Transportation Daily News August 4

Transit and infrastructure:

 

*Environmental groups undecided on high-speed rail plan -- The Sierra Club and the Planning and Conservation League have not yet taken a position on Proposition 1, which would authorize $9.95 billion in state borrowing to jump-start the 800-mile rail. But environmentalists are still seething over the selection of relatively undeveloped Pacheco Pass as the route to connect the Central Valley to the Bay Area. They favor the more urban Altamont Pass to the north because they say it would induce less sprawl.  Sacramento Bee 8/4/08

 

Proposed high-speed rail route divisive -- California bullet-train enthusiasts risk losing support from key environmental groups because of a dispute over the train's route. Unless it is resolved soon, the conflict could pose problems for a high-speed rail bond measure on the November ballot. Fresno Bee 8/2/08

 

*Mayor accused of going back on transit deal -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom broke a promise to withdraw a measure from the November ballot that would change the makeup of the panel that oversees the city's transit system, a steaming-mad city supervisor charged on Friday. Supervisor Jake McGoldrick in May proposed a ballot measure to strip the mayor of some of his control over the Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates the city's programs for transit, parking enforcement and traffic control. SF Chronicle 8/2/08

 

Guardino to lead BART tax push for VTA -- The Valley Transportation Authority will vote Thursday to put a new sales tax on the November ballot, and the campaign will be headed by a familiar face - Carl Guardino. The president and chief executive of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group said Friday that he has agreed to lead the effort to approve a one-eighth-cent increase in the sales tax to cover the cost of operating BART, if and when it is extended from Fremont to San Jose. SJ Mercury 8/4/08

 

Shipping and water:

 

*States, Enviros Warn EPA Over Ship, Aircraft Emissions -- Formal letters warning of impending lawsuits over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's failure to address greenhouse gas emissions from ocean-going ships and aircraft have been filed by four state attorneys general, three state agencies, New York City and a coalition of conservation groups.  The conservation groups' notice of intent to sue was filed Thursday by the public interest law firm Earthjustice on behalf of Oceana, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity.  Environmental News Service 8/3/08

 

*Shipping Costs Start to Crimp Globalization -- The world economy has become so integrated that shoppers find relatively few T-shirts and sneakers in Wal-Mart and Target carrying a “Made in the U.S.A.” label. But globalization may be losing some of the inexorable economic power it had for much of the past quarter-century, even as it faces fresh challenges as a political ideology. Cheap oil, the lubricant of quick, inexpensive transportation links across the world, may not return anytime soon, upsetting the logic of diffuse global supply chains that treat geography as a footnote in the pursuit of lower wages. NY Times 8/3/08

 

Cosco Busan pilot’s trial to start in fall -- he trial of Petaluma pilot John Cota and shipping company Fleet Management on charges stemming from the Cosco Busan oil spill might begin 10 days after the one-year anniversary of the environmental disaster. SF Examiner 8/4/08

 

Air travel and tourism:

 

Lifting of travel ban a relief to HIV-positive immigrants and travelers -- On Wednesday, President Bush signed a $48 billion global AIDS relief bill that also repealed a ban on HIV-positive immigrants and tourists entering the country. Bush's repeal does not immediately end the restrictions for those with HIV and AIDS. Attached to his bill battling the global AIDS epidemic, the language takes away the congressional ban and returns authority to federal public health officials. Inside Bay Area 8/1/08