Government / Politics

Making Plans Deliver on Promises in the San Fernando Valley

The Warner Center 2035 Plan was designed to bring growth to Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley. If the opening of a $350-million Westfield Village in September is any indication, it’s succeeding.

November 7, 2015 - The Planning Report

Breaking News: End of the Line for Keystone XL Pipeline

After TransCanada hit the "pause button," President Obama hit "reject." The seven-year saga has come to an end, announced President Obama in a noon White House statement to the press on Friday where he took no questions.

November 6, 2015 - The White House

Seattle Moves in a Big Way on Election Day

Prop. 1, a $930 million, nine-year transportation levy backed by Mayor Ed Murray, was approved by 54 percent of Seattle voters on Nov. 3 to the delight of bus, bike, pedestrian and good roads advocates. First order of business: Safe Routes to School.

November 6, 2015 - The Seattle Times

House Passes Six-Year Transportation Reauthorization Bill

The House of Representatives plowed through about 270 amendments this week, with floor votes on nearly 130 of them, before passing the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2015 (STRR Act) with funding for three years.

November 6, 2015 - The Hill

More Diversity Needed in Bike Planning Processes

Left behind in business-as-usual city planning processes: low income and racial minority residents who rely on biking for transportation.

November 5, 2015 - Next City

A New 'Federalist Roadmap' to Let Cities Lead the Nation

Bruce Katz has an idea: "A year out from next year’s presidential election, let’s dispel the pervasive myth that the federal government runs the country."

November 5, 2015 - Brookings

Advice for Newly Elected Officials About Vacant and Abandoned Properties

A few words to live by for elected officials in communities working to transform vacant and abandoned properties into valued, productive uses.

November 5, 2015 - Center for Community Progress

Double Trucks

House Rejects Amendment Allowing Heavier Trucks

One of the nearly 270 amendments the House is considering in the $325 billion transportation reauthorization bill would allow individual states to allow heavier trucks to use highways. It was decisively defeated in a floor vote on Tuesday.

November 5, 2015 - The Hill

San Francisco Election Results: Airbnb Regulations, Mission Moratorium, Housing Bond

San Francisco voters rejected a moratorium on market rate housing in The Mission (Prop. I) and tighter restrictions on Airbnb (Prop. F), while approving the city's largest-ever housing bond (Prop. H) and a large mixed-use development.

November 4, 2015 - San Francisco Examiner

Vote

Election Roundup: Results for Planning, Land Use, Transportation Measures

Early results on yesterday's election are in from around the country, where cities as diverse as Houston and San Francisco and states as varied as Ohio and Maine decided on issues related to planning, land use, and transportation.

November 4, 2015 - Planetizen

TransCanada Hits the 'Pause Button' on Keystone XL Application

TransCanada, developer of the controversial 1,179-mile pipeline that would transport crude derived from oils sands in Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska, asked the State Department to hold-off processing its application for the seven-year-old project.

November 4, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

The New Speaker's First Test: The Transportation Reauthorization Bill

Congress began work this week on a 6-year transportation bill, the first since SAFETEA-LU expired in 2009. Overseeing the process of adding amendments to the bill will be new House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in his first significant test of leadership.

November 4, 2015 - Roll Call

Lombard Street San Francisco

Housing and Tech Industry Showdown on the San Francisco Ballot

In tomorrow's citywide election, San Francisco voters are faced with a suite of ballot propositions essentially offering a referendum on hot button issues like gentrification, neighborhood character, and supply vs. demand.

November 2, 2015 - The New York Times

Regional Planning Merger One Step Closer to Reality in the Bay Area

The Bay Area is one of the few metro regions in the U.S. with a separate MPO and COG, but that could change after voting members of both the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments agreed to a merger study.

November 2, 2015 - Contra Costa Times

City Hall Philadelphia

Voters in Philadelphia May Birth a New Planning Department

This week, voters in Philadelphia will decide on a ballot measure that could realign city government to create a new Department of Planning and Development.

November 2, 2015 - PlanPhilly

$85 Million Transportation Bond Measure on the Ballot in Maine

A week before a Nov. 3 Maine transportation referendum on a *general fund bond issue to address roads and bridges, TRIP released a report showing that over a third of the state's bridges "are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete."

November 1, 2015 - Kennebec Journal

President Obama Signs 3-Week Highway Bill and Railroad Safety Extension

A three-week extension of federal transportation spending and three-year extension for railroads to install positive train control was signed on Oct. 29, the date the current highway extension expired.

October 30, 2015 - Transport Topics

China Ends One-Child Policy

It's the end of an era. After 36 years, China has decided to end its restrictive one-child policy, by allowing couples to have two children. Why the change? In three words: an aging population.

October 30, 2015 - BBC News

Republican debate

What Does the Upcoming Presidential Election Mean for HUD?

An op-ed explains the significance of the 2016 presidential election for the political clout of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Those supporting the agenda of HUD, according to this argument, should be wary of a Republican victory.

October 29, 2015 - Edward Poteat

Will Electric Utilities Disrupt the Oil Industry in California?

A key bill had language allowing public utilities to enter into the electric vehicle charging industry—overlooked by the oil industry and a game-changer for EVs as it tackles one of their most formidable challenges.

October 29, 2015 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA

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