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Contents
Extension of I-27/Ports to Plains Corridor
An additional cost saving option is associated with the primarily east-west, recently designated, Interstate 14 which includes a proposed segment that overlaps the Ports-to-Plains Corridor between Midland-Odessa and San Angelo, presenting an opportunity for that segment to be jointly designated as Interstate 14 and Interstate 27
Has your organization considered the resolution supporting the Extension of Interstate 27?
Have you individually added your name supporting the Resolution?
Please share with your Texas Friends!
Please click here to add your personal name to the Resolution in Support of Expansion on Interstate 27
Please click here to downland a draft organizational resolution for consideration by local governments and non-profit organizations. (Word Document)
Mark your Calendars to join us for the
20th Anniversary Reunion Ports-to-Plains Alliance Conference
September 12-14, 2017 -- Lubbock, TX!
Beginning At Mile One~ Founders Panel
Tuesday, September 13 at 3:00PM
The founders of Ports-to-Plains discuss their vision for this project, how they overcame obstacles, and their advice for future success!
SEE FULL CONFERENCE AGENDA HERE
ONLINE REGISTRATION AND ROOM DISCOUNTS END THURSDAY 8/31!
REGISTER TODAY!
NAFTA Helps Small Business Manufacturers Grow
Nearly two decades ago, Drew Greenblatt purchased a small manufacturing business in Baltimore, Maryland. Since then, he has nearly doubled the number of employees at Marlin Steel Wire Products. Over that same period, he doubled the firm’s sales. Then he doubled that. Then he doubled it again.
In large measure, Greenblatt’s success and Marlin Steel’s growth have been fueled by exporting the company’s wire baskets, wire forms and sheet metal products to customers abroad, with more than a quarter of the company’s revenue now stemming from international sales. Looking at it another way, seven of the Marlin Steel’s 29 workers’ jobs are directly tied to the company’s exports.
Greenblatt would like to see that number continue to grow.
From a business perspective, the foremost goal of U.S. trade policy should be to tear down barriers so companies like mine can start exporting to new markets … Free trade agreements have helped us accomplish this in the past and will help our business grow in the future.
No trade deal, Greenblatt adds, has been more critical to the company’s success than the North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as NAFTA.
Read on...
Canadian Rotarians Highway to Mexico program continues..
For the past 16 years, the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie has been sending older model ambulances, fire trucks, and rescue trucks to Mazatlan and its surrounding areas.
The eight-day journey is called Highway to Mexico and covers nearly 5,000 kilometers. In April, the club collaborated with other rotary clubs to send a convoy of four ambulances, two rescue trucks and one fire truck to Mexican cities clearly in need.
“Prior to our delivery for Culiacan with a population of a million they had four ambulances. So imagine needing an ambulance, calling 911 and hearing that ‘we’ve dispatched paramedics, they’re now cycling towards you’ because paramedics down there work on bicycles,” said Kris Podolski, a Rotarian member and one of the drivers for this year’s delivery.
By having the paramedics go on bicycles to a scene first, they can not only get there faster but can then send word if an ambulance is truly needed. Therefore, it doesn’t waste necessary resources, explained Podolski.
“… That is how big of a shortage they have in a city of one million people,” he said.
Podolski noted the lack of fire hydrants in the cities is also troublesome.
“In Mazatlan, a community of I believe approximately 400,000 people, I was told they have 13 fire hydrants. So there is not even access to fire hydrant resources to help fight the fires. So that is why they do need the pump trucks and the water trucks,” said Podolski.
“Of the vehicles delivered, over 85% of them are still on the road today. Most of them are more than 25 years old, which goes to show how well they’re looked after”, said Allan Kuechle, co-ordinator of Highway to Mexico. He added people in Mazatlan are proud to be able to have the vehicles.
Read on...
White House: Infrastructure Plan to Come After Congress Handles Tax Reform
A top aide to President Trump told reporters Aug 15 that the administration plans to first pursue a tax reform plan in Congress this autumn, then turn to the long-promised infrastructure investment plan.
Gary Cohn, director of the president's National Economic Council, said the infrastructure plan would "come on the heels" of a tax overhaul, Politico reported. "We hope it's this year," he added.
While the president and others in the administration at times this year said they were close to introducing a project investment proposal for Congress to consider, the administration has so far offered only a few details and Congress has found its agenda clogged after numerous attempts to pass health care legislation.
Cohn's remarks to reporters, made at New York's Trump Tower where the president held a press conference after signing an executive order to speed environmental reviews and permitting for planned projects, indicated that the infrastructure plan might be pushed into 2018.
According to Politico, Cohn also said:
"We need to get taxes done between now and Thanksgiving. We need to get infrastructure going. As soon [as] tax comes out of the House and goes to the Senate, we'll put infrastructure in the House."
Read on...
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