@tnewcombe

Retired journalist

 Massachusetts, USA
Joined January 2010
  • Tweets1.6K
  • Following429
  • Followers718
Tod Newcombe retweeted
Don Kettl@DonKettl4 May 2024
What's the Right Way to Fund Struggling Transit Systems? governing.com/transportation…

What's the Right Way to Fund Struggling Transit Systems?

They'll need a lot more federal help to stay afloat.

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
NACTO@NACTO9 May 2023
“Giving city agencies more control over the funding and timeline of projects is a really effective way to be able to address the traffic safety issues that cities are experiencing.” - NACTO's Jenny O'Connell in @GOVERNING governing.com/community/feds…

Feds Hand Money to Cities for Safer Streets and Resilient Infrastructure

The Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which provides direct funding to cities to make street improvements, is accepting applications. Other grants for transportation infrastructure are open or...

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
Jake Blumgart@jblumgart5 May 2023
“A lot of people acknowledge it's important not to let transit fall apart. But when push comes to shove in the tug of war of a bad budget year, we have fewer allies,” Wiener says.
Jared Brey@jaredbrey5 May 2023
“We’re asking the state to step in and provide emergency operational support for transit, which it has not done before, and to do it during a really bad budget year.” @Scott_Wiener governing.com/finance/high-s… @SFMTA_Muni @caltransit @GOVERNING

High Stakes Budget Battle for California's Public Transit

The state's public transit systems want $5.15 billion to avoid budget deficits and service cuts over the next half-decade. They’re expecting a tough fight.

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Corruption - it's pretty simple. Is there a state anywhere in America where utilities aren't one of the most powerful lobbies and where there haven't been corruption scandals involving them? governing.com/now/why-are-st…

Why Are States Freezing Out Competition in Transmission Line Projects?

A boom is coming in transmission line construction. But legislatures in a dozen states, under pressure from utilites, have passed “right of first refusal” laws that are raising concerns about higher...

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Closing the Toilet Gap - my thoughts on public restrooms in @GOVERNING governing.com/community/clos…

Closing the Toilet Gap

Nice public restrooms are a genuine urban amenity. Big cities can afford to build more of them. Why don’t they?

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Kansas City tenants have formed a power base and are seeking equal footing with the forces that have traditionally defined how the city is governed.” @GOVERNING on @KCTenants and the possibility of co-governance. hubs.ly/Q01JWbr-0

What If City Renters Had More Political Power?

Kansas City tenants have formed a power base and are seeking equal footing with the forces that have traditionally defined how the city is governed.

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
Jared Brey@jaredbrey31 Mar 2023
“The truth is, if you look at anything in American society that has cash behind it, it usually has a pretty good reputation. And all the things that don’t have money are where we’re like, There’s problems in that agency.” Read my Q&A with @bloom17_bloom governing.com/community/publ…

How a Century of Transit Choices Courted ‘Disaster’

Decades of underinvestment in streetcar, bus and train service coupled with an increase in public funding and planning priorities to make roads fast, smooth and far-reaching, help explain today's...

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I'm not saying @SarahEMcBride is amazing....I am saying she is REALLY amazing. You should follow her.
GOVERNING@GOVERNING14 Mar 2023
“I think that people have been able to see who I am. I didn't run to be the trans senator. And I haven't been the trans senator. I am a senator who is trans," says @SarahEMcBride. governing.com/now/the-nation…

The Nation’s First Transgender State Senator Stands Out by Fitting In

With a life-long love of government and politics, Sarah McBride is starting her second term in the Delaware Legislature.

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
Jake Blumgart@jblumgart14 Mar 2023
My bearishness on transit’s future in America, reinforced
Jared Brey@jaredbrey14 Mar 2023
It's clearer every day that cities' 2010s-era ambitions are crashing against the rocks of 2020s-era cost increases and behavior shifts. In Atlanta, MARTA says it can only move ahead on about half the projects in a voter-approved expansion plan. governing.com/community/atla…

Atlanta’s Incredible Shrinking Transit Plan

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority recently scaled back a voter-approved plan to add new transit lines, citing cost increases. Leaders worry that delays could further erode support for...

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“There’s a concern of that crowding out capital projects,” Shipman says. “There’s also a question about just their ability to deliver…. in an inflationary environment, you have even more incentive to move quickly” governing.com/community/atla… – at Atlanta, GA

Atlanta’s Incredible Shrinking Transit Plan

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority recently scaled back a voter-approved plan to add new transit lines, citing cost increases. Leaders worry that delays could further erode support for...

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
Jake Blumgart@jblumgart11 Mar 2023
“In terms of sheer jobs created, 2021 and 2022 were the best years for hiring in government records going back to 1940” abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireSt…
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Tod Newcombe retweeted
Wyatt Gordon@yitgordon28 Feb 2023
“The value of transit is increased the more people are using it. We need to keep our eye on the ball of getting more riders, because that is where 100% of the climate benefits come from.” @MTCBATA 🚇 @jaredbrey @GOVERNING governing.com/finance/city-t… – at Richmond, VA

City Transit Systems Begin to Peer Over the Fiscal Cliff

BART and other transit agencies are budgeting the last of their pandemic-era federal relief and looking ahead to big, ongoing deficits. Solutions are still hard to find.

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
K Lusk@KathLusk30 Jan 2023
Great work by @katherineeinst @CharleyWillison on the opportunity for cities to incorporate zoning reform as part of their toolkit in addressing homelessness. Proud that @BUonCities can support this work w/ @cmtysolutions #MeninoSurvey governing.com/community/few-… @GOVERNING

Few Mayors Connect the Dots Between Zoning and Homelessness

Restrictive codes can severely limit housing development, but a new survey of mayors finds that few take them into account in their plans to address homelessness.

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"If you’ve been in a nearby coffeehouse lately, you’ve probably noticed that something has changed. There aren’t as many places to sit — at least not as many comfortable places." via @GOVERNING governing.com/assessments/co…

Coffee, Community and the COVID Aftermath

Over the past couple of decades, coffeehouses became centers of sociability and community life. In the wake of the virus, many of them are switching to a grab-and-go model. Can anything replace these...

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#AI is here. How will state and local government use it -- and regulate it? #ArtificialIntelligence governing.com/next/ai-is-her…

AI Is Here. How Will Government Use It — and Regulate It?

It’s hailed as the next wave of transformative technology, but artificial intelligence’s market growth and rapid deployment raise a host of issues, from safety to privacy to equity.

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It's not enough to just revive the Baltimore Red Line LRT. We also need to change the governance structure of transit so that Baltimore and it's surrounding counties have greater local control of transit decisions independent of the State of Maryland. governing.com/community/revi… – at Alpharetta, GA

Reviving a Rail Project, Baltimore Advocates Seek Broader Reforms

The city's Red Line project was canceled by Gov. Larry Hogan in 2015 after 12 years of planning. As Hogan leaves office, the project may be back. But advocates still want to change the way transit...

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Gold-Certified @KansasCity was a trailblazer for eliminating all transit fares in 2020, but how's it going today? 🚏🚎 @Governing has the update: governing.com/community/what…

What Can Cities Learn from Kansas City’s Fare-Free Transit Program?

It became the biggest city in the U.S. to eliminate fares system-wide in 2020. But Kansas City’s experience has some unique local factors that don’t necessarily point the way for other cities to...

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
Wyatt Gordon@yitgordon4 Dec 2022
“Fare elimination dramatically reduces the friction of using transit. More than 85% of Kansas City residents said free fares had made them feel that local leaders were concerned about their needs.” @kclightrail @KCRTA 🚊 @jaredbrey @GOVERNING governing.com/community/what… – at Washington, DC

What Can Cities Learn from Kansas City’s Fare-Free Transit Program?

It became the biggest city in the U.S. to eliminate fares system-wide in 2020. But Kansas City’s experience has some unique local factors that don’t necessarily point the way for other cities to...

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
Jared Brey@jaredbrey29 Nov 2022
Eliminating fares has improved KC bus operations and reduced costs, like a $10M farebox upgrade. But most still can't rely on the service. “Kansas City used to have not-very-good transit that charged $1.50. Now it has not-very-good transit that’s free." governing.com/community/what…

What Can Cities Learn from Kansas City’s Fare-Free Transit Program?

It became the biggest city in the U.S. to eliminate fares system-wide in 2020. But Kansas City’s experience has some unique local factors that don’t necessarily point the way for other cities to...

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Tod Newcombe retweeted
CTAA@OfficialCTAA1 Nov 2022
Why Are U.S. Transit Projects So Costly? This Group Is on the Case. governing.com/finance/why-ar…

Why Are U.S. Transit Projects So Costly? This Group Is on the Case.

The U.S. is one of the most expensive countries in the world for building transit, according to the Transit Costs Project. A research group at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management is working...

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