It's bad enough to be from Middletown (And I mean that in total sympathy; I have a soft spot for the place) without getting a $37,500 traffic ticket on the job. Wow. Just...wow.
The Transportation Bill I mentioned made it through the House and Senate without any issues. On to see if Strickland signs it...and since he helped negotiate the final form, I'll be a lil puzzled about a veto.
Tom Letson wants to be able to marry you, which is why he proposed a bill in the Ohio House to allow lawmakers to perform civil marriages (since we know they're not "unions" here in Ohio).
And let me digress here for a bit. I take serious issue with the fact a majority of people in this state think that homosexual couples don't deserve to marry. It's in the top three reasons why I'm conflicted about living here. I bet these were the same people who thought blacks should have their own water fountains too.
On that note, time to leave for the week. You kids have fun and don't do anything too dangerous over the weekend.
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
Wednesday
Negotiations Bear Fruit on Transport Budget
So you remember me blogging about Strickland's transportation plan? Negotiations between Senate Republicans, House Democrats, and the Governor's office created a compromise bill. Main items? (From the Columbus Dispatch)
- Truck speed limit will rise from the current 55mph for commercial vehicles to 65mph like the rest of us.
- Construction zone cameras are nixed, no ifs ands or buts.
- Cops still won't be able to pull you over for not wearing your seat belt (they have to have another reason to pull you over).
- The Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati-Dayton rail line is moving along, with the Senate Republicans agreeing to let the Controlling Board have the final say (letting the planning/approval process move forward in time to compete for federal funds.
- Strickland wanted to raise the cost of regular vehicle registration $5.75, but that was rejected. Other fees like vanity plates WILL go up to raise State Patrol funds.
- The negotiating teams also worked out extra unemployment benefits for some workers (though I'm kinda lost on why this is in a transportation bill).
Total price tag? $9.6 billion. I don't see anything that gets me all riled up...but I haven't tracked down the actual legislation and dug through the details, either. I'm mostly curious to see what happens with the rail line...we really, really, really need to push mass and rapid transit much more than we typically do.
Friday
Strickland: Wrong Governor for Era?
I like Ted Strickland. I think he's done a solid job as Governor, and I'd probably vote for him again without too many qualms.
...but this year, he seems to be on another planet. Or maybe just another era. It almost seems like he's been nursing these big legacy projects for a while, and the fact the state is out of money won't stop him from finally going ahead.
I'm talking about two big proposals I've heard in the news in the past couple months. One is all about transportation, and the other is all about education. Both of these are VERY important, and will be the cause of our nation's continued health (or total collapse). And the plans aren't really all that bad, IMO.
So what's my beef? Simple; they're expensive, and complicated, and based on tax revenue picking back up really soon. I don't think this is the time to launch a massive restructuring of the transportation and education systems all at once.
For education, Strickland would flip the funding formula on its head. Basing costs on things such as the size of schools, the student-teacher ratio, and how much teachers are paid (using an index including poverty level, property value, and college attainment of school) the idea is to get away from building a school to be "a good school" and moving toward a system built to serve students. Changes are to be phased in over 8 years, and rely on quite a bit of unsecured, one-time federal stimulus money to get rolling. The Newark Advocate has full details.
On the transportation front Strickland was equally ambitious. He proposed (and got passed the House) a bill including provisions to allow local governments to build toll roads, create passenger rail between the major Ohio cities, and use right of ways near the Ohio Turnpike to build solar and wind farms. The Senate did what Senates do and put the brakes on most of it, cutting out anything they felt was "half-baked." Several new safety laws were also nixed by the Senate, such as cameras to catch speeders in construction zones. The Columbus Dispatch can give you the full story.
Do I disagree with either of these plans? Not really. There's quite a bit of merit for designing school funding around educating students (as if that should be innovative...nevermind, that's for another post). I really like the idea of passenger rail connecting Ohio. There are elements I don't really agree with, of course...cameras in construction zones (or anywhere really) give me the willies. But really, it's not the plans themselves that worry me.
It's the SCOPE of them I take issue with. It's the fact revenues are down for the state, and not likely to pick up anytime soon. I worry about how a lot of the education plan assumes stimulus money as a big chunk of the funding. We're talking about systemic changes without systemic funding. That's just not the sort of governing I'd like to see when times get rocky.
It's not fiscally responsible, and there's too many citizens relying on state support to not be smart with tax dollars.
...but this year, he seems to be on another planet. Or maybe just another era. It almost seems like he's been nursing these big legacy projects for a while, and the fact the state is out of money won't stop him from finally going ahead.
I'm talking about two big proposals I've heard in the news in the past couple months. One is all about transportation, and the other is all about education. Both of these are VERY important, and will be the cause of our nation's continued health (or total collapse). And the plans aren't really all that bad, IMO.
So what's my beef? Simple; they're expensive, and complicated, and based on tax revenue picking back up really soon. I don't think this is the time to launch a massive restructuring of the transportation and education systems all at once.
- The Plans:
For education, Strickland would flip the funding formula on its head. Basing costs on things such as the size of schools, the student-teacher ratio, and how much teachers are paid (using an index including poverty level, property value, and college attainment of school) the idea is to get away from building a school to be "a good school" and moving toward a system built to serve students. Changes are to be phased in over 8 years, and rely on quite a bit of unsecured, one-time federal stimulus money to get rolling. The Newark Advocate has full details.
On the transportation front Strickland was equally ambitious. He proposed (and got passed the House) a bill including provisions to allow local governments to build toll roads, create passenger rail between the major Ohio cities, and use right of ways near the Ohio Turnpike to build solar and wind farms. The Senate did what Senates do and put the brakes on most of it, cutting out anything they felt was "half-baked." Several new safety laws were also nixed by the Senate, such as cameras to catch speeders in construction zones. The Columbus Dispatch can give you the full story.
Do I disagree with either of these plans? Not really. There's quite a bit of merit for designing school funding around educating students (as if that should be innovative...nevermind, that's for another post). I really like the idea of passenger rail connecting Ohio. There are elements I don't really agree with, of course...cameras in construction zones (or anywhere really) give me the willies. But really, it's not the plans themselves that worry me.
It's the SCOPE of them I take issue with. It's the fact revenues are down for the state, and not likely to pick up anytime soon. I worry about how a lot of the education plan assumes stimulus money as a big chunk of the funding. We're talking about systemic changes without systemic funding. That's just not the sort of governing I'd like to see when times get rocky.
It's not fiscally responsible, and there's too many citizens relying on state support to not be smart with tax dollars.
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