Outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has some blunt words for Houston about light rail. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood likes Houston’s light rail that’s up and running but warns that regional transit officials have squandered opportunities the past decade by not building greater consensus. “The region needs to get its act together,” LaHood said during [...]
Posts Tagged ‘John Culberson’
Tell Rep. Culberson how you feel about rail on Richmond
From RichmondRail.org: We’ve learned recently that US Congressman John Culberson is soliciting input regarding the planned METRO rail line on Richmond Avenue. While the Congressman has directed his request to property owners and occupants on Richmond Ave., rail transit on Richmond would have an impact throughout Houston. We believe it’s important for as many people [...]
Whither the University Line?
Is the University Line in doubt? Some people think so. Over the last decade, METRO spent $71 million of your dollars to build a rail line. But the agency recently took that project off the table for at least another decade and no work has been done. So where did all that money go? Ten [...]
Endorsement watch: An opponent for Culberson
The Chron gets around to another race it ignored in May, the Democratic primary in CD07. The winner of the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’ U.S. House 7th District will face quite a battle against incumbent Rep. John Culberson on this comfortably Republican turf. Challengers for these sorts of safe seats have a dual duty: [...]
Culberson’s Univesity Line attack makes it through the House
Great. Advocates of federally subsidized expansion of the Houston Metro light rail system lost a crucial round to Houston Congressman John Culberson on Friday, leaving dwindling opportunities to overturn spending restrictions on the Richmond Avenue project. The House adopted a $51.6 billion spending measure on a 261-163 vote that included Culberson’s ban on federal spending [...]
Culberson up to his old tricks
You almost have to admire the single minded focus on doing something only he and a few other people really want to do. For the first time in his long-running dispute with Houston Metro, Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, has managed to insert language into a $51.6 billion spending package that could block federal funding to [...]
Football season is over, but political football season never ends
It never even reaches the two minute warning. The committee chairman described it as a “food fight,” an after-midnight bout as Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold tried to jimmy legislation to block federal money for Metro to build or extend the University and Uptown light rail lines. In the end, his effort failed. But the wrangling [...]
FTA gives preliminary engineering approval to University line
Hot dog! The Federal Transit Administration notified Metro on Monday that the line has been approved to move into the Preliminary Engineering phase of the Transit Administration’s matching-funds program. Two other light rail lines, the North and Southeast corridors, are further along in the federal approval process. [...] [US Rep. John] Culberson contended last week [...]
Chron slaps Culberson again for Metro meddling
It’s an old story. Metro gets some good news relating to the University line. Rep. John Culberson tries again to halt the project. The Chronicle calls him out on it. Not that there’s anything wrong with that last part. It’s not clear how effective Culberson’s latest railblock will be, since his party is now in [...]
Culberson sticks his nose in
Last week, when we heard that the Federal Transit Authority had notified Metro that they would be cleared to begin preliminary engineering of the University Line project if no member of the local Congressional delegation objected by today, I figured there was only one Congressman who mattered. Sure enough, right on cue, here he comes. [...]
University Line takes a step forward on funding
Finally! The light rail route known as the “University Line” is close to clearing the first major hurdle for obtaining federal funding. The Federal Transit Authority notified Metro this week that the project has entered a 10-day congressional notification period. If no member of Congress objects by Dec. 10, then the FTA will give Metro [...]
Which Republicans do you have in mind for that?
Republican attorney Jacob Monty calls on his party to tackle the problem of immigration reform in a serious and rational way. I think he makes some good points about the toxic relations the GOP currently has with Hispanics nationally, and about the fact that the Democrats haven’t exactly trampled over anyone to get a handle [...]
For the money, I sure hope so
News flash: Travel times on the newly-expanded Katy Freeway have improved. The expansion of 23 miles of roadway along the Katy was completed in October. The $2.8 billion project took five years to complete and added 18 lanes between the Loop and Texas 6. Each direction has four main lanes, three frontage road lanes and [...]