Editorial | Streetsblog Los Angeles

Posts from the "Editorial" Category

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 15 Comments

Senator Romero Won’t Support Anything Without Guarantees for SGV

Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero is taking a stand. Romero tells the Times that if she doesn't get she wants for San Gabriel Valley, at no extra cost to her constituents, she'll vote to make sure all of LA County is denied the opportunity to to vote to increase everyone's transit options. The Senator may have the muscle to back up her threat as AB 2321, the legislation authorizing the sales tax to be on the fall ballot after Metro's approval, still needs a full vote of the State Senate.

Romero's position doesn't make sense from a transportation stand point. She's basically opposed to the sales tax measure because Metro won't guarantee a Gold Line extension without the funding from the sales tax. While her argument that the $328 million set aside from sales tax proceeds won't extend the Gold Line as far as it needs to go has some merit; her argument that Metro should guarantee more funds for an extension without the sales tax rests on the argument that San Gabriel Valley residents would be more likely to support a sales tax increase if they have nothing to gain from it doesn't make a lot of sense. After all, would you vote for a tax increase that has no benefits for you?

Have a headache yet? If not, Romero also tells the Times that she opposes congestion pricing and Metro should approve it's plan for transit for the valley without knowing whether it will have the $213 million in federal funds. Her argument? SGV residents shouldn't be "forced" to pay tolls because there is a lack of reliable transit options. Last I checked, which was right before I wrote this post, most of that $213 would be going to provide increased transit options for the effected corridors, including the San Gabriel Valley.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 2 Comments

Daily News Repeats Others’ Arguments Against HOT Lanes

by Damien Newton

Sign Announcing HOT Lanes on SR-167 Outside of Seattle

Metro took another shot to the chin this morning when the Daily News joined the congestion pricing pile-on with its unimaginative editorial, "HOV lane conversion plan is a taxpayer rip-off." Honestly? The Daily News should have just reprinted the Tim Rutton's Op/Ed from the other week and saved itself the effort of trotting out the same arguments every other newspaper has already made.

The piece starts out slow enough, a typical "Lexus Lanes" argument that I've written about so many times that I'll just say this. When someone actually takes the time to ask people what they think about HOT Lanes in areas where they've already been tried, people of all income levels approve of HOT Lanes. The argument that these lanes only benefit the rich is usually put forward by members of the lower-upper class or upper-middle class because they are worried they'll be stuck in congestion forever while their rich friends speed by them.

Later the Daily News argues that HOT Lanes won't do anything to relieve traffic. Of course, newspaper editors that are writing articles from the gut instead of from the brain are least likely to understand the nuances of congestion management. There was an excellent piece in the Contra Costa Times yesterday that explains how HOT Lanes make traffic better for everyone.

But as I've said before about carpool lanes, in their pure form, they keep traffic moving. That's not just a boon for the people paying for the fast lane, but for people in the slow lanes, too. Congestion doesn't just slow traffic down. It greatly reduces the capacity of the freeway. Opening up one of those clogged pipes means that a lot more traffic drains through, which takes pressure off the other pipes, too. So the rich are actually doing the proles a favor by paying their way through.

Friday, April 18, 2008 9 Comments

Paper: We Love Our Cars! Defeat the Climate Change Bills!

by Damien Newton

From the mouths of college students...

Over the last couple of weeks, we read a lot of dumb newspaper opinion pieces about Mike Feuer’s legislation that would allow LA County to place a measure on the fall ballot to place a tax on vehicles that emit the most greenhouse gases.

Of all the dumb reasons to oppose transportation user fees we found, it took a student newspaper in Long Beach to get to the crux of the argument: we love our cars and won’t stop driving them no matter how much you charge us.

Now I’m over 30 and am not hip to today’s youth culture, but I thought student newspapers were supposed to be bastions of progressive thought? I guess it’s possible the paper was being so ironic that it just went over my head, but I think they’re serious. The full editorial with my comments can be read after the jump.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 6 Comments

Desert Dispatch and OC Register Add to Anti-Feuer Editorials

by Damien Newton

As we get closer to next week’s hearing on Mike Feuer’s transportation funding legislation, you can expect to see more and more piling on as newspapers trip over themselves to see who can write the worst editorial. So far, the Press Enterprise’s "Daily Dude" still has that distinction.

So far, LA Streetsblog has dissected three editorials, with a fourth one coming later today. The vitriol against Feuer seems to stem from how he cast some of his legislation as anti-global warming. However, to just discuss the legislation in terms of climate change denies a conversation about what is at stake locally.

Los Angeles County doesn’t have the funds to build the transit projects that are needed to relieve congestion in the region’s long term future. Feuer’s legislation aims to make it easier, after a vote of the people in the county, to correct that by identifying new funding sources. Placing a user fees on the cars and trucks that pollute the most, which incidently also tend to be the ones that weigh the most and thus do the most damage to roads, is a sensible solution.

Nevertheless, the Desert Dispatch today chose to reprint an editorial written this weekend by the Orange County Register. The editorial has a lot of the global-warming-denial language we’ve become accustomed to, but ends with a real head scratcher. Emphasis added by Streetsblog.

Daily Breeze Joins the Anti-Feuer Editorial Movement

by Damien Newton

This Has Nothing to Do with Global Warming

Slightly closer to home than San Bernadino, the Daily Breeze also seems offended that Assemblyman Mike Feuer would make a link between global warming, air pollution and congestion and that he would actually try to do something about it.

Here's a novel way to combat global warming: Get Los Angeles County drivers to pay a new tax to combat traffic jams.

Confused? That would be the only reason to vote for Assembly Bill 2558. If the author, L.A. Democrat Mike Feuer, were serious about dealing with either issue he'd come up with a better plan than lumping them together.

Feuer was quoted in the Orange County Register as saying the people in the Los Angeles region have had it when it comes to traffic and air quality. Well, yes. But now he's talking about three problems: global climate, local traffic and air pollution.

The Breeze is acting like there's no relationship between these three things, even though it's pretty well documented that climate change is caused in part by the air pollution created by cars. I think their point is that it will take more than just LA to reverse climate change, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't do anything at all. That's the kind of thinking one would expect from the Washington Times, not a newspaper in Los Angeles.

Thursday, April 3, 2008 5 Comments

Investor’s Magazine: Hooray for Highways! Boo for Gas Taxes!

by Damien Newton

The Investor's Business Daily has written an editorial extolling the virtues of wider freeways and lower gas taxes. It's a great piece of car culture thinking from the last century. Taken with State Farm's advertisement bashing bike commuters as poorly dressed losers, it really shows how far we still have to go.

At issue is the legislative package of Assemblyman Mike Feuer who's seeking to make it easier for municipalities and counties to raise their own funds and not have to rely on the state and federal government. IBD completely misunderstands the issue and makes matters worse by backing up their old school opinions with incorrect "facts."

Let's examine some of the highlights of the editorial.

Thursday, January 31, 2008 1 Comment

Yes LA, There Is a Streetsblog

by Damien Newton

For a while now I've talked about using this blog as a placeholder until we were ready to launch a version of Streetsblog for Los Angeles. Well, the time for that launch approaches and my first two posts for Streetsblog are now online. Given my obsession with electoral politics, it should be no surprise that these posts are looking at the Republican and Democractic candidates for president.

Once the launch of LA Streetsblog occurs, all of the old posts from here will be available on the Streetsblog server. While the posts will still be here at StreetHeat, this site will see far fewer updates than it does now...StreetHeat will basically be my personal blog and cover such exciting topics as who I want to be president, bad personal experiences on the bus and maybe pictures of my cat riding a bicycle.

LA Streetsblog will have the same kinds of posts that you see here only with less of my opinions and better spelling. I promise not to misspell Wendy Greuel's name again.
Until then, Street Heat will remain open for business. As always, please keep me in the loop/send me story ideas. So far, I haven't turned a story idea down. And of course, keep reading. Nothing makes a writer's day than an active comments section!

Friday, January 25, 2008 No Comments

Go Green with Street Heat!

by Damien Newton

Emerald Green that is.

Today was the first of my guest posts over at Green LA Girl's Emerald City Blog over at the Times website. For about the next month, you'll be able to find a weekly column by me over there on Monday talking about HOT Lanes and Congestion Pricing.

Special thanks to Siel for giving me the space, and please head on over to check out her writings as well!