WASHINGTON (AP) — With an August deadline looming, the House voted Tuesday to temporarily patch over a multibillion-dollar pothole in federal highway and transit programs while ducking the issue of how to put them on a sound financial footing for the long term. The action cobbles together $10.8 billion by using pension tax changes, customs fees and money from a fund to repair leaking underground fuel storage tanks to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund, which pays for transportation programs nationwide, solvent through May 2015. The vote was 367 to 55. A similar bill is pending in the Senate. Without congressional action, the Transportation Department says that by the first week in August the fund will no longer have enough money to cover promised aid to states, and the government will begin to stretch out payments. Congress has kept the highway trust fund teetering on the edge of bankruptcy since 2008 through a series of temporary fixes because lawmakers have been unable to find a politically acceptable long-term funding plan.
The most obvious solution would be to raise the federal 18. 4 cents a gallon gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon diesel tax, which haven't been increased in over 20 years. But lawmakers are reluctant to raise taxes in an election year — especially Republicans for whom a vote in favor of any tax increase could trigger a backlash from their party's base. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MERIDEN — The percentage of hours logged by local workers on the two city high school renovation projects has not changed significantly in the last two months, but there is still reason for optimism, at least one city official said. Both the Platt and Maloney high school projects are short of their project labor agreement goals for hiring. The agreement between the city and construction labor organizations set goals that 30 percent of the total hours on each project would be worked by city residents, 10 percent by minorities, 5 percent by women, and 5 percent by veterans. Also included in the agreement is a stipulation that hiring be done through union referrals, which some argued discouraged participation by non-union contractors. In the May report, which covered the start of the project in June 2013 to March 22, 2014, the percentage of hours worked by Meriden residents at Maloney totaled just over 17 percent. Two months later, that figure grew to 19 percent, according to the most recent update given to the School Building Committee. The most recent report covers the start of the project through May 24. There has been a similar climb in the hours worked by minorities, which reached 17.29 percent. Women worked 1.7 percent of the total and veterans worked 1.6 percent of the total hours. Both figures are similar to the May numbers. Although the agreement set a local hiring goal of 30 percent of the total hours, the committee noted that 26 of the 84 workers currently on the project are from Meriden, which equates to 30.95 percent. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Six to 10 volunteers each day travel to the park to work on the project, including several retired members of Local 478 of the Operating Engineers. They have the central pond of the memorial mostly excavated, and the rough shape of the 4-acre site is set. The memorial is on schedule to have trees planted later this summer, setting the project up for the completion of a second phase next year with stone pavers set in an irregular loop around the pond and an entrance pavilion, along with other finishing touches. And as the volunteers transform the site from an empty field into a reflective centerpiece at a park undergoing a renaissance, two daily observers are overseeing what will become a memorial to their children. Jon Miller, owner of OnSite Services, has been managing the excavation and construction so far at the memorial site. His son, Army Sgt. Jason Lantieri, died in Iraq in October 2007. Miller, of Clinton, said he and his wife, Kathy, initially committed to helping on the project with their business for a few days, but the project was so important for them they decided to continue as construction mangers. "It's not just Jason, it's everyone," Miller said. "It's a huge loss to the state for an awful lot of people. Every single service man and woman, they're all special people. This is a wonderful way of honoring them." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Torrington voters will decide $51M sewer project
TORRINGTON >> The city has received approval from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for a $51.3 million water treatment facility upgrade. Now it will be up to Torrington voters to decide whether to borrow the money for it. Water Pollution Control Authority Administrator Ray Drew said Tuesday that the project will address aging infrastructure to meet federal regulations. The upgrade is the largest ever for the facility on Bogue Road, Drew said, which was built in 1939 and contains 163 miles of sanitary sewer lines. The last major upgrade occurred in 1968. The plans for the facility were first made public in February. “This is good for the community,” Drew said. “This is good for economic development. It’s good to protect the environment.” The improvements will help the facility meet more stringent environmental mandates. The EPA has asked facilities to decrease the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen levels in wastewater discharges. Phosphorus levels can be damaging to local, fresh water ecosystems, as the metal provides a nutrient for algie that take oxygen from the water, leaving less for wildlife and hindering local populations. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE