Transporation Daily News 12/3

As California lawmakers take up task of implementing the law which calls for the state to reverse emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, they are haggling over what the 1990 benchmark even is and who will be asked to make emission cuts. No one really knows how much that reduction needs to be, although air regulators estimate emissions will have to be reduced by 174 million metric tons, the equivalent of the annual emissions from 43 coal-fired plants. Contra Costa Times 12/3/07

 

The federal and state governments moved separately Friday to recover damage costs from the owners of the Chinese cargo ship that spilled a huge amount of thick oil when it hit the Bay Bridge last month. SJ Mercury 12/1/07

 

Environmental watchdogs say marine spill responders must react more like local firefighters, who roll on every call. Instead, state law foists cleanup responsibilities on shipping companies, who need to be at the site of the spill within six hours with equipment adequate to "address the ... vessel's reasonable worst case spill volume."  Critics of current policy assert that had first responders arrived with adequate containment boom, the modest 58,000-gallon spill would never have had the impact it did. CC Times 12/2/07

 

Next week, Contra Costa County Supervisor Liz Kniss plans to ask the county health department to come up with a new rule requiring all fast-food chain restaurants in the county to display prominently how many calories are in each menu item. The rule, which Kniss plans to model after one in New York City, would likely dictate that chains with 15 or more outlets put the calorie count next to the prices on their menus. CC Times 12/2/07

 

Government pressure tightened dramatically Friday against the sailors and shipping company involved in the Nov. 7 San Francisco Bay oil spill, as state regulators suspended the license of the ship's pilot and federal prosecutors threatened to confiscate and sell the huge vessel to pay spill cleanup costs. Government pressure tightened dramatically Friday against the sailors and shipping company involved in the Nov. 7 San Francisco Bay oil spill, as state regulators suspended the license of the ship's pilot and federal prosecutors threatened to confiscate and sell the huge vessel to pay spill cleanup costs. Capt. John Cota of Petaluma  spoke publicly for the first time about the incident, saying the investigation is not over yet, and noting that nobody had spoken with the crew of the ship yet about the accident. SJ Mercury 12/2/07

 

A portrait of the craftsmen who create new cable cars for the city of San Francisco reveals that a new car should be released sometime next year and that the lifetime of the cars are 100 years. SF Chronicle 12/2/07

 

Amtrak is reporting impressive ridership gains as oil is pushing $100 a barrel and airport delays hit an all-time high last summer. Rail freight demands, meanwhile, are rising fast, suggesting joint improvements with passenger rail.  Amidst a context of public support for a nationally subsidized railway network, in California, a $2 billion rail bond issue that voters approved in 1990 sparked work on three major corridors (Central Valley, San Diego-Los Angeles-Santa Barbara and Sacramento-San Jose). Hartford Courant 12/2/07

 

A brief overview of the status of Muni buses in SF depicts them as slow, late, and unreliable, but economically friendly. Wired 12/3/07

 

The U.S. Coast Guard starting tomorrow will launch its second annual Sea Guardian exercise. Three crews will participate in maritime law enforcement training and exercises. The Coast Guard's Deployable Pacific Area Training Team from Alameda, California will facilitate a mock law enforcement at sea boarding and hold courtroom trials. KUAM News 12/3/07