Has the time come to reconsider the way we pay for transportation? Should the Highway Trust Fund and its fuel tax revenue continue as the main source of funding for the federal transportation program?

For Californias high-speed rail boosters, including their chief cheerleader, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the month of May was a month from hell.

First came a scathing report by the California Legislatures fiscal watchdog, the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office (LAO), questioning the rail authoritys unrealistic cost estimates and its decision to build the first $5.5 billion segment in the sparsely populated Central Valley between Borden and Corcoran.

Is there a way to salvage something of the latest Obama administration disappointment --Gov. Rick Scotts rejection of federal funding for a Tampa-to-Orlando rail line? A possible answer lies in a proposal advanced by U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has reached a cooperative agreement with Union Pacific and Amtrak that permits the release of a $1.1 billion federal high-speed rail grant to the state of Illinois to fund passenger rail improvements between Chicago and St. Louis.