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The Planetizen News Brief

23 October 2008 - 5:00am
Smart City Radio

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

Full Transcript

This November, Californians will face the $10 billion question: high-speed rail. The long-planned train system that would connect northern and southern California finally made its way onto the statewide ballot after receiving the signature of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in August. It’s a project many transit advocates have been pushing for years, but some worry that the current downturn in the economy may affect the political feasibility of this long-term and admittedly expensive project. A recent opinion piece from the Sacramento Bee warns that the push for high-speed rail could face further budgetary hurdles, as the state is expected to see 10 billion fewer tax dollars next year. Pulling another $10 billion out to fund a bullet train will likely be a tough choice for a lot of voters.

Meanwhile, voters in Honolulu are facing their own transit conundrum this election season. Public transportation has been a pebble in the shoe of officials in the Hawaiian capital for years, and this year they’ve been making major steps toward fixing the problem. As the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports, one possible solution has been a $4 billion light rail system, advocated heavily by incumbent mayor Mufi Hannemann. But like his proposal, Mayor Hannemann is on this November’s ballot. Opposing him is candidate Ann Kobayashi, who also has a transit plan. She has proposed a broad bus system plan that would include dedicated busways, tunnels and bus rapid transit, all for roughly $2.5 billion – a significant price cut from the incumbent’s rail plan. So as voters in Honolulu head to the election booth to vote for a mayor, they’ll not only be choosing a person to lead their city, but also a transit plan – one that will likely have a greater long-term impact on the future of Honolulu than the candidate behind it.

And finally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has come under some heat from the National Academy of Sciences for failing to control pollution. According to the Associated Press, a recent Academy report called out the EPA for not doing enough to stem urban stormwater runoff. This runoff is kind of the sweat of the city. Gutter trash, fertilizers and street oil accumulates on the vast paved surfaces of cities and is carried off by rains, which then runs off into drains and ultimately, lakes, rivers and oceans. This report says the EPA is failing to control this major pollution source. Currently, developers are charged with controlling stormwater, but with urban runoff making up 13, 18 and 32 percent of pollution in rivers, lakes and estuaries respectively, the National Academy of Sciences says it’s time for better federal regulation. And though the problem or urban runoff has been known for decades, it may be another 5 to 10 years before the regulatory framework can be built to properly control it.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

California's $10 Billion High Speed Gamble

It's Light Rail Versus BRT in Honolulu's Mayoral Race

EPA Failing to Control Urban Runoff

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