Water, Oil spill:
*Lawmakers advance oil spill legislation -- The Assembly approved a wide-ranging bill addressing oil spill response, AB2547, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The bill, co-authored by most of the Bay Area's Assembly delegation, is aimed at improving response and cleanup through investments in better technology, mutual aid agreements between responding organizations, tighter standards for response personnel and mandatory containment response for accidents in foggy conditions. SJ Mercury 5/30/08
Quest to fight mussels leaves some boats landlocked -- By 2 p.m. Saturday, inspectors at Anderson Lake had climbed into and crawled under about 56 boats. They sent about 13 away after finding water in the hull or the motor. The inspections started May 23, when county officials initiated the special searches to keep the invasive mussels out of county waters. Boats like the one owned by Mason and Shaffer will be in quarantine for five days. The couple can bring it back to county waters after it dries out. SJ Mercury 6/1/08
Emissions:
Los Angeles' carbon footprint is a light one -- sort of -- In a report to be released today on energy use in residential buildings and highway transportation, Brookings ranks Los Angeles as greener than New York, with its network of subways; more virtuous than Portland, Ore., with its smartgrowth greenbelt, and, yes, even better than San Francisco, its eco-vain rival. LA Times 5/29/08
State must lead the way, once again, on car emissions -- There are two things Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should do to make sure California continues its rich tradition of being a global leader. First, the governor should call on the members of the air board to reinstate the requirement that auto manufactures market 25,000 zero emission vehicles by 2014. Second, he should support legislation that would provide incentives for any individual who buys a fuel-efficient vehicle. SJ Mercury 6/1/08
Mass transit:
*'Large shifts in behavior' during commutes create new problems -- As gas prices climb menacingly toward $5 a gallon, Silicon Valley residents are changing the ways they commute - but some of the new solutions are creating problems of their own. Transit ridership is up across the Bay Area, but riders say parking at Caltrain and BART lots is so jammed that you have to arrive before 6:30 a.m. to find a free spot. The problem is more acute on Caltrain, where one in 15 riders wants to bring a bike on board, according to a Caltrain survey. SJ Mercury 6/2/08
Trains gaining as sensible alternative to cars -- Ridership is booming on three intrastate Amtrak lines that are primarily managed and paid for by the state: the Capitol Corridor from the Bay Area to Sacramento and Auburn, the San Joaquin from Oakland to Bakersfield, and the Pacific Surfliner from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. In the past nine years, the Capitol Corridor has increased the number of trains running in each direction on weekdays from six to 16, with four additional trains each way in the past four years. SF Chronicle 6/1/08
*S.F. Muni panel agrees system needs more money -- One year ago, Mayor Gavin Newsom convened a panel of transportation and financial experts to hammer out a plan to find more money for the city's struggling Municipal Railway transit system. Today, with the group's work nearly complete, the most politically plausible recommendations that emerged fall short of what's needed to make significant service improvements anytime soon. The agency still needs an additional $60 million to $70 million a year to close a structural deficit that officials say has hampered their ability to satisfy the public's desire for a more dependable transit system, officials say. SF Chronicle 6/2/08
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