#roadways

Highways and interstates are hotspots for cadmium, lead, and zinc accumulation from passing vehicles. Studies, including pond and soil analyses in the greater Pittsburgh region, demonstrate the high concentration of industrial, and traffic related trace metals in roadside runoff.

Caitlin Sievers at Arizona Mirror:

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday blocked Republicans from renaming the Loop 202 freeway in the East Valley after the slain conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.  This veto comes just weeks after the Democrat vetoed another GOP-backed bill that would have created a specialty license plate in honor of Kirk. That proposal would have given $17 from every license plate purchased to the nonprofit branch of TPUSA, the controversial right-wing organization that Kirk founded in 2012. Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college campus in Utah last year.  Senate Bill 1010, sponsored by Senate President Warren Petersen, would have required a “reasonable amount” of new signage to be erected for the new “Charlie Kirk Loop 202” but would have retained other regional names for the roadway, including Red Mountain Freeway, Santan Freeway and the Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway.

Hobbs’s veto letter for SB1010 was nearly identical to the one she issued March 6 for Senate Bill 1439, the Kirk license plate bill.  “Charlie Kirk’s assassination is tragic and a horrifying act of violence,” she wrote. “In America, we resolve our political differences at the ballot box. No matter who it targets, political violence puts us all in harm’s way and damages our sacred democratic institutions.” In a press release issued shortly after Hobbs announced her veto, Petersen chastised her.  “Charlie Kirk called Arizona home and built a national movement centered on free speech, civic engagement, and American values,” Petersen said in a statement. “He inspired millions of Americans, especially young people, to get involved in their communities and participate in the political process.” Petersen accused Hobbs of violating a precedent of bipartisan support for naming roadways after political figures regardless of their party. 

Another good move from Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D): She vetoes a bill that would have renamed the Loop 202 after the late right-wing hatemonger and TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.

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