Free Republic

Some controversy is swirling around the new Vikings Stadium, as some are saying the project could be millions of dollars over budget. One member of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority is speaking out on the issue and facing opposition from other members. Duane Benson has served as the MSFA treasurer since the group's inception back in 2012, however, he is preparing to leave the group in light of recent turmoil and says the $1.1 billion project's finances are anything but in order at the moment. As the groundbreaking project continues to break the bank, Benson says there is a problem--perhaps...

At 8:10 a.m. on Monday, April 27, the Metropolitan Council released the startling news that the price tag of the proposed Southwest light-rail line had increased by $341 million to $2 billion. Met Council Chair Adam Duininck said in a news release at the time that “all options are on the table,” including not building the line at all. E-mails among Duininck, Metro Transit officials and other political players — including Gov. Mark Dayton — obtained through a Minnesota Data Practices Act request reflect the behind-the-scenes positioning in the days leading to the announcement. The 231 pages of e-mails don’t...

Carbon dioxide levels have reached its highest throughout human history, recent figures from a US monitoring station show. The level in our atmosphere is now at a record high 400 parts per million, prompting renewed warnings of the ‘huge risks’ of climate change. The shocking figures, which have risen from 270ppm before the Industrial Revolution, is a result of human activity such as burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The preliminary figures have come from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) monitoring station in Hawaii. The greenhouse gas has not been at such high levels for around three...

<p>You can't blame New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie if he feels some satisfaction over news out of the MTA.</p> <p>A new report by Inspector General Barry Kluger found that the transit agency's major development projects -- the Second Avenue subway, the LIRR link and the Fulton Transit Center -- are five years late and $2 billion over budget.</p>

The projected opening date of the Capitol Visitor Center has been pushed back again, from September to summer 2007, because of continued construction problems. The $584 million project is already more than two years behind schedule and $200 million over budget, but architect Alan Hantman told a Senate subcommittee last week that problems with the fire protection system, gift shops and utility tunnel will cause more delays. The new tentative time frame of July 2007 appears to be reasonable, said officials with the Government Accountability Office. The wall stone installation is well behind schedule, the fire alarm system has been...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the state budget into law during a signing ceremony in the Capitol rotunda Friday, a day before the start of the new fiscal year. It was the first on-time budget since 2000. The $131 billion spending plan for the 2006-07 fiscal year uses a nearly $8 billion tax windfall to pay down state debts, dramatically boost spending on education, and infuse new funds into social programs. The governor used his line-item veto powers to strip $175.5 million in state spending from the budget.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is expected to scrap the costly signature design for the Bay Bridge's new eastern span and will instead recommend building a simple skyway, sources close to the negotiations said Thursday. The shift away from a single-tower suspension span to a viaduct, similar in concept to the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges, is expected to be announced today at a press conference in San Francisco, sources in state and local government said on condition they not be identified. The decision to go with a skyway brings the state all the way back to the original design for...

Bridge-building experts advised state transportation officials in April that the cost of the single-tower suspension span would soar past Caltrans estimates and urged them to cut costs by considering a different design. But the state ignored that advice until last week, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to reject the sole $1.4 billion bid on the suspension span and look at redesigning the bridge to save as much as $500 million, or seek new bids.