California’s high-speed rail project has been in the works for over a decade, with an estimated cost of $33 billion and completion date of 2020. However, the latest estimates show that the project will cost between $88 billion and $128 billion to complete, with no single mile of track laid so far.

Inflation and higher construction costs have contributed to the high price tag, making the project more challenging to fund. Despite the challenges, progress has been made on the project, with 119 miles under construction in California’s Central Valley, infrastructure design work complete, and 422 out of 500 miles environmentally cleared.

CNBC visited the construction site to investigate what it will take to complete what would be the nation’s most extensive infrastructure project.

CHSR website: https://hsr.ca.gov/

https://stmdailynews.com/category/stm-blog/blog/

(Family Features) Although most school districts have implemented technology that makes it easy to connect with teachers, you may still wonder how to create dialogue within your district about larger scale issues than your child’s homework assignments.

One example is sustainability, which is an issue many parents feel strongly about. Opening conversations with leaders in the school district can result in many kinds of eco-friendly changes, such as a greater commitment to recycling and teaching kids about the importance of protecting the environment. Transportation is another area where districts can make more sustainable choices, which can also save money over time.

Most of the school buses on the road today run on diesel, which is known to cause respiratory issues like asthma and bronchitis. There are two primary energy alternatives to diesel for clean student transportation: propane and electric. While both can achieve clean transportation, the cost to do so is not equal.

Propane is a fraction of the cost for the initial bus purchase and infrastructure is affordable, scalable and available in communities across the country. What’s more, propane has a range of 400 miles, allowing a sizable vehicle like a bus to reliably travel long distances without stopping to refuel.

If you’d like to talk with your school district about reducing emissions in your community and saving money for your district’s budget, consider these tips:

Compile Information to Share
Your concerns are more likely to attract attention if you collect meaningful details and data to support your request. In addition to statistics and research that explain why your school district should reconsider traditional diesel transportation, you might also gather information on the district’s transportation expenses. You can make your points more relevant by learning about how other districts in your area are making sustainable choices like choosing propane buses.

Write a Letter to District Officials
Once you thoroughly research and organize the details most relevant to your community, you can begin to share it with others. One important step is a letter to the school district that documents your concerns and conveys the importance of clean, safe, healthy transportation for children. The key is to not only spell out the harm being caused, but also to provide a viable solution.

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Educate District Officials
Once you’ve gone on record with a letter, you can work to educate leaders in the school district about clean energy buses. Often, a school board meeting is the most efficient way to open this dialogue because you can address the entire board at once. An added benefit is other members of the community who are deeply interested in school operations are likely to attend, and reporters covering the school district may also hear and report on your information, which can spread word to the larger community.

Call a Parent-Teacher Meeting
Working together, parents and teachers have a strong voice within the school system. A meeting among like-minded parents and teachers can be a forum for you to collectively develop a strategy for gathering further support for your cause, educating about the importance of the issue and ultimately driving change for your community.

Visit BetterOurBuses.com to find resources to talk to your school district about important matters like switching to propane school buses.

SOURCE:
Propane Education & Research Council

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has announced a public hearing on Wednesday, May 17th, at 1:30PM to gather input on the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The meeting can be attended in person in the board room on the third floor of Metro headquarters adjacent to Union Station. The hearing will also be live-streamed, and a link will appear on the Metro website when the hearing begins.

The proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024 will fund services and programs that support the transportation needs of the Los Angeles County community. The Metro Board is scheduled to vote on the budget at their meeting on May 25th. This is an opportunity for the public to provide input on the budget and help shape transportation for the better in their community.

Details on how to participate in the hearing and meetings will be posted at boardagendas.metro.net at least 72 hours in advance of each event. The public can submit comments online, via email, or by phone. For those who wish to attend in person, masks are required, and social distancing measures will be in place.

Participating in the public hearing is an opportunity to make your voice heard and provide feedback on how Metro can better serve the community. Your input can help to shape the transportation services and programs that will be funded through the budget. This is an opportunity for the public to provide input on issues that matter to them and to help shape the future of transportation in Los Angeles County.

More information about Metro’s FY24 Budget and budget process is available at https://budget.metro.net/

Link: https://stmdailynews.com/stm-daily-news-vlog/