June - 2018

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The Unavoidable Folly of Making Humans Train Self-Driving Cars

UPDATE Friday, June 22: Police in Tempe, Arizona, say the safety driver of an Uber autonomous test vehicle was streaming TV on her phone right up until a fatal crash. In a detailed report, police obtained records from Hulu which show an episode of The Voice was playing on Rafaela Vasquez’s account. County prosecutors will decide if she will face charges, which could include vehicle manslaughter. Uber says it’s cooperating with investigations, and conducting an internal safety

The Craziest Thing About Elon Musk's 'Express Loop' Is the Price

The $1 billion construction estimate is a fraction of what subterranean transit projects cost. The Boring Company, the tunneling venture Tesla CEO Elon Musk started in 2016 out of his personal frustration with surface-level gridlock, has made a significant step towards evolving beyond billionaire-passion project: The company has been selected to build and operate an 18-mile, 12-minute rapid transit connection between Chicago’s downtown Loop and O’Hare International Airport, a

How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A team of political activists huddled at a Hardee’s one rainy Saturday, wolfing down a breakfast of biscuits and gravy. Then they descended on Antioch, a quiet Nashville suburb, armed with iPads full of voter data and a fiery script. The group, the local chapter for Americans for Prosperity, which is financed by the oil billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch to advance conservative causes, fanned out and began strategically knocking on doors. Their targe

If streetlights and cars could talk: Firms demonstrate 'smart infrastructure' tech in downto

ST. LOUIS • What if streetlights could detect a car accident and send a message to travelers to avoid the intersection? Two startups operating in St. Louis say it could be a possibility with a new technology they demonstrated Monday night that allowed electric vehicles to connect through a wireless system built into some city streetlights on Market Street. The developers, Labyrinth Technologies and Electric Cab of North America, say it could be important step in building the

Smart corridor will allow cars to talk to one another

The fiber-optic cable is buried alongside the freeway from Dublin to East Liberty in Logan County, yet few if any of the nearly 50,000 motorists passing by every day notice. In coming years, the 35-mile stretch of Route 33 — known as the Smart Mobility Corridor — promises to bring safety innovations and, eventually, driverless vehicles. “You really have the ultimate playground for the testing of autonomous vehicles,” said Eric Phillips, executive director of the Union County

FAA's Oversight of Air Evacuation Procedures

Memorandum Date: June 18, 2018 Subject: INFORMATION: Audit Announcement | FAA’s Oversight of Aircraft Evacuation Procedures | Project No. 18A3006A000 Federal Aviation Administration From: Matthew E. Hampton Assistant Inspector General for Aviation Audits To: Director, Audit and Evaluation, FAA The effective evacuation of civil aircraft is a critical component of saving lives in the event of an incident. The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) standards for evacuating pass

Domino's introduces 'Paving for Pizza' infrastructure effort

Domino's Pizza on Monday announced a new initiative that will allow consumers to submit their town for potential grants to fix potholes. The project, called "Paving for Pizza," will allow individuals to nominate their town on a website by ZIP code. "Have you ever hit a pothole and instantly cringed? We know that feeling is heightened when you're bringing home a carryout order from your local Domino's store,” Domino's USA President Russell Weiner said in a statement. “We don't

Sen. Susan Collins Says ‘It’s Hard to See’ Comprehensive Infrastructure Bill This Year

WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top transportation funding leader expressed pessimism over whether her chamber would advance a long-term infrastructure measure this year, a sentiment shared by the Trump White House. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) emphasized that transportation funding bills the Senate considered last year, as well as this year, are “down payments on the infrastructure reform that the administration has advanced.” “And, but, whether there will be a comprehensive infra

House Backs $3 Billion Bill to Boost Ports, Dams, Harbors

The Water Resources Development Act would authorize a host of projects nationwide. WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday night approved a nearly $3 billion bill to improve the nation's ports, dams and harbors, protect against floods, restore shorelines and support other water-related projects. The Water Resources Development Act would authorize a host of projects nationwide, including nearly $1 billion for a massive project to stem coastal erosion in Galveston, Texas, and

Feds approve record funding for Savannah harbor deepening

WASHINGTON — A key federal agency on Monday announced plans to set aside a record amount of funding for the Savannah harbor deepening project following an intense lobbying campaign by the state and its allies. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it plans to spend nearly $35 million on the roughly $1 billion project in its 2018 budget work plan. That’s in addition to the $50 million Congress had carved out for Savannah in its March government spending package, on its own a h

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