Transportation Daily News July 15

Transit and infrastructure:

 

*The transit village at the Pleasant Hill BART station breaks ground Thursday -- The $366 million Contra Costa Centre transit village is a joint project undertaken by BART, Contra Costa County and the county Redevelopment Agency. The new, 1,547-space Pleasant Hill BART parking garage, which opened last month, represents the first phase. On Thursday, county and city leaders will gather for the groundbreaking on the second phase of the project. That includes 422 upscale apartments, 100 condominiums and 35,590 square feet of retail space. The third phase includes 270,000 square feet of office space, and a 19,400-square-foot conference center. CC Times 7/14/08

 

*No accord on high-speed rail -- Lawmakers on Monday failed to compromise on changes to the $9.9 billion high-speed rail bond voters will take up in November. Republicans, Democrats and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agree that the current ballot measure lacks oversight language. But the two parties have not agreed on how to fix the measure, which lawmakers originally crafted in 2002. As envisioned, bullet trains eventually would run from San Diego, through the Central Valley, to the Bay Area and as far north as Sacramento, with top speeds of more than 200 mph. Sacramento Bee 7/15/08

 

Emissions:

 

Projected California Warming Promises Cycle Of More Heat Waves, Energy Use For Next Century --  As the 21st century progresses, major cities in heavily air-conditioned California can expect more frequent extreme-heat events because of climate change. This could mean increased electricity demand for the densely populated state, raising the risk of power shortages during heat waves, said Norman Miller, an earth scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and geography professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Their results were published in the online version of the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. Science Daily 7/15/08

 

Shipping

 

Dockworkers wait for new contract -- Dockworkers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are synchronizing their work breaks, temporarily bringing business at the ports to a halt. The two sides have a tentative deal on health care benefits, but are still bargaining over pensions, worker safety and productivity. Marketplace 7/15/08