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2-8-08
Legislature
 Director
presents budget request to JFAC
ITD Director Pam Lowe outlined the department’s
Fiscal Year 2009 budget proposal and requested authorization
for an additional $134 million in GARVEE bonds when
she and department leaders met with the Legislature’s
Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee Thursday.
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Employees
Governor affirms priorities for compensation package
One
of the biggest frustrations during my six years in
Congress was the way in which the federal government
danced around the fact that it promises far more than
it can deliver. Whether it's making the promised Payments
in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) to our rural counties or paying
an aging populations Social Security benefits, the
bottom line is that the government's fast-growing
unfunded liability already is burdening future generations
of our citizens.
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Transportation
issues
 Chairman,
director field questions from public TV audience
Idaho citizens from Sandpoint to Chubbuck took advantage
of new access to transportation when they posed
questions to Transportation Board Chairman Darrell
Manning and ITD Director Pam Lowe recently. Manning
and Lowe addressed a variety of transportation-related
topics when they appeared on a special one-hour
segment of Idaho Public Television’s Dialogue
Jan. 24.
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Highways
D-2 crews chip away at U.S. 12 avalanche
District
2 maintenance crews made steady progress this week
to remove debris from four avalanches that prompted
closure of U.S. 12 between Lowell and Lolo Pass
last week. Efforts to reopen the route have been
complicated by the threat of substantial new snow
from a system that is forecast to move through the
region beginning tonight and continuing through
the weekend.
Continue
 2008
– the winter of our discontent
Severe winter weather, snowfall and high winds,
continued to make travel difficult throughout much
of Idaho this week. The Idaho Transportation Department’s
511 Traveler Services system regularly indicated
as many as a dozen highways, from Lewiston and Moscow
to Montpelier were closed because of hazardous conditions.
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Employees
 Highway
group honors two ITD employees
The
Idaho Highway Users Inc. honored two ITD employees
with Motorvator Awards for outstanding contributions
to Idaho’s highway transportation system during
a luncheon the group hosted for state legislators
Tuesday in Boise. Jim Smith, Lewiston area foreman
for District 2, was named Maintenance Person of
the Year and Carl Horn, traffic services foreman
for District 4, was awarded Safety Person of the
Year honor.
Continue
 Advice
offered on how to stop procrastination
It
may seem like no matter how hard you try, you always
end up doing everything
except what you really need to accomplish. Procrastination
is a major struggle for many people. They find themselves
perpetually stressed because they are always running
behind and trying to do things at the last minute.
Breaking out of this cycle is possible.
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Research
Proposals accepted for transportation-related projects
ITD’s Research Program is soliciting proposals
for research, development, and/or technology transfer
projects. Proposals can address any subject area
where research or related activities will benefit
the department. Proposals that address the department's
strategic goals and/or key department initiatives
will be given preference.
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GARVEE
Jason Brinkman chosen to lead GARVEE Program
Jason Brinkman, who has served recently as acting
manager of Idaho's GARVEE Program, was named to
the position on a permanent basis this week. He
replaces Nestor Fernandez. In making the announcement,
Deputy Director Scott Stokes asked ITD employees
to give Brinkman and the GARVEE program their continued
support.
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Highway
Safety
 New
standards announced for child safety seats
The
best child safety seat may not offer much protection
if not properly installed. U.S. Transportation Secretary
Mary E. Peters announced this week a new five-star government
rating system that ranks child safety seats on how easy
they are to install and use. Seven out of 10 child safety
seats are either the wrong size for the child or seriously
misused, according to National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) data.
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District
6
Design for what you need, not what you want
A few months ago, ITD started a new initiative called
Practical Design, which can be defined as simply designing
what is actually needed for a project rather than over
designing it. An example is our designing a 65 mph road
for only that speed, not for a higher speed.
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