Month: September 2009
Streetsblog LA
November Eco-Home Tours
Thanksgiving is one of the few times a year that modern Americans celebrate the achievements of the Native Americans. No matter how advanced society becomes, there will always be things that we can learn from the example set by the first inhabitants of North America. They believed in living in balance with nature and leaving as little waste behind as possible. If you have a goal of living a sustainable, healthy lifestyle, join us on an Eco-Home tour on Sunday November 1 or Sunday November 15, and Sunday November 29. Each tour will begin at 2:00 P.M. and end at 4:30.
September 10, 2009
Stadium Backers Ready for Some Football. Right Now. This Minute.
Billionaire Ed Roski seems bound and determined to give those people opposed to the construction of a new stadium to lure an NFL team back to Greater Los Angeles plenty of cause for concern. Recently, Roski's lobbyists have been pushing Sacramento law makers to grant exemptions from environmental and planning requirements for his mega-stadium project in the City of Industry.
September 10, 2009
Consensus on National Transport Goals Still Eludes Industry Pros
Policymakers and private-sector players seem to be struggling to
agree on how -- and whether -- to set national performance targets for
America's transportation system, as evidenced by today's debate at a
high-profile infrastructure conference.
September 10, 2009
Council Moves Forward with EIR for Wilshire Boulevard
Yesterday's full Los Angeles City Council meeting ran
extraordinarily late due to a potential lawsuit between the Controller
and the City Attorney. The council's Transportation Committee meeting, previewed last week here and here, was scheduled for 2:00 P.M. but didn't begin until after 4:30 P.M. By then,
most of the Department of Transportation (LADOT) staff had left.
Remaining were a little more than half of the initial 30+
yellow-t-shirt clad Bus Riders Union members, a half-dozen Comstock
Hills homeowners, and a couple of bicyclists.
September 10, 2009
Building Codes to Deal With Abandoned Big Boxes
Today from the Streetsblog Network, a report from Charlotte, NC, on the city's efforts to deal with derelict big box stores. Mary Newsom at The Naked City reports that a proposed new building code to address the problem is in the works:
September 10, 2009
Streetfilms: San Francisco’s Foggy Sunday Streets
This week's newest offering from Streetfilms highlights the fantastic tradition of "Sunday Streets" in San Francisco. As Ben Fried notes in the New York write-up of the film, in both cities last year's ground-breaking idea is this year's "traditional event."
September 9, 2009
How Much Would Most People Pay For a Shorter Commute?
As Washington conventional wisdom has it,
raising gas taxes or creating a vehicle miles traveled tax to pay for
transportation is impossible during the current recession. After all,
who would want to squeeze cash-strapped commuters during tough economic
times?
September 9, 2009
LA Streetsblog Draft CD2 Questionnaire: Mary Benson
Last week we featured a video of Mary Benson talking about bicycle safety and the nobility of people who "stand up to the car." I remember watching the video and thinking, "that's all well and good, but how about some details."
September 9, 2009
Was the Auto Industry Bailout Legal? It’s Debatable, Oversight Panel Says
The Treasury Department sent $81 billion in taxpayer-subsidized aid to
General Motors and Chrysler -- which is unlikely to be recouped in full
-- using legal authority that "is the subject of considerable debate,"
according to a report released today [PDF] by the congressionally appointed bailout oversight panel.
September 9, 2009