A wide-ranging hearing before the NTSB on Tuesday focused attention on the key role of Cota, who has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence for his actions guiding the Cosco Busan out of the Bay. Cota, Mao and three crew members decided not to testify at the hearing, which will continue today. Sailing in a soupy fog and struggling to understand the images on the radar screen before him, the pilot of the Cosco Busan asked the ship's captain to point out the "center" of the Bay Bridge. What Capt. John Cota, the pilot, wanted to locate on the radar screen, according to newly released transcripts, was the center point between the bridge's towers. The captain, a Chinese national, showed him the center of the span, which was also the location of one of the towers. Inside Bay Area 4/9/08
Capt. John Cota was apparently diagnosed with alcoholism and developed pancreatitis as a result of his drinking, according to testimony at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing. One NTSB investigator questioned why a local pilots board hadn't noticed a worsening pattern after a 2004 incident in which Cota was enraged and irrational on-board a ship, and another in 2006 in which a vessel he was piloting ran aground. CC Times 4/9/08
A bill intended to protect blind people and other pedestrians from the dangers posed by quiet cars will be introduced today in Congress. The measure would require the Transportation Department to establish safety standards for hybrids and other vehicles that make little discernible noise, including an audible means for alerting people that cars are nearby. LA Times 4/9/08
A bill that would charge Bay Area residents an extra $1 when they re-register their vehicles cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday, handily winning a majority of votes from members of the state Senate Transportation and Housing Committee. The bill would double what Bay Area vehicle owners now pay — $1 which was levied in 1986. That fee originally set up a system of call boxes but has evolved into a comprehensive system to fight traffic congestion, run by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. CC Times 4/9/08
Sen. Joe Simitian's measure would attempt to improve public safety on cruise ships by developing a seamless network of "ocean rangers" through pacts with other states bordering the Pacific Ocean, and with Hawaii. The Palo Alto Democrat said the arrangement also would enhance homeland security and ensure compliance with waste-dumping laws. CC Times 4/9/08
Gov. Schwarzenegger told Northern San Joaquin Valley public officials Tuesday morning that reform, not drastic cuts or higher taxes, is the solution to California's ongoing budget woes. He also said cuts alone won't solve the $16 billion deficit projected for the 2008-09 state budget, but he ruled out taxes as a solution. "We have to find revenues this year," he said. "The legislators will have to get very creative." Modesto Bee 4/9/08
In an annual memorial service Tuesday at the Capitol, the California Department of Transportation paid tribute to its 170 workers who have died in the line of duty since 1924. Matthew White, 35, of Sacramento was on pothole duty Dec. 14 when he was fatally struck by a pickup. Sacramento Bee 4/9/08
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