RALEIGH, N.C.  – Gov. Bev Perdue today appointed John Collett, Leigh Harvey McNairy, Major General Hugh R. Overholt, Wanda J. Proffitt, Charles D. Watts Jr. and Ralph Womble to the N.C. Board of Transportation.

Collett is the chairman of Collett & Associates, a commercial real estate development business in Charlotte.  He has held that position since 1987.  Collett received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University.

McNairy serves as secretary for the board of directors of the N.C. Eastern Regional Partnership for Economic Development.  She also is chair of the committee for Strategic Planning and a member of the Committee for Regional Logistics.  From 2003 to 2005, McNairy served as the N.C. Special Assistant for Military Issues, specifically dealing with BRAC federal legislation.  She was a founding member of the East Carolina University Women’s Roundtable, member of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Center and director of the UNC-Chapel Hill Friends of the Library.  McNairy received her bachelor’s degree from the UNC-Chapel Hill and her Master’s degree in teaching from Duke University.

Overholt is an attorney for Ward & Smith in New Bern and is a retired major general of the U.S. Army.  While in the Army, he served in numerous leadership roles, including judge advocate general.  Overholt is a member of the N.C. Bar and of the N.C. Governor’s Commission on Military Affairs.  He received his bachelor’s degree and his juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas.

Womble is a retired vice president from Leggett & Platt in Winston-Salem.  He has served on numerous boards, including the N.C. School of the Arts Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, the Winston-Salem Alliance and the Winston-Salem Foundation Board of Directors.  Womble received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his master’s degree in business administration from the Wake Forest University Babcock School of Management.

Watts was the senior vice president of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in Durham from 1998 to 2007.  He also was an attorney for the Law Office of James D. Williams from 1997 to 1998.  Watts was past board chair of the N.C. Museum of Life and Science, past corporate board member of the YMCA of the Triangle and past board member of the UNC School of Nursing Foundation.  He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from UNC-Chapel Hill, his master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University and his juris doctorate from the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Proffitt is the president and owner of Carolina Mountain Realty, Inc. in Burnsville.  She is director of the Better Business Bureau, past commissioner of the N.C. Real Estate Commission and past director of the N.C. Association of Realtors.  Proffitt received the Distinguished Service Award from Mayland Community College in 2008 and was named Realtor of the Year in 2001 from the Yancey-Mitchell Board of Realtors.

President Barack Obama, along with Vice President Biden and Secretary LaHood, announced a new U.S. push today to transform travel in America, creating high-speed rail lines from city to city, reducing dependence on cars and planes and spurring economic development. 

The President released a strategic plan outlining his vision for high speed rail in America. The plan identifies $8 billion provided in the ARRA and $1 billion a year for five years requested in the federal budget as a down payment to jump-start a potential world-class passenger rail system and sets the direction of transportation policy for the future.  The strategic plan will be followed by detailed guidance for state and local applicants. By late summer, the Federal Railroad Administration will begin awarding the first round of grants.

Additional funding for long-term planning and development is expected from legislation authorizing federal surface transportation programs.

The report formalizes the identification of ten high-speed rail corridors as potential recipients of federal funding. Those lines are: California, Pacific Northwest, South Central, Gulf Coast, Chicago Hub Network, Florida, Southeast, Keystone, Empire and Northern New England. Also, opportunities exist for the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston to compete for funds to improve the nation’s only existing high-speed rail service.

With a boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Obama administration launched a competitive process to drive local communities to develop their high-speed rail potential. The President, Vice President and Secretary of Transportation are urging states and local communities to put together plans for a network of 100 mile to 600 mile corridors, which will compete for the federal dollars. The merit-driven process will result in federal grants as soon as late summer 2009.

President Obama’s vision for high-speed rail mirrors that of President Eisenhower, the father of the Interstate highway system, which revolutionized the way Americans traveled. Now, high-speed rail has the potential to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, lower harmful carbon emissions, foster new economic development and give travelers more choices when it comes to moving around the country.

“My high-speed rail proposal will lead to innovations that change the way we travel in America.  We must start developing clean, energy-efficient transportation that will define our regions for centuries to come,” said President Obama.  “A major new high-speed rail line will generate many thousands of construction jobs over several years, as well as permanent jobs for rail employees and increased economic activity in the destinations these trains serve.  High-speed rail is long-overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways.”

“Today, we see clearly how Recovery Act funds and the Department of Transportation are building the platform for a brighter economic future – they’re creating jobs and making life better for communities everywhere,” said Vice President Biden.  “Everyone knows railways are the best way to connect communities to each other, and as a daily rail commuter for over 35 years, this announcement is near and dear to my heart. Investing in a high-speed rail system will lower our dependence on foreign oil and the bill for a tank of gas; loosen the congestion suffocating our highways and skyways; and significantly reduce the damage we do to our planet.”

“President Obama’s vision of robust, high-speed rail service offers Americans the kind of travel options that throughout our history have contributed to economic growth and enhanced quality of life,” said Secretary LaHood.  “We simply can’t build the economy of the future on the transportation networks of the past.”

The plan identifies two types of projects for funding. One would create new corridors for world-class high-speed rail like the kind found in Europe and Japan. Another would involve making train service along existing rail lines incrementally faster.

Under the plan, high-speed rail development will advance along three funding tracks:

• Individual Projects.   Providing grants to complete individual projects that are “ready to go” with completed environmental and preliminary engineering work – with an emphasis on near term job creation.  Eligible projects include acquisition, construction of or improvements to infrastructure, facilities and equipment. 
   
• Corridor programs.  Developing entire phases or geographic sections of high-speed rail corridors that have completed corridor plans, environmental documentation and have a prioritized list of projects to help meet the corridor objectives.  
• Planning.  Entering into cooperative agreements for planning activities (including development of corridor plans and State Rail Plans) using non-American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) appropriations funds.  This third approach is intended to help establish a structured mechanism and funding stream for future corridor development activities.
   

WASHINGTON  – President Barack Obama says two rare phrases describe how his administration is spending billions in stimulus money on roads: “ahead of schedule” and “under budget.”
 
Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood planned Monday to highlight the administration’s 2,000th project funded through the $48.1 billion allocated for transportation infrastructure in the stimulus package. Administration aides note the six-weeks-old law is already producing jobs nationwide, including the day’s highlighted project in hard-hit Kalamazoo County, Mich.

That $68 million project planned to widen an interchange from four lanes to six along Interstate 94 in Portage, Mich.
 
“The Recovery Act is being implemented with speed, transparency and accountability,” Vice President Joe Biden said in remarks prepared for delivery during a visit to the department. “Don’t take my word for it – just look at what’s happening today. We have the 2,000th transportation project now under way – that’s going to help create jobs, make it easier for folks to get to the jobs they have and improve our nation’s infrastructure all at the same time.”
  
Obama won quick passage of his $787 billion economic stimulus plan shortly after taking office using the argument that the plan would put Americans to work on public projects. Since then, its popularity has waned; thus, administration officials have been highlighting quick progress and efficiency.
 
Transportation department officials say that because so many contractors want a share of stimulus money, competition is driving down costs by about 15 percent to 20 percent. For instance, officials said Colorado’s first five projects were 12 percent lower than anticipated and Oregon’s are 30 percent lower.

“Just 41 days ago we announced funding for the first transportation project under (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and today we’re approving the 2,000th project,” Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery. “I am proud to utter the two rarest phrases in the English language – projects are being approved ahead of schedule, and they are coming in under budget.”
 
The president and vice president planned to visit the department late morning.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Bev Perdue was joined Thursday by Transportation Secretary Gene Conti and other elected officials in Camden County at a ceremonial groundbreaking today for one of North Carolina’s first highway improvement projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The event was held at the George M. Wood Memorial Park on U.S. 158 in Camden County near the Camden/Pasquotank County line.

The $6.1 million project will widen a congested 2.4-mile stretch of U.S. 158 from east of the Pasquotank River to north of Havenwood Drive in Elizabeth City from two to four lanes. The highway is known locally as the Camden Causeway and serves as the main link between Elizabeth City and Camden and Currituck counties.

“This recovery project will make a significant contribution to Camden County and this region now and in the future,” Perdue said.  “It will quickly put people to work and have a significant economic impact.  Improving U.S. 158 helps northeastern North Carolina prepare for future growth and ensures this region is ready when new opportunities arise.”

Last week, Secretary Conti awarded the project contract to low-bidder RPC Contracting Inc. of nearby Kitty Hawk. Subcontractor Sanford Contractors Inc., based out of the Lee County city by the same name, will conduct the project’s bridgework and anticipates purchasing sand, stone and concrete locally, as well as utilizing area hardware stores, fuel suppliers and food establishments. The project will be completed by Aug. 1, 2011.

“Projects of this magnitude offer an immediate economic benefit to local businesses and contractors, which is good news in these economic times,” Secretary Conti said. “We anticipate all areas of North Carolina will see similar benefits as projects begin in those communities.”

The U.S. 158 widening project is one of 11 economic recovery projects awarded to contract in March. The projects are located in Alamance, Brunswick, Camden, Currituck, Forsyth/Stokes, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Scotland and Stanly counties.  It is also one of the $466 million first phase recovery infrastructure projects that are expected to create and sustain 14,000 jobs across the state.

The bids on these projects came in more than 19 percent, or nearly $15.8 million, below NCDOT estimates. Work on all contracts can start as soon as April 27, with the exception of the Currituck County bridge replacement project, which will begin no sooner than July 1 due to an environmental moratorium.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, every $1 million spent on transportation creates 30 jobs, and according to the construction industry, every dollar invested in transportation trickles down into the economy six times.

For more information about recovery funding for infrastructure improvements in North Carolina, as well as other NCDOT projects and activities, visit www.ncdot.gov.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – Sales taxes or vehicle registration fees could be raised in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties to pay for public transportation projects in legislation that cleared a House panel.
 
The bill approved Wednesday by the House Transportation Committee would allow halfpenny sales-tax increases in five urban counties and quarter-cent increases in 94 other counties if approved by local voters. Mecklenburg County already has an extra half-cent on the sales tax for transportation and couldn’t raise it further.
 
Proceeds could be used as matching money for a proposed state fund for public transit grants. The bill is supported by environmental and transportation advocates as a way to reduce congestion.

The measure has a long way to go. It next goes to the House Finance Committee.

A majority of North Carolinians favor laws to ban cell phone use while driving, even though more than half of mobile phone users report doing this regularly, according to the latest Elon University Poll. Respondents to the poll also supported a statewide ban on smoking in public places. The poll, conducted Feb. 22-26, surveyed 758 North Carolina residents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. 

Driving and cell phones
Cell phones are ubiquitous; 88 percent of the people surveyed own one. Eighty percent of residents believe the use of cell phones while driving decreases highway safety, but at the same time 54 percent of those cell phone users use a phone while they’re behind the wheel. Of the people who drive while on the phone, 56 percent do not use a hands-free device. Two out of three (65 percent) people say driving while on the phone should be illegal except in the case of an emergency.

“Though they recognize that it is dangerous and confess to doing it, citizens apparently won’t stop driving and talking unless a change in the law forces them to do so,” said Hunter Bacot, director of the Elon University Poll.

Anti-smoking laws
The poll asked respondents a series of questions related to laws that limit smoking in public places and the workplace. Eighty-seven percent agreed that employees have the right to work in a smoke-free environment and 82 percent believe that second-hand smoke is a health threat. A strong majority support local or state laws that ban smoking in all public places, including public buildings, offices, restaurants and bars. Seventy percent support local laws and 67 percent support state laws.

But when asked specifically whether all restaurants and bars should ban smoking, only 51 percent were in favor. And for all places of business, respondents expressed a preference for business action, over government regulation. Sixty-one percent said it should be the individual business owner, not the government, who decides whether smoking should be allowed in a place of business. But 63 percent of those people also believed that business owners have a responsibility to provide a smoke-free workplace.

“As the health implications of tobacco become more salient among citizens, support for anti-smoking policies continues to intensify,” noted Bacot. “I suspect this may be the year that we see North Carolina go smokeless,” Bacot said.

Other issues: Transportation
While 51 percent of North Carolinians oppose collecting tolls to fund statewide transportation projects, 77 percent would like to see commuter railways developed in urban areas and 69 percent of citizens support regional rail systems. Sixty-seven percent of respondents support a state-wide bond referendum to raise money for transportation projects, while 57 percent of residents support giving local governments the option of using a half-cent sales tax to finance local projects. Residents oppose a fee based on the number of miles they drive annually (74%) and increasing the cost of the driver’s license renewal fee (55%).

Other issues: Death penalty
When surveyed about their opinions on the death penalty, residents gravitated toward options other than execution. In an open-ended question about the most appropriate punishment for first-degree murder, 48 percent of respondents identified the death penalty as the most appropriate punishment, while 39 percent reported life in prison a more fitting punishment. Across two questions asking about punishments for people found guilty of first-degree murder, 72 percent of North Carolinians supported life in prison without the possibility of parole and, in a separate question, 58 percent of respondents indicated that they supported the death penalty. When queried about the current moratorium on executions in North Carolina, residents were mixed in their evaluations as 45 percent disagreed with the death penalty moratorium, while 47 percent of North Carolinians agreed with the moratorium.

Other issues: Annexation
Though 41 percent of residents opposed the issue of annexation, indicating they disagreed or strongly disagreed with city councils expanding their city limits by bringing in nearby areas or residents, a similar number (40%) had not given the annexation process much consideration. On questions about whether there should be a waiting period for annexation and to gauge support for citizen initiation of the annexation process, there was similar lack of familiarity as nearly 40 percent of people had not given the process much consideration.
In regard to other statewide issues:
Healthcare:
56 percent support a national health insurance plan
52 percent are satisfied with their current healthcare
50 percent prefer a universal health insurance program
 
Oil Drilling:
66 percent support drilling for oil off the North Carolina coast

From the Winston-Salem Journal
The 2009 General Assembly convenes today in Raleigh amid what may be North Carolina’s biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. If ever North Carolinians needed wisdom and good judgment from their legislators, this is the time.

Various estimates put the current year budget shortfall in the range of $1.2 billion to $3 billion. But this budget is no longer the responsibility of legislators. It is up to Gov. Bev Perdue, the manager of the budget, to make sure that spending and income balance by June 30, the end of the budget year.

The challenge for legislators is to craft a 2009-11 budget, which will take effect July 1, that is balanced despite the economic downturn. North Carolinians must demand that the top priorities of public education, essential medical care for our most vulnerable citizens and public safety are protected.

But the budget is not the only challenge facing legislators. The year opens with a wide-ranging legislative agenda.

The health-insurance plan for state employees and teachers is in serious trouble, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in the red. Legislators can patch that hole with reserve funds, but they must redesign the system to fix the underlying problems at hand or else the problem will recur.

Similarly, the state’s mental-health system is so severely deficient that the federal government has refused to pay for some patients at state hospitals. While the fix is primarily a job for Perdue’s administration, legislators must assure that necessary changes to law are made.

The same holds true for the state’s troubled probation and parole system. It needs revamping in aspects ranging from technology upgrades to management practices. The legislature cannot allow such poor management of this system because public safety is very much at risk.

Many North Carolinians complain that the state’s city-annexation laws need changes. They are right to a degree. The state’s municipalities have offered a reasonable and practical series of reforms that will deal with some citizen concerns without abandoning the state’s very successful approach to urban sprawl.

Although a reform plan for insuring beach property may not sound of importance this far inland, it is. North Carolina’s beach-insurance plan is, in the words of the state insurance commissioner, “a ticking time bomb.” If it explodes, insurance companies and customers will be harmed statewide. Legislators must deal with this highly politicized issue so that the next coastal hurricane doesn’t send everyone’s insurance premiums skyward.

Finally, Perdue has fulfilled a promise at the N.C. Department of Transportation. She has told her board members that they can’t decide which projects get built. But now the legislature needs to encode that policy in state law. Otherwise, the next governor can go back to the bad old practices.

Each of these issues poses major challenges to our state legislators. If there is ever a year the people need them to meet those challenges, this is it.

Barack Obama’s official 2008 presidential campaign Web site lists the revitalization of transportation infrastructure, improved public transportation and transportation planning, and safeguarding transportation from terrorism as primary transportation goals.

Among the details:
•Add new jobs through new national infrastructure investment that would infuse $60 billion over 10 years to provide infrastructure financing.
•Direct the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to restore morale and improve working conditions and operations.
•Appoint an FAA administrator who “will not play politics” with the safety of American travelers.
• Reform Amtrak to improve accountability and fight for Amtrak funding so the nation has safe and reliable transportation options.
•Renew the federal government‘s commitment to high-speed rail so the nation’s transportation infrastructure supports, not hinders, economic growth.
•Examine how to bring mass transportation to areas in which three-fourths of welfare recipients are poorly served by public transportation and low-income workers spend up to 36 percent of their income on transportation.
•Create effective public transportation systems and modernize the aging urban public transportation infrastructure.
•Create greater public transit usage incentives by reforming the tax code to make benefits for driving and public transit or ride-sharing equal.
•Re-evaluate the funding process to ensure residents can walk, bicycle and have access to alternatives to auto transportation.
•Require states to plan for energy conservation as a condition to receive federal transportation dollars.
•Develop a meaningful database for homeland security planning to replace the current one that lists 77,069 potential U.S. targets, including petting zoos and popcorn factories.
•Bolster airport security and safeguard mass transportation.

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama intends to name GOP Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois as his transportation secretary, a Democratic official said Wednesday, adding a second Republican to his Cabinet-in-the-making.

The official disclosed the selection of LaHood after the president-elect announced former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado to head the Interior Department.
 
LaHood, 63, is stepping down from his congressional seat after 14 years in Congress from the area around Peoria.

He has been at the forefront of efforts to make the floor of the House less partisan. Respected for his ability to preside, he was in the chair during most of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment a decade ago.

His selection was applauded by the Laborers’ International Union of North America, with General President Terry O’Sullivan saying the Republican “has been a friend to our union when it comes to construction and transportation issues.”

The official who disclosed LaHood’s selection as transportation secretary did so on condition of anonymity because the Obama team did not authorize the disclosure.

LaHood, Vilsack and Salazar must receive Senate confirmation before taking their posts.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whom Obama asked to remain in office, is the other Republican tapped so far for the incoming Cabinet.
 
The selections came as Obama worked on completing his Cabinet, possibly in advance of a year-end holiday vacation in Hawaii with his family.

He has yet to announce choices for the Labor Department, senior intelligence positions or the Office of U.S. Trade Representative. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., had been penciled in as trade representative, but he announced on Tuesday he intends to remain in the House.

In addition, numerous sub-Cabinet posts remain unfilled.

Knowledgeable officials say Dr. Gail Rosseau, a Chicago neurosurgeon, is among the final contenders to become surgeon general. These officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss the appointment.

Obama introduced Vilsack and Salazar at a now-familiar ritual, a news conference where the president-elect makes his announcement, then takes a few questions from reporters.

Asked for the second day about a political scandal roiling his home state of Illinois, he said, “It’s a little bit frustrating” to not talk in detail about the investigation into charges that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich schemed to name Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate based on who offered the best political or financial deal. Blagojevich was arrested last week by the FBI.

Neither Obama nor anyone on his team has been accused of any wrongdoing in the probe. But the president-elect has directed transition aides to detail who on his side had contact, and what kind, with Blagojevich or his staff.

“There’s been a lot of speculation in the press that I would love to correct immediately,” Obama said in response to a question. He said his team is “abiding by the request of the U.S. attorney” to not release the results of the internal investigation, already compiled, until next week. “It’s not going to be that long,” Obama said.

For the Agriculture and Interior departments – which oversee federal farming and lands policies – Obama said his approach will be to “serve not big agribusiness or Washington influence peddlers but family farmers and the American people.”

Vilsack is be the fourth former presidential rival to join Obama’s administration. Others include Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been tapped for secretary of state, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, selected to head the Commerce Department.

Salazar was elected to the Senate in 2004, the same year as Obama.

His appointment means Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will name a successor to serve until the 2010 elections. Several Democrats pointed to Rep. John Salazar, the senator’s brother, as a leading possibility to take the seat.

Salazar’s office issued a statement this week praising his brother’s selection but making no mention of the possibility of succeeding him in the Senate.