ZotWheels

Membership is now open for UCI's bike sharing program, ZotWheels.

http://www.parking.uci.edu/zotwheels/main.cfm

L.A. homeowners fight the glare of digital billboards -- latimes.com

L.A. homeowners fight the glare of digital billboards -- latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

The UC Irvine Urban Planning community is mourning the loss of our very own Malancha Ghosh (MURP 2009). Malancha passed away this past weekend. We ask that everyone please keep her and her family in your thoughts.

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Rethinking Green: Save the environment: Don't take transit

Rethinking Green: Save the environment: Don't take transit

Goodluck in Finals Anteaters!

Good Luck in Exams/Papers!!

We are developing a list of social activities for those that are going to be in the area for Xmas Break!! Hope you can join us!

-V.P's External & Internal

MURP Mentoring Volunteer Opportunity for Winter/Spring

Natalie is working with an OC non-profit (Girls Inc) to set up a mentoring program with local high-school girls. The intent of the program is to encourage young people to think about what forces shape cities and the neighborhoods around them, through MURP facilitated workshops. The program will also introduce the girls to the discipline of planning and help them start thinking about college and their future careers. There will be an active component to the program as well. The girls will vote on some community activities that are important to them. Then the MURP mentors will attend those activities with the students and discuss the activities afterward.

Natalie is going to hold a meeting in early December, after the quarter ends, to start drawing together a curriculum (please send her your availability so she can choose the best meeting date). The workshops with the students will begin in the winter or spring quarter, depending on how quickly the curriculum can be put together.

This is a low-pressure involvement and a way to share the ideas you’re developing in your program with the next generation of involved citizens in the OC. You can be involved a lot or a little - whatever fits in your schedule. If you are interested in facilitating one workshop or just attending one community activity with the girls, that level of involvement is fine. Please contact Natalie if you’re even remotely interested so she can put you on her list and keep you in the communication loop. nataliea@uci.edu Thanks!

A side note: This program is not aiming to exclude the young men in the community. Girls Inc has well established ties to local schools. This was a more feasible route to go than to try to develop relationships with individual schools from the ground up. That’s the reason the program will focus on girls’ education. However, depending on how much you all want to be involved, the program has the potential to grow and include co-ed workshops as well.

Urban Oil Wells in Los Angeles

*****UPSA Thanksgiving Potluck*****

TUESDAY @ 6:00

Room SE 112


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Nov. 13th RBF Consulting Office Visit

RBF Consulting

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Nov 14th APA Student Symposium

more info here...


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MURPtastic TED TALK: Charter Cities

From All About Cities:

"Why is it that in hundreds of cities around the world, average citizens can own and use cel phones every day, but don’t have electricity or running water in their homes? They have a new, 21st century technology, but not a late-19th century one. From this premise, Stanford University Economist Paul Romer develops an explanation, and then a solution in one of the most intriguing lectures I’ve watched in a long time."

http://www.chartercities.org/resources

LA Metro's Official Blog

Please check out the official blog of LA Metro. It is called The Source and currently has up to date information on the new Gold Line extension opening November 15th.

http://thesource2.metro.net/

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Planning Resources on Twitter

Richard Florida (urbanist and economist)

LA Streets Blog (transportation news)

BLDGBLOG (architecture musings)

World Changing (green musings)

Next American City (planning magazine)

TransitRiderOC

blogdowntown

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Transit Forum Nov. 12th

High Speed Transit Forum
Design's Impact on High Speed Rail, Maglev Trains and Personal Rapid Transit

Thursday, November 12, 2009 6-8 P.M.
Brown Chapel, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, California

http://www.designinnovationinstitute.org/transitforum.html

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One of the most beautiful images I've seen in a while

INHABITAT GREEN TALK WEBINAR with GAVIN NEWSOM, Wed. 12 pm, Rm. 306

Conference Room 306 at noon. Bring lunch!


From Inhabitat:

CALLING ALL SAN FRANCISCANS & those of you who want to green your cities!

We’re interviewing San Francisco mayor GAVIN NEWSOM next Wednesday the 28th at 12pm PST, and we’re inviting YOU to join us next for this live webcast conversation with the country’s greenest mayor! Join us to find out more about groundbreaking energy projects, mandatory composting, and how San Francisco got to be the greenest city in the U.S!

As cities around the globe strive to become more sustainable, Mayor Newsom has led the charge in San Francisco towards cutting-edge transportation projects, groundbreaking initiatives in waste reduction, such as mandatory composting, and major advances in alternative energy. He’s also a forerunner in the race to be California’s next governor, which makes this a CAN’T MISS opportunity to talk with him about the future of the golden state! We’ll be interviewing Mayor Gavin Newsom next Wednesday at 12pm PST about all of these exciting projects and we want you to participate in the conversation, so sign up today!

We’ll be compiling a list of reader questions to ask Gavin, so if you have any queries about the policies, projects, and initiatives that stand to shape the sustainability of our cities, please submit them to us in the comments below, as soon as possible!

Upcoming Film Screenings

The Orange County Film Society, in affiliation with the Newport Beach Film Festival, is screening two films next week that urban planners may find tantalizing:

8p,Wed., Oct 28
Documenting the City: Beijing
$10 online, Regency South Coast [map below]

Films, including documentaries, have done much to shape American and Chinese perceptions of each other. Beginning in 2006, USC and Beijing’s Communication University of China launched a program to have student filmmakers collaborate in exploring Los Angeles and Beijing. Each summer since seven students from one school have traveled to the other school and spent summer working with their counterparts to produce short documentaries on Los Angeles and Beijing as global cities. See samples of these films as USC professors Mark Jonathan Harris and Johanna Demetrakas and their students from USC present and comment the work following the screening.


View Larger Map

8p, Thurs., Oct 29
Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner
Free, Orange County Museum of Art [map below]

In conjunction with The Moving Image: Scan to Screen, Pixel to Projection and H-Box, the Orange County Film Society is screening films about art, architecture, and design. This film traces the lifelong quest of visionary genius John Lautner to create "architecture that has no beginning and no end." His life was marked by innovation and inspiration, and finally monumental achievement.


View Larger Map

Leave a comment if you're interested and UPSA will arrange carpool.

Hollywood Community Studio Grand Opening 10/15

The Hollywood Community Studio is a research and resource center dedicated to serving and planning with the local community of Hollywood. It is home to the Human Development Overlay Districtproject (HD-OD), which researches the physical and social changes taking place in Hollywood. The project also uses cutting-edge technology to create a multi-dimensional information base and portrait of Hollywood that will be accessible to the public. HD-OD is a project of the Environmental Simulation Center with funding from the Ford Foundation and local support by the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles.

Hollywood Community Studio

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Hip-Hop's Effect on New York

Joe Conzo gets misty eyed when he recalls his teenage years in the South Bronx.

In those days, taking pictures was his hobby - one which led to him photographing black and Latino youths dancing to a new type of music, with its own distinctive forms of dance and art. The scene would later be christened hip-hop.

more from BBC News...

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LEED Gold Arc Award

It’s UCI’s fifth new construction project to merit the U.S. Green Building Council rating

UC Irvine’s Anteater Recreation Center expansion has earned LEED NC Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Gold certification is the second-highest rating possible, and “NC” signifies that the project met standards for new construction.

Expansion of the state-of-the-art sports and fitness complex was completed in September 2008, increasing the facility’s size from 89,000 square feet to 115,000 square feet, including 10,000 square feet for weight training, two additional activity rooms, a demonstration kitchen, and a wellness center with massage, exercise testing and Pilates reformers.

“Both functionally and energy-efficient, this new space seamlessly blends with the original building. This is a great addition to student life and a wonderful way to mark the Anteater Recreation Center’s 10-year anniversary in January 2010,” said Jill Schindele, director of campus recreation.

The project won LEED Gold certification for a number of green design and construction features, including:

• Outperforming California’s Energy Code (Title 24) by 25 percent;
• Obtaining more than 70 percent of the center’s electricity from renewable sources;
• Using 43 percent less water (at least 96,000 gallons annually) than a conventional facility; and
• Diverting 75 percent of construction waste (more than 200 tons) from landfills.

“I am delighted with this accomplishment and how well our efforts merge with UCI students’ recent Green Initiative for sustainable projects that reduce the campus’s carbon footprint,” said Manuel Gómez, vice chancellor for student affairs.

This is the fifth new construction venture at UCI to receive LEED Gold certification. Previously recognized were the Palo Verde II student apartments, the Anteater Instruction & Research Building, the Student Center and Donald Bren Hall.

“We are so pleased that our artfully and sustainably designed recreation center expansion has earned LEED Gold certification,” said Wendell Brase, vice chancellor for administrative & business services. “Our success in achieving this rating belongs to the many members of our community who gave their time, expertise and passion to this project.”

http://today.uci.edu/news/nr_leedgoldarc_090916.php

WTS-LA Upcoming Event

WTS-LA upcoming Metro event “*Strategic Partnering for
Success*” at the City Club on Bunker Hill on October 29, 2009 from 5:30-7:00
pm.

Check out their website for more info

Dia De Los Muertos Event!!

You have to rsvp!!

Saturday, Movie on the Lawn: The Dark Knight (PG-13) @ the Great Park

This Saturday!

Free Admission.

Parking $8 (Carpool!)

Take your blanket...it's getting cold.

The Piano Staircase

A very clever way to promote walking and ditch escalators.

First Fall Quarter UPSA Meeting!!

Be there!

What: UPSA Meeting
Where: SE I ..it's the room next to the lab. You will hear Matt's loud voice (lol)
Why: Discuss cool stuff..like APA New Orleans. Social Events..and.Philanthropy (if you're into that)

When: TODAY at 5pm!

2010 National Planning Conference

2010 National Planning Conference
Poster Presentation Proposal Submissions
Saturday, April 10 – Tuesday, April 13, 2010 • New Orleans

Deadline: October 13, 2009 (student members of APA)

Poster Presentations and Exhibits

Poster presentations highlight individual presentations on planning research, case studies, and planning projects. Members of APA and non-members of APA may submit poster presentation proposals. Student members of APA are invited to submit student poster proposals. Student posters are reviewed separately from general posters. All posters are displayed in the exhibit hall Saturday through Tuesday, with a special time on Monday for informal discussion with attendees.
APA members and APA student members should follow the instructions under "APA Members." Non-members may follow the instructions under "Non-Members of APA." Non-member students must submit by August 18 with the general poster proposals. Please read the instructions carefully.

Guidelines
Posters must be shaped for a planner and planning official audience. Here are some important tips:

Posters are educational and cannot be a promotion of a product, service, or organization.
Posters will focus on research, a case study, project, or program.
Posters are an ideal venue for single presenters or planning research.
Non-members should familiarize themselves with the APA and the work of planners before you submit; study the APA website.

10/2 Workshop!!!

Being that the department's budget has been cut, class selection reduced..(greatly)..this is a great opportunity to get more technical information! ;)

**REMINDER** **Don't miss the first in the Professional Development
Series "NUTS and BOLTS" Workshops**

"Environmental Impact Assessment 101"
presented by John Kain, President, Urban Crossroads and Joan Kelly,
AICP, Managing Principal, BonTerra Consulting

Friday, October 2, 2009, 12:00 - 3:30pm
Social Ecology I, Room 306

WTS-LA Chapter Scholarship Opportunity

WTS-LA SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES (the Orange County Chapter has something similar)

Seven College Scholarships + Qualification for International Scholarships

* $5,000, $3,000 for Graduates
* $5,000, $3,000 for Undergraduates
* $2,000 for a 1st or 2nd year Undergraduate
* $2,500 for a Graduate or Undergraduate
* $2,500 for Professional Development (Certificate Program)

REQUIREMENTS:

* Women currently enrolled in Undergraduate, Graduate Degree, or Certificate Program in a Transportation Related Field, such as Transportation Engineering, Planning, Finance, or Logistics.
* Student must be enrolled in a school in Los Angeles County or have residency in Los Angeles County
* GPA 3.0 or higher for undergraduates and GPA 3.5 or higher for graduate students.


APPLICATION DUE: Friday, October 2, 2009

Download scholarship applications from our website:
http://www.wtsinternational.org/Chapters.aspx?ID=6728

Rail Manufacturing Plant Coming to LA

from the LA Times:

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board today awarded a contract to the Italian firm AnsaldoBreda for 100 additional light-rail cars, clearing the way for a new rail manufacturing plant that the company has promised to build in downtown Los Angeles.

The decision was a victory for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has made green jobs a centerpiece of his agenda. He said the rail plant would serve as the southern anchor of his proposed clean technology corridor east of downtown.

Board members approved the $300-million deal on an 8-3 vote — with two members absent — after impassioned speeches by union workers who said many of their colleagues were out of work and losing their homes.

Art Leahy, the MTA's chief executive, had recommended against approval of the controversial deal. But at the last moment, AnsaldoBreda circulated an e-mail that provided additional financial guarantees from the firm's parent company, Finmeccanica.

—Maeve Reston at L.A. City Hall

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Article Competition: Cultural Awareness and Diversity

The Orange Section of California APA is awarding
$100 for an article on cultural awareness and
diversity! We are holding another competition
for the best original article regarding cultural
awareness and diversity in the planning
profession. The best article will be chosen
and published in the Orange County Planner
Newsletter and the winning writer will receive a
$100 gift card from American Express.
Cultural awareness and diversity in planning is
an important part of the planning profession.
According to our APA diversity initiative: The field
of planning is deeply rooted in advocating for
equity, reform, and justice in all communities.
APA and its members carry that tradition on
through innovative planning, programs, and
research designed to reflect America’s diversity.
If you would like to participate, write an original
article about why cultural awareness and diversity
is important to community planning or strategies
for outreaching to communities of diverse cultural
backgrounds for professional planners. Some
suggested topics that the article may be about:
Articles should be emailed no later than Thursday,
November 5, 2009, to Amy Thomas, AICP, Vice
Director of Membership at athomas@tustinca.org.

NY Times Post on New Phoenix Light Rail

Among the many detractors — and they were multitudinous — who thought a light rail line in this sprawling city would be a riderless $1 billion failure was Starlee Rhoades, the spokeswoman for the Goldwater Institute, a vocal critic of the rail’s expense. “I’ve taken it,” Ms. Rhoades said, slightly sheepishly. “It’s useful.”

more here...

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Oct. 3rd and 4th - Free Museum Day

Many museums in LA and OC are having free admission on this weekend to promote our region's culture to the masses.

Full list of participants here

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Oct 2nd - Environmental Impact Assessment 101

The PPD Department will be beginning it's professional development series with a workshop on Environmental Impact Reports (EIR). This series of workshops is something that we as students have pushed for to serve as a complement to our classes. Not only will this be a great event but your attendance will show the department our appreciation for making this happen.

Speaking will be Joan Kelly, managing principal of Bonterra Consulting and John Kain, president of Urban Crossroads.

12pm - 3:30 pm, SE 307

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Oct 3rd - Green Port Fest

The Port of Long Beach is hosting a Green Festival on October 3rd.

Please see link for more details.

http://www.polb.com/community/portfest/default.asp

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OC Restaurant Week Sept 13-19

More than 100 restaurants across Orange County’s vast dining landscape are ready to dish up amazing food at fantastic prices during Orange County’s most anticipated culinary event.

From all corners of the county this foodie celebration provides OC locals the opportunity to indulge in a selection of specially priced prix fixe menus from over 100 of Orange County’s best Restaurants. These menus showcase some of the region’s most talented chefs who have personalized each menu to reflect their culinary style. The prix fixe menus are priced at $10, $15 and $20 per person for lunch, and $20, $30 or $40 per person for dinner.

The only thing to make for dinner during Restaurant Week is reservations! This is the time for food lovers to try new places, get groups of friend and dine out and just really enjoy a week of fabulous dining. Start planning your week of dining out.

more info here...

Pretend City

Pretend City Children's Museum in Irvine


But where's the pretend blight, pretend hookers, pretend traffic of a real city? And the pretend chests of OC housewives?


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Panic on the Streets of London?

As an attempt to reduce congestion, the city of London will turn on street lights in a certain area around town and film traffic for several weeks.

Doing so will supposedly cause more drivers to be more cautious.

more at NY Times...

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LA Times ARTIC Critique

The role that train travel plays in the American popular imagination is an increasingly contradictory one these days, somehow deeply nostalgic and symbolic of the future at the same time.

Getting from one city to another by train remains a thoroughly romanticized exercise — a humane relic of a more cosmopolitan and energy-efficient era in transportation. And yet trains have also become a key component of efforts by young planners, architects and politicians to re-imagine or revivify American urbanism, with separate piles of federal and state funds — in California’s case, nearly $10 billion — already earmarked for a network of new high-speed rail links.

more from LA Times...

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Mobility 21

Southern California is at a crossroads. We have a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to shape our transportation future, escape gridlock, protect our
environment and improve our quality of life.

However, without champions for transportation in the state and federal legislatures, and without a vision of how we can achieve this 21st century transportation network, we will be left with a system that does not meet our needs.

Sustainable, innovative solutions are on the horizon, funding reforms are being considered and regional cooperation is improving the way our transportation network serves residents and commerce alike. What’s missing is a groundswell of support for investing the needed capital and the flexibility for implementing these innovations.

On September 21, 2009 join transportation providers, businesses, elected officials and others to develop Mobility 21’s action plan to advocate for Southern California’s transportation future in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Register here

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National Comm Garden This Week

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today encouraged Americans to connect with the land, the food it grows and their local communities by proclaiming August 23-29, National Community Gardening Week. A community garden is an opportunity to educate everyone about from where food comes, whether that is a Farmers Market or a garden, and is important to increasing generations of healthy eaters. Community gardens can be anywhere whether it is in the country, a city or a suburb. It can be one community plot or can be many individual plots.

more here...

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Re: LA Times Article on OCTA

Click here for article

This piece just lacks any real merit about transportation in Orange County. It basically restates the obvious: the state is in extreme peril fiscally and public transit in OC suffers in a down economy. Why not talk about the hiring of new CEO Will Kempton who leads by example by taking public transit to work. What about OCTA's ARCTIC initiative -- which has the potential to be a the primary nexus in Southern California mass transit and long range traveling with plans to connect to Las Vegas through high speed rail.

Just because LA Metro garners all the glitz and glamour of "subways to the sea" and "Look new turnposts! We're just like New York now right?" does not mean the rest of So. California transportation is going through a downward spiral. Everyone is hurting right now -- bad journalism just falls into the constraints of bad taste. Everyone knows that OC will be automobile-friendly for quite some time -- if better information, however, were passed along then maybe a few more people would realize that strides are being taken to improve major issues.

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Research/Perspectives from UCI Planning Policy Design Faculty & Students

Calling Skid Row Home:

UCI's Mike Powe studies ways to make Los Angeles district inclusive, viable community

"Mike is highly committed to conducting research that will guide policy and planning decision-making," wrote Kristen Day, UCI planning, policy & design professor, in a nomination letter for Powe. "He regularly moves beyond concern about issues to take constructive action."

By interviewing loft residents, the homeless, business owners, real estate developers, social service providers, Los Angeles officials and police officers, Powe hopes to identify the diverse demographics of Skid Row. He also is reviewing city policies, loft marketing materials and media reports to understand how the various interests coexist.

One way to improve the quality of life for all Skid Row residents, he says, is through more consistent services dealing with the neighborhood's trash. Often, trash ends up in the streets due to a simple lack of waste bins. And some social service agencies that deliver food to Skid Row leave the cleanup to residents.

"It's not as if the poor want to live with garbage strewn all over the sidewalks," says Powe. "There are simply not that many trash cans and even fewer people paid to empty them."

He wants to shape a future in which longtime Skid Row residents and loft dwellers work together for the common good.

"The area has the potential to develop into a sustainable, viable and diverse community," Powe says. "In such a neighborhood, people can live different lives but, ultimately, look out for each other."

In Los Angeles' Skid Row district, homeless camps, shelters and drug treatment centers share the streets with trendy restaurants and shops. Upscale lofts symbolize the neighborhood transformation underway in an area marked by poverty and blight.

This dynamic fascinates Michael Powe, UC Irvine planning, policy & design doctoral candidate, who heads a project to recommend development and policies to city officials and businesses that would foster economic diversity on Skid Row. This spring he won a $10,000 Public Impact Fellowship from UCI's Graduate Division that supports students whose research could have significant local, national or global benefit.

Research/Perspectives from UCI Planning Policy Design Faculty & Students

For almost 20 years, Marlon Boarnet has studied the links between land use and transportation networks - research generally of interest only to policy wonks.

But the UC Irvine professor of planning, policy & design and economics noticed a change over the past year. "The nation is looking to planners for serious answers," he says. "There's a sense of urgency right now that I haven't felt in my entire career."

Boarnet relishes the current debate over how to use $787 billion in economic stimulus funds to improve U.S. roads and communities. In addition, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions raise the prospect of rethinking the transportation system, he says.

To articulate some of the planning community's ideas, Boarnet recently co-wrote and edited Transportation Infrastructure: The Challenges of Rebuilding America, published by the American Planning Association.

In the mid-20th century, transportation planning meant building an interstate highway system to move people and goods around the country. Today, environmental and quality-of-life issues dominate the field.

"Given the current economic situation, infrastructure investment is a sensible short-term stimulus tool," says Boarnet, "but we need to be careful that programs are consistent with environmental sustainability."

He believes investing in crowded metropolitan areas should be a priority. "We need to build cities differently so people drive less and walk more," Boarnet says. Local incentives such as fixing sidewalks and offering rebates for electric vehicles can also affect mobility, he says.

Examples of smart land use and transportation planning, Boarnet says, include the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor of subway stations and mixed commercial/residential development in Arlington, Va., and the light-rail system and downtown redevelopment in Portland, Ore. Both projects have led to increases in pedestrian traffic and public transit use.

"The truth is that we don't have a lot of good examples, and each one is context-specific," Boarnet says. "We need to recognize the potential in areas like Irvine's Great Park or the Platinum Triangle in Anaheim for mixed commercial/residential development, and we should encourage cities to experiment with such concepts as neighborhood electric vehicles and car sharing."

Overhauling America's infrastructure will require patience, he cautions: "It takes a minimum of 30 years for transportation and land use planning to have an impact in communities."

But the time to start, Boarnet says, is now: "The current economic and environmental crises have focused people's attention, and hopefully one outcome will be a transportation system that is greener and more efficient and that responds to the needs of the future."

— Laura Rico, University Communications

Resurrecting the Rustbelt

Last year, Forbes compiled a list of the ten fastest dying cities in the United States. Shockingly, they're sprinkled across the midwest. Seems like the mayors of those cities weren't too thrilled with having their municipalities relegated to intensive care, so they banded together to create Ten Living Cities. Wall Street journal reports on the double-quintet's meeting to save their cities:

Here's an idea for saving Rust Belt cities: Tell bloggers and radio stations to stop calling your town a basket case.

That was one suggestion from representatives of eight of the 10 cities labeled last year as America's fastest dying. They met at the Dayton Convention Center last weekend to swap ideas about how to halt the long skid that's turned cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo, N.Y., into shorthand for dystopia.

Can't say all of their dialog was terribly productive or revelatory, but it's a start. One sound point they unanimously make: how you pitch a city is just as important as how you plan it.

APA LA Green Building Tour

Mark your calendars for a free APA Los Angeles event: a walking tour of Green Buildings and Sustainable Development in Santa Monica on Saturday, September 19th.

Program: APA Green Building Tour
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2009, 10 AM, Starting at Santa Monica Pier

The walking tour will visit several green building sites in downtown Santa Monica. At each tour site, the City's Green Building Program Advisor will review the green features of the site including innovative technologies and design strategies. The City has an internal policy that all City buildings achieve LEED Silver certification. We will visit several LEED certified buildings and the tour will include an overview of LEED and other green building rating systems. The discussion will also include background on the City's green building code requirements, and how they work in concert with other elements of the Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan to promote high performance buildings, sustainable growth, and improved quality of life in Santa Monica.

The event is FREE to APA members and $15 for non-members. We are applying for CM credit for this event. You must RSVP for this event as space is limited. Please RSVP to Gabriela Juarez via email (gabriela.juarez@lacity.org) by Friday, September 11, 5 pm.

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Mayor Newsom in Orange County

Please join OC Dems for a townhall and reception.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Come to the townhall and hear from Mayor Newsom about his plans to put California on a better track!

Orange County Town Hall

Tuesday, August 11

6:00pm

Santa Ana College - Johnson Campus Building

1530 W. 17th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706

RSVP to rsvp@gavinnewsom.com or (415) 962-4532

For more information, please visit
www.gavinnewsom.com

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“Civil Disobedience Mobilizes People”

Here's a great lecture PhD student Danny Olmos emailed me, Mike Davis. "For months it felt like the people of California held their collective breath, until state lawmakers hammered out a budget package that the Governor signed. Mike Davis held neither his breath nor his tongue. He talks about the economic crisis, Democrat lawmakers, and Left organizing."

Justice is Served!!

Let us celebrate and continue working towards equality

Yesterday Sonia Sotomayor, a qualified Latina was confirmed to serve as Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. We are witness to history; let us seize this moment of celebration to acknowledge that our work is to ensure all of us are prepared to serve our country. Let us work to ensure all of our youth are educated so that our democracy is protected. And let us rejoice that another glass ceiling has been shattered for Latinas. The confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor should be a call to service and action for all of us to continue our work for justice and equality in the United States.

Possible Professional Report Topics

We're in the thick of summer break--a great time to peel your body from the couch, turn off Entourage, and think about the Professional Report. You already spent 42 seconds drafting a half-assed proposal to Day, so another five minutes of deliberation while waiting for an oil change couldn't hurt. While you sort out an advisor and client, might I suggest a few notable topics that would be worth spending a few quarters slaving over? Or do you really care about digitizing Irvine's General Plan that much?

Possible Professional Report Topics

"LEED-OG: Greening the 'Hood"

"The Wire(less): Establishing Free Public Wi-Fi for the California
State Prison System"

"Why Can't We Be Friends? An efficient planning model for a single
Mixed-Use Pedestrian-Oriented Development housing the Mexican American
Museum, Museum of Tolerance, Native American Art Museum, Museum of
Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Huntington Library, and
California Science Center, in Victorville"

"A Cost Benefit Analysis for Replacing Diamond Signs on Carpool Lanes
with Various Emoticons ;)"

"Applying Chemical Engineering Principles for the Remote Detonation
of the Last Remaining Public Phones in Garden Grove"

"Not Just Another Brick in the Wall: Strategies for Creating a Wall
Dividing North and South Orange County Using Recyclable and
Biodegradable Materials"

"Morality Impact Analysis for Proposed Gentleman's Club in Lake
Forest"

"Where You At? A GIS Training Manual for Southern California Drug
Cartels"

"Relieving Traffic Congestion along the Culver/Newport Coast Drive
Corridor"

"A Framework for Achieving Historic Landmark Designation for Long
Beach*s Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles"

"Three People Like This: Strategies for Suppressing User Comments and
Ratings on Developer-Posted YouTube Videos and Facebook links."
_ _

In another post, I'll lay out some cool clients that wouldn't mind taking on such disparate topics (or at least agreeing to paste your photo on the "Company Outreach" section of their website). In the meantime, you might want to start asking around here, here, and here.

California Parks in Trouble

State parks officials and nonprofit organizations scrambled Wednesday to find funding and possibly new corporate sponsors to keep as many as 100 parks and beaches open after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger slashed an additional $6.2 million out of the state parks system.

more from LA Times...

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Another List

Up and coming Canadian cities

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Best Cities for Singles

Pretty obvious in my opinion:

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/best-cities-for-singles-2009.html

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Bacelona- El Carmel and Tres Turones- Why Planning Seems so Different in Barcelona

A lot of the things we have done in my classes so far has been going to see presentations that are done by municipal organizations who are in charge of the revitalization of certain areas in the city. They have told us about their plans for changing neighborhoods and improving them to make housing conditions, services, and transporation better for certain areas. One of the groups told us about 20 times that they were trying to design their city so that there would be diversity between the young people, older people, families, and the disabled. They feel that this integration is very important and makes for a healthy community. I think in a lot of these neighborhoods it's required that about 30% of the housing be public housing, which has controlled prices and ia subsidized heavily by the government. It's not a very rare thing to have really low income people living next to those who are middle class, and many private developers who own buildings are required to have public housing and controlled prices in their buildings to a certain extent by the government who pays them to do so. It's incredible to me and to others that no one protests this social housing, because in California when people try to put up affordable housing units people tend to be very upset and show up at city council meetings expressing the fact that having affordable housing in their backyards will bring crime and cause property values to drop. It's kind of amazing here that people from different income levels are able to live together in the same building without their being protest for the tenants that are not receiving help via social housing programs that have been established and funded by the government- it's a total contrast.

The pictures here are taken in an area of the city called El Carmel. It has a very difficult topography, and because it is on the outskirts of the city many people immigrated to that area and erected houses with their own two hands in order to have a place to live. (The pirate flag picture is from an area where many building were erected by the people who inhabit them, rather than by professional developers.) Because they were constucted in this manner the city doubts the safety of them. Also many of them are very very small and have poor ventilation and there are doubts about the health of living in such places. The city has a major renovation plan that will put in a new main street and has also put in several elevators and escaltors to help people reach their homes that used to require them to climb steep hills. As a result of this construction projects and also as a result of tearing down a lot of the unsafe housing people are displaced. However the city never displaces people and leaves them without a place to go. It is the law that they must be guaranteed housing in the same area, and if they chose not to be relocated they are given a lump sum of money. The brick building in the city is an example of new construction at the top of three newly installed escalators that climb the hills for you, where many people were relocated when their houses were removed in order to make such improvments to the neighborhood.

I think that the unique thing about this renovation in El Carmel is the fact that the improvements are being made to this area in order to improve the lives of the people who live there. I think that the kind of development I am used to seeing in S. Cal cities has to do with making improvements to the city in order to bring in more business and to push things along economically or even for better transporation purposes. So if they have to build public transport or a freeway through a very poor part of a city they give people money and they expect them to find a place to move to, as where here the improvements that they are making are not to bring in revenue for the city, but in this neighborhood especially they are made to help the people already living there, and if the city does have to claim eminent domain over your house or property they don't just hand people money and expect them to figure out where to go, they actually faciliate new housing facilities for the displaced.

The only thing that is suspect is that fact that so far we have talked to far more municipal workers than residents, so its hard to tell what the attitudes of the people living in these neighborhoods really is. Are they happy with the renovations? Do they feel that it is ultimately helping them or that the government is interfering to much by chasing them out of their houses into new places? Do they feel like they are being bought out or are they satisfied with the compensation and services that the city provides? When talking to those from the municipality I get these feeling that the city governments here really are doing great things for their residents, but I am excited to get out into the field next week and hear a different perspective on things. At this point, all I know is that the city's approach to working with neighborhood residents here seems to be very different from what I have seen in Orange County. Municipalities work closely with neighborhood associations in ways that appear to really impact positive changes that containa great deal of input from the residents. It's difficult for me to accept this concept after working with residents in Anaheim who are practially begging the city to accept their input. It seems that there is great benefit to the many Socialist municipalities in Barcelona- at least from the perspective of the residents who seem to have much more say in what goes on than I have seen in my experiences in Anaheim.

Water demand in Los Angeles reaches a 32-year low, DWP says

One official says the drop shows that the new water restrictions are working. Others report falling demand as well.

By Nicole Santa Cruz and David Zahniser
July 28, 2009

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported Monday that water demand reached a 32-year low for the month of June, dropping 11% compared with the same period in 2008.

Jim McDaniel, the senior assistant general manager of DWP's water system, said hard work by ratepayers is paying off. Though experts said June was on average 4 degrees cooler than normal, McDaniel attributed the low demand to the new water restrictions.

"You don't see those kinds of reductions just due to weather," he said.

The restrictions limit the use of sprinklers to 15 minutes a day on Mondays and Thursdays. No watering is allowed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The DWP released the data days after lawmakers complained that the water-saving rules are killing lawns and gardens.

Councilman Greig Smith proposed that DWP customers be permitted to use their sprinklers for up to eight minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

"The twice-a-week restrictions are turning people's lawns brown, which hurts home values in our neighborhoods," he said.

Smith made his proposal Friday, the same day the council agreed to let golf courses, colleges and other large property owners water any day of the week as long as they reduce water consumption by 20%.

In Long Beach, consumers used 9.4% less water in June compared to 2008. The once-green lawns in that city have seen better days since the city imposed restrictions in September 2007, said Matthew Veeh, acting director of government and public affairs with the Long Beach Water Department.

That plan, which is monitored by citizens, restricts residents to a schedule where they can water three times each week, with a limit of 15 minutes depending on the irrigation system.

"People's lawns are definitely not looking too great at this point," Veeh said.

Instead of water-hogging grass lawns, he suggested people should consider drought-resistant landscaping, with native California plants that require less water.

June was 18.8% below the department's 10-year average from 1998 to 2007. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies water to 26 agencies including Los Angeles and Long Beach, saw demand drop as well.

Compared to a six-year average from 2003 to 2008, usage in June was down 14%, the lowest since June of 2003, said Armando Acuna, a spokesman for MWD.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

david.zahniser@latimes.com

For the Aquatic Planner in You

Dumpster Pool Party

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Going European Style

Newport Beach foundation will offer bike-sharing in Orange County.

By Pat Brennan

Orange County Register (7/13/09)

A Newport Beach foundation will become the first to offer "European style" bikesharing in Orange County,allowing users to grab a bike at one bike station and leave it at another.

The program, meant to cut greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, begins with plenty of fanfare this weekend, with events scheduled in Newport on Friday-Monday.

"We’re trying to work with different communities to reduce the carbon footprint and traffic issues," said Alan Brandenburger, founder of the non-profit Brandenburger Foundation. "It’s a green community, kind of forward thinking on the environment, and that is what it’s all about."

The foundation is partnering with the Bixi Bike System, which has set up a similar system in Montreal.

The foundation hopes eventually to set up many bike stations around Newport, with the mobile kiosks holding seven bikes each. One demonstration station will be setup this weekend.

Users must run a credit card through a card reader to pay fees, although 30 minute rides are free. After that, fees range from $1.50 for the second 30 minutes to $6 for the fourth 30-minute period and each 30-minute period beyond that. The price increases to encourage people to use the bikes only for short increments of time.

They can also purchase 24-hour access for $5, a 30-day subscription for $28, and a 1-year subscription for $120. Memberships will be available on the program’s web site.


The bikes are automatically locked when the front wheel is placed in a dock at the bike station. Punching in a code triggers a green light and releases the bike.


The foundation will hold events to introduce the bikes at Newport Beach City Hall on Friday, Balboa Pier on Saturday, Newport Pier on Sunday and the Orange County Transportation Authority bus depot at Fashion Island on Monday morning, then at Newport Elementary School in the afternoon.

Obama Paints a New Vision for Nation's Urban Policy

By Robin Shulman
Addressing a White House urban affairs summit on Monday, President Obama called for the "reinvention" of America's cities and metropolitan areas and vowed to spark a public conversation to create a "new, imaginative, bold vision" for urban policy.

The speech was Obama's first as president dedicated to urban issues, a subject he called "near and dear to my heart."

He promised to send Cabinet members across the country this summer to engage Americans toward the creation of a national urban agenda, and he announced, for the first time in 30 years, an intensive interagency review to take a "hard look" at how federal policy impacts urban areas.

The summit was the first indication that the White House might back its newly created Office of Urban Affairs with the kind of muscle that Obama suggested during his campaign. That goal, introduced before the economic collapse, would reverse decades of federal disinterest in cities.

The meeting convened dozens of policy experts, along with mayors, county officials, governors and a half-dozen agency heads to discuss how the federal government can help build competitive, sustainable and inclusive urban areas.

Obama noted that he has lived almost all his life in cities, including studying in Los Angeles, New York and Cambridge, Mass., and founding his political career in Chicago.
But he said that he defined "urban" as not just inner cities, but also their surrounding suburbs, asserting that there is no longer a divide between the two.

"Even as we've seen many of our central cities continuing to grow in recent years, we've seen their suburbs and exurbs grow roughly twice as fast," said Obama. "It's not just our cities that are hotbeds of innovation anymore, it's our growing metropolitan areas."

He said he would send members of his Cabinet and the Office of Urban Affairs to look at innovations in cities around the country to elevate as best practices.

Obama noted Denver, for its plans to build a public transit system to handle the city's anticipated growth; Philadelphia, for its urban agriculture; and Kansas City, which has weatherized homes and built a ecologically minded transit system in one low-income neighborhood.

The president also said he has directed the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council, and the Office of Urban Affairs to review federal policies impacting urban areas, in terms of infrastructure, transportation, housing, energy, sustainable development and education.

Obama acknowledged that the economic crisis has caused four out of five American cities to cut services, and 48 states to face the prospects of budget deficits in the coming fiscal year. But he said the federal government must do more than just help cities weather the current economic storm -- it must figure out ways to "rebuild them on a newer, firmer, stronger foundation."

He also presented a comprehensive effort to build sustainable communities, led by the secretaries of the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation, and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

"For too long, federal policy has actually encouraged sprawl and congestion and pollution, rather than quality public transportation and smart, sustainable development," said Obama.

He said that developing housing, transportation and energy-efficiency should "go hand in hand."

Barcelona, Urban Planning, Historic Preservation, Roman (Gothic) City

We have started learning about the history of Barcelona, and one thing we learned is that because of its location it was not a major Roman city to start out with, and to make a long history short, there was a centralled walled-in Roman city. Under Spanish rule (I believe) it became larger but was heavily fortified with Spanish military and walls around the city to limit development, because the Spanish government was worried that it might be a revolutionary threat because of the differences in the Castillian and Catalonian kingdoms.

When the city became more properous, it began to develop more, but it could not develop outside of the set borders (yet) so it developed very narrow streets and was built up high. It was very dense. Living conditions became very stratified and the lower classes lived next to the bourgeosise who decided to revamp their city's history by investing lots of money into restoring what is now considered to be the Gothic part of the city...

What we learned today is that a majority of the buildings, walls, etc in the Gothic part of the city were not in the same places they are today when Barcelona really was a Roman city. Things were rearrange, building surfaces and walls were moved brick by brick to create plazas and beautiful squares to recreate the Roman history of the city... The church that is pictured above is an intesting case because it was never finished during the period it was built in, so when Barcelona started to prosper and money came into the city Barcelonians with money researched the period quite a bit, and made the outside of this Cathedral a model example of the type of architecture and design that they wanted the building to look like...

This brings up interesting questions about what is authentic and what is not, but more importantly, why a city would chose to re-CREATE this historical part of the city, which was not entirely true to real history. The lecturer today talks about how this recreation of history is a way to create cultural community and identity. In doing to the Catalonians and Barcelonians can emphasize the history that they care to, and not emphasize what they would rather forget. I suggested that it was the commercial creation of history for tourism, however it was suggested to me that the Barcelonians really needed the re-creation of this historical identity for themselves as much as it is something nice for tourists to look at... I wonder what other kinds of historical preservation movements do the same thing. How much of the history that we see is authentic, and what was researched and restored to look more periodic in order to highlight the parts of history that we want to be prominent in our cities?

As things progress I hope to learn more about the Cataloian identity that has been created in this region of Spain. Also, Barcelona is apparently one of the best models of modernist planning that has ever existed, which I am supposed to learn about tomorrow.

Interesting stuff, and great times in Spain.

2009 Board

(proper picture forthcoming)

Matt // president

Hometown
Lakewood, CA

Undergraduate School and Major
UC Riverside. Applied Mathematics.

Favorite City
To live and die in LA, it’s the place to be

Coffee or Tea
Coffee with a cigarette. Jasmine green tea to start off the day.

Currently Playing on iPod
Amazing how I listened to the Velvet Underground’s self titled LP for the first time this week. Splendid it is.

Last Item Purchased
Blockbuster video: American Graffiti, Zack and Miri

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
NIMBYism

Best Thing About Southern California
Lakers, Venice Canals, Hollywood Hills, Orange County beaches, the food, the people, going 80 on the 405 at 1 in the morning and a shitload of sunshine


Lucy // vp of external affairs

Hometown
Santa Ana, CA

Undergraduate School and Major
UCSB, Political Science

Favorite City
Guadalajara, Mexico

Coffee or Tea
COFFEE!!

Currently Playing on iPod
Manu Chao

Last Item Purchased
food...sangria..and stuff to make sangria

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
IDK LeCorbusier??

Best Thing About Southern California
King Taco!


Daniel // vp of internal affairs

Hometown
El Monte, CA

Undergrad school and major
UCI, Environmental Analysis and Design

Favorite city
Los Angeles

Coffee or tea
Tea

Currently playing on iPod
Michael Jackson- Human Nature

Last item purchased
Lunch

Least favorite planning terminology
Gentrification

Best thing about Southern California
Lakers!


Cheri // secretary

Hometown
Los Angeles, CA. Beverlywood to be specific :D

Undergrad school and major
UCLA. Art major. Want to buy a painting? I need the money :D

Favorite city
New York City. Awesome food and excellent public transportation outweighsangry and blunt people.

Coffee or tea
Coffee. Industrial strength.

Currently playing on iPod
The Killer's album Sam's Town. I can't get enough of it.

Last item purchased
An avocado bacon cheeseburger with fries and an iced tea. It was worthevery penny.

Least favorite planning terminology
Covenant. All I think about is witches and goblins. Don't know why.

Best thing about Southern California
The weather. Just wonderful


Sean // treasurer

Hometown
Alhambra, CA

Undergraduate School and Major
Cal Poly Pomona, English Lit

Favorite City
Paris to visit, Los Angeles to live

Coffee or Tea
Coffee, black.

Currently Playing on iPod
Don't have one..

Last Item Purchased
Flight of the Conchords Season 2 dvd

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
"Planning to Action"

Best Thing About Southern California
The food

Maha // communications co-chair

Hometown
BFE, Ohio

Undergraduate School and Major
The Ohio State University International Studies

Favorite City
Paris

Coffee or Tea
cafe au lait

Currently Playing on iPod
Okkervill River

Last Item Purchased
Waterloo Bridge dvd

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
high density, mixed-use, sustainability

Best Thing About Southern California
360 Days of Sunshine and Yogurtland


Ata // communications co-chair

Favorite City
Anything white.

Coffee or Tea
Anything black.

Currently Playing on iPod
Yellow House.

Last Item Purchased
I'm in the red.

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
Green.

Best Thing About Southern California
Pink's.

Ata ul Malik Khan studied Agent Orange and brownfields at Claremont McKenna College. He's pretty blue most of the time.


Sara // philanthropy co-chair

Hometown
Pa'auilo, Hawaii

Undergraduate School and Major
University of Oregon, Comparative Literature.

Favorite City
Kealakekua, Hawaii

Coffee or Tea
Tea.

Currently Playing on iPod
I have no iPod. But if I did, it would be playing Jason Aldean or Miranda Lambert

Last Item Purchased
Airline tickets to Canada

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
New new urbanism

Best Thing About Southern California
Theme parks. And things to do after 9pm.

Rosalinda // social chair

Hometown
Los Angeles, actual L.A. L.A.

Undergraduate School and Major
UC DAVIS: Native American Studies and Spanish

Favorite City
Have not toured the globe enough to determine this

Coffee or Tea
Water, but after running around Mexico City and dodging rain, coffee would be nice

Last Item Purchased
A ticket to ride Mexico City's metro

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
Cap and trade

Best Thing About Southern California
Los Angeles, The Pretty and the Gritty

Jessica // events chair

Hometown
Irvine, CA

Undergraduate School and Major
UCI, U.S. History and French

Favorite City
Paris - tons of parks and museums, and the nicest subway sustem I've ever seen

Coffee or Tea
Both...and hot chocolate too!

Last Item Purchased
I am a classical music nerd. :-P

Least Favorite Planning Terminology
Friedman

Best Thing About Southern California
Laguna Beach, Disneyland, PCH, the Getty, the food, and the weather

Shannon // philanthropy co-chair
Bonny // philanthropy co-chair

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Very Interesting Irvine Article

Jaci Woods is having trouble getting her neighbors to sign up for her WatchMail crime e-mail alerts. There's simply not enough crime in Irvine to warrant interest in dispatches about car burglaries, purse snatchings and stolen electronics.

Woods and her husband moved to Irvine from Virginia in 1971, the year the fledgling Orange County suburb incorporated, back when just a few thousand families were settling into sparkling new homes surrounded by ranch land. But the real estate broker worried that someday, as Irvine grew, it would succumb to big-city problems: overcrowding, traffic, noise, and escalating crime. But it hasn't.

more at the LA Times...

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Climate FAIL..Not much has changed there YET!

Developing Nations Rebuff G-8 on Curbing Pollutants
Jason Reed/Reuters

President Obama and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France during a round table session at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, on Wednesday.

L’AQUILA, Italy — The world’s major industrial nations and newly emerging powers failed to agree Wednesday on specific cuts in heat-trapping gases by 2050, undercutting an effort to build a global consensus to fight climate change, according to people following the talks.

As President Obama arrived for three days of meetings, negotiators for the world’s 17 leading polluters dropped a proposal to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by mid-century, and emissions from the most advanced economies by 80 percent. But both the G-8 and the developing countries agreed to set a goal of stopping world temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

The discussion of climate change was among the top priorities of world leaders as they gathered here for the annual summit meeting of the Group of 8 powers. Mr. Obama invited counterparts from China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and others to join the G-8 here on Thursday for a parallel “Major Economies Forum” representing the producers of 80 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. But since President Hu Jintao of China abruptly left Italy to deal with unrest at home, the chances of making further progress seemed to evaporate.

The G-8 leaders were also grappling with the sagging global economy, development in Africa, turmoil in Iran, nuclear nonproliferation and other challenging issues. On Friday, Mr. Obama planned to unveil a $15 billion food security initiative by the G-8 to provide emergency and development aid to poor nations.

The failure to establish specific targets on climate change underscored the difficulty in bridging longstanding divisions between the most developed countries like the United States and developing nations like China and India. In the end, people close to the talks said, the emerging powers refused to agree to the specific emissions limits because they wanted industrial countries to commit to midterm goals in 2020, and to follow through on promises of financial and technological help.

“They’re saying, ‘We just don’t trust you guys,’ ” said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group based in the United States. “It’s the same gridlock we had last year when Bush was president.”

American officials said they still had made an important breakthrough because the G-8 countries within the negotiations agreed to adopt the 2050 reduction goals, even though the developing countries would not.

And they said a final agreement with developing countries, including China and India, to be sealed on Thursday would include important conceptual commitments by the emerging powers to begin reducing emissions and to set a target date. Now negotiators will have to try to quantifying those commitments in coming months.

While the nations mapped out a general agreement to limit global temperature change, there remained differences between the level of commitment from developed and developing nations. The G-8 draft statement would have the major industrial powers “recognize that global emissions should peak by 2020 and then be substantially reduced to limit the average increase in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.” The statement by the developing countries would be less definitive, however, saying that scientific consensus supports such a goal.

Mr. Meyer said temperatures have already risen by 0.8 degrees and will likely rise by another 0.6 degrees just based on pollution already in the air, meaning that embracing the 2-degree goal would require major steps starting almost immediately.

While briefing reporters on Wednesday morning, Michael Froman, Mr. Obama’s deputy national security adviser and chief G-8 negotiator, declined to specify what would be in the two agreements, but said they would signal important progress heading toward a United Nations conference in Copenhagen in December to craft a worldwide climate change treaty.

“Our view is that it represents a significant step forward in terms of adding political momentum on the key issues to be dealt with in the U.N. process,” Mr. Froman said, “but that there is still a lot of work to be done and these are difficult issues and the negotiators will be meeting going forward to try and resolve them.”

European leaders and environmental activists have placed great hope that Mr. Obama would become a powerful new leader in the struggle against climate change after succeeding President George W. Bush, who long resisted more aggressive measures sought on this side of the Atlantic for fear of the economic impact. At a previous Group of 8 meeting, Mr. Bush agreed to a 50 percent cut in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 but not to an 80 percent reduction in those produced by industrial countries like the United States. With Mr. Obama’s support, the House recently passed legislation intended to curb emissions, although not by nearly as much as the Europeans want. And China is another challenge.

“Europe wants avant-garde legislation but China is putting up resistance, which I sampled yesterday during my one-on-one with the Chinese president,” Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, the G-8 host, told reporters Tuesday evening.

China, India and the other developing nations are upset that commitments to provide financial and technological help made during a United Nations conference in Bali, Indonesia, in 2007 have not translated into anything more tangible in the interim.

Mr. Meyer estimated that the United States, Europe and other industrial nations need to come up with $150 billion a year in assistance by 2020 to help develop clean-energy technology for developing countries, reduce deforestation that contributes to rising temperatures and help vulnerable nations adapt to changes attributed to greenhouse gases.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed from L’Aquila, Italy, and John M. Broder from Washington.

OC Leaders chosen to lead the CAHSR Commission

That's one way to look at the news that the California High Speed Rail Authority board has a new chair and vice-chair, and they're both from Orange County. According to the press release:

the Board elected Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle to be its
chairman, replacing Judge Quentin L. Kopp who had served two terms as chairman.
Former California Assemblymember Tom Umberg was elected vice-chairman

Pringle is the former Speaker of the State Assembly, where he represented part of
Orange County for eight years during the 1990s. He was first elected Mayor of Anaheim
in 2002 and is widely recognized for his expertise in economic development, land use
planning, transportation and government finance reform. He also serves as a board
member of the Orange County Transportation Authority. “I have long believed in the value and benefit of a high speed rail system for our great state, and to be elected as chairman of the California High Speed Rail is an honor,” said Pringle. “We have a lot of work to do on the state and federal levels, but by working together great things can and will happen. This is an exciting time for high-speed rail and I look forward to future progress.”

Tom Umberg is an attorney with the law firm of Manatt, specializing in federal and state policy and regulatory matters. He was selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in America”in the field of commercial litigation. In 1995, He was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles and Orange County. Umberg was appointed Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1997. He served three terms in the California Legislature, most recently between 2004 and 2006. In the state Assembly, he chaired the Environmental Safety and the Elections and Redistricting Committees.

Congrats to both Orange County leaders, we hope they will push for Orange County's role in further pursuing mass transit options!

President Obama: ''Honduras coup was not legal''

Obama says Honduras coup illegal

US President Barack Obama has described the removal of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya as illegal.

His remarks came after left-wing Latin American leaders declared their support for the deposed leader, who was expelled by the military on Sunday.

In Honduras, pro-Zelaya protestors have been demonstrating in the country's capital, Tegucigalpa.

Mr Zelaya's removal followed a power struggle over his plans for constitutional change.

The BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Tegucigalpa says all day hundreds of pro-Zelaya protesters have been taunting the thousands of soldiers deployed around the presidential residence, accusing them of taking part in a "criminal coup".

The ousted president, who was in office since 2006, had wanted to hold a referendum that could have led to an extension of his non-renewable four-year term in office.

Expulsion condemned

Polls for the vote were due to open early on Sunday, but instead troops stormed the presidential palace at dawn, detained Mr Zelaya and flew him to Costa Rica.

The military, Congress and the Supreme Court in the Central American nation had all opposed Mr Zelaya's referendum.


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (right) and Nicaragua's leader Daniel Ortega in Managua. Photo: 28 June 2009
We cannot allow a return to the past, we will not permit it
President Hugo Chavez

In pictures: President ousted
Profile: Manuel Zelaya
Q&A: Honduras crisis

Our correspondent says that even though the international community regards the exiled leader as the legitimate leader of the country, any comeback will not be easy.

Speaking after a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Mr Obama said Mr Zelaya remained the democratically-elected leader of Honduras.

And he said a "terrible precedent" would be set if the coup were not reversed.

Earlier on Monday, speaking in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spelled out his opposition to the situation in Honduras.

"We cannot allow a return to the past. We will not permit it," Mr Chavez said.

He spoke after talks with Mr Zelaya, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

'Voracious elite'

After turning up in Costa Rica on Sunday, Mr Zelaya called his ouster a plot "by a very voracious elite, an elite which wants only to keep this country [Honduras] isolated, in an extreme level of poverty".

In Tegucigalpa protestors defied a curfew order between Sunday night and Monday morning, imposed by Mr Micheletti.

As Speaker of Congress, Mr Micheletti had been the next in line to the presidency. His swearing-in was greeted with applause in Congress.

In a speech, he said that he had not assumed power under the "ignominy" of a coup d'etat.

The army had complied with the constitution, he said, and he had reached the presidency "as the result of an absolutely legal transition process".

Congress said he would serve until 27 January, when Mr Zelaya's term had been due to expire.

Presidential elections are planned for 29 November and Mr Micheletti promised these would go ahead.