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“Cash for Clunkers” Coming to a Close?
The Obama administration plans to close the door on the politically popular and environmentally slipshod auto trade-in program known as "cash for clunkers," according to a report this afternoon in the Wall Street Journal:
August 19, 2009
Chief Gascón Addresses Driver Accountability at Swearing-In Presser
At a press conference today immediately after Mayor Gavin Newsom swore in SFPD's new police Chief George Gascón, the city's top cop, responding to a question from Streetsblog, addressed a number of issues central to his command, including, notably, how driver behavior can endanger certain neighborhoods as much or more than violent crime.
August 7, 2009
Wreckless Riding
In 1978 I was a field manager for an environmental group's canvassing operation and was driving "my crew" in an old beat-up Volkswagon from one suburb to the next. From about 3 p.m. we'd visit every house in a given area, knocking on doors seeking donations and support, ending around 8:30 or 9. One time I was in Walnut Creek or Pleasant Hill or one of those Contra Costa bedroom communities, and I did a typical San Francisco rolling stop at a stop sign in a quiet residential neighborhood. Sure enough I was stopped by a squad car and given quite a lecture on how San Francisco behavior was unacceptable out there in the 'burbs.
August 7, 2009
Extra! Extra! Nevius and Matier Serving Up Steaming Piles of Journalism
A couple of real stinkers over in Mainstream Medialand today.
August 6, 2009
Lobby Firm Behind Climate Forgeries Helped Kill Higher CAFE Standards
The Washington lobbying firm of Bonner & Associates is facing protests and a possible wire fraud probe after it was revealed
to have forged at least a dozen letters to Congress this summer that
claimed to represent local grassroots groups opposed to fighting
climate change.
August 5, 2009
Wade Crowfoot Leaves Mayor’s Office for EDF
Wade
Crowfoot, Mayor Gavin Newsom's Director of Climate Change Initiatives,
quietly transitioned out of his role in city government last Friday to
become the West Coast Legislative and Political Director at the
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a new post created just for him. His
portfolio will be primarily climate, water safety, and oceans.
Transportation and transit won't be as central to his work as it was
for Mayor Newsom, except as it relates to climate change.
July 29, 2009
Kalashnikovs for Clunkers: The Next Stimulus Plan
In case you don't qualify for the federal Cash-for-Clunkers rebate program, Mark Muller of Max Motors in Butler, Missouri, has an offer you might want to consider: get a free AK-47 with a new truck.
July 28, 2009
Know Your Road Lobbyists: The American Highway Users Alliance
For a 77-year-old nonprofit group with substantial Washington clout,
the American Highway Users Alliance keeps a pretty low profile.
July 20, 2009
Frightening 65 MPH Police Chase in the City Leaves a Bicyclist Hurt
A high-speed police chase of a stolen black SUV began in Tiburon and ended on Polk Street in San Francisco this afternoon, a frightening scene that sent pedestrians running and bicyclists scurrying to the sidewalk. A witness on the scene said a bicyclist traveling down Pine Street near Polk was injured and transported to a nearby hospital.
July 17, 2009
ZipCar Starts Second Annual Low-Car Diet Challenge
Zipcar kicked off its second annual Low-Car Diet challenge today in the 13 cities around the country where the company does business. The challenge asks participants to give up their personal cars for one month and walk, ride a bicycle, and take transit in place of driving.
July 15, 2009