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The Planetizen News Brief

3 April 2008 - 5:00am
Smart City Radio

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

Full Transcript

In a major step forward, New York City’s congestion pricing plan was approved by city council members earlier this week – an endorsement many in the city say will carry a lot of weight as the proposed system heads to the state legislature for consideration. According to an article in the New York Times, the city council approved the plan 30 votes to 20, a margin insiders say is unusually slim. The congestion pricing plan would charge most drivers $8 to enter certain parts of Manhattan, and it heads next to the state assembly and senate. The proposal is said to have support amongst major state politicians, like the senate majority leader and the newly promoted governor. However, the proposal’s future in the legislature is still uncertain, with high-ranking assembly members strongly opposed. A final decision is expected soon, as the legislature has only until April 7 to approve the plan, otherwise the state risks losing more than $350 million in federal grants to get the program going.

Meanwhile, politicians in the federal legislature are considering their own controversial plan. Congressional leaders are preparing to propose some dramatic new initiatives aimed at helping homeowners who have been wracked by the subprime mortgage loan fiasco and the recent swath of foreclosures that has swept the nation. The Associated Press reports that democrats in the House and Senate are calling on the federal government to back more than $400 billion in troubled loans that have resulted in thousands of foreclosures. One of the proposals would allow foreclosure judges to reduce loan payments and balances for overly-burdened lendees. Republican politicians and representatives at the White House are opposing these proposals, and have begun drafting their own set of plans to ease the burden. Despite the presidential opposition, Democrats are planning a test vote to see how much support they can drum up for their own measures.

And finally, recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that when Americans move, they move to Texas. The figures show that four of the top ten destinations for domestic migration from 2006 to 2007 were in the state of Texas. The Dallas-Fort Worth area alone added more than 162,000 people between July 2006 and July 2007, making it the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States. In total, 16% of all Americans that moved during that time headed to Texas. And 47 of the fastest growing regions were in the South and the West, leading many to believe the Sun Belt cities could represent the new face of America.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

NYC Congestion Pricing Plan Clears Another Hurdle

Congress Eyes Federal Assistance for Homeowners

Americans Are Flocking to Texas

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