Transportation Daily News July 9

Emissions:

 

*AB 32 Cosponsor Says CARB Draft Implementation Plan Needs More Recommendations to Cut Land Use, Transportation Emissions -- The draft scoping plan by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to implement The Global Warming Solution Act (AB 32) "will need to further develop recommendations on changing the way land use and transportation decisions are made," according to testimony today by an AB 32 cosponsor at the first public workshop on the draft scoping plan.  Earth Times 7/8/08

 

Air board to restrict fireplace use on bad air days -- A clash between the public's right to breathe clean air and individuals' rights to burn wood in fireplaces comes to a showdown today when the Bay Area's air pollution board is expected to ban wood fires on bad air nights.The rule also would limit the visibility of smoke from chimneys year round in an effort to protect people from odors, eye irritation, and respiratory problems aggravated by burning of wet wood, plastic or trash. Adoption of the rule is likely after the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board holds a final public hearing on one of the district's most contentious proposals in decades. SJ Mercury 7/9/08

 

Budget crisis:

 

*California's fiscal woes largely of its own making -- Analysts say the state's troubles stem largely from its budget system -- the most dysfunctional in the country -- and they look to California as an example of how not to do things. In a recent ranking of state policies by the Pew Center on the States, California scored D+ on fiscal management. The average grade was B-. LA Times 7/7/08

 

Infrastructure:

 

Judging the bridge's 5 suicide barrier designs -- Each design would cost an estimated $40 million to $50 million if built today, bridge officials say, but no funding has been secured. The public can comment on the designs and review the draft environmental impact report at www.ggbsuicidebarrier.org. SF Chronicle 7/9/08

 

High speed rail:

 

Veteran former lawmaker and judge to lead charge for high speed rail ballot measure -- Prop. 1 asks voters to approve a $9.95 billion bond issue to partially pay for the heretofore sketchy transportation proposal that's been floating around the Golden State's political world since before 1996 when the state-sponsored HSRA was established. Kopp got five minutes or so this morning on KTVU Channel 2 and was interviewed on the measure by veteran anchor Ross McGowan. Politicker CA 7/9/08

 

Our View: High-speed future is here -- The proposal to build an 800-mile system of 200-mph trains linking Southern and Northern California, by way of the Valley, has made a great deal of sense throughout its two-decade gestation. Proposition 1, the $9.95 billion bond measure, is the necessary first step. High-speed rail will be an engine of economic development that we badly need in this state, creating tens of thousands of jobs in both its construction and its operation. Merced Sun Star 7/9/08