Earlier in December, Seattle's Sound Transit Board approved a Long Range Plan as a part of its final meeting of the year.
Stephen Fesler reports on recent, significant actions taken by the Sound Transit Board. Included among the decisions in its final meeting of 2014, Sound Transit adopted a Long Range Plan, after a year of planning and outreach. According to Fesler, "the Board finally adopted a final version that will guide Sound Transit’s investments in new services and facilities over the next 20 years." Fesler's coverage includes a discussion of the many amendments required to see the plan through, as well as some of the political background and local impacts of the plan.
The West Seattle Blog also provided a live blog with background on the day of the plan's approval, and the Seattle Subway advocacy group posted on the Seattle Transit Blog with details of how community engagement influenced outcomes of the adopted plan.
The post by Seattle Subway notes that a lot of the work in planning the future of Sound Transit will have to wait until the system planning phase, including decisions about routes.
The full plan [pdf] includes a system map that shows potential light rail extensions, potential rail extensions, and potential commuter rail extensions.
FULL STORY: Sound Transit Board Adopts Updated Long Range Plan and Approves 2015 Budget

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal
The Trump administration is revoking federal support for renewable energy, but demand for new projects continues unabated.

Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification
The new electric trains are running faster and more reliably, leading to strong ridership growth on the Bay Area rail system.

Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation
Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service