Seen in Sac Bee; meat to the lions, I'm sure.

"Oil train protest

J Street downtown will take on a colorful yet ominous look for an hour or so at midday Saturday.

Protesters in red, yellow and orange T-shirts will station themselves at intervals along the street to symbolize the “blast zone” for crude oil train crashes – basically the area that might be evacuated if a big oil explosion were to occur on one of the rail lines that crosses downtown and midtown.

The event, sponsored by 350 Sacramento, is one of many in rail cities nationally this week. The goal, organizers say, is to advocate against shipment of crude oil via trains, and oil use in general, and to commemorate the 47 people killed in Lac-Mégantic, Canada, two years ago in a train explosion.

Crude oil trains, on the rise nationally in recent years, have become a hotly debated safety issue. Spurred by several explosive crashes, the federal government in May announced a series of safety measures, including requiring stronger tank cars over time.

Oil trains from North Dakota and Canada, some a mile long, have rolled through Sacramento intermittently in the past year. More are expected here over time, although it remains uncertain how many. The Valero refinery in Benicia plans to run two 50-car oil trains daily through Sacramento, but that project has been repeatedly delayed as Benicia officials study environmental impacts."