Government / Politics
In an agreement with fellow socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has accepted a position in Caracas to advise the city on improving its transportation and crime issues.
The Guardian
With Hurricane Gustav reaching land Monday, nearly 2 million people have been evacuated from coastal Louisiana. The evacuation is being hailed as a vast improvement from the effort three years ago during Hurricane Katrina, but some residents remain.
New Orleans Times Picayune
Blog post
Just spent 4 action-packed days (have you ever tried to keep up with Dan Burden?) touring the Pacific Northwest with Dan, Paul Zykofsky, a very patient charter bus driver, and 40 +/- townmaking fanatics. Our assemblage came from as far away as New Zealand and Taiwan, from small towns and large cities, and from disciplines including planning, engineering, transportation, software design, elected officials, public health, bike advocates, and lots more. We toured communities in Washington state and in British Columbia, meeting local luminaries along the way.
The State of California is considering a plan to allow pay-as-you-drive car insurance plans. Many hope the move will encourage less driving.
The Los Angeles Times
American cities are increasingly making moves to reclaim their streets. In this column, Neal Peirce looks into the trend.
Citiwire
Jason Miller reports how coastal Mississippi cities and towns are moving post-Katrina plans and ideas towards implementation.
Mississippi Renewal Forum
In an effort to dissuade jaywalking, police in Shanghai are planning to publish pictures and videos of jaywalkers in newspapers and local TV to shame offenders.
Reuters
Three years later, Hurricane Katrina has had lasting effects on New Orleans. It's also taught America some lessons about how to react to natural disasters -- and how not to.
Governing
Despite it's inherent legality, lit signage atop a high-rise condominium in downtown Miami is causing many a neighbor to complain.
The Miami Herald
InTransition Magazine talks to Rick Eckstein, author of <em>Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle over Building Sports Stadiums</em> about why stadiums fail to fulfill their promises of economic revitalization.
InTransition Magazine
An ordinance passed in L.A. that limited the amount of time taco trucks could be parked in one location has been overturned. However, many expect it to come back in a different form.
The Los Angeles Times
The first new bridge over Venice's Grand Canal in 70 years will open next month, but no no fanfare and without ceremony. Locals are calling off events to protest the bridge's many delays and cost overruns.
The Times
The mother of all toll road leases appears to come to a head next month, and though the chances of the near $13 billion lease of the the 537-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike to Citigroup-Abertis team are most uncertain, the PA saga is worthy of study.
The Wall Street Journal
Rapidly approaching a ballot deadline, CA Gov. Schwarzenegger caved in his pledge to veto any bills sent to him prior to receiving a budget by signing a bill that modernizes the 2002 high speed rail bond. Prop 1A will now appear on the Nov. ballot.
The Sacramento Bee
Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong tops a list of heavy water users in a city trying hard to conserve while meeting rising demand during a drought and steady or rapid population growth.
Austin American-Statesman
Transit supporters may have reason to rejoice in the selection of Sen. Joe Biden as Obama's V.P. pick.
Daily Kos
AAA and the Chamber of Commerce fight environmentalists and transit planners who want to allow California voters to decide to add regional driver’s fees, either variable registration surcharges or new gas taxes, to fund climate protection measures.
San Francisco Examiner
CA's landmark smart growth bill, SB 375, is close to passing. It aims to reduce global warming by requiring regions to devise "sustainable community strategies".
LA Times
In an effort to tackle poverty, 15 states have set up commissions to explore the issues. Neal Peirce says they need to focus foremost on getting more money into the hands of the impoverished and reducing the burden of taxes on them.
Citiwire
