Water:
Soaring gas prices may sink boating plans -- As prices continue to skyrocket, motorists are not the only ones cringing at the pump. Personal boaters are also feeling the pinch of high fuel prices, and it is keeping some indoors, most closer to home, and has left others to ride with friends. Some have said, though, drought conditions would have a bigger impact on boating than gas prices. CC Times 5/23/08
Boating industry hits economy's troubled seas -- From the lazy byways of the Delta to the shores of Lake Tahoe, a soggy economy and stratospheric fuel prices are hurting Northern California's boating industry. With Memorial Day weekend launching the summer boating season, boat sales are down, and marina operators say they're noticing a drop in business. Sacramento Bee 5/25/08
Ports:
Investigators find gaps in port security program -- A Department of Homeland Security program to strengthen port security has gaps that terrorists could exploit to smuggle weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers, congressional investigators have found. The report by the Government Accountability Office, being released Tuesday, assesses the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a federal program established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to deter a potential terrorist strike via cargo passing through 326 of the nation's airports, seaports and designated land borders. AP 5/27/08
Air travel:
Airlines raise fares $60 for round trip -- Airlines ratcheted up the pressure on fliers before the holiday weekend, significantly raising ticket prices to offset runaway fuel costs. The three biggest carriers each boosted most domestic fares by up to $60 round trip, while budget airline AirTran Airways raised its leisure fares by $30 round trip. AP 5/24/08
Virgin America grows as rivals cut back -- With the rest of the industry staggering under the burden of rising costs - American Airlines saying this week it will cut domestic capacity by 12 percent and shed jobs in the fourth quarter - here's the view from Burlingame: "I would rather be growing in this environment than shrinking in this environment," said C. David Cush, 48, the president and chief executive officer of Virgin America, who arrived in December after 20 years of senior management experience at American Airlines. SF Chronicle 5/24/08
Emissions:
San Carlos grapples with emissions -- Adopting a plan to fight climate change is one thing, but agreeing on whether it even exists has proved a tougher challenge for the city council in San Carlos, where one council member recently called global warming "a total lie." At issue was a choice to sign the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which commits a city to the Kyoto Protocol goals of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 - or to sign an alternative letter that sets no specific benchmarks and suggests many actions the city may choose to take over time. SJ Mercury 5/26/08
Infrastructure:
Report shows how millions in Stanislaus road tax might be spent -- A draft environmental document provides clues on dozens of potential street, bridge and traffic signal projects if Stanislaus County voters approve a road tax in November. Some officials representing the county and its nine cities are making good on a February pledge to pinpoint how $700 million from a bump in sales tax would be used in specific transportation projects during the next two decades. Modesto Bee 5/27/08
Shipping:
Pricey diesel fuel drives up trucking companies' costs -- The trucking companies that make up the American Trucking Associationscan at least buy their fuel wholesale, and they're also in a better position to impose a fuel surcharge to cover their higher costs than truckers who own and operate their own rigs. As a result, independent drivers are getting slammed by higher diesel costs, said Todd Spencer of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association near Kansas City, Mo. San Diego Union Tribune 5/24/08
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