People

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has snagged some high-profile support for his nascent California gubernatorial bid, but he may have some trouble with the transit-riding, congestion-weary constituency. My colleagues Matthew Roth and Bryan Goebel have the story over at Streetsblog San Fran:

If you’ve got some free time at your desk over the next couple of days, drop in on the U.S. DOT distracted driving summit. There are plenty of platitudes flying around about the obvious need for “awareness” of how dangerous it is to operate a multi-thousand pound projectile while reading or typing, but there are … Continued

I find it hard to believe that anyone who regularly reads Streetsblog doesn't know who Stephen Box is.  Either he, his wife, or one of the groups he leads seem to make news just about every week somewhere in Los Angeles.  But for those who don't know, Stephen Box is a Bike Activist and Community Organizer who lives in Hollywood with his lovely wife, Enci. Stephen says "I believe that our streets are the new ‘public space’ and our ability to share that space is one of our greatest opportunities for revitalizing and redefining our communities.”

Today marks the third and last part of our three-part interview with City Council Transportation Committee Chair Bill Rosendahl.  Today we're discussing some high profile local transportation issues that directly effect his West L.A. City Council District. 

Yesterday we introduced the first in our three-part interview with Los Angeles City Council Transportation Committee Chair Bill Rosendahl.  Today, Rosendahl discusses his goals and agenda for the committee he now chairs from buses, to bikes to taxi drivers.

House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is readying a proposal to extend current infrastructure law by three months -- 15 months less than the delay preferred by the White House -- and could introduce the legislation as soon as next week, his office said today.

A coalition of activists for seniors and the disabled went to federal court to try and force Caltrans to meet federal safety standards for sidewalk, intersection and other pedestrian amenities.  The group charges that when doing road construction, our state DOT is ignoring the federally mandated fixes and upgrades that are required by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Over Los Angeles Streetsblog's first six months I had the opportunity to interview City Council Transportation Committee Chair Wendy Greul for a Streetfilm and Councilman Tom LaBonge after a trip to Europe.  With the changing of the leadership of the committee, I wanted to get a chance to sit down with the new Committee Chair, and one of my favorite Councilmen, Bill Rosendahl before my upcoming paternity leave.

The final fuel-efficiency rule released by the Obama administration this morning includes what some lobbyists have nicknamed "the German provision," giving automakers that sell less than 400,000 vehicles in the U.S. an exemption for 25 percent of their fleet.