I never cease to be entertained by the Mercury's shrill exclamation of crisis! And with a smart news staff, you are actually capable of doing some research, rather than reprinting press releases. But "Road to Ruin", "Massive Cuts", "pumping the brakes - hard", and over dramatic word choices like "looming", "scrambling" is a clear demonstration you are drinking too much coffee. $16 million is 5-6% of the Transportation budget, hardly rising to a level of CRISIS! I'm fine with the rest of the article, but chill out, please.