Richard Webner’s article about Travis County’s passenger rail study put cost front and center.
The cost of this proposed rail line would be $13.5 billion for 90 miles. That includes contingencies, professional services, rolling stock operations and maintenance — not just construction. That detail is important.
This would serve Austin and San Antonio, so it makes sense that it would dwarf current highway projects solely in San Antonio, but maybe comparing highway projects in both cities would be more appropriate.
When you combine San Antonio’s and Austin’s current Interstate 35 expansion projects — I-35 North Expansion and Capital Express, respectively — that’s $8.6 billion for 51 miles. That’s just for roads.
It’s just as, if not more, expensive to build highways as passenger rail.
The problem, as Webner characterizes it, is not the expense. It’s that we keep dragging our feet.
Build passenger rail now.
It continues: mudslinging, gaslighting political opponents’ words and massive infusions of out-of-state contributions to local candidates’ war chests.
The U.S. Senate race in Texas could result in the Democrats gaining control of the Senate, putting a major roadblock to the final two years of the Trump administration’s agenda.
The choice is Attorney General Ken Paxton with clear moral and ethical shortcomings, yet supporting the Trump agenda, versus self-professed Christian and Presbyterian seminarian state Rep. James Talarico with a record of supporting left-wing causes, such as allowing access to abortion services and opposing the prohibition of a Texas state income tax.
This is about governance — electing a conservative versus a liberal senator to represent Texas in Washington, D. C., for the next six years.
I know what kind of country I want to live in.
Republicans have been in control of Texas since 1995. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton have been in control of Texas since January 2015. That is almost 12 years.
After all that governing, Texas continues to be in a mess. The state is more and more unaffordable. Our public school districts are deeply in debt. Our school teachers are greatly underpaid. Teacher recruitment is in turmoil. Our taxes keep going up.
Suddenly, these leaders have created dynamic solutions to make our lives better. After all these years, they finally have the affordability key.
We need a change of direction in our methods of governing.