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One of the Capitol's sad, secret truths is that members of Congress often skip committee hearings on issues of vital importance to their states -- and today's confirmation session with Peter Rogoff, the president's nominee to lead the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), was no exception.

Board of Supes Votes Not to Reject Muni Budget After All (SF Gate, SF Examiner, SFBG, SF Appeal) Paul Hogarth’s Take on Beyond Chron: “Fear of Newsom Petulance Causes Bad Muni Budget” Muni Metro to Get New Fare Gates (SF Gate)  “Safe Streets” Bill Dies in State Legislature (Streetsblog LA) Gearing up for Bike to … Continued

Chronicle Coverage of 17th Street Pedestrian Plaza (SF Gate) SF Appeal: “MTA Sting Nets Disabled Parking Abusers” SF Fire Investigators Probe Series of Car Torchings (SF Gate, SFist) Americans Still See Cars as #1 Household Necessity (Toll Roads News via Planetizen) Build More Parking, Says Parking Lobby (AP) Plans for New Southern Santa Clara County … Continued

Over 200 people gathered for the 17th Annual Golden Wheel Awards in War Memorial Hall last night to honor Sunday Streets and raise money for SFBC's advocacy efforts.  In all, the event raised over $55,000.

The trial street closure for a pedestrian plaza at the corner of Market Street, 17th Street, and Castro Street will kick off next Wednesday, May 13th with a press conference with Mayor Gavin Newsom.  As we wrote about here, the trial closure will incorporate techniques used in New York City to transform a street into a public amenity without spending loads of money on capital construction.  If the plaza proves a success, the Department of Public Works will be looking for other locations to replicate the pilots. 

CBS5 Raises Questions About Police Costs for Critical Mass (Eye on Blogs) CHSRB Responds to Palo Alto Vice Mayor’s Call for Abolishment of High-Speed Rail Commish BART Moves Ahead with 20-Year Plan to Upgrade Aging Trains (SF Examiner) Professor Questions Whether Bay Area Toll Lanes Will Make Money (East Bay Express) LA Metrolink Agrees to … Continued

Board of Supervisors “Poised to Reject” MTA Budget (KCBS) Will Muni Fare Hikes Really Raise New Revenue? (SFBG) Beyond Chron: “Muni Cuts Betray Promise of the Transit Effectiveness Project” Caltrain Board of Directors to Consider Fiscal Emergency, Higher Fares, Cuts (Merc) Downtown San Jose High-Speed Rail Would Benefit an A’s Stadium (Merc) SFCTA Study Released … Continued

MTA Board Approves Budget But Weakens Parking Enforcement Proposals (Beyond Chron) It Means Fares Will Rise to $2 in July and Eight Bus Lines Will Be Eliminated (SF Gate, SF Examiner) Unannounced Turnarounds on the N-Judah Line (N-Judah Chronicles) Young Santa Rosa Man Killed by Driver While Walking in Crosswalk (Press Democrat) Pedestrian “Seriously Hurt” … Continued

Note: Reporter Matthew Roth and I are in New York City this week for the Livable Streets Initiative party. We'll be posting lightly. However, reporter Susan Vaughan is covering today's MTA meeting to adopt a final budget, and we'll be offering coverage on Twitter. Click here to follow us.