Euro!

Bondholders are getting out,  where is that money going?  We'll find out!

Here, the Economist found it.

Las Vegas ranks high in full BRT networks

When you think of Las Vegas, the first thing that pops into your head is efficient transit, right? Well, maybe not the first thing. But according to ITDP’s report, Las Vegas has one of the top five BRT systems in the country.

Las Vegas is one of the few U.S. cities with a whole network of BRT, as opposed to just a single corridor. And while the Strip Downtown Express (SDX) is the most advanced BRT route in the network, the fact that the city is creating a network elevates its status among U.S. BRT systems.StreetsBlog

Since a lane guided bus has no speed limit, why aren't we hearing more about 140 MPH buses between LA and Vegas?
More:

MAX’s success allowed Las Vegas to move ahead with the even more ambitious Strip Downtown Express (SDX), which has all of the elements of MAX plus a central-median, dedicated right-of-way for 2.25 miles (of a total nine-mile route). The SDX connects the Strip and Downtown and it shares its infrastructure with the Deuce, which makes more frequent stops.

The SDX has won riders over with improved service, but also with a scaled-up look and feel. “I’d say it’s a train on tires,” said Jacob Snow, general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC). The buses are quieter and sleeker than regular buses, and they stop at attractive stations, built with art and architectural features that celebrate the local landscape.

But Casinos owners are still a bit confused:

But even MAX’s success could not give the RTC enough political power to secure dedicated BRT lanes on the Strip, largely because casino owners were loathe to make it easier for guests to leave. In fact the RTC had to fight for buses to run on the Strip at all. As a result, the SDX operates in mixed traffic on the Strip, despite the fact it is one of the most congested routes in all of Las Vegas.

No, not quite. The ultimate plan is to bring 60,000 passengers a night to Vegas from LA, at very high speeds and low fares right onto the strip using those dedicated bus lanes.

Silicon Valley figuring out how digital controlled transit works

It’s rush hour, you’re stuck in gridlock on El Camino, and suddenly a massive articulated bus comes swooshing past you in its own dedicated lane, whisking commuters through green light after green light.

If the Valley Transportation Authority is successful in implementing its sweeping plan to run these buses between San Jose and Palo Alto, this scenario may become a daily occurrence.Palo Alto Patch

Make them lane guided and then they are safe at very high speeds.

Pelosivania invests in usless transit station.

Last August, government officials from across the country descended on San Francisco for the groundbreaking of the $1.5 billion Transbay Transit Center, a hub conceived as the “Grand Central Station of the West.” Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom and others said it would one day house the northern terminus of California’s $43 billion high-speed rail system.

Less than a year later, those jubilant voices might have been overly optimistic.

In April, Congress erased all federal funds set aside this year for high-speed rail. That was not a good sign considering the project still needs $17 billion to $19 billion from the feds.

One month later, California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office issued a report suggesting the agency overseeing the project, the California High-Speed Rail Authority, should be dissolved and replaced by Caltrans. SF Examiner

I guess this makes sense if you are Pelosi and LaHood, but for the rest of San Francisco, they have a useless eyesore.

Karl Rove supports short term budgeting

They would pass a smaller debt ceiling paired with Biden's spending cuts.

However his opinion counts little as long as he keeps it behind the gated WSJ Opinion page.

Obama poll numbers

-In the Obama/Bachmann head to head 10% of undecideds approve of Obama and 67% disapprove. If you allocate them based on their approval/disapprove of Obama, Obama would lead only 51-49. Public Policy

Romney actually beat Obama by 3 points in the polling.

California and the stimulus

This is a preliminary look at how the ARRA funds were spent in California. So far, of $30 billion in ARRA funds awarded to California, $17 billion has been spent. CalWatch

California has 53 districts out of 435, or 12%.

Something is wrong with the numbers.

OK, figured it out. Only $200 billion went to state government, the rest spent through fed channels, I presume.

Consider this spending:

* $2.5 billion for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Only federal largess is keeping this massive boondoggle alive. Cost estimates have soared from $45 billion to as much as $213 billion today. That’s more than double what even the opponents of the train estimated in their opposition statements in the ballot pamphlet for Proposition 1A, which authorized the train and which voters approved in 2008.

California is not building a Choo Choo, John Lockyer is getting awful damn tired of Choo Choo plans. So this money is wasted.

Communist Tea Party

Last March, while the House was drafting the military authorization bill, 22 freshman Republicans wrote a letter to the House leadership requesting more military spending than President Obama had requested. NYT

Naturally, we expected the Communist apparatchiks from the Koch industries.

San Diego City attorney discovers democracy

The decision by the San Diego city retirement board to award a $700,000 settlement to a former labor leader has been held up in court, leading City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to push a proposal that would prevent the board from cutting similar deals without City Council approval in the future. Sign On

Instead of the Keynesian dictatorship attacking voters without Due Process, this attorney decided that voters have some rights! Go all the way and get Dills Act ruled unconstitutional.

Fake the long term deals and do continual short term deals

“The president has been clear that he will not support a short-term extension of the debt ceiling,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. But he added: “What we mean by that is we would not support a short-term extension absent an agreement to a larger deal. That’s not acceptable. Obviously, if both sides agree to something significant, we will support the measures needed to finalize the details of that.”

OK, I buy that. Just pretend the Senate is functional and utilize the Bachmann plan of continual shot term deals.