise, Calif., that killed two people. Read it: http://1.usa.gov/16j8nWM
CBO SCORES SMALL PLANE BILL: The Congressional Budget Office put out its score on the Senate’s version of the Small Airplane Revitalization Act finding its enactment would “have no significant impact on the federal budget.” More from CBO: http://1.usa.gov/1aw2EVg
AIRLINE PROFITS — AND SPENDING — UP IN 2013: Ten U.S. airlines combined for a $1.6 billion profit in the first half of 2013, up from $1.2 billion over the same period last year, A4A said in a Thursday briefing. The 10 airlines — Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United and US Airways — had a net profit margin of 2.1 percent, up from 1.6 percent in 2012. But the companies also spent about $6 billion in the first half of the year, which the group says the highest since 2001. More from A4A: http://bit.ly/1f4VFQW
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe hits Ken Cuccinelli on his vote against making it a misdemeanor to bring a missile into an airport terminal, including a funny picture of a fake TSA sign: http://bit.ly/16SgjEN
- Saab plant in Trollhattan, Sweden poised to resume making cars — including EVs this time. Hybrid Cars: http://bit.ly/1d9rOKk
- TSA’s take on its VIPR teams that have come under fire: “Not new. Still effective.” http://1.usa.gov/13KnGxr
- NHTSA disputes Tesla’s claims on the Model S safety test. The Truth About Cars: http://bit.ly/14o0ROm
- Unions representing over 70K American and US Airways workers want the trial to start on Nov. 12 “in order to get to a speedy resolution to this exciting merger.” http://prn.to/1d7uVUc
THE DAY AHEAD: All day — The 2013 North American Inspectors Championship, hosted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and held in conjunction with the American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships. Salt Lake City.
THE COUNTDOWN: DOT funding and passenger rail policy both run out in 39 days. Surface transportation policy is up in 404 days and FAA policy in 769 days. The mid-term elections are in 448 days.
CABOOSE — Budget Metro map: Tumblr user Jacqueline posted a creative — and cheap — Metro map she made on the wall of her dorm room. It uses painter’s and electrical tape for the rail lines and blue paint chips for the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. Give it a look: http://bit.ly/1544hID
Politico Pro: Cape Air chief to resign from Massachusetts Senate
By Kevin Robillard | 8/22/13 4:35 PM EDT
The founder of a Cape Cod-based airline is resigning his seat in the Massachusetts state Senate and dropping a gubernatorial bid after the state said he violated ethics laws because of the airline’s agreements with Boston’s Logan Airport.
State Sen. Dan Wolf, a Democrat who founded Cape Air in 1988, said in a statement the decision set a disturbing precedent that would make it difficult for successful citizens to start careers in politics.
The Ethics Commission told Wolf earlier this month he needed to end the airline’s leases and operating agreements with MassPort, which operates Logan, sell his shares of Cape Air or resign from office. Wolf chose the third option.
“At the founding of our nation, Thomas Jefferson talked about how successful citizens need to find time later in life to ‘put down the plow,’ move into public service, contribute to a vital democracy, and then return to the field and private life,” Wolf said. “That was my model when I first ran for office three years ago. But this ruling would force me to forsake and jeopardize the modern equivalent of my farm, a business built by many hands, and leave me nothing to return to after my time in public service.”
Wolf said ending the agreements with Logan would effectively doom the airline and cost the state 1,000 jobs. Since the company has an employee stock ownership plan, selling the company would do irreparable harm, Wolf said.
Cape Air has hubs at Logan and Barnstable Municipal Airport in Massachusetts, as well at St. Louis-Lambert and in Puerto Rico.
Wolf’s agreements with Logan seem relatively modest when compared to conflicts of interest faced by governors and legislators in other states. For example, Florida Gov. Rick Scott owned a health care business that was regulated by the agencies whose chiefs he appointed and which stood to benefit from changes he pushed in the state’s health care policies. Scott responded by selling his shares in the company to his wife.
Wolf said he did not agree that his airlines’s contracts with Logan created a conflict for him, particularly because they contained fixed fees and terms that were identical to other airlines, preventing him from exerting any influence.
“Cape Air has used Logan for 25 years under such operating agreements that automatically renew. MassPort does not pay Cape Air; Cape Air leases space and pays a fee, like a Turnpike toll or a charge for municipal water, to use a piece of public infrastructure,” he said.
Wolf, who represents the Cape, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in the Senate, set his resignation date at Aug. 29. He will reverse his decision before then if the Ethics Commission reconsiders their ruling.
In the race to replace Gov. Deval Patrick, Wolf would’ve faced former Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem, state Treasurer Steven Grossman and former Obama administration health care official Donald Berwick in the Democratic primary.
BAF IN THE NEWS:
New York Times: Can Cities Adjust to a Retreating Coastline?
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/can-cities-adjust-to-a-retreating-coastline/?_r=0
Last June, in rolling out an ambitious $20-billion plan to gird New York City against the impacts of rising seas and storm surges in a warming climate, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg gave a classic “no retreat” speech, including this line: [A]s New Yorkers, we cannot and will not abandon our waterfront. It’s one of our greatest assets. We must protect it, not retreat from it.