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Please note the
following corrections made to MMR email sent on Monday,
December 10th:
281 North to be
open by 2011 through 2012
The Rail District’s
minutes will be available after review/approval by the Rail
District Board on February 1st.
Internal
The
Austin-San Antonio Commuter Rail District Board met
in San Antonio last Friday (12/7) with
seven new or recently appointed members to hear about new
initiatives under discussion between TxDOT, Amtrak, and the
District regarding passenger rail service in the Corridor.
Members also drew for term lengths of staggered terms and
tended to other procedural matters.
Longtime
executive director of the Austin-area
Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO),
Michael Aulick, resigned last Friday (12/7) after 15 years
in that position. Mr. Aulick is also a longtime member of
the Corridor Council and has been a leader of efforts toward
regional planning and cooperation. He will be sorely missed,
but we wish him the best of luck and expect certain success
in whatever endeavor he may choose to pursue. See formal
resignation to Senator Watson
here.
Infrastructure
The National
Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission
last week released
“Vision for the
Future: U.S. Intercity Passenger Rail Network Through 2050,”
outlining $357.2 billion in investments needed to expand the
national passenger-rail system. Some of the proposed new
routes would require building new tracks; others would
operate over existing freight tracks. The plan calls for
additional freight-rail capacity.
The
bi-partisan working group has recommended that an intercity
passenger-rail program be included in the next federal
transportation authorization bill, funded through an 80/20
federal/state matching program. Details
here.
The San
Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization
overwhelmingly approved rates for the proposed U.S. 281
tollway last week, setting the stage to rebuild eight miles
of U.S. 281 into a tollway. A total of about $112 million in
public funds will subsidize the $476 million project.
Construction could start next summer and finish in stages
from 2011 through 2012.
TxDOT Executive
Director, Amadeo Saenz will be honored in a reception given
by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
the Austin Minority and Women Alliance and the U.S. Hispanic
Contractors Association on Wednesday, December 12 from 6 –
8pm at the Radisson Hotel Austin North. Master of
Ceremonies will be the former Senator, Gonzalo Barrientos.
For more information or to RSVP, contact AnaMaria Calderon
at 512-462-4304 or email
acalderon@gahcc.org.
KENS-TV in
San Antonio did a positive report last week
(12/6) on Austin-San Antonio Commuter Rail
featuring Schertz mayor Hal Baldwin, one of
the Rail District's newest board members, and a series of
"Man On The Street (IH-35)" interviews. To view the video,
go
here.
TxDOT is
seeking a long-term, strategic private sector partner to
develop plans for the design, financing, construction,
operation and maintenance of the I-69/Trans Texas Corridor
from South Texas to Northeast Texas.
TxDOT recently issued a request for detailed proposals from
the two private developer teams that submitted initial
proposals last year, Zachry American Infrastructure Inc.
and a consortium led by Cintra. Proposals are due March 5,
with a TxDOT recommendation next spring.
Heard It Here
First: A group of Christian ministers say the Old Testament's book of
Isaiah predicts I-35 will be the United States' "Highway of
Holiness," and they have organized a series of prayer vigils
along the route, according to press reports. Isaiah 35:8
reads: "And a highway will be there; it will be called the
Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will
be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go
about on it." "Everything we do, we want to make sure
scripture is backing us up," said
Austin's
PromiseLand Church Pastor Charlie Lujan. "I-35 being Isaiah
35, it just matched." Details
here.
Economic Development
Kyle's
city council has approved a bid to start work on an
extension of FM 1626. The extension will go through a
205-acre tract that will soon house a new hospital and 1
million sq ft. of retail.
The Austin
Community College Board of Trustees approved a petition
calling for the annexation of the entire Round Rock
ISD into the ACC tax district. If Round Rock citizens
vote to become part of ACC's taxing district, the community
college plans to build a $300 million campus there.
SVTC
Technologies of San Jose, CA, will operate the Advanced
Technology Development Facility, which studies computer chip
technologies for chip makers. ATDF is a subsidiary of the
industry consortium Sematech. The deal arrives months after
Sematech decided to move some operations to Albany, N.Y.,
where state leaders offered $300 million in incentives.
Georgetown's
biotechnology and life science commercialization center
opened for business on Nov 29. The non-profit center,
designed to support biotechnology and life-sciences firms
with proven technology at the post-incubation
commercialization stage, has three companies with operations
underway. Quantum Logic Devices, Radix BioSolutions and
Orthopeutics LP share the center's wet lab and clean room.
The city of
Austin is among the top 50 office markets in the world
with the fastest growing rents, according to research from
CB Richard Ellis. With a 15.9 % increase in office rental
rates in the last year, Austin ranks 40th on the
list. The top three cities with the most rent growth are
Singapore (82.6&) Moscow (65.4%) and Mumbai (55%).
Communities
If you
haven’t picked out your Christmas tree yet, you might want
to have a family outing to cut down your own or pick one
that has been grown by a local tree farm. Details
here.
Austin’s 37th
Street Lights is located on 37th between Guadalupe &
Speedway. The spectacular lights lining this block and a
portion of Cedar St are best viewed on foot. In the past,
the intricate and funky displays have included spider webs,
DNA strands, and a variation on Van Gogh's Starry Night. Dec
14-Jan 1: Sun-Thur from dark-11, Fri & Sat till 1 a.m.
Zilker Park in Austin is located on
2201 Barton Springs Rd. The
165-foot Tree of Lights remains lit thru Dec 31. Dec 8-24 is
the Trail of Lights--thousands of bulbs illuminate a mile of
holiday scenes; Dec 8-19 from 7-10 (pedestrians only) & Dec
20-24 from 7-11; free. Shuttle buses from City Coliseum
parking lot on Bouldin; $1.
Walk or ride through Georgetown’s Courthouse Square
trail of lights December 6 through 31 from dusk to 10 p.m.
Tour six historic homes December 14 and 15 from 1 to 5
(purchase tickets at History and Visitor Center, 101 W.
Seventh St., $8). Call 800-436-8696 for more information.
Bastrop’s courthouse
and downtown are lit up for the holidays. Many fine
Victorian houses are located in Bastrop and are
decorated for the holidays. The Historic Tour of Homes on
December 13 is sponsored by the County Museum. Tickets are
$8. Call 512-321-2419 for information.
See the downtown Christmas tree and the courthouse and plaza
ablaze with lights in New Braunfels,
plus local museums
will be decked out in Christmas finery. Don't miss Glow
Fest.
Texas' only Winter Holiday Balloon Festival December 12-14,
when more than twenty balloons fly over the town at dawn;
from 5 to 7 a.m. the balloons alight and glow at Prince
Solms Park. Call the Chamber of Commerce at 830-625-2385 for
more information.
Round Rock’s
Annual Christmas Family Night celebration will be on Friday,
December 14th. Mayor Nyle Maxwell will kickoff
the festivities and Santa will make an appearance on a
horse-drawn sleigh.
“The
thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts
a discussion.”
- G.K. Chesterton |