NATIONAL NEWS

DC Streetsblog: Defining the ‘Public’ in Public-Private Partnerships
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2010/01/22/public-private-partnerships/
...Thinking broadly, Dubuque's type of public-private partnership would be a natural fit for the National Infrastructure Bank that is attracting new momentum as part of the Capitol Hill job-creation push. If a city and a company need help financing a project that promises to be the first step in an urban revitalization, that funding should be easier to get than it is now -- from private as well as public sources.

WSJ:The Great Recession Continues
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703837004575013592466508822.html
...We must have programs that create some degree of confidence that America can be rebuilt, and jobs can be created, especially since consumer spending will likely decline as a part of GDP for many years. The unemployed have to be supported. But it would be better if the financial support employed labor in rational, long-term, major infrastructure projects, processed by a newly created National Infrastructure Bank.

STATE NEWS

Washington Post: Metro suffers from lack of infrastructure, not just leadership
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/01/19/DI2010011903376.html
Post columnist Robert McCartney will be online to discuss his column about Metros shortcomings and the challenges facing its new leadership.

Pittsburgh Business Times: What's the condition of Pennsylvania's bridges?
http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2010/01/18/daily46.html
For the first time in a decade, Pennsylvania's bridges are actually getting healthier. That is, the number of structurally deficient bridges has decreased from a high of 6,035 in 2008 to 5,646, according to the latest rankings from the state's Department of Transportation.