Focus
Better Buildings Initiative partners save $11B In energy costs
Facility Executive – June 9
The more than 950 public and private sector organizations participating in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Initiative have saved nearly $11 billion in energy costs. To date, these partners have saved almost 1.8 quadrillion British thermal units of energy, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 27 million homes in America over one year. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy also announced four new Better Buildings efforts: the Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator, the Better Buildings Sustainable Corrections Infrastructure Accelerator, the Integrated Lighting Campaign, and the Building Envelope Campaign. These efforts are aimed at increasing American energy productivity; catalyzing investments in renewable energy and energy storage in public facilities; integrating advanced lighting controls in buildings; and helping building owners and managers develop more energy-efficient walls, windows, roofs, and foundations.
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News
California Assembly wants bullet train contract deferred in rebuke of project’s current plan
Los Angeles Times – June 5
In the strongest challenge to the California bullet train project in the past decade, a majority of the California Assembly has co-sponsored a resolution directing the state rail authority to defer awarding a contract this year to build a partial high speed system between Merced and Bakersfield. The action this week comes amid growing concerns by lawmakers that Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to build the system for $20.4 billion will not deliver the greatest possible ridership and reductions in highway travel and greenhouse gas emissions. The rail authority plans to commit later this year to the largest contract award in its history to install 171 miles of track, an advanced signaling system, and a high voltage electrical system, as well as an agreement for system maintenance over the next 30 years. The resolution directs the authority to not issue the contract until the Legislature reviews the plan and appropriates the remaining $4.2 billion in funds from a 2008 bond issue approved by voters.
SFMTA says Central Subway projected to open for service by end of 2021
Mass Transit – June 9
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has continued work on the Central Subway Project throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers from the contractor and project staff taking precautions and following best practices for physical distancing. SFMTA expects to welcome its first customers at the end of 2021, which is slightly later than the summer timeframe given last year. Once operational, the Central Subway will provide key connections to some of the city’s most densely populated and growing areas, linking Chinatown, Union Square, and SoMa to Mission Bay, and the southeastern neighborhoods of San Francisco.
Elon Musk-backed tunnel to California airport gets go-ahead
The Mercury News - June 4
The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors voted last Wednesday to pursue a proposal from Elon Musk’s The Boring Co. for a high-speed tunnel linking Rancho Cucamonga with Ontario International Airport, directing staff to study the proposal and postpone a $3 million study of other airport-rail connections. The tunnel idea is seen as a cheaper, faster alternative to above-ground rail projects, including the extension of the electric-powered “L” Line light-rail, formerly the Gold Line, from Pomona into the airport terminal. A zero-emission train off the Metrolink San Bernardino Line, and a connection from the Riverside heavy-rail line that has a stop south of the airport were also on a list of rail alternatives. The Boring Co.’s unsolicited proposal would build a 2.8-mile tunnel, 14 feet in diameter and about 35 feet underground. It would take passengers in electric vehicles with rubber tires traveling up to 127 mph to and from the airport.
Alameda voters to decide whether to abolish law restricting housing
East Bay Times – June 5
Alameda voters will decide in November whether to overturn a law enacted nearly a half-century ago that prohibits construction of multifamily housing, which critics say has made it hard for the poor and minorities to find a place to live in town. Measure A, passed by Alameda voters back in 1973, added the ban on new apartments and condominiums to the City Charter. Supporters said at the time it would help maintain the island’s small-town feel. Since then, developers of large housing projects, such as those that are now taking place at the former Alameda Naval Air Station, have used state regulations to sidestep the ban, including those requiring cities to create more affordable housing. But Measure A still prevents construction of a triplex or a fourplex, said Andrew Thomas, the city’s planning, building, and transportation director.
Palo Alto urged to end nonresidents’ ‘systemic exclusion’ from Foothills Park
San Francisco Chronicle – June 9
More than 90 residents and local political leaders in Palo Alto have signed a letter that calls on the City Council to end systemic inequities and overturn a 1965 law that restricts access to bucolic Foothills Park to city residents. For 55 years, Palo Alto has made it illegal for nonresidents to visit the 1,400-acre park, which sits high above the city and offers sweeping views of the bay, peaceful picnic areas, and a small lake. Efforts to change the law have come up several times and gone nowhere. The park’s no-outsiders law dates to 1959, when Palo Alto decided to buy the land to preserve it as open space. The city asked neighboring cities to participate in the purchase, but they declined. So, Palo Alto decided to restrict access to the park to residents.
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