REBUILD THE UNITED STATES!

BY STAS MARGARONIS Caryl Mezey would likely have been elected a San Francisco Supervisor had the City not recently changed over to a district election system when Caryl ran in 1977. Caryl was a coalition builder who could be as comfortable talking to the President of a Longshore local as she could to the President of the PTA. Her experiences in the fight to desegregate San Francisco schools, her...

BY STAS MARGARONIS, RBTUS Texas and California are leading the way advocating for new infrastructure investment in seawalls to protect against higher sea levels and storm surges. While the two states differ on the need for renewable energy investment to combat global warming, both states are gearing up to for investments in new seawalls: * Texans are lobbying the federal government for $14...

BY STAS MARGARONIS[1] THE PROBLEM In 2015, Caltrans reported 12,045 five-axle daily truck trips that occurred at the onset of the 710 freeway.  Nine miles north, at the intersection of the 91 freeway, a gateway to Southern California warehouses, the 710 attracted 18,110 daily five-axle truck trips.[2] A 2017 study, sponsored by the Southern California Association of Governments, estimates that...

  BY STAS MARGARONIS[1] The deployment of new coastal ships, new on-dock rail facilities and new automated container terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach can reduce 710 freeway truck congestion and emissions. These initiatives could validate the March 1st decision by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board to defer widening the freeway. New Marine 5...

SCANDLINES  FERRIES DRIVES CORVUS BATTERIES WITH HYBRID AND ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY BY CORVUS ENERGY Scandlines has reduced fuel oil consumption by 40% in the past two decades by implementing numerous green technologies in their four Puttgarden-Rødby ferries. “It’s a never-ending search for fuel savings,” said Fini Hansen, Scandlines’ Technical Superintendent of Fleet Management. “Scandlines is...

BY STAS MARGARONIS, RBTUS The University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model predicts that the Trump Administration’s recently unveiled infrastructure plan will generate “little to no impact on the economy.” The report noted: “President Trump has presented a broad outline for infrastructure policy with a federal commitment of $200 billion. We find that most of the $200 billion will not...

WATERWAYS COUNCIL SAYS TRUMP’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT CARRIERS AND SHIPPERS  BY STAS MARGARONIS, RBTUS  The President of Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) said that President Trump’s long-awaited infrastructure plan will negatively impact U.S. inland waterway operators and shippers. Mike Toohey, WCI President and CEO, said, “Carriers, and therefore shippers like American family...

By Stas Margaronis Republicans say they have sufficient signatures to hold a recall election for a Democratic State Senator in California who voted for a new gas tax aimed at repairing and rebuilding California freeways and roads. Repealing the new California tax, which is designed to fund $50 billion in road and freeway improvements over the next 10 years, could adversely efforts to relieve...