Infrastructure

Brown offers infrastructure compromise plan

Shifting gears from a public hands-off approach, Brown gave California lawmakers his own take on how to reach an agreement over new infrastructure spending. Brown’s proposal would impose $65 fees on drivers each year “and higher gas taxes to fund a

Elon Musk’s Hyperloop project races ahead

James Poulos August 31, 2015

Elon Musk’s most quixotic project just raced closer to reality. As the latest model of Musk’s Tesla automobile scored the highest-ever rating given by Consumer Reports (99 out of 100) his even more revolutionary Hyperloop concept gained new respect, with one firm

CA gas tax showdown looms

James Poulos August 27, 2015

Democratic legislators in the state Senate have brought Californians closer to new hikes on the cost of driving their cars. But the committee vote represented little more than a first step in a complex, intense negotiation between Republicans, Democrats and the

Taxes vs. reform — Transportation negotiations continue

Joel Fox August 25, 2015

Watching the maneuvering to pass a transportation revenue package in the special session, I can’t help but think of the observation by that great philosopher Yogi Berra who said: “It’s déjà vu all over again.” The legislative scrum over a

Court weighs documents in high-speed rail case

Kathy Hamilton August 14, 2015

A court ruling is expected within weeks on whether certain documents should be considered in a lawsuit against California’s High-Speed Rail Authority. The state has argued for limiting the evidence to documents, such as business plans and environmental reviews, from

Dueling road plans propose higher taxes, seek to reduce driving

Joel Fox August 12, 2015

Drivers are likely scratching their heads over conflicting approaches to transportation goals in the state and cities. A coalition of business and labor organizations supported a plan to raise funds for road repair to the tune of $6 billion a year

Bullet train agency still slow to acquire land

Chris Nichols August 6, 2015

Buying land for California’s bullet train remains a slow and contentious process for the state’s high-speed rail agency — but the state’s top rail official said this week he doesn’t expect any “significant” project delays as a result. The California

Californians slash water use by 27.3 percent in June

Chris Nichols July 30, 2015

Motivated by a fourth year of drought — and mandatory water cuts — Californians reduced urban water use by 27.3 percent in June, compared with the same month two years ago, the state reported on Thursday. The results are the first since state-ordered

Poll: 64% of Californians link drought to global warming

Chris Nichols July 30, 2015

A strong majority of Californians say they support tougher limits on greenhouse gas emissions and more ambitious renewable energy goals to combat climate change, according to a statewide poll released late Wednesday. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said global

Electric car sharing program rolls out in L.A.

Chris Nichols July 29, 2015

As many as 7,000 low-income Los Angeles residents could eventually take part in a state-funded electric car sharing program that rolled out last week. State and city officials celebrated the soft launch of the endeavor — which aims to improve