After a half-decade of frustrating twists, turns and closures on the western approaches to the Bay Bridge, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stood atop the structure Friday to announce seismic reconstruction would be completed seven months early. Motorists will be able to drive on the straight structure today and won't face anything more than a barely discernible lane shift before the project is expected to end in January. CC Times 4/12/08
California, where water and recreation often mix, is struggling to devise a plan to defend its lakes and rivers from invasions by tiny quagga and zebra mussels, which threaten to wreak havoc on the environment and water-delivery systems. An East Bay lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require lake and reservoir operators to develop plans to prevent boaters from inadvertently infecting new water bodies in California with non-native mussels. Inside Bay Area 4/13/08
The transit system's board agreed Thursday to look into selectively relaxing its food ban on cars for passengers who would buy BART-licensed "sippy" cups that are designed to prevent spills. Some board members expressed reservations about relaxing the ban because they fear that some riders would spill coffee and sodas even from spill-resistant cups, adding to rider complaints about dirty seat covers and floors. CC Times 4/10/08
Continued growth in ridership will help insulate BART from budget cuts that other public agencies may be forced to consider this year because of the poor economy, managers of the transit system said Thursday. No shortages are foreseen in BART's preliminary budget of $672 million, up 6.8 percent from the $629 million budget for the fiscal year ending June 30. The train system budget predicts a 2.5 percent increase in daily weekday riders, from 348,000 in the current fiscal year to 364,000 in the new fiscal year. CC Times 4/10/08
Businesses must cough up more money to help the Bay Area combat a shortfall in construction or repairs needed to upgrade the region's decaying public infrastructure, a new poll released Friday suggests. The region faces a "serious" or "very serious" problem in keeping up with the demand for a broad array of public works projects, according to 87 percent of the respondents polled by the Bay Area Council recently. The poll found that 64 percent to 71 percent of those surveyed favor improvements to roads, highways, public transit, hospitals, schools, water supply and recreational facilities. Inside Bay Area 4/10/08
As state officials prepare to spray the San Francisco Bay area with pesticides to fight an invasive moth, politicians are starting to worry not only about the aerial endeavor's potential impacts on human health, but on local commerce. Public uncertainty could be enough to slow summer tourism, drive residents to leave town and cause real estate agents to initiate conversations with their clients about whether they want to buy property in the proposed spray zone, local government officials say. Fresno Bee 4/11/08
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