Ending speculation as to whether he would stay or announce his resignation as many in Obama's cabinet have done, and who would replace him should he depart, Ray LaHood announced informally he would stay on as Secretary of the Dept. of Transportation.
Jeff Plungis reports that LaHood publicly announced his intention to remain in the cabinet at a Washington D.C. party following President Obama's inauguration on Jan. 21. The announcement comes with some surprise considering that even Bloomberg News had reported last November that "(t)he current secretary, Ray LaHood, is probably stepping down in 2013.
As recent as last week, "LaHood declined to say whether he would stay or go". In fact, all he said was that "he will be 'sticking around for a while,' without specifying," wrote Plungis.
I don’t have anything new to add beyond what has been said publicly,” Justin Nisly, a Transportation Department spokesman, said in an e-mail (on Jan. 22).
LaHood has been Obama’s principal advocate for increased infrastructure spending the president has said is needed to heal the U.S. economy. That includes the president’s vision for high- speed passenger rail, which was stalled by Congress’s refusal to keep paying for it.
While there was no mention of the secretary's announcement to continue his tenure leading the Department Of Transportation in his Fast Lane blog, it did post recent developments in High Speed Rail this month:
(On Jan. 16), the California High Speed Rail Authority announced that by the end of the week the state would receive final sealed bids for the first leg of the Golden State's high-speed rail project. On the following day, Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority jointly issued a "Request For Information" seeking to purchase high-speed rail locomotives and passenger cars currently being manufactured and in commercial service that are capable of operating safely at speeds up to 220 mph.
The joint train order will be for the Northeast Corridor serviced by Acela service and California's high speed rail project, reports
Read the full story: LaHood Says He’s Staying On as Transportation Secretary
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
St. Louis Metro to test if single-car trains can reduce operating costs, maintain rider satisfaction
The pilot program will run from October to spring 2027, and begin with one single-car train operating on Metrolink’s Red and Blue lines.
Pennsylvania is building data centers in abandoned mines
Housing data centers in mines provides an alternative to destroying local forests and may spare residents from data centers’ noise and air pollution.
If Corpus Christi can’t revive desalination plant project, it may owe Texas $235 million
Earlier this month, city officials declined to pursue developing the plant for the second time in a year.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello