Making Seattle's Waterfront Vision a Reality
Once the seismically vulnerable Alaskan Way Viaduct is demolished, Seattle can move forward on transforming its waterfront. Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Also in our State & Local roundup: Michigan's Amtrak service is getting a major upgrade thanks to Wisconsin. Plus, Utah's local agencies have a lot of surplus military weapons.
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SEATTLE, Washington: Leaders in Seattle have a vision for the city’s downtown waterfront once the seismically-vulnerable Alaskan Way Viaduct is removed in two years. They also think they have a plan to pay for it all. But as Lynn Thompson of The Seattle Times writes:
Before it ever gets built, though, they have to define and refine hundreds of details and — perhaps the biggest challenge of all — convince everyone that they can realize such an ambitious vision.
Take an in-depth look at the 26-block-long waterfront plan.
DALLAS, Texas: A newly released study by five universities shows that while the shale-gas boom has contaminated local groundwater in the Marcellus formation in Pennsylvania and the Barnett formation in North Texas, hydraulic fracturing isn’t “directly to blame,” Randy Lee Loftis of The Dallas Morning News writes. “Instead, gas found in water wells appeared to have leaked from defective casing and cementing in gas wells, meant to protect groundwater; or from gas formations not linked to zones where fracking took place.”
Michigan's Amtrak passenger-rail service to and from Chicago is about to get a major upgrade, thanks to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (Image via Michigan Department of Transportation)
LANSING, Michigan: After Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker canceled a high-speed rail improvement project in his state, the next-generation rail cars that were ordered by the Badger State will be bought by Michigan instead as Gary Heinlein of The Detroit News reports. The rail cars, designed for 110-mph travel will cut Amtrak travel times between Detroit and Chicago by two hours.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah: State agencies in the Beehive State have “acquired a lot of surplus military weapons and gear” through the federal government’s 1033 surplus weapons and equipment program, Nate Carlisle of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. “The Utah Highway Patrol alone possess 250 M-14 rifles. There were 412 state troopers at the end of 2012, according to state data.”
JACKSON, Mississippi: Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant fears that the federal government will resettle unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in his state against his will. Jeff Amy of The Associated Press assesses the governor’s distrust in President Obama’s administration and says Bryant, again, “has called for federal assurances against his fears of something that no federal authority has actually proposed.”