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Via the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, next Wednesday at 2:00 P.M. will be another "bicycle heavy" Transportation Committee Hearing.  There's some new and interesting stuff on the agenda, such as a "bicycle anti-harassment ordinance," and some old friends such as an update on the Draft Bike Plan.  Below is the LACBC's email, and once the agenda items are posted tomorrow we'll have a full review.

On the issue of clean transportation, from transit to bike paths to water quality, few members of Congress are as knowledgeable or active as Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). Chairman of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus and founder of the new Livable Communities Task Force, the Portland lawmaker is on the front lines of Washington's biggest infrastructure debates. Streetsblog Capitol Hill spoke with him yesterday about the prospects for transportation in the coming jobs bill, which he has said could be paid for in part with Wall Street bailout money. Below is a lightly edited transcript of the discussion.

It seems that every year when the car show rolls into town that there's at least one moment that makes me want to bang my head into a cement wall.  Remember when the Sierra Club and other environmental groups named an SUV the "green car of the year" in 2007?

During a visit to New Orleans, where city planners are seeking nearly $100 million in federal stimulus money for three new streetcar lines, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced plans to award $280 million in grants for streetcar and bus networks.

As Congress maneuvers to end the political impasse over the next long-term national transportation bill, lawmakers going to have to debate an increase in the federal gas tax, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today.

So, we are finally past that near relentless series of community meetings for corridors, bullet trains, etc. of the past few months. But don't think you can catch your breathe! We are about to have three legislative hearings on transportation topics, all being held at the Metro Board Room:

The Obama administration’s proposal to raise auto fuel-efficiency (CAFE) standards to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 could have gone even further in order to reap the maximum environmental and economic benefits of cleaner cars, according to a new analysis [PDF] released today by the Consumer Federation of America. In his analysis, Consumer Federation research … Continued

Occidental College's UEPI Blog announced earlier this morning that this year's keynote speaker for the Bike Summit will be none other than New York City's Livable Streets Hero Janette Sadik-Khan.  For those of you that have never read the original Streetsblog or any of my New York-related stories; Sadik-Khan rose to be Commissioner of NYCDOT and immediately changed the department's goals from car-culture defenders to Portland-esque urban planners.

With the U.S. unemployment rate hitting 10.2 percent today, its highest level in 26 years, a palpable shift is occurring on Capitol Hill. House transportation chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: STLToday) For weeks, we’ve heard senior Democrats and the transit industry make the case for more transportation spending as a potent job creator, but the … Continued