As BART embarks on its fifth decade of operations, its draft FY2014 budget is an important step towards a more responsible focus on maintaining and improving the existing system, rather than heed
Even as he acknowledged that we are nearing a climate tipping point and that it will take two more years to recover the jobs lost during the Great Recession, Governor Brown yesterday released a bud
published in Streetsblog Los Angeles, May 15, 2013
Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown unveiled his budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year that includes the first round of funds collected under the cap and trade system. In the budget, Brown “loans” the half billion in funds collected to the general fund to be paid back at some point in the unspecified future.
“We disagree with the Governor’s proposal to transfer the $500 million in cap-and-trade auction revenues to the general fund and postpone needed investments in projects and programs that could achieve greenhouse gas reductions this year,” writes Stuart Cohen, the executive director of TransForm CA.
“While we appreciate the Governor’s interest in taking a prudent approach to ensure that the cap-and-trade revenues are spent in ways that best meet the program’s goals of maximizing greenhouse gas reductions there are existing and proposed transportation projects and programs that these revenues could be invested in to meet these goals and reap significant economic and public health benefits for all Californians, especially disadvantaged communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. “
For the last month, advocates and citizens around the Bay Area have been making their voices heard at public meetings on Plan Bay Area, our region’s first-ever plan for how to cut greenhou
Better scrutiny is needed to ensure that revenues from California's landmark cap-and-trade auctions fund the best choices for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, state air board members said yesterday.
A week after the Golden State released its draft plan for spending cap-and-trade money, some Air Resources Board (ARB) members said they wanted ways of evaluating the most worthy recipients, to avoid charges that the program plays favorites.
"We really need to make this performance-based as much as possible," said board member Daniel Sperling. "It really lends itself to just getting politicized too much."
published in Silicon Valley Mercury News, April 26, 2013
ike more than 15 million other Californians, Mario Virgen commutes to work. In fact, as a self-employed janitor, Virgen is on the move all day, crisscrossing San Jose between his various jobs.
In the past, all that commuting took a major bite out of his budget. Most Californians spend one out of every five dollars they earn on transportation. But unlike most Californians, Virgen now has a big advantage. Since last August, when he moved to the Fourth Street Apartments in downtown San Jose, his commute costs are paid for by his building manager as part of an innovative program known as GreenTRIP.
published in Streetsblog San Francisco, April 24, 2013
“MTC’s plan follows a 1970s-era Caltrans practice that limits Express Lanes to new construction only, without even studying the option of optimizing existing lanes,” wrote TransForm Deputy Director Jeff Hobson in a blog post. “This kind of outdated thinking is hardly the best approach to solving 21st century transportation problems – and would completely exclude some of the most congested stretches of highway from the plan.”
