The U.S. Department of Transportation quietly killed an Obama Administration program that would have been the only federal level local hiring initiative.
"The Trump administration is abandoning another Obama-era regulatory initiative, killing a plan to allow cities to set aside work for local residents on federally funded public works projects," reports Tiffany Hsu.
"The provision, proposed in 2015, has been winding its way through the approvals process since then but never took effect," according to Hsu, so the potential of the program was never realized. The Transportation Department did not explain the decision to kill the program.
"The fate of a related pilot program, which gave case-by-case approval for local hiring provisions on selected transportation and construction projects, is [also] in doubt," according to Hsu.
For more on the demise of the federal government's local hire program, see also an article by Bill Raden for Capital & Main. According to Raden, the end of the local hire program was announced in the U.S. Department of Transportation's August Significant Rulemaking Report. Raden also quotes Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, who gives this take on the Trump Administration's decision: "Many of these jobs were finally addressing long-term unemployment — many, for people of color [….]This is yet another example of the Trump administration not standing up for jobs for the nation’s most vulnerable.”
Read the full story: Administration Scraps Local-Hiring Plan for Public Works
A Win for ‘Keep it in the Ground’
Coal mining in Wyoming will take a major hit as a result of a U.S. Department of Interior plan to cease future leasing of coal mines in the nation's most productive coal mining basin. The decision casts a spotlight on the presidential election.
Supreme Court Guts the U.S. EPA’s Ability to Limit Carbon Emissions
The consequences of this ruling have long been foretold. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now officially barred from the fight against climate change, Congress will have to act to reduce carbon emissions.
Energy Department Resumes Loan Program with Hydrogen Storage
The Energy Department's loan office, known for a bad loan to the solar panel startup Solyndra in 2011, will loan $504 million to a company that will use renewable energy to create 'green hydrogen' and store it in salt caverns in Utah.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority