BLM eyes 90,000 acres of Texas land near Red River

Link to article here.

BLM Eyes 90,000 Acres of Texas Land
By Bob Price
Breitbart.com
April 21, 2014

After the recent Bundy Ranch episode by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Texans are becoming more concerned about the BLM’s focus on 90,000 acres along a 116 mile stretch of the Texas/Oklahoma boundary. The BLM is reviewing the possible federal takeover and ownership of privately-held lands which have been deeded property for generations of Texas landowners.

Sid Miller, former Texas State Representative and Republican candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, has since made the matter a campaign issue to Breitbart Texas.

EPA rule biggest land grab in world history

Link to article here.

This is already happening in Texas under 'waters of the state' claims. Read about it here. Not to be outdone,  the EPA is now trying a land grab of its own by doing the same thing on a federal level. Any place where water collects or channels will become property of the federal government - that could mean a rain puddle. Than means all private property ownership will disappear overnight.

'Biggest land grab in the history of the world'
Requested EPA authority over streams would 'freeze' economy
By Alana Cook
World Net Daily
April 15, 2014

WASHINGTON – In a move lawmakers and farmers are calling “the biggest land grab in the history of the world,” the Environmental Protection Agency is requesting jurisdiction over all public and private streams in the United States that are “intermittent, seasonal and rain-dependent.”

The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in late March jointly released a proposed rule, Waters of the United States, in an effort to clarify which streams and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act.

Council briefed on risks of Trinity Toll Road project

Link to article here.

This ill-conceived toll project has no business being built. Any thinking person can see the risk of building a tollway in the middle of a flood zone! Seriously, if the developers want this, they can build their own private road and take on the risks to the traveling public and be personally liable for it.

Dallas council briefed on risk of Trinity toll road floods
By ROBERT WILONSKY
Staff Writer
Dallas Morning News
April 14, 2014

A 9-mile toll road proposed inside the Trinity River levees would extend about 535 feet into the floodway for much of its length and run right next to the river in some spots.

Dallas City Council members also learned during a presentation Monday that the road would include a “flood separation wall” that’s not even as high as the existing levees and would necessitate an evacuation plan in the event of a 100-year flood.

Tolls coming to I-73 in South Carolina?

Link to article here.

What Chamber of Commerce doesn't support a new toll road anywhere in the U.S.? Toll roads today represent the very latest fad in big government teaming up with big business to steal your money. After the bankrupt toll road on the Greenville Southern Connector, it's hard to imagine why any public official would recommend continuing a failed policy -- other than graft and cronyism.

SCDOT approves study into whether I-73 should be a toll road
By Courtney Griffin
Carolina Livecom
April 17, 2014

The South Carolina Department of Transportation Commissioners agreed unanimously Thursday afternoon to move ahead with a study to see if Interstate 73 should be a toll road to help pay for the interstate.

The tolls would be collected where the new interstate would intersect with I-95, so supporters say it would be mostly tourists who pay the tolls.

I-73 has been in the works for the past 24 years. It would run from Michigan to Myrtle Beach.

Cindy Osborn is a native of Myrtle Beach. She says the roads are inadequate for the area.

"I had to sit in traffic just to get her (daughter) out to the tech for two hours worth of classes, and it took forever. It should have been done 20 years ago," said Osborn.

Brad Dean with the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce says I-73 has been a top priority.

"We've had over $100 million secured for I-73 up to this date, both in Federal Highway Bill, federal Tiger Grants, and also state funding," said Dean.

However, much more money is needed to build the interstate.

"Still the question remains though how do you pay for I-73 and whether or not tolls are a part of that. We don't know, but the study will tell us," said Dean.

One criteria of the approved study will show how much the tolls should be.

"Presumably this would be tolls paid for people coming down I-95 who would connect with I -73," said Dean.

Osborn says she's all for tolls, if that's what it takes.

"People want to come here and visit, I think they need to help pay for the roads. They're putting all the weight on the roads and they're putting all the extra traffic on the roads."

Dean wanted to be sure to point out, the tolls would only be on I-73 and would not affect traffic on I-95.

The DOT commissioners also decided Thursday to request a $30 million Tiger Grant from the federal government to help pay for the interstate.

Vonlane the new luxury version of MegaBus

Link to article here.

A quicker way for ordinary citizens to head to Austin to advocate on behalf taxpayers? I think not. Why do I sense lobbyists will use this more than ordinary citizens? Somehow I visualize attendants handing out those moist, heated linens to wipe your delicate fingers after a meal like flying first class. Us ordinary Joes take MegaBus...Vonlane offers an alternative so the elites don't have to mix with lowlife taxpayers.

Vonlane will start Dallas to Austin runs in premium buses
By TERRY BOX
Automotive Writer
Dallas Morning News
April 21, 2014

A premium bus service will start in Dallas next month with routes to Austin in vehicles configured like corporate jets.

The service is aimed mainly at business travelers.

Vonlane, a new company based in Dallas, will offer full-size buses equipped with 16 leather seats.

It will offer complimentary food, drinks and Internet service, as well as a conference room, shoe-shining service and even toothbrush kits.

Each bus will have an attendant onboard to serve passengers, closets for hanging coats and no baggage fees for up to three bags weighing 50 pounds or less.

Tickets will cost $100 each way, and Vonlane will compete primarily with Southwest Airlines, founder and president Alex Danza said.

“Our whole focus is to give productive time back to business travelers,” said Danza, who owns 70 percent of the company along with another main investor. “This is a radically different level of service than you get at Megabus or Greyhound.”

Most full-size buses seat 56 people. Vonlane buses will put a premium on space, offering only 16 seats — and no middle seating.

“For half the cost of air fare, we will give people first-class service,” Danza said.

The business will cater primarily to professionals such as lawyers, accountants, lobbyists and others who bill their time and expertise.

Vonlane intends to make the Dallas-Austin trip, which is about 200 miles, in three hours, and Danza says all of that can be productive time.

“When you take into account the drive to the airport, looking for someplace to park, standing in line at security and all the other hassles, you might have 30 minutes of productive time on a flight to Austin, and the whole process takes three hours or more,” he said.

The first bus will depart at 6 a.m. May 5 from the Wyndham Hotel at 3300 Mockingbird Lane near Love Field, and should arrive at around 9 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency on Barton Springs Road in Austin.

Return service to Dallas starts at 10 a.m. with four departure times from each city per day.

Danza, 40, who has a background in the chauffeured-services business, said he has worked on the Vonlane concept for nine months.

He described himself as a “million-plus-mile business traveler who is really tired of flying.”

Vonlane will begin service with two buses, five drivers and five attendants, and it intends to buy two more of the $700,000 vehicles in September, Danza said.

It plans to expand in the months ahead with routes to Houston and San Antonio.

More information on the service is available at vonlane .com.

Davis probed in FBI investigation of NTTA

Link to article here.

Editorial: Public privateering — Wendy Davis said she wouldn’t, but did it anyway
Dallas Morning News
April 14, 2014

Wendy Davis isn’t the first Texas politician suspected of confusing public duties with private income. Elected and appointed officials from both parties have dipped their beaks, and, sadly, Davis won’t be the last as long as Texas legislators write their own laws.

Except Davis insisted she would be different, that “Texans deserve better than failed leaders who dole out favors to friends and cronies behind closed doors … [a governor] who knows that quid pro quo shouldn’t be the status quo.”

Macquarie charges excessive fees, shareholders revolt

Link to article here.

This shows the gluttony of the private toll operators. They waste money and charge excessive fees that are all ultimately baked into the toll.

Macquarie Atlas refuses to part ways with external manager
By Jenny Wiggins
The Age,com
April 16, 2014

Macquarie Atlas Roads' chairman has knocked back calls to dump Macquarie as the toll road company's manager after investors claimed the financial group was being paid too much.

''We have looked at internalisation and our view is: not now,'' Macquarie Atlas chairman David Walsh told investors at the company's annual meeting in Sydney.

Using tolling as a weapon: D.C. to toll tax Virginia & Maryland residents

Link to article here.

Of course, another feasibility report that shows what a boatload of cash the government will make off of congestion weary commuters. What they fail to state is all the bogus toll road forecasts that have left many roads in the red plunged into bankruptcy when the traffic doesn't show up. This is a tax scam without taxpayers' consent. Few can afford to pay tolls on a daily basis just to get to work. In fact, studies show people avoid paying tolls and find other routes. So all this is doing is displacing traffic and likely causing many to move to avoid having this unfair tax imposed on them.

DC To Raise $1 Billion From Virginia And Maryland Motorists
DC rushing to implement plan to toll Virginia and Maryland motorists within a year.
April 22, 2014
The Newspaper.com

Washington, DC has long sought to impose a commuter tax, a levy designed to raise money from residents of neighboring Virginia and Maryland who take the train or drive in to the District of Columbia to work. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled in 2005 that the city could not impose such a tax without congressional approval, something it was not going to receive. Now city leaders have found a way to harness the latest transportation fad to achieve the same result as the tax.

Senate reaches deal on highway bill

Link to article here.

FYI, Sen. Tom Carper is the guy who introduced an amendment to allow tolls on all existing interstates in all 50 states during the last highway bill debate. This would lift the ban on tolling existing highways built with federal funds in Texas. BEWARE! This is who is at the table deciding what goes in the next highway bill on Congress!

Senators Agree on Highway Bill Principles
April 11, 2014
By Oliver Patton
Truckinginfo.com

A bipartisan group of Senators has agreed on the outline of bill to reauthorize the federal highway program.

The terms of the deal cover policy principles such as a long-term bill and maintaining existing programs but they do not cover the key question of how to pay for the program.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, announced the deal on Thursday and said the committee will act on the bill when it returns from recess the last week of April.

States turn to P3s to get projects done

Link to article here.

P3s are not a good deal for taxpayers or the public interest. They don't bring money to the table, the taxpayers are still going to pay for every cent of these projects - and pay more because of the private corporations doing them. What's the point of getting a project done faster if no one can afford to actually drive on it?

We're not solving congestion with P3s, just manipulating traffic for private profit. The cost of borrowing private capital versus public capital makes P3s cost more, not to mention politicians who allow corporations to control and set toll rates and extract the highest possible toll from the traveling public upon threat of losing their car registration or even going to jail (for failure to appear in court)!

Private money, public projects: More U.S. states doing deals
By Hilary Russ
Reuters
April 14, 2014

(Reuters) - Visitors to New York who land at LaGuardia Airport could be forgiven for not realizing they've arrived in one of the world's swankiest cities.

The airport's leaky ceilings, threadbare atmosphere and meager food and public transit options put it at or near the top of lists of the worst airports in the United States.

Council briefed on risks of Trinity Toll Road

Link to article here.

They should have pulled the plug on this toll road long ago. It’s a dangerous boondoggle to benefit well-connected developers, not the average commuter. It barely passed the public vote in the first place. There are better uses for scarce road funds.  

Dallas council briefed on risk of Trinity toll road floods
By ROBERT WILONSKY
Staff Writer
Dallas Morning News
April 14, 2014

A 9-mile toll road proposed inside the Trinity River levees would extend about 535 feet into the floodway for much of its length and run right next to the river in some spots.

Dallas City Council members also learned during a presentation Monday that the road would include a “flood separation wall” that’s not even as high as the existing levees and would necessitate an evacuation plan in the event of a 100-year flood.

Feds seeks to seize 90,000 acres at Texas border

Link to article here.

From the Daily Paul:
Since 1803 when the Louisiana Purchase was completed, there has been a controversy over the boundary between Oklahoma and Texas. The boundary is supposed to be the vegetation line on the south side of the Red River. But the River has moved over time. The problem is the definition of that boundary line - Oklahoma and Texas each use different semantics to define it. And the BLM is finding ways to use the disputed words to give them the ability to seize the land.

According to the BLM, the Red River is always Accretion (gradual accumulation of sediment) to the south, and always Avulsion (rapid formation of a new river channel) to the north. So according to the BLM, the boundary only moves one direction, never in the direction that favors the ranchers. They are looking to re-draw the entire portion of the Red River boundary. That includes 90,000 acres of land along a 116 mile stretch of the river.

Stand-off with Nevada rancher ends for now

Link to article here.

U.S. Officials End Tense Standoff Between Nevada Rancher, Federal Government
By Oliver Darcy
The Blaze
April 12, 2014

A tense standoff between a local Nevada rancher and the federal government concluded Saturday, with U.S. officials citing public safety concerns as they ended a controversial week-long cattle roundup that drew nationwide attention.

“Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public,” Neil Kornze, director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, said in a statement.

Gas Tax Hike Touted for Transportation Woes

Link to article here.

Drew Darby is trying to re-write history and say he didn't advocate for gas tax hike to a room full of road builders last week, but he's parsing words. His chief of staff insisted that the WOAI news story below be edited. However, Darby did indeed advocate for a gas tax hike without directly saying, "I'm for a gas tax hike." He used phrases like 'smart' and 'courageous' lawmakers know we need to raise the gas tax. He supported a bill to do just that last session as well as one that would have doubled vehicle registration fees. Darby also mocked those who want an end to gas tax diversions before any gas tax hike is on the table. Read my article on it here or here.

Gas Tax Hike Touted for Transportation Woes
By Jim Forsyth
WOAI Radio
March 21, 2014

The Texas Legislature’s point man on transportation funding says Texas motorists need to understand that a higher gas tax would be a more 'open and transparent' way of dealing head on with the state's transportation crisis than the 'congestion tax' that motorists are currently paying every day.

"I think we need to revert to pay as your go," State Re. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) told the San Antonio Mobility Coalition.  "Nine times members of the Legislature have raised the gasoline tax to pay for our transportation infrastructure, but that hasn't happened since 1991.  Since then, however, we have said we don't want to deal with the open and visible tax, we would rather pay an invisible tax."

Larson: Streetcar "Unethical and Possibly Illegal," Should be Killed

Link to article here.

We say 'Amen' to Larson's thoughts that the $92 million in road funds that were stolen to build the street car downtown where there's no congestion should be reallocated to fix 1604 or 281 without tolls. We've been saying that since the street car first came online...

Larson: Streetcar "Unethical and Possibly Illegal," Should be Killed
By Jim Forsyth
WOAI Radio
March 18, 2014

The heat on VIA, Bexar County and the City of San Antonio is being cranked up to boiling levels as pressure increases to kill the controversial downtown streetcar plan, or at least call an election to see if there is any support at all for the project.

In letters to the county, VIA Chairman Alex Briseno, and the Texas Transportation Commission, influential State Rep. Lyle Larson says he has not seen a 'more divisive issue in this community over the last two decades.'

Trucker files lawsuit for overcharging by Florida toll system

Link to article here.

Lawsuit alleges overcharging by Florida SunPass
By David Tanner
Land Line Magazine
March 20, 2014

A Florida car hauler has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Transportation’s toll collection agency, SunPass.



John Northrup, doing business as Angie’s Transportation out of Plant City, Fla., seeks to “recover excessive tolls charged under FDOT’s SunPass system,” according to the lawsuit filed Feb. 21 in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit for Leon County, Fla.



In addition to monetary damages, Northrup seeks declaratory and injunctive relief for breach of contract by the named defendants – the Florida Department of Transportation and FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad in his official capacity.

New York tracks motorists using toll tags - even on non-toll roads

Link to article here.

New York uses toll tags to track motorists
By Kit Daniels
InfoWars.com
March 24, 2014

New York traffic agencies are tracking motorists across the state by connecting to their toll tags mounted to their windshields, even when the drivers are no where near a toll booth.

Both the New York City Department of Transportation and Transcom, a traffic management agency, admitted that for nearly 20 years they have been using antennas to connect to E-ZPass toll tags in vehicles driving across more than 3,000 miles of public, non-toll roads, not just in New York but neighboring states as well.

Tax hike? Lawmaker tells road lobby gas tax hike coming

Link to article here.

Tax hike? Lawmaker tells road lobby gas tax hike coming
By Terri Hall
Examiner.com
March 21, 2014

Texas State Rep. Drew Darby told a friendly crowd of road builders that he’ll continue to push for a gas tax hike to help shore-up the State’s road funding shortfalls at yesterday’s San Antonio Mobility Coalition (SAMCo) luncheon. Darby supported a bill to capture half of the vehicle sales tax receipts, raise the gas tax 10 cents a gallon, and double vehicle registration fees during the legislative session last year. So his support of gas tax hikes are well known. But what makes his comments to SAMCo so newsworthy is his open mockery of those who have a problem with ending the raid of gas taxes for non-road purposes.

The biggest diversion of gas tax goes to public education by constitutional amendment (twenty-five percent). The next goes to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) which gets roughly five percent. The constitution does say the gas tax can go to policing state highways, but that’s a small amount of the DPS budget. The Texas legislature has raided additional sums to the tune of billions over the last several decades for anything from computers in the Comptroller’s office to enhancing employee benefits in the Attorney General’s office. Taxpayers want accountability for those funds and restitution before any tax hikes are contemplated.

Travis County decides to pony up $15 million for SH 45

Link to story here.

Every time taxpayer money goes into building toll roads it’s a DOUBLE TAX scam.

Travis County decides to pony up $15 million for SH 45
By Kate Weidaw
KVUE.com
Wednesday, March 19, 2014

MANCHACA, Texas (KXAN) –  Travis County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve spending roughly $15 million on the proposed road that would connect FM 1626 to MoPac at State Highway 45 and give drivers another option to avoid Interstate 35 traffic off Brodie Lane.

The commissioners approved the plan with a 4-1 vote.

This would be a joint venture between Travis County, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, and Hays County — with Hays County pitching $5 million for the project. Capital Area Metro Planning Organization and TxDOT will fund $32 million and CTRMA will cover the rest of the balance at $48 million.

Commissioner Ron Davis was the lone nay vote.

Environmentalists worry the road could endanger wildlife along the route.  The Save Our Springs Alliance asked the court to postpone voting until environmental studies are complete.

The group filed a complaint Monday, March 17 against Commissioner Gerald Daugherty for violating the Texas Public Information Act.  They claim Daugherty deleted emails and text messages about the road project that should be made available to the public.

Critics of the project say the proposed road will only make MoPac more congested than it already is, especially during rush hour.

Supporters believe it will make a significant impact for the local neighborhoods that are seeing an increase in traffic.
__________________________________________________

View story here.

County commissioner accused of destroying records
KVUE.com
March 18, 2014

TRAVIS COUNTY -- Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty is being accused of withholding and destroying public records.

The Save Our Springs Alliance filed a criminal complaint with the county attorney on Monday, claiming Daugherty failed to respond to public information requests.

The complaint also claims the commissioner deleted texts and emails relating to county business, held committee meetings without public notice and did not take minutes of those meetings, in violation of the Texas Public Information Act. The group says it does not know what those messages may contain.

At a commissioner's court meeting on Tuesday, Daugherty said he is confident he followed the rules.

"I know what I've done and what I haven't done," Daugherty said. "There's again another red herring if they think that there is something criminal about it. Let's see if a judge finds that."

The Save Our Springs Alliance is trying to stop a proposed extension of State Highway 45 from MoPac Expressway to FM 1626 in Southwest Austin.

Daugherty says it's been 17 years since voters approved the highway extension project and it's time to move forward.

SOS members fear it will cause irreparable harm to the Edwards Aquifer.


Federal study backs single Dallas Trinity toll road route

Link to article here.

Federal study backs single Dallas Trinity toll road route — or none at all
By ROBERT WILONSKY
Dallas Morning News
Published: 18 March 2014

Dallas will either get a toll road inside the Trinity River levees or there won’t be one at all.

That’s according to the Federal Highway Administration’s recently completed final environmental impact statement on the project. The study appears to give Dallas City Hall what it has long wanted: a somewhat clearer path toward building a nearly 9-mile toll road along the east levee of the Trinity River.

But the road ahead is still a bumpy one, and any construction would be years away. The city lacks the more than $1.5 billion needed to build the road. Other federal clearance is still required.

And the highway administration wants to evaluate the toll road’s impact on wetlands and flood plains between the levees. Those effects were rated unacceptable by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2009.

Tuesday’s report concludes a toll road just inside the east levee would be the “least environmentally damaging alternative” of all options presented — except for not building the road at all.

“Then let’s not build it,” said council member Philip Kingston, one of a handful of council members opposed to the toll road.

The FHWA won’t issue a final decision about the project until after an April 24 public hearing to gather input about the report. The federal agency is holding the hearing in conjunction with the Texas Department of Transportation and the North Texas Tollway Authority.

Several key hurdles to building the toll road, like securing funding, remain. The project also will require two permits from the corps. One allows an agency to modify an existing corps project — in this case, a flood plain. The other regulates changes to bodies of water overseen by the U.S. government and is required by the Clean Water Act.

The corps also is finalizing its own environmental impact study, which is expected to be given to council members April 14. Jim Frisinger, a spokesman for the corps’ Fort Worth District, said its contents will not be made available until shortly before that.

“They’re a little ahead of us, the parkway people,” Frisinger said.

Despite remaining steps, FHWA spokesman Doug Hecox said his agency’s final environmental impact statement is a key part of the process.

“The FEIS is a milestone,” he said.

Hecox said barring any surprises at next month’s hearing, his agency will support the option to build just inside the east levee. Assistant City Manager Jill Jordan, who oversees the Trinity River Corridor Project, was delighted Tuesday.

Jordan said the least environmentally disruptive route has always been Dallas’ preference. That option is labeled 3C in the report.

“We were hopeful the record of decision would point in the direction of 3C, and the fact they’re getting to that conclusion eventually supports the city’s position and desired outcome,” she said.

Still, there are caveats that came with the FHWA’s conclusion. The massive document said that general policy “would not favor such an alternative” at all as going inside the levees.

The report says it’s recommending the route “for further evaluation” based solely on “a unique set of factors that warrant favoring” such an alternative.

The federal government says in the study that it has allowed the so-called 3C plan to survive this long because the toll road has been designed to avoid substantial impacts of the Trinity River flood plain to perform its “fundamental mission of safely conveying floodwaters from extreme storm events” past downtown Dallas.

The study also notes the toll road has been a prominent aspect of Dallas city planning for more than 40 years.

Kingston criticized the report for being influenced by Dallas politics and planning.

“It doesn’t seem responsible to allow Dallas’ zeal to build this road to affect an outcome of an environmental impact statement,” he said.

The NTTA has first shot at building the toll road. But it will first conduct its own revenue study to determine, among other things, how many people would use it and whether it makes financial sense to fund it.

Jordan said once all federal clearances are reached, a funding plan will be put in place. Then the design phase can begin.

“Construction could be several years off,” she said.

AT A GLANCE: The preferred route
Description: Preferred by the city, this option would put the toll road to the inside the east levee. It would run 8.67 miles, with about 6.2 miles in the floodway.
Total cost: at least $1.46 billion (2013 dollars)
Environmental mitigation cost: $22.9 million
Operating and maintenance costs: $597.8 million (2012 dollars)
Buildings destroyed: 30 (27 commercial)

Pro: It’s cheaper, faster and less disruptive to business. It also would leave Riverfront Boulevard open to commercial development.

Con: It puts a six-lane toll road right in the middle of the floodway, something that has never been done. Critics say it mars the parklike atmosphere and needlessly adds strain to the aging levees that protect Dallas from floods. Federal law prohibits a project from elevating flood levels, and this alternative would do so slightly. The corps could issue a waiver to permit the higher water if it felt the associated risks were small enough.

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