At a time when states and people are trying to cut their carbon emission, Texas turns its thumb down on a light railroad in Austin.
Connecticut put a state rail and bus system in the state. I take the bus to Hartford for Pride and going to the Wadsworth Atheneum all the time. For a buck I can park for free and get off right at the museum or a block away from Pride. On Cape Cod I take the bus into Provincetown, two bucks compared to $4.00/hr for parking!
So this week’s Cuckoo Award goes to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
That is totally cuckoo, at a time when weather in Texas is going bonkers, roasting summer temperatures, it is so cold in winter that the power grid collapsed. At a time when the cities are becoming congested with cars, the Republicans quash light-rail systems in the state.Texas Attorney General Paxton targets Austin's light-rail plans
KUT 90.5
By Nathan Bernier
March 19, 2024Austin's effort to build a high-frequency urban rail network is facing a challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose legal arguments seek to dismantle the funding mechanism behind the voter-endorsed transit expansion.
In a court filing, Paxton slammed the city's payment plan for the 10-mile light-rail starter system. The financial strategy was designed to navigate the increasingly tight strictures the state Legislature has placed on how Texas cities raise money.
If a court sides with Paxton, it could kill the light-rail expansion known as Project Connect.
[…]
If a court agrees with Paxton and finds ATP cannot borrow money, it could kill light-rail. That's exactly what a group of plaintiffs wants.
"You are seeing the beginning of the end of the biggest con job ever perpetrated on the taxpayers of Austin," said Bill Aleshire, an attorney representing plaintiffs in a separate suit over ATP's power to borrow. "When all is said and done, I expect the final court decision to result in a rollback of the almost 21% Austin property tax increase being used to [fund] Project Connect and a refund of hundreds of millions of those dollars that ATP has on hand, unspent," Aleshire said in an email.
Connecticut put a state rail and bus system in the state. I take the bus to Hartford for Pride and going to the Wadsworth Atheneum all the time. For a buck I can park for free and get off right at the museum or a block away from Pride. On Cape Cod I take the bus into Provincetown, two bucks compared to $4.00/hr for parking!
So this week’s Cuckoo Award goes to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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