Category – Columns

Columns
“Amber Mist” by James Meehan
Latest posts in Columns
Talking Transportation: The Final Boarding Call
Jim Cameron revisits the airlines of a bygone era, from Mohawk (‘Mad Men,’ anyone?) and Braniff to Hooters Air, when flying was “fun and cheap.”
Talking Transportation: Your Next Car Will Be a Luxury
This week, Jim Cameron takes a look at fuel-efficiency rollbacks, a fatal highway work-zone crash, tariff-driven transit costs and Brightline’s bankruptcy filing.
Talking Transportation: A Rumble Mumble Grumble
As one Connecticut mayor pushes back against plans for centerline rumble strips, columnist Jim Cameron weighs the safety benefits against noise concerns.
A View from My Porch: A Most Consequential Election, Part 1
Columnist Tom Gotowka lays out what he believes is at stake in the upcoming midterm elections.
Talking Transportation: What Happens When Gasoline Costs $10 a Gallon?
Columnist Jim Cameron revisits predictions made almost 20 years ago to see how they’ve held up.
Talking Transportation: The Museum That Owns a Railroad
The museum made its first passenger runs in 1996. It will celebrate with special excursions on Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27.
A View from My Porch: America’s Quarter Millennium – The Human Cost of Independence
Beyond deaths on the battlefield and in captivity, disease claimed many American lives. Smallpox prompted General Washington to take extraordinary action.
Talking Transportation: The For-Profit Railroad
Should Connecticut’s commuter railroads be privatized?
On the Food Scene: Favorite Recipes for Fresh Vegetables
Connecticut food writer Stephen Fries shares recipes that celebrate fresh produce.
Talking Transportation: The Traffic Calming Illusion
Why do we speed through other neighborhoods but demand calm in our own? Jim surveys the engineering tricks used to enforce what signs alone can’t.
The Movie Man: A New Day for Spider-Man
LymeLine’s movie reviewer says superhero movies “belong on the big screen.” Read his latest argument for taking a break from summer in an air-conditioned movie theater.
Talking Transportation: The High-Speed Railroad Never Built … 120 Years Ago
A 10-hour trip between Chicago and New York seemed brilliant in 1905. But when money ran out, the railroad never made it out of Indiana.
On the Food Scene: Favorite Recipes for the Grill
Connecticut food writer Stephen Fries shares grilling recipes for bacon-wrapped asparagus, Buffalo chicken kebabs, ribeye steaks and an elevated burger in this “taste of summer.”
Talking Transportation: Is it Time to Tax Electric Vehicles?
The hypothetical “average driver” in CT pays about $209 a year in gas tax while EV drivers pay nothing, according to Jim Cameron. Is that fair?
Talking Transportation: P.T. Barnum’s Bridgeport Was No Circus
Barnum’s genius wasn’t just in filling circus tents. The showman and Bridgeport mayor also understood logistics: how to move goods, people and opportunity efficiently.
The Movie Man: Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ is worth the wait
Christopher Nolan’s epic delivers memorable performances and breathtaking practical effects, making it well worth seeing in IMAX.
Talking Transportation: Hot & Bothered – Summer’s Transportation Meltdown
Extreme heat and wildfire smoke are disrupting trains, planes and roads, revealing how vulnerable Connecticut’s transportation systems are to increasingly severe summer conditions.
Talking Transportation: Airlines’ Windowless Window Seats
A pair of lawsuits, one of which got the go-ahead to proceed last week, claim passengers were duped when they paid for window seats and ended up with no windows.
The Movie Man: ‘Toy Story 5’ Tackles Screen Time With Pixar’s Signature Heart
By turning screen time into its central conflict, the latest Toy Story sequel gives Woody and friends a mission for the new generation – and all of us.
Talking Transportation: Two Railroad Giants at War – And Riders Pay the Price
Amid rising rail fares and suffering service, Jim Cameron says state leaders bear responsibility for not adequately funding Connecticut’s transportation system.













