The United States is producing more oil now than any nation in the world has ever produced. In 2008, the U.S. produced only 5 million barrels of oil a day. Last year, the country produced 13 million barrels daily.
The United States’ record-breaking production is often used to knock back the argument President Joe Biden’s energy policy aims to minimize domestic fuel fuel production – to cut carbon emission and make way for more renewable energy.
Read the full story
Tennessee is sending $17 million in taxpayer funds to communities throughout the state to build out infrastructure on vacant sites being prepared for future businesses.
The largest grant is more than $4.5 million to Crossville for speculative building construction at Interchange Business Park.
Read the full story
Real estate investor and attorney Lee Reeves, who is running in the August 1 Republican primary election for Tennessee State House District 65, sat down with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy on Wednesday to discuss his stance on different issues affecting the state.
House District 65 is currently represented by State Representative Sam Whitson (R-Franklin), who announced he would not be seeking reelection to the seat.
Read the full story
At both the federal and state levels, elected leaders are paying more attention to national security threats stemming from Chinese-owned real estate in the United States.
The totality of Chinese-owned real estate in the United States remains unknown and, under current law, is unknowable. For agricultural land, Chinese-owned acreage reportedly only constitutes a small share of the United States’ total, but has increased rapidly in recent years, suggesting a growing threat that would best be managed now before it turns into a significant problem.
Read the full story
For the past couple of years, assessments of the national electric grid’s ability to deliver power during peak demand periods, such as heat waves and cold snaps, have shown increasing risk for blackouts.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the nation’s grid watchdog, finds the main cause is retirements of coal plants without enough natural gas plants coming online.
Read the full story
BlackRock on Friday reached an agreement to acquire Global Infrastructure Partners for $12.5 billion, a move aimed at advancing the investment giant’s climate objectives and capitalizing on government subsidies, according to statements and reports.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager and is a proponent of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investing. Both companies share a commitment to decarbonization and BlackRock sees the deal’s timing as opportune, as governments have offered businesses rare financial incentives to build infrastructure, including for green energy projects, according to a press release.
Read the full story
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney reportedly wants the Virginia General Assembly to approve $100 million for the city’s sewer upgrades, plus additional revenue for new speeding cameras, and warned Virginians could see their utility rates “skyrocket” without additional state funding.
“We’re asking for more because we know if we are unable to find the needed amount, a lot of this burden will fall on the ratepayers,” Stoney claimed, according to 12 On Your Side. The outlet reported that Stoney warned “utility bills could skyrocket” without additional funding approved by Virginia lawmakers and Governor Glenn Youngkin (R).
Read the full story
Ford Pro, the commercial division within Ford Motor Co., and Xcel Energy, a clean energy company, will deploy 30,000 electric vehicle charging ports in Xcel Energy service territories nationwide by 2030.
Ford Pro and Xcel Energy are launching the 30×30 initiative within Xcel Energy’s broader Electric Vehicle Supply Infrastructure program to scale EV adoption and increase access to charging infrastructure.
Read the full story
A new report found Michigan’s infrastructure is generally “worse than the national averages” and is a factor of statewide population loss.
The infrastructure problems range from road pavement quality to unreliable electricity causing frequent, long power outages, to outdated water infrastructure such as sanitary sewers, stormwater and flood control.
Read the full story
Governor Brian Kemp and the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) Board of Directors announced on Tuesday the approval of $17.3 million in Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIB) loans and grants to fund seven transportation infrastructure projects across the state.
Read the full story
Michigan’s governor by executive order has created the “Growing Michigan Together Council,” a team of nearly two dozen she wants to continue economic momentum while also stopping the migration out of state that has dropped population.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her new initiative Thursday morning, which she said would address the state’s outbound population and spur further economic development. The council will be chaired by John Rakolta Jr., a Republican, and Shirley Stancato, a Democrat.
Read the full story
After months of debate and negotiations between Governor Katie Hobbs (D) and state Legislative leaders, the Arizona State House and Senate have passed a $17.8 billion state budget with bipartisan support, delivering some wins and losses for both sides of the political aisle.
“From day one, our Majority has been focused on getting the job done for our constituents: putting Arizona families first, protecting the vulnerable, and growing opportunity and freedom. We’re conservatives. We believe you should keep more of your money and the government should spend less. That’s why we believe this is Arizona’s Budget — a budget that reflects our needs, gives back, spends smart, and addresses real issues,” said House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria). “We needed a budget that the Governor would sign that accomplishes our goal of putting Arizona families first. This budget accomplishes both.”
Read the full story
If you paid a contractor to build a house and you agreed to a price and timeline, but the builder blew through the timeline and racked up the price tag, you’d be pretty upset. I bet you’d demand accountability, maybe even a discount.
Well, when it comes to the federal government and your tax dollars, President Biden seems to be okay with projects that bust the budget, fly past the deadline, and are completely derailed.
Read the full story
It’s Sunshine Week, and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is recognizing the week-long celebration of transparency in government by shining a spotlight on some dark places in the federal government.
Ernst in particular is calling out the Biden administration for “keeping taxpayers in the dark about Washington’s wasteful spending.”
Read the full story
As electric vehicles overtake Pennsylvania’s roads, lawmakers still have to sort out two things – how to tax them to fund roads and bridges, and how to build out reliable charging stations.
While neither issue has a quick and easy solution, a pilot tax project will grow revenue, and federal cash will expand an electric charging corridor across the state.
Read the full story
A bill that would protect property taxpayers from bearing the brunt of new residential development across the state is set to be taken up in the General Assembly this week.
The “2023 Property Taxpayer Protection Act” will remedy a disparity between the ways in which cities and counties are able to fund the expansion of services brought on by the accelerated growth Tennessee is experiencing which was created by the 2006 County Powers Relief Act.
Read the full story
The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) announced last week the release of its 21st annual report on the public infrastructure needs across the state during the five-year period of July 2021 to June 2026.
The latest report, “Building Tennessee’s Tomorrow: Anticipating the State’s Infrastructure Needs,” indicates there is $1.2 billion or 2 percent increase over the year before. And while the costs have increased for the seven straight reporting period, they decreased when adjusted for inflation and population.
Read the full story
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed (R-TN-28) Tennessee State Senator Joey Hensley to the newsmaker line to talk about the big issues in Tennessee’s 2023 General Assembly agenda.
Read the full story
The St. Louis Park city government acknowledged in a recent newsletter that the term “manhole” could be offensive because it’s not “gender-neutral.”
“The city acknowledges that ‘manhole’ is not a gender-neutral term. It’s used in this publication as a commonly understood term and as the current industry standard to describe these structures,” says a footnote in a December newsletter on city infrastructure.
Read the full story
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee recently announced a $26 billion proposal to address transportation needs across the state. Lee’s infrastructure proposal, “Build With Us,” comes as the state’s growth is outpacing roadway capacity investments.
Read the full story
Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston (District 26) says that the recent request by the mayor’s office that the city’s legislative body approve the stadium term sheet between Metro Nashville and the Tennessee Titans is a matter of “the cart before the horse.”
Johnston initially made the point during the October 26 meeting of the East Bank Stadium Committee, at which time the mayor’s representative Finance Director Kelly Flannery asked for approval of the resolution attaching the term sheet, a 1 percent increase in the hotel occupancy tax (HOT) and advancing a request for proposal to search of a developer for the Stadium Campus, and reinforced it several times relative to more than one point during a telephone interview with The Tennessee Star on Saturday.
Read the full story
After I’d chastised him repeatedly for being the spoiler in the November 2020 battle between Republican David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate, Shane Hazel invited me to debate him on his podcast.
During our lengthy discussion, Hazel demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, and we found ourselves in agreement on many if not most of the critical issues, starting with the First and Second Amendments. One topic I wish we could have spent more time discussing was the issue of infrastructure. As it was, I got nowhere with Hazel on that question.
Read the full story
A group of Ohio economists disagree over moves by the state and the country as a whole toward electric vehicles and whether government investment in electric vehicle infrastructure is cost-effective.
Nearly half of the 19 economists at Ohio colleges and universities surveyed by Scioto Analysis said the state’s current $200 annual fee for registering electric vehicles is progressive, while a little more than half believed spending tax dollars on EV infrastructure is likely to be more cost-effective than providing the same amount in tax credits.
Read the full story
A former Democrat candidate for president and the current Secretary of Transportation posted a video touting a bridge in Tucson as a successful example of the Biden administration’s infrastructure spending package.
“The 22nd Street Bridge project in Tucson, Arizona is an example of what infrastructure investment looks like in practice — helping people connect to the places and things they need to reach affordably, efficiently, and safely,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, attaching a video message on Twitter.
Read the full story
A new state audit raises questions about where Wisconsin’s broadband money was actually spent.
The Legislative Audit Bureau released its report Thursday. Auditors say the state’s Public Service Commission didn’t track just how much internet companies actually spent to expand broadband service across the state.
Read the full story
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego revealed that the city will receive a $25 million grant to construct the long-proposed Rio Salado Bike/Pedestrian Bridge.
She joined Pete Buttigieg, U.S. secretary of transportation, and other community officials at the Rio Salado Audubon Center, according to a news release from the city. The funding comes from a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant.
Read the full story
Ohio and Kentucky made a second request to a second federal grant program to cover the $1.66 billion needed to replace an Ohio River bridge that connects the two states at Cincinnati.
The second ask follows a May request for the 8-mile Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project from the Western Hills Viaduct in the Cincinnati area of Ohio to Dixie Highway in Kentucky. The May request is still pending.
Read the full story
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded three Tennessee infrastructure projects a total of $64 million from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program.
Read the full story
Veterans coming to Connecticut’s Rocky Hill campus will be seeing changes.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday the state will be performing $5.1 million in infrastructure upgrades to the Department of Veterans Affairs facility in Hartford. The funding was approved at last week’s State Bond Commission meeting.
Read the full story
Chattanooga’s Department of Public Works has inspected more than 95 percent of all streets and filled in 90 percent of all potholes, according to a report delivered to the Chattanooga City Council.
Along with filling potholes, Public Works has created work orders for issues that require more than a patch, such as utility trench settlement, base failure, lack of base, and slope failure, according to the report.
Read the full story
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Thursday ruled to stop a tolling plan that would have affected nine bridges throughout the state.
In November 2020, the state Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board voted to open the door to tolling bridges on Interstate 78, Interstate 79, Interstate 80, Interstate 81, and Interstate 83 to fund their repair or replacement. Cumberland County, Bridgeville Borough, South Fayette Township and Collier Township eventually sued Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) administration to prevent the state from establishing the collection booths.
Read the full story
Nine years after declaring bankruptcy, the city of Detroit received more than $826.7 million in one-time federal stimulus money but still projects a deficit in fiscal year 2027.
A Citizen’s Research Council of Michigan (CRCM) report says the city’s plan to spend one-time dollars on recurring programs is unsustainable.
Read the full story
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s campaign slogan to “fix the damn roads” gained viral attention for the Michigan Democrat.
However, as she gears up to seek another term, the state is still burdened with infrastructure issues. Residents of the state are required to pay thousands of dollars annually to repair their vehicle due to poor road conditions, according to one study from the nonprofit organization, TRIP.
Read the full story
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Thursday launched a new task force to address the state’s infrastructure needs and appropriate federal funding administered to the state through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The legislation, which was approved on a bipartisan basis, will allocate $1.2 trillion to states to repair and upgrade critical infrastructure needs, like roads and bridges.
Read the full story
Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday awarded more than $9 million to multiple local governments from the state’s “Job Growth Grant Fund.”
The fund is an “economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state.”
Read the full story
During the House floor session Thursday, legislators announced the formation of the Train Travel Caucus in the Tennessee General Assembly, in support of expanding the taxpayer-subsidized National Railroad Passenger Corporation, known as Amtrak, into Tennessee.
The announcement came from a Democrat lawmaker, Representative Jason Powell (D-Nashville), who is the House sponsor of HB2278. The bill directs the Tennessee Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) to study within its existing resources the cost, feasibility and infrastructure of expanding railroad passenger service in the state through the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak.
Read the full story
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday announced $422 million in grants to improve the state’s infrastructure relating to water and sewer.
The funds, stemming from the more than $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan awarded to Georgia, were given to dozens of local governments and organizations.
Read the full story
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Mayor of Bedford County, Chad Graham to the newsmakers line to talk about his background, goals, and middle-class growth.
Read the full story
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s “National Roadway Safety Strategy” includes promoting the use of speed cameras in cities and towns as a “proven safety countermeasure.”
DOT received $6 billion to issue grants to “help cities and towns” with road safety, which was part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that Congress passed.
“That law creates a new Safe Streets and Roads for All program, providing $6 billion to help cities and towns deliver new, comprehensive safety strategies, as well as accelerate existing, successful safety initiatives,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during a speech on Thursday about the launch of DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
Read the full story
On Monday in a press release, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced that they recently approved $28.5 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which will assist communities with infrastructure improvements, housing rehabilitations and health and safety initiatives.
Read the full story
For three months, as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal was firm in her threat: “We will agree to the bipartisan [infrastructure] bill if, and only if, we also pass the reconciliation bill first.” She was the driving force and the public face behind progressives’ mission to use the infrastructure bill as a cudgel to force Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and other centrist Democrats into passing Build Back Better. She repeatedly appeared on “The Rachel Maddow Show” to give attention to her strongarm tactics.
Time and time again in August, September, and October, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was forced to back down from votes on infrastructure because of Jayapal. When a reporter told Jayapal that some people believed she was “bluffing,” Jayapal, who has nearly 100 members in her caucus, said, “Try us.”
Read the full story
Memphis International Airport (MEM) will receive nearly $17.3 million in federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Joe Biden signed into law last month. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) announced the news late last week.
Read the full story
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) released its plan to administer its portion of the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) monies directed to Tennessee, outlining the department’s approach for improved water infrastructure in communities across the state, according to a Friday press release.
The Volunteer State was allocated $3.725 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which is designed to help Americans recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. A condition of the funding from ARPA is that spending must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and expended by December 31, 2026. The Water Infrastructure Investment Plan was developed by TDEC based on input provided by leaders and experts from agencies internal and external to the state government, the press release reports.
Read the full story
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., declared Sunday he won’t vote for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act, saying he feared the bill’s mass spending and climate provisions may worsen inflation.
“This is a no,” Manchin told Fox News Sunday, “I have tried everything I know to do.”
The West Virginia Democrat’s decision all but dooms Biden’s signature legislation in an evenly divided Senate.
Manchin said he was concerned about the continuing effects of the pandemic, inflation, and geopolitical unrest. His decision came after an intense lobbying campaign by the president and fellow Democrats failed to change his mind.
Read the full story
A member of the Tennessee State House of Representatives filed a bill Wednesday to repeal the state’s gas tax.
“The working people of Tennessee are getting hammered by inflation and horrendous energy policy that has caused gas prices to sky rocket! All thanks to the I’m competence of Joe Biden and the Democrats in DC,” Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) told The Tennessee Star. “Tennessee is currently running monthly budget surpluses is in the hundreds of millions of dollars over projected budgeted revenues. This gas tax repeal is a way to try to help working Tennesseans and all those Tennesseans paying bother prices at the pump.
Read the full story
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Tuesday, which will direct federal funds from the recently signed infrastructure package to fix the state’s roads and bridges.
“Right now, we have an [sic] historic opportunity to put Michiganders first and use the billions in funding we are expected to receive under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to ensure every community has safe, smooth roads and bridges,” Whitmer said in a statement. “With this executive directive, we are getting ready to build up local roads and bridges across Michigan, create thousands of good-paying jobs for Michiganders, and ensure small businesses, downtowns, and neighborhoods have high-quality, reliable infrastructure to rely on as we usher in a new era of prosperity for our state. I look forward to working with the legislature to invest these dollars and get the job done.”
Read the full story
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) on Friday slammed Vice President Kamala Harris and her visit to Ohio to highlight the administration’s “infrastructure” bill.
During her visit, Harris will take a tour of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 189, a Columbus union for individuals in the plumbing and mechanical piping industry.
Read the full story
“No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that’s what compromise is. That’s consensus. And that’s what I ran on.”
That was President Joe Biden on Oct. 28 unveiling his latest $1.75 trillion spending bill—watered down from $3.5 trillion after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) refused to budge on the topline number—that Congress is expected to vote on this week.
Read the full story
Voters in some Arizona cities are due to see whether their taxes or costs of government are going to increase in the coming years.
Although many cities in the state have moved to all mail-in voting for off-year elections, Tuesday at 7 p.m. is the deadline for ballots to be received by Maricopa County.
Read the full story
President Joe Biden’s approval rating hit a new low of just over 43% in FiveThirtyEight’s polling tracker as he confronts multiple economic and legislative headwinds.
Biden’s approval stood at 43.5%, and has steadily declined since July. His disapproval stood at 50.6%, the highest of his presidency.
Biden’s slide has coincided with another spike in coronavirus cases, a messy Afghanistan withdrawal and economic challenges ranging from supply chain issues to inflation. He has also pinned much of his domestic agenda on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and his sweeping budget, but left-wing and moderate Democrats have yet to agree on a compromise that would give both the votes needed to pass the House, where they hold just a three-vote margin, and the 50-50 Senate.
Read the full story