5/10/2007
5/09/2007
TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS.
THE MOST WANTED LOBBYIST IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS UNIQUE INFLUENCE WITH THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION CHAIR MIKE KRUSEE.
For years, the married republican State Rep. Mike Krusee, the chair of the House Transportation committee, and lobbyist Melinda Wheatley’s have had an intimate relationship.
A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and side-step filing more legally required lobbyist reports).
According to reports, HillCo’s J. McCartt, a former aide to Gov. Perry, has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J—an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects. McCartt flew Krusee to Washington in 2005 to address a conference on public-private partnerships. McCartt also flew Krusee to Las Vegas to deliver the keynote address at a PBS&J toll summit a week after the 2005 regular session ended.
About ten (10) months ago, I filed a formal “sworn complaint” with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) on Melinda Wheatley’s failure to file legally required lobbying reports for many months and years.
I fully expected Wheatley to pay off her chronically delinquent TEC fines soon after I filed the complaint. But she did not.
KRUSEE'S MISTRESS WHEATLEY IS THE MOST WANTED LOBBYIST IN TEXAS TODAY!
Shockingly, after 10 months, the brazen Wheatley has NOT paid any of the past delinquent fines with the TEC. Not only that, but according to the TEC’s own website, she is the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas today! Maybe that should not be a surprise.
AG’S OFFICE SUED WHEATLEY. WHEATLEY REFUSES TO PAY DEFAULT JUDGMENT AFTER 7 YEARS.
In 1999, the Attorney General’s office sued Melinda Wheatley for failing to pay yet another TEC delinquent account from the 1990’s. The Bankruptcy and Collections division of the AG’s office won a Travis County Court judgment that includes attorney’s fees and court costs. Wheatley has refused to pay the default judgment as well as the 10% annual interest that continues to mount each year. The AG’s office tells me a personal lien is also in place but Wheatley has not reported any ownership of property in the past seven years.
The formal complaint I filed 10 months ago was finally presented to the TEC on April 13th, 2007. The complaint has yet to be resolved or dismissed and a TEC attorney says the hearing could take place soon.
HISTORY OF KRUSEE AND WHEATLEY
Melinda Wheatley and Rep. Mike Krusee began working together on education issues in the late 90’s. In 2003 Krusee became the Chair of the House Transportation Committee after former chair Joe Pickett refused to go along with the unaccountable transportation legislation Gov. Perry wanted pushed. That same year, records show Wheatley began to lobby on Transportation issues.
Over the years, the Wheatley (12/6/1967) has kept many of the details of who she works for, and how much she gets paid, a secret.
WHEATLEY’S UNIQUE INFLUENCE WITH KRUSEE EQUALS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS FOR HER TOLL ROAD CLIENTS.
Limited state records show Wheatley earned between $70k and $150k in the first two months 2005. Wheatley listed TransCore, Texas Council of Engineering Companies, Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas and City of Austin as her transportation clients.
TransCore, one of Wheatley’s many transportation clients received a multimillion dollar contract with TxDOT in Sept. 2005. The contract for eGo Plus RFID tags, branded locally as TxTag, is for 2 million tags over two years.
Another transportation client of Wheatley, the Texas Council of Engineering Companies (TCEC) included URS, HNTB, PBS&J & Carter & Burgess, Inc. All of which have received numerous multimillion dollar toll contracts.
WHEATLEY GETS NO BID CONTRACT FROM TOLL AUTHORITY
Comptroller Strayhorn’s investigative report on the freeway tolling authority shows Wheatley’s Informative Efforts, LLC, now defunct, was given a NO BID contract (see app. #5) for freeway toll road work. It was Mike Krusee’s legislation that created the freeway tolling authority.
Wheatley ignored Texas law and additional conflicts of interests when she failed to list J.P. Morgan as one of her clients in 2004. The Comptroller’s Report states:
“Informative Efforts: The principals of this public relations firm are Cathy Howell and Melinda Wheatley, who are subcontractors for Nancy Ledbetter Associates, which in turn contracts with HNTB. Their relationship with the transportation industry may represent a potential conflict of interest. Informative Efforts had a consulting arrangement with JP Morgan Securities Inc., a CTRMA contractor, and was paid a retainer fee of $7,000 per month plus expenses. The Austin office of JP Morgan Securities indicated that Informative Efforts performed lobbying work and that it was a short-term contract terminated around March 2004. Melinda Wheatley was Informative Efforts’ primary contact with JP Morgan Securities. Wheatley was listed on the 2004 Texas Ethics Commission lobby list for only one client, TransCore, a sponsor of Team Texas. This company provides services and products that enable toll authorities to manage transactions using toll tags. As such, TransCore is a potential CTRMA contractor.”How has J.P. Morgan been fairing in Krusee’s Toll Road Deals?
In 2005 the CTRMA invested $284 million in a J.P. Morgan Money Market. J.P. Morgan Securities is also part of the Cintra Trans Texas Corridor Team.
Up to $1 billion dollars of TxDOT Fund 6 bonds is controlled by J.P. Morgan Securities, which acts as the senior manager for the initial issuance. Fund 6 revenue bonds are backed by state highway revenues and anticipated federal transportation appropriations.
By refusing to file lobbyist reports, what are Wheatley (and Krusee) hiding?
What kind of partnership does Melinda Wheatley have with Mike Krusee?
Should Mike Krusee and Melinda Wheatley be investigated by the District Attorney?
Should the press ignore the fact that the House Transportation Chair’s mistress, the most wanted lobbyist in the State of Texas, has landed multi-million dollar contracts?
UPDATE AS OF 5/16/07....
TOLL ROAD LOBBY THREATENS TEXAS BLOGGER WITH LAWSUIT
In a response to a Muckraker blog article I published on 5/9/07 (see below), Hillco Partners, one of the most powerful lobby firms in Texas sent a letter to threaten me with a lawsuit. I see this threat letter as a deliberate attempt to squelch my freedom of speech by HillCo, who are connected with Rep. Mike Krusee, Gov. Rick Perry and other toll road profiteers PBS&J, Goldman Sachs and Fluor.
HILLCO PARTNERS LAWSUIT THREAT LETTER
Download and read the threat letter by clicking orange headline.
The censorship letter refers to the blog article called “TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS” (see below). It’s about Melinda Wheatley, the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas and her unique influence with married State Rep. Mike Krusee.
Interestingly, the HillCo Partners letter targets only one paragraph of the blog article:
“A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and sidestep filing more legally required lobbyist reports).”The HillCo letter, from Attorney J. Hapton Skelton of the Law offices of Skelton and Moody, says:
“This statement is false in every respect.”After we exchanged emails, I now wonder if HillCo is suggesting that my reliable source didn’t give me such information. Or, perhaps HillCo thinks my contact of two years is just an imaginary friend?
Since I received the original threat letter, I spoke with my contact again to confirm. My inside source tells me that she was told first hand that Wheatley did “work for HillCo”. Perhaps that could mean HillCo Partners, or a sister company called HillCo Media. I don’t know.
I don’t know anything more about Wheatley working with or not working with either HillCo company. What I do know is that my source has proven to be reliable - time after time.
My source also told me that they would not be surprised if Krusee and/or Wheatley complained to HillCo Partners to do something to shut me up, perhaps send a letter from an attorney.
The lawsuit threat letter does NOT deny anything else in the article. It does not deny that HillCo Partner’s J. McCartt has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. Nor does the letter deny that McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J, an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects.
MORE ABOUT HILLCO
Aside from the numerous connections I lay out in the original article (see below) HillCo’s J. McCartt was the treasurer of a the political action committee that pushed for an amendment to finance highway construction through the Gov. Perry’s Texas Mobility Fund in 2001. One of the first pieces of the puzzle to steal and toll our freeways.
A Texas Observer report says this of HillCo Partner’s power:
“...HillCo Partners stands apart. It has an influence and reach—stretching from the statehouse to the state Supreme Court—that almost gives it the status of a shadow government.”THREAT LETTERS TO CENSOR BLOGGERS
Special interests have been known to send threat letters to bloggers to squelch our free speech.
It’s happened to me twice in two years. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (whose unpopular freeway toll vote came the morning after her sisters contract was signed with the tolling authority) and Everett Owen (a “No Bid” Contractor with the tolling authority) both threatened to sue as a way to shut me up. Both times, my attorney told me they were both full of shit, that they were trying to shut me up. I called their bluff, and no lawsuits were filed.
Stay tuned.
How Krusee Cohort, John Langmore, Syphons Tax Dollars.
This is Attorney John H. Langmore, one of the key confidence tricksters behind the Krusee & Perry TTC Land Grab and Freeway Double Tax Tolls. Langmore is a key player for the Special Interests.Attorney John Henley Langmore (DOB 11/30/1962) was the Policy Director for the Texas House Transportation Committee during the 78th Legislative Session in 2003. Langmore played a principal role in formulating and drafting State Rep. Mike Krusse’s HB 3588, one of the most comprehensive transportation bills ever passed in the state of Texas, it completely altered the accountability of transportation projects. New powers were given as unelected bureaucratic mini-TxDOTs were created to toll already funded freeways. This “Frankenstein” law also allowed the TTC to take private land for foreign profits.
Many elected officials had no idea that 3588 was a Trojan horse. Most only skim the summary of a bill and use trust as a barometer.
Today, John Langmore continues the confidence game as he impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert to continue to bilk taxpayers for his special interest pals as well as get insider contracts for himself.
But, shockingly, Attorney Langmore has NO education in transportation planning, not even an online college course.
The snakelike Langmore has gone beyond the call of special interest duty. Since creating HB 3588, he’s slithered his way into the deep nooks and crannies of the unaccountable deals his legal language helped to create.
Langmore's SafeRail PAC Opens the Door for Looters.
Langmore was the one man band for SafeRail PAC. He was the campaign treasurer, campaign manager and PR contact for SafeRail PAC, a political action committee that had success in altering our Texas Constitution in 2005. Prop 1 in 2005 allowed unlimited tax dollars and debt to be syphon for new corporate rail in the TTC.
A quick glimpse of state records show Zachry Construction (of Cintra Zachry) gave SafeRail PAC $10,000, Herzog Construction gave $10,000, HNTB gave $6,000, PBS&J, Carter Burgess, Pate Engineer folks each gave $5,000 each.
TateAustin received over $12,000 for PR and Langmore’s SafeRail PAC spent over $32,000 on a radio buy in Houston to trick voters. Langmore contributed $471.31 in cash and $10,000 of campaign management and public relations services, sure to be repaid with thank you contracts.
The Proposition 1 constitutional amendment that Langmore helped to secure (53% to 47%) is a simple open-ended corporate subsidy scheme --- literally a blank check. Taxpayers will pay unlimited tax dollars (and generations of debt) to move private corporation rail lines into Gov. Perry's Trans Texas Corridor (and this after the governor had promised Texans that no public funds would be used for the TTC). Unaccountable people will decide how the taxpayer based rail fund will be spent, as corporations profit.
Langmore registered as a Texas lobbyist in 2005 representing Toll & Road Lobby companies such as Pate Engineering and Infrastructure Corporation of America. Pate and Langmore contributed to Krusee in 2005. Some say “that’s how the wheels stay greased”. Langmore has contributed to other politicos like Gonzalo Barrientos and Kirk Watson as well.
Is the system built for corruption and incestuous deals?
AND, how does Langmore get himself placed on every committee Krusee is not already on? He's also on the CAMPO Growth Subcommittee.
The address that Langmore submitted to the State for lobbying is interestingly the same address as Mike Weaver’s Prime Strategies, 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Mike Weaver helped to create the local freeway tolling authority (CTRMA) and gave his own company, Prime Strategies, the first Toll Authority NO BID contract. Comptroller Strayhorn’s report shows Weaver's company billed the CTRMA for well over $600,000 from 2002 to 2005. The NO BID contract was paid for with tax dollars.
In 2006, I witnessed the special interest trio, Mike Weaver, John Langmore and Bill Burnett (former CAMPO board member who voted to toll roads we’ve already paid for) as they told Travis County Commissioners that Hays, Williamson County and two dozen other local governments across Texas are moving forward with a common sense NO TOLL option (pass through financing) while Travis must tolls on roads we’ve already paid for. The Commissioners bought it hook line and sinker.
As a very close associate of Mike Krusee, like Melinda Wheatley, Langmore cleans up on "Good Old Boy" transportation contracts. So many transportation contracts came his way, including Zachry, in 2004 that he needed to create a new business as a Transportation Consultant. He calls it “John Langmore Consulting” and it to offices out of 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Langmore has also received toll road related marketing contracts through TateAustin, paid for with our tax dollars.
Having NO education in Transportation doesn’t stop Langmore. Hey, Mike Krusee has NO college degree, and that doesn’t stop him. Langmore is a Co-Chair of Envision Central Texas Transportation and Land Use Committee, which is now focused on planning the details of the primer for the TTC, the $1.5 Billion dollar SH 130. Mike Heiligenstein joins Langmore as a board member of ECT.
After graduating from UT’s School of Law and Graduate School of Business in 1989, John began his career working in Akin Gump’s Washington D.C. office. Langmore was Licensed in Texas in 1991 (State Bar Card Number 11922650), but, as of this year his license is inactive. Langmore had an executive role with Caterpillar in Tennessee for 11 years and a short stint as a photographer in San Antonio.
Langmore’s past also includes two (2) DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) CONVICTIONS, at least 24 months of probation and hundreds of dollars in fines.Public records show Langmore and his wife Catherine Langmore owning 1408 Preston Ave. Austin TX 78703-1902, with an assessed value of about $500.000.
John Langmore has altered our Texas Laws and our State Constitution to where it is now legal to steal our roads, our land, our tax's and even generations of debt for the Toll Road Mafia's Personal Enrichment Program.
To this day Langmore, continues to influence where and how our tax dollars are spent, as he skims a bit for himself and impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert.
This article is part 10 of a 10 part series called “Circle of Parasites”. Freeways have never been tolled in the history of the U.S., but that doesn’t stop a close circle of self serving individuals with a long history of looking out for themselves at the expense of others.
Read the other “Circle of Parasites” articles (just click below):
1 of 10: Deadbeat Mike Heiligenstein Runs Freeway Tolling Authority
2 of 10: Two Toll Authority Board Members Refuse to Resign
3 of 10: Austin American Snakesman
4 of 10: Convicted CRIMINAL, Pete Peters, Connected to Freeway Tolls
5 of 10: Rep. Mike Krusee and Lobbyist Melinda Wheatley.
6 of 10: Ghost Organization Voted to Toll Austin Freeways
7 of 10: State Rep. Dawnna Dukes Payolla Toll Vote Ignores Constituents and Federal Law
8 of 10: County Commissioner Limmer and Convicted Criminal formally do business.
9 of 10: TxDOT Engineer, Bob Daigh: Secret Deals, Lies and a Convicted Criminal
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5/08/2007
Craddick overruled by House - Craddick Shrinks Into Chair
LAST TIME RULING OF THE CHAIR WAS APPEALED WAS 1973
5/07/2007
BREAKING NEWS: LOCAL AUTHORITY OUTBIDS CINTRA BY $833 MILLION FOR 121 FREEWAY TOLL ROAD
Tollway board bids $3.3 billion for 121 project
By JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO - The North Texas Tollway Authority unveiled a $3.3 billion bid today to build and operate the State Highway 121 toll road, revealing a much-anticipated proposal that agency officials say is superior to the state’s tentative $2.8 billion deal with Spain-based Cintra. Read the whole story HERE.
BREAKING NEWS: KRUSEE’S GOT SOME BIG BALLS!
SHOCKER:
KRUSEE WILL
RUN IN 2008!
KRUSEE WILL
RUN IN 2008!
After Rep. Mike Krusee won his last race with only 50% of the vote, most thought he'd scurry off for a fat lobbyist job.
A very reliable inside source says House Tranpportation Chair Rep. Mike Krusee is gearing up to run in 2008. Krusee has already hired a professional to help try and side step the many minefields of the 2008 primary and general election campaigns.
Krusee just barely won his 2006 general election with only 50% of the vote. Krusee’s narrow win against a Democrat in a Republican (Williamson County) district was a real shocker. Krusee's main opponent, Karen Felthauser, had virtually no money to produce a competitive campaign.
Paul Burka of Texas Monthly had this to say about the Felthauser v Krusee race in HD 52:
"One more race to mention: Mike Krusee got 50.1% (Make that 49.72%, EOW) of the vote. He is the author and biggest defender of the highway bill that authorized toll roads throughout Texas. His Round Rock district is in the heart of the Central Texas controversy over tolling. A well financed campaign that hammered him for his support of toll roads might have taken him out. And yet, Democrats completely ignored Karen Felthauser."You can bet Krusee will have to deal with at least one well financed race, if not two. Other sharks always smell the blood in the water.
Krusee and John Langmore created Gov. Perry's HB 3588, the legislation that allows our freeways to be tolled and sold to private corporations. This double tax legislation also allows foreign companies such as Cintra to take our land (TTC). The road and land deals allow for fat profits, after taxpayer subsidize the roads and land deal schemes. Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA’s), created by Krusee’s legislation allow the deals to be secret.
GET THIS...
In the spring of 2006, I figured we’d plant the seed and start telling the story of the “Krusee Corruption” by finding him an opponent, in hopes that a viable opponent (with money) would naturally surface to take him out in 2008.
Myself and a couple of pals in our PAC, got an unknown (with no money) to run in Krusee's 2006 Republican primary (CLICK HERE TO READ!). As a matter of fact, the opponent we found signed up just minutes before the WilCo deadline closed. On a shoestring budget we moved forward. I created her VoteBarbara.com website, flyer, ad (CLICK TO READ) and online bumperstickers hitting Krusee hard for his double tax of tolling roads we've already paid for. Our volunteers, led by Richard Reeves, delivered the flyers to thousands of District 52 homes.
With virtually no money, we got 36% of the vote! (we got 45% East of 130). I believe the work we did in the primary paid off early, with Krusee barely winning the general election by only 50%.
Proof of Krusee's growing unpopularity began in 2005. Propositions 1, 3, and 9, were all rejected by Williamson County voters. State Rep. Mike Krusee was a big proponent of all three!
The latest finacial reports shows Krusee sitting on over $360,000 of special interest dollars to fight for his seat. He’ll most probably collect another easy $200,000 and use those dollars to send direct mail, run TV, Radio and newspaper ads to lie to the voters.
Will our political action committee (People for Efficient Tranportation PAC) step up again to help take him out with volunteers work and money? Hell yes, and we get two bites at the apple! Donate today for the fight HERE.
Firms that benefit fund Hays County roads campaign
Special Interests (developers, builders and engineering firms) are spending tens of thousands of dollars to sell a $172 million road construction package on the May 12 ballot in Hays County. Hays Future Now PAC has collected over $83,000 in contributions, thirteen times as much as Citizens for Responsible Roads, who oppose the $9,000,000 dollars a mile road bond scheme that has the county paying for state roads.
Contributers to the special interest PAC include engineering firms that have already been awarded contracts on the road projects (if approved by voters): Klotz Associates Inc.; Dannenbaum Engineering Corp.; Carter & Burgess Inc.; and Lockwood, Andrews & Newman.
Former Pct. 3 Commissioner Bill Burnett, who voted to toll roads we've already paid for, is working for Dannenbaum Engineering Corp, as he did while he was working for the county, a conflict of interest. Records show Gov. Perry has received more than $150,000 from President of Dannenbaum Engineering, James D. Dannenbaum, who does road work for TxDOT.
5/06/2007
5/05/2007
QuorumReport.com Reports: MULTIPLE EFFORTS TO DELIVER TOLL ROAD MORATORIUM BILL TO GOVS OFFICE ARE UNSUCCESSFUL
by QuorumReport.com May 4, 2007 10:08 PM
Moratorium supporters checking to see if Governor for the Day, Senator Mario Gallegos can receive it on Saturday
Rep. Wayne Smith (R-Baytown) tells Quorum Report that multiple efforts to deliver HB1892, the private equity toll road moratorium bill to Governor Perry's office today were frustrated by an absent clerk. Multiple efforts to reach the clerk failed because he left early.
The urgency in delivering the bill is because the clock starts running on a gubernatorial veto when the bill is time stamped as having been received. Once the governor vetoes the bill as expected, it will be a test of legislative will to see if 2/3s actually holds to over ride the veto.
Sources in the governor's office dismiss any conspiratorial explanations and say they will receive the bill on Monday, plenty of time for both the veto and the possible over ride. Nevertheless, the delay gives the Governor and his allies an additional three days to round up votes to block the over ride.
However, an unusual wrinkle popped up this evening. Sources tell us that supporters of the bill are looking into delivering it to Senator Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) tomorrow, while he is Governor for the Day. The spot is generally considered honorary for one senator each session. It requires both the Governor and the Lt. Governor to be outside the state.
The question is whether or not Gallegos' office can receive the bill and time stamp it, therefore starting the clock running.
5/04/2007
Burka Says Texas Senators Are A Bunch of Lilly-Livered Chickenshitt Cowards!
Paul Burka, Senior Executive Editor of Texas Monthly, says his sources say Gov. Perry will veto the 2 year moratorium. Burka then forecasts the Texas Senate will not have the backbone to override the veto against Mr. 39%. Burka says the Senate will fold “like tinfoil before August.”
The following is taken from the Burka blog, as well as the dialog in the comments area. Paul Burka said:“...House Bill 1892 will not become law in its present form.
Governor Perry will veto the bill. He will never accept the primacy of the metropolitan toll authorities over Tx-DOT. I believe the Senate will fail to override the veto. Even if both houses override, however, the game is not over. Perry will call a special session on transportation. If the Legislature fails to send him a bill he can live with (which repeals the objectionable provisions of 1892), he will call another special session. And another. This is war. The Legislature can avoid the showdown by recalling 1892, in which case Perry could allow the stand-alone moratorium to become law. I don't believe the Legislature has the stomach for this fight.”Patricia Kilday Hart said:
“...I would not underestimate the strong anti-Perry sentiment in the Senate. Perry's comments yesterday about taxpayers being left out of this session's work only fueled the urge (which has existed since the HPV order) to poke a thumb in the governor's eye...”Paul Burka said:
“...Do I have a good reason to believe, after having talked to folks close to the governor, that he will veto the bill? Yes. Can I make a judgment about what the governor might do based upon my years of knowing him? I think so. On most policy issues, Perry does not really get engaged. But he has been fully engaged in transportation from the start of his governorship, and he thinks his policy is right, and he will not give in. If he keeps calling the Legislature into special session, eventually the Legislature will have to give in. This time they won't go to Ardmore. I-35 is too crowded. One more thing. Anonymous, if you want to believe that the Legislature is not allowed itself to be bullied, how many years have you been watching Texas politics? Talk is cheap in this world.
They'll crumple like tinfoil before August.”
5/03/2007
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS: What will Perry do now?
"Perry must now decide whether to stick to his toll guns and veto the bill. If he does, legislators could easily muster the 100 House votes and 21 Senate votes to override his veto, and do it well before the session ends May 28."
Yesterday's Letter to Statesman Editor
Road of a different stripe
Re: April 23 article "On MoPac, a question of safety."
The Texas Department of Transportation's proposed $110 million restriping of MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) is inherently unsafe. The 8 1/2-foot wide commercial trucks routinely on the road will have just 15 inches on each side in the new lanes — just a tad wider than a regular desk ruler. Cars will have only about 2 feet. The out-of-scale TxDot renderings make the lanes look spacious.
Common sense tells us more wrecks are likely. In highway constructions zones, where TxDot reduces lanes and shoulders, the speed limits are dropped to about 45 mph. Even then, it is a white-knuckle drive while packed in that close together.
Perhaps a new name is in order — "RatPac."
STEVEN MIERL
Austin
5/02/2007
139-1: KRUSEE STANDS ALONE - MORATORIUM PASSES! -
BREAKING NEWS:
Bill restricting private toll roads heads to Perry
House Bill 1892, which would restrict private toll road contracts in a variety of ways, heads to Gov. Perry's desk after passing on a 139-1 vote. The lone nay vote was State Sen. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson. While Perry may veto the bill, the Legislature would have enough time before it adjourns May 28th to override such an action.
(As reported by Austin Statesman)
"Many House lawmakers applauded when the
bill was passed. The only dissenting vote
was cast by Rep. Mike Krusee."
– More from AP/Houston Chronicle.
bill was passed. The only dissenting vote
was cast by Rep. Mike Krusee."
– More from AP/Houston Chronicle.
Sen. Nichols: "Today the Legislature sent a clear
message: We will not sell our transportation
system at bargain-basement prices."
– More from Dallas News.
message: We will not sell our transportation
system at bargain-basement prices."
– More from Dallas News.
Scandal Plagued Toll Authority Charges 12,000 Drivers for “Free” Ride
The CTRMA toll authority admitted today that 183A drivers are being overcharged.
Drivers with TxTAG’s were promised they could test drive the new 183A toll road for free this month. But now we learn over 12,000 drivers have been overcharged. Steve Pustelnyk, spokesman for the toll authority blames the overcharging on computer errors.
This overcharging is only the latest problem for the bureaucratic toll authority that has lost a lot of credibility with the community.
Years before other Phase I toll roads opened up in Austin, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority promised the public they would only be paying 15 cents a mile. But, just weeks ago the Statesman revealed sections costing as much as $1.50 a mile. Ten times the promised cost!
And Texas Comptroller’s investigative report showed the same toll authority giving out NO BID contracts to themselves and their friends. The report also found “Double Taxation Without Accountability”.
And the toll authority gave "pay off" contracts to the sister of State Representative Dawnna Dukes, the day before Dukes made a very unpopular vote to toll Austin freeways.
This also isn’t the first time the CTRMA has overcharged drivers.
With all of it’s problems the toll authority just rewarded it’s executive director, Mike “deadbeat dad” Heiligenstein, with a 25% raise!
TEXAS MONTHLY: It is 10:05 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Moratorium Is?
"Meanwhile, today House Transportation chairman Mike Krusee moved Robert Nichols' stand-alone moratorium bill out of committee, where it had been mired. Krusee, of course, is a strong advocate of Tx-DOT's policies, so this was not the unfriendly act that it seemed. If Tx-DOT has to swallow a poison pill, better the moratorium than Carona's multifaceted restrictions."
FLYING-PIG ALERT: Krusee committee passes toll road ban
By Ben Wear | Austin American Statesman | Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 03:11 PM
So, if the Legislature passes TWO bills banning private toll road contracts for two years, would the moratorium last four years?
Okay, we’re kidding and the answer to that is no. And it’s a good bet that the House Transportation Committee and its chairman state Rep. Mike Krusee were not considering that math when they unanimously passed SB 1267 today. But there could be other legislative calculations at work.
The committee convened during the noon hour around Krusee’s desk on the House floor and voted 7-0 for the bill, which would forbid the state and other Texas toll road agencies from signing long-term toll road leases until September 2009.
The bill, like the other legislation carrying the moratorium now, carries a lengthy list of exceptions. Most of them are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where Spanish toll road builder Cintra and some partners have dangled a $2.1 billion upfront payment in front of local leaders. That money, which Cintra would pay for the right to build and operate the Texas 121 toll road in Collin County for 50 years, would help pay for several other highway projects in the area. Read the rest of the article HERE.
5/01/2007
TRUTH BE TOLLED TAKES TOP AWARD!
William Molina's film, "Truth Be Tolled" (http://www.truthbetolled.com/), which chronicles Texans' strong opposition to state plans for a new network of privatized toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC), received top honors at the 40th Annual Worldfest Houston International Film Festival with a Platinum Award (out of 4,500 total submissions). The impressive list of past Remi award winners includes Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and the Coen brothers.
WorldFest is one of the oldest and largest film & video competitions in the world, with more than 4,500 category entries received from 37 countries. No awards are given in any category unless the scores from the juries are high enough to place for honors.
TxDOT Throws Away $6 Million Dollars
TxDOT Flushes Another $6 Million Dollars
Today, Gov. Perry's TxDOT is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to tear out the professionally installed trees, shrubs and other plants - because it forgot to plan for the maintenance costs, according to a Fox News report.
.
Truckers’ Calls to Congress Result in Delay of Opening Mexican Border.
DOT finally listens to concerns about safety and security.
Responding to concerns repeatedly raised by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and others, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would delay a pilot program that will open the border to 100 Mexico-based trucking companies.
The Association has been leading a campaign to make sure its members, the media and the public are aware of the risks to safety and security. So far, the DOT officials have provided no relevant details to the public on how they plan to handle those issues.
“The next step should be to carefully address where we are – the loopholes and shortcomings,” added Spencer. “The public has the right to know exactly how the DOT plans to ensure the safety and security of those who drive on our highways.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, MO, area. The Association currently has more than 152,000 members from all 50 states and Canada.
4/30/2007
Breaking News: Toll bill hits bump in the road (click to read)
Update 6:15pm: QuorumReport.com reports "SENATE PASSES CHANGES TO SEND HB 1892 BACK TO THE HOUSE. The 40-year term on 121, 161 and managed lanes on 635 were stripped from bill. Legislation is on the way back to the other chamber."
SEN. WATSON’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST EXPOSED.
Millionaire Senator Kirk Watson is found to be on the Special Interests Payroll (and His Plan for Texas Domination is Revealed).Records show that one month after Sen. Kirk Watson became chair of Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) -- an organization that directs billions of road dollars in Central Texas -- Watson was put on the payroll of special interest developers who profit from important transportation decisions.
Watson has failed to mention the conflict of interest at any CAMPO meeting and has yet to recuse himself from any vote that benefits his developer clients - who have finacial interests across Central Texas.
After months of back door meetings with CAMPO board members in 2006, and at Watson’s very first CAMPO meeting in January 2007, Watson not only became a board member, but also became chair of the all powerful organization. Also at that first meeting, Watson altered the CAMPO rules so other board members would no longer be able to place an item on the agenda - unless it is approved by Watson and his hand selected executive committee.
To summarize, within one CAMPO meeting in January, Sen. Watson became member, Chair and gatekeeper of an organization that directs billions of taxpayer transportation dollars in Central Texas.
In February 2007, only one month later, Watson registered as a lobbyist for numerous developers who will directly benefit from Watson’s chairmanship of CAMPO. Records from the City of Austin show Watson as a lobbyist for:
• Zydeco DevelopmentLast year Zydeco Development and partner Atlantis Properties announced they would double the size of their already massive Met Center Business Park (has six hotels) at Texas 71 and Riverside Drive. Zydeco tenants include General Motors Corp., Progressive insurance, Waste Management Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Marriott International Inc. Zydeco Development’s website has Diane Jaspan Librach, Rebecca Nixon, David Sheldon and Howard Yancy listed as Zydeco leadership.
• Goodnight Tract
• Second Congress, LTD
• Wells Branch Utility District
Second Congress, LTD has plans to have the tallest building in Austin by 2009. The Austonian, a 55-story, $200 million condominium tower will rise 670 feet from the ground. Construction is due to begin the summer of 2007, with the 195 luxury units, according to David Mahn, project vice president for Second Congress Ltd. Units starting at $500,000.
Goodnight Tract is most likely Terry Mitchell’s “Austin Goodnight Ranch L.P.”, which is related to Momark Development LLC. Goodnight Ranch has about 700 acres near the intersection of Slaughter Lane and I-35. Even though current traffic congestion is an issue and water is very limited, the development plan includes 4,200 homes and apartments, and 260,000 square feet of office and retail.
It’s no secret that developers, as the toll lobby, have been one of the key forces to place toll booths on roads we’ve already paid for in Central Texas. And those same developers who bought out our representatives in 2004, to ignore the 93% of the public feedback that opposed Central Texas freeway tolls, are now pushing Kirk Watson to sell us managed lanes (tolls on freeway lanes we’ve already paid for). MOPAC is the latest target for this double tax.
Developers are notorious for buying cheap land, away from city cores, and pay off our representatives to make the public foot the bill - for roads to their property. That's how the “Circle of Payola” works.
Watson stars in this popular "Circle of Payola" YouTube VIDEO.
We pay for the developers roads (or toll roads, or managed lanes) - our representatives sell out the public for fat cat pay offs - the developer gets filthy rich.
Watson is well known to be a special interest politico. Watson's back door secret deal with Intel (when he was Mayor of Austin) cost city taxpayers $7.5 million in subsidies. Intel didn’t hold up their end of the deal (didn’t finish construction of the building), left us with the “Intel shell” eye sore and ran off with $7.5 million worth of subsidies.
And, Watson’s City of Austin Prop 1, of the year 2000, diverted a whopping $67.2 million of our bond dollars, intended for free roads, into the toll roads Central Texans drive today.
And this year in the Senate, Watson has proposed many bills that benefit his special interest pals at the public’s expense. Such as Watson’s SB 1184 anti-citizen bill, which would dramatically increase the signatures needed for citizen initiated charter amendments. For example, Watson’s proposal would raise Austin's required signatures from 20,000 to 40,000, and in Houston they would need five times the signatures.
And, of course there is Watson's SB 1688 (Mike Krusee's teamed up with Watson and put up the version for the house side of the ledge) that for the first time in Texas, creates a whole new way to tax people. A tax district for people who live near toll roads. So if you live near the toll road and you don't drive on it, you still pay!
AND, WATSON'S DOMINATION AND DESTRUCTION OF TEXAS IS JUST GETTING STARTED. A recent Democratic Senatorial Campaign Commitee report mentions Watson as a possible U.S. Senator candidate.
4/27/2007
NEWSWEEK: Roads To Riches. Why investors are clamoring to take over America's highways, bridges, and airports—and why the public should be nervous
"In the past year, banks and private investment firms have fallen in love with public infrastructure. They're smitten by the rich cash flows that roads, bridges, airports, parking garages, and shipping ports generate—and the monopolistic advantages that keep those cash flows as steady as a beating heart. Firms are so enamored, in fact, that they're beginning to consider infrastructure a brand new asset class in itself."
– Newsweek
– Newsweek
THE STATESMAN SEES THE LIGHT (at least for 1 week)
The Statesman endorsed the unpopular Phase II tolls (tolls on roads we've already paid for) in 2004, and left all the heavy lifting to the public.
This week has been a turn of events.
The Statesman is doing some decent reporting on the managed (toll) lanes on Mopac, that we've been talking about for some time.
This is a great editorial from the Statesman, I'm glad they are finally taking our talking points:
"Painting new lines on the pavement to create the additional lanes means the new lanes will be narrower than most are now, and the shoulders will be all but eliminated in some stretches. Shrinking the shoulders on that heavily traveled roadway creates a dangerous situation that can be expected to lead to more crashes.and:
Anyone who drives MoPac at rush hour regularly sees vehicles on the shoulders. Some are stalled, others were involved in minor wrecks, but if they can get out of the driving lanes and onto the shoulders traffic continues to flow. Insufficient shoulders will probably mean more slowdowns, hassles, accidents and injuries.
Moving to and from the toll lanes will be nightmarish as well. With more and narrower lanes, and short distances to cross over them to enter and exit, traveling MoPac will become an even more daring dance at 60 mph in two tons of steel."
"MoPac needs to be expanded as soon as possible, but it doesn't need toll lanes.Too bad the Statesman does not always stand with the people. We'll take what we can get. They still won't print any of my letters to the editor.
HOV lanes will be just as effective, if not more so, and not incur the enmity of the driving public. Local and state officials have heard plenty from local residents incensed about the state adding tolls on roads already paid for. The MoPac proposal is another one, and wholly unnecessary."
4/26/2007
Duke of Pork meets Prince of Wales
Krusee's 'ghost' votes on bills while he's overseas.
By W. Gardner Selby
Austin American Statesman
It’s not every day a state legislator travels overseas while voting in the Texas House.
Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County, was in London on Thursday while his votes on about 30 pieces of legislation were cast on the House floor.
It gets weirder: Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, said he'd committed to getting Krusee excused Thursday but got diverted by his cell phone fritzing out. Driver left the Capitol for a phone store, delaying his notification to a clerk that Krusee was gone.
In the meantime, Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, could be seen punching in votes for Krusee on routine final approvals of legislation.
Driver even punched in Krusee's votes a few times before his absence was announced at 2:25 p.m.
"It's basically my fault," Driver said later.
House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said it's up to members to regulate the vote buttons on their desks. Read the rest of the article HERE
TEXAS TOLLERS AND DRUG DEALERS USE THE SAME PLAY.
WHEN DRUG DEALERS move into a fresh town, they make the rounds in poor neighborhoods giving out free samples of their seductive, poisonous wares.
When Texas tollers open up a toll road, like 183A in Central Texas, they also give it away for free, for a few weeks, hoping to get folks hooked on paying more.
4/25/2007
MoPac managed (TOLL) lanes: A question of safety
Special lanes in Dallas have sharply increased accidents, but engineers say MoPac plan would address flaws.
By Ben Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
If the state adds two "managed lanes" to MoPac Boulevard north of Town Lake as proposed this month, the increasingly clogged freeway would have a third more capacity and a high-speed refuge for buses, emergency vehicles and motorists willing to pay tolls.
However, given design compromises forced by lack of space, research indicates that the highway would also have more accidents and serious injuries. What is not clear at this point, because little or no study has been done of the particular design contemplated for MoPac (Loop 1), is just how many more accidents.
The state plans to add lanes along MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) near 35th Street in Central Austin. But because of space constraints – train tracks, power poles, resolute homeowners – some parts of the inside shoulder of the northbound lanes would be just 15 inches wide.
Officials working on the project say that the design, with the possible exception of an exceedingly tight stretch near Camp Mabry, meets acceptable standards (if not optimal recommendations) and that it is the best approach possible at this point for moving more people in Austin's northwest quadrant.
"If you did not have right-of-way constraints, would you design it differently?" asked Bob Daigh, Austin district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation. "You bet you would. But that's not the project we have to design. We have to live within those constraints."
The agency hopes to begin construction in late 2008 and have the lanes open two years after that.
The constraints exist only in the southern five miles of the project, between Town Lake and RM 2222, where Union Pacific railroad lines on the inside and a combination of enormous power poles and resolute homeowners on the outside mean the expansion must occur within the Transportation Department's existing right of way.
North of RM 2222, there is plenty of room for expansion, and the state will be able to lay down full 12-foot-wide lanes and spacious 10-foot-wide shoulders.
For that southern section, however, Daigh and his engineers have spent the past year or more trying to figure out how to cram in another lane, plus a buffer of a few feet between the new managed lane on the inside and the three lanes that would remain free. To do that, the design would narrow the regular lanes to 11 feet and have shoulders that typically would be 4 feet wide.
In the worst case — on the northbound lanes of a milelong stretch between West 35th and West 45th streets — the inside shoulder would be a scant 15 inches wide, the managed lane would be just 11 feet wide, and the normal 4-foot buffer separating it from the free lanes would be just 2 feet wide.
For cars using the managed lane in that area, the total side-to-side maneuvering space, including the lane itself, would be just over 14 feet.
The Texas Transportation Institute, in a 2004 study of accidents and designs on Dallas high-occupancy-vehicle lanes where there is typically no inside shoulder, recommended that cars on such segregated, high-speed lanes have 26 feet total side-to-side maneuvering space. That would allow cars to get around a stalled vehicle or one slowing down to move over into the regular lanes.
The "absolute minimum cross-section," the report says, should be 18 feet.
"Without an inside shoulder, when you looked at the crash reports (in Dallas), there just wasn't anywhere for someone to avoid the crashes," said Scott Cooner, an associate research engineer in the Texas Transportation Institute's Arlington office.
The study looked at accident rates on Interstate 35 and Interstate 635 before and after HOV lanes were added. After the HOV lanes opened in 1996 and 1997, injury accidents per million miles traveled over the next four years increased 41 percent on I-35 and 56 percent on I-635.
But as with so many questions about highway safety, any comparison to what might happen with MoPac's managed lanes is necessarily inexact. The state Transportation Department, to some degree because of experience with the Dallas HOV lanes, would build the Austin lanes differently.
On those two Dallas highways, the only separation between the HOV lane and the regular lanes is a double stripe painted on the pavement. Signs tell drivers not to cross those solid double stripes, that movement from the HOV lane to the inside regular lane is supposed to occur only every mile or so, when there is an access point indicated by a dashed line.
On MoPac, the managed lane would be segregated from the regular lanes by a series of closely spaced, flexible plastic pylons. At entry or exit points — and there would be only five, aside from the southern and northern ends — there would be a gap in the pylons of about 1,200 feet, about a quarter-mile, where people could make the lane change.
The reality in Dallas, according to the 2004 report, is that many people have ignored those signs, weaving in and out of the managed lane in efforts to gain advantage or (in the case of people driving alone who are illegally in the HOV lane) to avoid being caught and ticketed. Most of the accidents, Cooner said, occurred because of that rampant lane changing.
The fundamental problem is that cars in the HOV lanes at rush hour, by and large, are going 30 to 35 miles per hour faster than cars in the regular lanes, Cooner said. That speed differential makes lane changes more problematic than on a normal freeway, where everyone typically is traveling at the same speed.
That same problem would exist with the managed lanes on MoPac.
"If you're going to ask people to pay, they have to be going faster," Cooner said.
In fact, the plan with MoPac is to have "dynamic pricing" to ensure that speeds remain high on the managed lane. The tolls to drive in the lane would be significantly higher at peak traffic hours, set at whatever price it took to discourage enough drivers to keep traffic uncongested.
On State Route 91 in Southern California, for instance, the toll for a 10-mile stretch of managed lanes varies between $1.10 overnight and $9.50 between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays.
The expectation with MoPac is that the pylons, by limiting lane changes to the designated access points, will produce a far lower accident rate than Dallas has seen. In fact, the state Transportation Department is installing pylons on its next Dallas HOV project, on U.S. 75.
"I would certainly feel like your situation is set up to be more successful than what we've had in Dallas," Cooner said.
On the other hand, could funneling everyone who wants to enter or exit the managed lane into a quarter-mile section actually cause more accidents? Cooner said that's an ongoing debate in traffic design circles, one yet to be settled by reliable research.
The bible for U.S. highway design is called the green book, a thick manual published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
It says that on urban freeways, "through-traffic lanes should be 12 ft. wide." On freeways with at least six lanes, such as MoPac, the book says both shoulders should be at least 10 feet wide.
That won't be the case for certain sections of MoPac under the proposal. However, that is already the case near 35th and from Town Lake south to Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway). That section south of the river also has shoulders only a couple of feet wide.
The narrower lanes — 11 feet vs. 12 feet — are unlikely to cause any significant increase in accidents, several engineers say. But they could decrease capacity on the regular lanes, because drivers intuitively leave more space between their front bumper and the car in front when the lane is narrower.
The managed lanes could have a similar congesting effect on the inside regular lane, said Elizabeth Jones, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Nebraska.
"It's like being in that far right lane where people are entering and exiting," said Jones, a University of Texas graduate who specializes in transportation systems. "You get a little bit of turbulence there, so you don't get as much capacity."
Daigh says this $110 million project is a stopgap solution. A long-term approach, which might involve sinking MoPac belowground like Dallas' Central Expressway, would come much later.
"We cannot wait in this community 10 years to make some improvements" to MoPac, Daigh said. "This is not a silver bullet that will solve all of MoPac's problems. But it is a good step in the right direction."
Rep. Krusee Releases A Statement On His Lobbyist Paid Travel
"People can criticize if they want; they do it every day." said Krusee
Mike Krusee and his Special-Interest Travel Agents
Rep. Mike Krusee is one of the top legislative recipients of private travel gifts, according to Texans for Public Justice (TPJ): The report called "Making Connections: State Officials and their Special-Interest Travel Agents" gives some in-depth details on how Krusee lives large on toller cash.
Governor Rick “Mr. 39%” Perry was the top recipient of private travel gifts, receiving $205,460 worth. The report states this about Mike Krusee:
House Transportation Committee Chair Mike Krusee (R-Round Rock) was another lobby favorite—especially for highway-contractor lobbyists. One lobbyist who paid Krusee’s travel bills is HillCo’s J. McCartt. His clients included Trans-Texas Corridor contractor Fluor Corp. and PBS&J—an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects. McCartt flew Krusee to Washington in October 2005 to address a conference on public-private transportation ventures held by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Krusee stayed at the Marriott’s Renaissance Hotel.Researchers found Texas’ poor system for disclosing official travel is both overly complex and inadequate. “Sorting out who paid whom to fly where is like flying in the dark,” said Texans for Public Justice Director Craig McDonald. “Despite murky disclosure, it’s clear that some corporate-jet owners operate frequent-flier programs for our state officials.”
McCartt also flew Krusee to Las Vegas to deliver the keynote address at a PBS&J toll summit a week after the 2005 regular session ended. The following year federal prosecutors charged PBS&J’s former chief financial officer with running an embezzlement scheme to disguise the source of thousands of dollars in political contributions to U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-Florida). Around this time the Texas Department of Transportation blacklisted the firm for suspected overcharges stemming from the scandal. Yet the North Texas Tollway Authority awarded PBS&J a five-year contract to work on a joint project with TxDOT just three months later.
Representing the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), Locke Liddell lobbyist Brian Cassidy sent Krusee to New York City in December 2005 to attend an awards ceremony held by the Bond Buyer newspaper. The Bond Buyer gave CTRMA the Southwest region’s “Deal-of-the-Year” award for debt-financing a 12-mile stretch of toll road with $238 million in bonds. Krusee authored the 2003 legislation that authorized CTRMA to issue such bonds.
The report concludes that Texas’ crazy-quilt system for reporting official travel paid for by private interests is at once too lenient and too complex. It recommends reforms to provide greater transparency and better protect the public interest.
4/24/2007
Spanish corporation buys toll collection company with ties to Central Texas Tollers
Abengoa SA's IT unit Telvent GIT SA said its US arm Telvent Traffic North America Inc has agreed on the acquisition for an undisclosed sum of Texas-based Caseta Technologies which develops road toll charging technology.
Caseta Technologies is a privately held company established in 1995 by Founder, Glenn Deitiker. Glenn Deitiker is currently President & CTO of Caseta. Sources say that Deitiker has close ties with Mayor Will Wynn, who voted to toll roads we've already paid for in Austin. County records show that Glenn Deitiker resides in the same building as Mayor Wynn, the Austin City Lofts (800 W. 5th St.), just 5 floors away from Mayor Will Wynn's front door.
Caseta was selected for CTRMA's 183A toll system and the Caseta website list these Customers:
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), Austin, TX
TransCore
MTA Bridges & Tunnels (MTA B&T), New York, NY
New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA), Highland, New York
TransCore, one of Melinda Wheatley’s transportation clients received a multimillion dollar contract with TxDOT in Sept. 2005. The contract allows for the initial release of 500,000 eGo Plus RFID tags, branded locally as TxTag, with a total of 2 million tags over two years. Wheatley has landed multimillion dollar transportation contracts while keeping an intimate relationship with the House Transportation Chair, State Representative Mike Krusee.
LOCKING DOWN TOLL AUTHORITIES!
Just months ago, in an exclusive report called "Big Brother on the Highway", I first reported the fact that TxDOT was secretly capturing license plate info on all cars driving on Austin toll roads during the free drive test period. TxDOT (or it's contractors) could have sold that data to others since it is not against the law.
Chris Willis of KXAN picked up the story from this blog and did a great article. See the KXAN VIDEO HERE. KXAN also caught TxDOT's Gabriela Garcia red handed - lying and flip flopping about the facts.
Yesterday, HB 570 (by state Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio) passed the house. HB 570 would keep any toll agency in the state from selling or leasing license plate information (including data received from toll booth cameras) to private companies.
EVEN BOND BUYER SUPPORTS PRIVATE TOLL MORATORIUM!
Commentary
Let’s Please Put the P3 Pep Rally in Its Proper Perspective
by Robert Whalen, Executive Editor
The Bond Buyer
Much noise has been made over the past few years about how state and local governments throughout the United States are going gaga over the prospect of inking public-private partnerships as a means to finance infrastructure development and relinquish services traditionally operated by the public sector.
Private sector professionals laud the so-called P3 contracts that were negotiated for the rights to operate the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road, along with all of the plans in Texas that, until recently, seemed almost certain to happen. These dealmakers have quite an influential and powerful ally in the White House these days, as President Bush’s Department of Transportation and its Federal Highway Administration have become high-profile, high-decibel cheerleaders for the cause.
Indeed, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters just a few weeks ago stumped for P3s in Pennsylvania, which is considering how it might scare up some cash by leasing out its extensive tolled turnpike system. There are similar considerations taking place in Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey, to name just a few.
About six months ago, some of the sharpest minds in transportation infrastructure finance got together at a conference in Houston hosted by The Bond Buyer. Prospective P3 projects generated quite a buzz through the crowd of bankers, lawyers, advisers, investors, and public officials. One of the central themes articulated by speakers and attendees — including at least a few proud Texans — is that the Lone Star State is leading the way on P3 transactions with its ambitious road building agenda.
It turns out that Texas might be leading the nation in a different direction. State lawmakers there want to put a halt to the P3 gallop and have called for a broad-based moratorium on such contracts. Sound crazy? Take a deep breath. Think things over. It’s not a bad idea.
This is not the diatribe of a cynic, mind you. If it was, one might come up with some other meanings for P3: politicians pandering to profiteers; public purses pilfered; proverbial pots of pyrite; or piracy, plunder, and poppycock. But perhaps that’s too intemperate, and it’s off the intended point. Read the rest of the article HERE.
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