The defeat of Measure B1 has officials and activists talking about reforming the way the state raises and spends money on transportation.

The state’s two-thirds approval threshold for new taxes allowed a minority of voters to block Measure B1. Now transportation officials, community advocates, and city leaders from Berkeley to Fremont are wondering where the needed funds will come from to pay for bus services, new roads, bike lanes, smart growth projects, and more..

That comes out to 66.53 percent voter approval. B1 lost by an amazingly small margin of 721 votes. 

ACTC’s Dao is also looking for ways to reform the system. “[The] talk among transportation circles right now is how to lower the vote threshold below two-thirds, like school bonds,” he said. “We think 55 percent might be the right bar to set for future sales tax initiatives for transportation.” Dao said this will be one of ACTC’s top legislative priorities in 2013.

We really need to be reforming how we fund transportation, and what we fund at every level of government. At the federal level, 80 percent of gas tax goes into highways, rather than transit and pedestrian improvements,” noted Imai. “We need to flip that.”

ebx, 05.12.12.
(photo) 

The 141-mile section from Bakersfield to L.A. will travel over two mountain ranges and more than half a dozen earthquake faults. Experts see it as the project of the century.

The plan calls for bullet trains to shoot east from Bakersfield at 220 mph, climbing one of the steepest sustained high-speed rail inclines in the world. It would soar over canyons on viaducts as high as a 33-story skyscraper. The line would duck in and out of tunnels up to 500 feet below the rugged surface. It would cross more than half a dozen earthquake faults heading toward L.A.

latimes, 12.11.12

from the east bay express, with brief descriptions/comments and additions by me.

Oakland

• City Council At-Large: Rebecca Kaplan. read response to WOBO.
• Council District 1: 1. Richard Raya 2. Amy Lemley 3. Dan Kalb
• Council District 3: Sean Sullivan, Alex Miller-Cole, and Lynette Gibson McElhaney
• Council District 5: Mario Juarez and Shelly Garza
• Council District 7: Sheryl Walton
• City Attorney: Barbara Parker
• School Board District 1: Jody London
• School District 3: Jumoke Hinton Hodge
• School District 5: Rosie Torres
• School District 7: James Harris
• Measure J: Yes

for some reason I only had councilmember at-large, city attorney, a council district, and EBMUD on my mail-in ballot..

Berkeley

• Mayor: Tom Bates
• Council District 2: Darryl Moore
• Council District 5: Laurie Capitelli
• Measure R: Yes
• Measure S: NO. Banning people from sitting on the sidewalk will not directly get them to look for help and is not a way to improve the local economy.
• Measure T: Yes. This will not allow high-rise development near Aquatic Park as opponents have lied about. This will only allow development of a few underutilized/empty blocks in West Berkeley.
• Measure U: No
• Measure V: No

Alameda

City Council: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Stewart Chen, and Tony Daysog

Alameda County

• Measure A1: NO. taxpayer money to fund private nonprofit Zoological Society which already receives $2.8m annually from the gov’t?? pshh. and their yard signs “yes on a1 for animal care”?? LIES. read: oakland zoo campaign spending tops $800,000.
• Measure B1: YES. half-cent increase in transportation tax to keep funding and improving ac transit, BART, repaving roads, complete streets, bike and ped projects. read: funding the future.

Richmond

• City Council: Tom Butt, Marilyn Langlois, and Eduardo Martinez
• Measure N: Yes

Assembly

• 18th District: Abel Guillen

AC Transit

• At-Large: H.E. Christian “Chris” Peeples
• Ward 1: Yelda Bartlett

BART

• District 3: Rebecca Saltzman
• District 7: Maria Alegria

State Propositions

• Prop 30: Yes. increase taxes for the wealthy to help fund k-12 education. ebx.
• Prop 32: No. “This year’s most deceptive ballot measure would enhance Big Money’s ability to corrupt California elections.” ebx.
• Prop 33: No. Auto insurance pricing initiative. ebx.
• Prop 34: Yes. Executing the death penalty. “Prop 34 would save California about $180 million a year, and would eliminate the possibility of putting innocent inmates to death.” ebx.
• Prop 35: No. increasing fines and prison time for human traffickers will not get to the root of the problem. and california already has laws to combat human trafficking. latimes.
• Prop 36: Yes. reshaping the three strikes law. only if third offense is serious (vs. non-violent, non-serious, non-sexual crime) can the convicted be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. huffpo.
• Prop 37: Yes. Require that GMO foods be labeled.
• Prop 38: No. either this or Prop 30 must pass to increase funding for education. Prop 30 is better.
• Prop 39: Yes. “The ballot measure would simply close a tax loophole that incentivizes California companies to create jobs elsewhere. The money saved would help balance California’s budget, and it would be invested in clean energy and energy efficiency projects that will create good jobs.” huffpo.
• Prop 40: Yes. to continue letting letting an independent group draw district lines. against: nobody. huffpo.

Congress

• 15th District: Pete Stark

President

• Barack Obama
• or Jill Stein (Green Party)?
• or write in Ron Paul? 

they describe things and places with the university campus as center of their mental map.

ie. “the top dog (restaurant) on south side”
“the bonger burger on north side”

like, there is no “south side” “north side” “east side” “west side”.

There’s South Berkeley, North Berkeley, West Berkeley, and the Hills. 

Downtown is the center of Berkeley. 

ya i do still harbor hate for non-native* berkeley students. :P 
*to berkeley and to the bay area and california. esp. those who do not recognize existing neighborhoods and regions. 

and then of course they never dare to visit Oakland. hahah