Tue 31 Aug 2010
California lawmakers pass bill to quiet motorcycles
Posted by admin under State , Transportation No Comments(From the AP) California, birthplace of Hells Angels and home to legions of weekend motorcycle warriors, has taken its latest step to subdue the state’s boisterous two-wheeled culture. The state Senate on Monday voted 21-16, the bare majority needed, to pass a bill aimed at quieting the earsplitting roar from modified motorcycles. (more…)
The City of Santa Clarita will restructure its Transit fares for both local and commuter routes starting Sunday, August 1, 2010. Local transfers are being replaced by a “Local Day Pass” which allows riders to travel on Santa Clarita Transit as many times as they would like during an operational day. The cost of the Local Day Pass is $2.50. The single local route fare will remain $1.00 and the reduced fare will continue to be free. Local monthly passes will see an increase from $25 per month to $30 per month. 
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich joined San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt (1st District) in Washington D.C. to discuss the E-220 High Desert Corridor (HDC) project with officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Initiated by Antonovich and Mitzelfelt in 2006, the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority is a single-purpose agency to accelerate the implementation of the High Desert Corridor — a multi-lane expressway connecting State Route 14 in Palmdale to Interstate 15 in Victorville. 
(From the AP) A company working to send tourists on suborbital flights says it has tested its spacecraft with a crew for the first time. Virgin Galactic says the craft remained attached to a specially designed airplane throughout a six-hour flight over California’s Mojave desert Thursday. 
Ride the Beach Bus to Santa Monica Beach every Saturday and Sunday through September 5, 2010. The bus will pick up passengers from several SCV locations around SCV; Via Princessa Metrolink station; Oak Creek Park n’ Ride; Newhall Metrolink; and the McBean Regional Transfer Station. The cost of tickets is as follows: all children and adults $3.00; Sr. Citizens (60+)* $1.50; Persons with Disabilities* $1.50. Persons boarding the bus under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Unaccompanied minors must bring valid school ID to verify age. For large group accommodations, please call, 661-294-1BUS (1287), at least five (5) business days in advance, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM- 5:00 PM. For more information click here: 
(From the AP) Alarmed by a spate of near-collisions involving airliners, the government is trying to find out why air traffic controllers and pilots are making so many dangerous errors. In recent months, there have been at least a half-dozen incidents in which airliners came close to colliding with other planes or helicopters — including in Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Burbank, Calif., and Anchorage, Alaska. In some cases, pilots made last-second changes in direction after cockpit alarms went off warning of an impending crash. 
(From the latimes.com) Wall Street is starting to talk about a worse year for car sales than analysts had anticipated, but automakers and suppliers may be better prepared to handle falling expectations than they were last year. 
Beaches and Harbors announced today a new boarding location has been added to the Marina del Rey WaterBus schedule at Del Rey Landing, the new fuel dock that recently opened at 13800 Bora Bora Way. WaterBus service for Del Rey Landing will commence on Thursday, July 8, at 5:00 p.m. until midnight, to coincide with the first concert of this summer’s Marina del Rey Summer Concert Series. 
(From Science Daily) The heat of summer brings trips to the lake, afternoons at the beach and vacations in the mountains. It also arrives with the threat of dangerous conditions in closed cars, where children left alone for even a few minutes can lead to tragedy. Now, a team of researchers at the University of Georgia has developed an easy-to-use table of vehicle temperature changes that may help public officials and media remind the public about the deadly consequences of vehicle-related hyperthermia in children. 
(From the nytimes.com) Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday about 270,000 cars sold worldwide — including luxury Lexus sedans — have potentially faulty engines, the latest quality lapse to hit the automaker following massive global recalls of top-selling models. 
(From the latimes.com) All airline mileage reward programs are not created equal. In fact, finding the right one is more crucial than ever. With airlines eliminating routes because of declining demand and packing each plane as close to capacity as possible, it’s getting increasingly difficult to redeem your reward-program points for a seat on a plane. 
Bicycle riders are invited to participate in the second series of community workshops on the countywide Bicycle Master Plan, currently being developed by the Los Angeles County Public Works Department. The Master Plan seeks to expand and connect County bikeways, improve existing County bicycle facilities, develop and prioritize a list of proposed new bikeways and bicycle projects, and promote bicycle usage. 
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich will be in Washington D.C. next week to advocate for a newly revised 30/10 initiative to accelerate regional highways, transit projects, and public-private partnerships funded by Measure R. Last Thursday, an amendment by Supervisors Antonovich and Ridley-Thomas was unanimously approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors adding highway construction and improvements, and regional transportation solutions to the 30/10 plan. 
To ensure a balanced and equitable 30/10 plan, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) voted to support the initiative as amended by MTA Directors Michael D. Antonovich, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Gloria Molina and John Fasana to support the priorities outlined in the unanimously approved MTA Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). 
