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Railroad Newsline for Saturday, December 16, 2006

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

U.S. PROPOSES TIGHTENING RAIL SECURITY FOR CHEMICALS

WASHINGTON, DC -- Freight railroads such as CSX Corp. and chemical makers such as DuPont Co. would team up with the federal government under proposals to better secure shipments of dangerous chemicals.

The proposed guidelines, which were unveiled today, would require the companies to work in concert to tighten security around the transfer of chemical-carrying cars between shippers and railroads and among railroads, particularly in urban areas.

Shippers must physically inspect cars before loading them, and cars couldn't be left unattended while being transferred, according to guidelines proposed by the Transportation Security Administration.

``A toxic emission from an attack against a chemical facility or hazardous chemicals in transit is among the most serious risks facing America's highest threat areas,'' Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. ``We're going to take a significant percentage of that risk off the table.''

Currently, companies often leave rail cars unattended when transferring them from one rail line to another. Companies that break the rules could be fined as much as $10,000 per violation.

Democrats have said the Bush administration needs to strengthen restrictions to better guard substances such as chlorine and ammonia that if released might cause massive casualties.

Earlier this year, Democrats criticized Republican-backed legislation that they said weakened the Homeland Security secretary's ability to force chemical plants to adopt better security plans.

`Not Far Enough'

Dena Graziano, a spokeswoman for the Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the incoming House Homeland Security Committee chairman, said of the rules proposed today: ``We are concerned that they may not go far enough where hazmat transportation goes.''

Chertoff and TSA Deputy Administrator Robert Jamison announced the proposed guidelines today at a press conference at TSA's Arlington, Virginia, headquarters.

Under the proposed rules, each railroad would appoint a liaison to provide information on hazardous materials shipments to the federal government. Government and industry also would create a tracking system to locate rail shipments anywhere in the country within five minutes.

Scott Jensen, a spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, an Arlington, Virginia-based industry trade group, said the shipments' security must be a shared responsibility.

``A big part of this is a partnership with the railroads and part of it is the federal government,'' he said.

Also today, the Transportation Department will release proposals to better secure the routes by which hazardous materials travel.

The Homeland Security Department plan will affect 708 railroads and cost an estimated $165 million over 10 years, according to an outline of the proposed guidelines.

The public will have 60 days to comment after the publishing the guidelines in the Federal Register on Dec. 21. - Jeff Bliss, Bloomberg.com

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AMTRAK'S CASCADES SERVICE CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER

Amtrak's Cascades service between Seattle, WA and Portland, OR was canceled Friday.

Amtrak officials said extreme weather in the Pacific Northwest resulted in downed trees and mudslides blocking the railroad.

Amtrak was contacting affected passengers to alert them of the cancellations. Alternate motorcoach transportation will be provided for some canceled trains.

Passengers should contact Amtrak for information on the status of specific trains.

Additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available. Passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL for additional information and train status updates. - KGW-TV8, Portland, OR

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SMOKY DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE TURNS INTO A CLEAN MACHINE

OAKLAND, CA -- On first glance, the hulking locomotive in Union Pacific Railroad's yard near the Port of Oakland looks like any other. But Locomotive 1378 doesn't have any smokestacks -- or the clouds of black smoke that typically puff from the diesel engines.

As part of an experiment to cut emissions from older diesel locomotives, the railroad has removed the two smokestacks from the locomotive and replaced them with a big stainless steel box that sits behind the cab.

That box contains the nation's first diesel particulate filters made for locomotives. The filters are devices that trap, then burn off most of the microscopic pollutants linked to premature deaths and lung disease.

"Lots of times with diesel locomotives, you see plumes of black smoke,'' said John Hedrick, an engineer with Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Texas, which installed the filters and will oversee testing. "With this filter, all you see are heat waves coming out.''

For the next year, the device will be used and tested in the Oakland yard. Three other devices -- one on another Union Pacific locomotive, two on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway locomotives -- will be installed in the next few months and tested in California over the next year.

The goal is to reduce the particulate matter produced in rail yards, where diesel-fueled locomotives move rail cars and frequently idle.

"It deals with a very big problem with some rail yards, particularly in some cities like Oakland, where the yards are near residential areas,'' said Jerry Martin, a spokesman for the state Air Resources Board. "The community gets bombarded with these fine particles.''

The filter works by pushing the exhaust through two large blocks of high-temperature large silicone carbide with small square openings. The blocks capture the particulates, which are then burnt off every three hours with a small diesel burner. A small amount of carbon dioxide is emitted into the air.

"Based on the testing, we are getting an 80 percent reduction in particulates when this is used in the yard,'' said Mike Iden, Union Pacific's general director of car and locomotive engineering. "It's very efficient.''

Hedrick said the filter, developed by a Swiss firm and in use on six locomotives in Switzerland, is capable of eliminating 90 percent of the particulates.

The 1,500-horsepower diesel locomotive is equipped with an array of sensors that allow remote monitoring of the filter and the engine. So far, the filter appears to slightly decrease the locomotive's efficiency, causing it to use slightly more fuel, Iden said. But the true impact on efficiency and maintenance, as well as pollution reduction, won't be determined until a year's worth of data has been collected and analyzed.

"There are lots of questions that need to be answered and we expect to be able to answer them in a year,'' Iden said.

The testing of the emissions control devices is a cooperative effort involving the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe -- the nation's two largest railroads -- along with the state air board and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Regulators in recent years have focused on reducing emissions from new and existing diesel engines, and have included locomotives and rail yards as key targets.

If the tests are successful, the locomotive exhaust filter could be installed on all older yard locomotives and possibly adapted for higher-horsepower engines that haul passenger or freight trains across the country at higher speeds.

"Right now,'' said Iden, "this is one of a kind.''

Related San Francisco Chronicle photos by Michael Maloney can be found here:

[sfgate.com]

[sfgate.com]

- Michael Cabanatuan, The San Francisco Chronicle

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BNSF ISSUES SERVICE ADVISORY REGARDING WINTER WEATHER DELAYS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Extreme winter weather conditions and high wind warnings have been ongoing within the Pacific Northwest area for the past 8 to 12 hours and continue to be expected throughout most of the day for Friday, December 15, 2006. Unfortunately, these conditions have impacted BNSF Railway Company operations within the region.

Currently, BNSF personnel are working diligently by responding to various outages, clearing debris and maintaining track integrity in efforts to minimize customer delays.

However, customers may experience 8 to 24 hours delay on traffic moving in this corridor. - BNSF Service Advisory

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CROWDS FLOCK TO RAIL SYMPOSIUM

CAPITOLA, CA -- Only in Santa Cruz County does a transportation policy meeting start off with dancing and marimba music.

Such was the case Thursday night, as grooving bodies welcomed about 250 people to "One Ear to the Tracks," a symposium to discuss the possibility of bringing passenger trains to Santa Cruz County. Organized by Micah Posner, director of bicycle advocacy group People Power, and supported by Friends of the Rail Trail, most of the event's panelists expounded on the benefits of establishing passenger rail service between Watsonville and Davenport.

Supporters were not deterred when George Dondero, executive director of the county's Regional Transportation Commission, informed audience members that "the commission right now has no plans to operate passenger service," even if it succeeds in buying the track as planned.

Little information was given by panelists on how to subsidize the rides if passenger trains were to become a reality, except a suggestion by Mike Hart, CEO of Sierra Railroad, to operate an upscale dinner train to offset costs for everyday commuters.

Most of those in attendance, from men wearing ties to women with dreadlocks piled on their heads, clapped as panelists discussed the possibility of using trains that run on biodiesel and their vision of how Santa Cruz County could embrace passenger service on the 32-mile track owned by Union Pacific -- and what could happen if it doesn't.

The county's transportation commission has been in talks for more than two years to buy the line for $19 million. Commissioners first hoped to close escrow by the end of 2005; that timeline has stretched out as Union Pacific is taking longer than expected to return with information about the track and the commission learns about unexpected maintenance costs.

Assuming they buy the line, commissioners plan to continue running freight trains three times a week to the Cemex cement plant in Davenport, and build a hiking and biking trail along the tracks between there and Watsonville. But many in the county see future passenger service as key to relieving congested Highway 1, instead of widening the county's main thoroughfare, which the commission has listed as its top priority since 2001.

Supporters also predict connecting passenger service in Santa Cruz County with future trains rolling down from the San Francisco Bay Area to a new stop in Pajaro, across the river from Watsonville. The new station and extension from Gilroy to Pajaro are expected by 2010.

At Thursday's forum, Hart gave audience members another reason to buy the rail line; if the commission doesn't, someone else will.

"Right now Cemex is keeping Santa Cruz County from having the biggest real estate boom in history," said Hart, who has expressed interest in operating trains on the rail line.

Much of the rail line is beachfront property, he said, land that could be worth more than the commission's price of $19 million if the line is abandoned.

"They would do it. It's worth a fortune," Hart said.

The only person to speak out against using the rail line for passenger service was Joe Ward, who lives on 7th Avenue in Live Oak. As panelists discussed running more trains, he protested having more trains running through his residential neighborhood and yelled out, "You can come to my house and watch the windows shake every day like they have the last 30 years."

At the break, Ward said he was disappointed with the lack of diversity on the panel. Instead of discussing costs and potential drawbacks, he said, "it just paints a rosy picture of everything." - Genevieve Bookwalter, The Santa Cruz Sentinel

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DIRTY FILM ENVELOPS HOMES ADJACENT TO GRAIN SITE

EMPIRE, CA -- It doesn't happen every day. And for that, the 120 or so people living at Breezewood Mobile Home Park are thankful -- very thankful.

Because when the wind kicks up grain dust from across the street -- mixing it, in the process, with moisture in the air -- the odor quite literally can take your breath away.

"Oh, it's awful," said Amanda Housewright, manager of the park at 648 S. Santa Fe Road. "I have a 4-year-old who's very smell sensitive. She has to put a rag over her face when we go outside."

Housewright said many of the park's residents are senior citizens and have complained about breathing difficulties whenever grain dust swirls in the air.

The source of the particulate matter and/or dust pollution plaguing Breezewood residents, according to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, is the nearby Central Valley Ag Grinding Inc.

At the company's facility, located at 300 Codoni Ave., grain is taken from railroad cars and loaded onto trucks.

Since Dec. 1, according to air district officials, the company has received two notices of violation -- for improper emissions and creating a nuisance.

Whether the company will be fined was not clear Thursday.

A final decision on possible sanctions against the firm, if any, will be made by staff working in the district's Fresno office, possibly within the next 30 days.

The foul smell at Breezewood would have been bad enough.

But there's more.

The grain dust also creates a gummy residue, coating everything from outdoor plants and porches to car windshields and the modular homes themselves.

"You can wash your car," Housewright said, "and an hour later, that stuff is layered all over it."

Michael Barry, president of Oakdale-based Central Valley Ag Grinding, said the company already has taken steps to correct the problems.

"Some of the products we deal with are sensitive to moisture," Barry said. "We have moved the products indoors. There was an issue that arose, and we have corrected it."

Barry said the company doesn't grind or otherwise process grain at its Empire facility.

Jami Aggers, northern region compliance manager for the air district, said a number of factors will be considered before a decision is made on whether to sanction or fine Central Valley Ag Grinding.

"Is this a repeat problem or first offense? How long has the problem been occurring? How many people are impacted?" Aggers said.

During the last year, Aggers said, three complaints were lodged against the company's Empire facility.

Aggers said the company received the first citation -- for creating visible emissions -- Dec. 1. She said a second citation, for creating a nuisance, should have been received by the firm earlier this week.

All things considered, Housewright said, the air at Breezewood hasn't been bad this week.
Weather conditions have changed. Said Housewright: "It's not been real windy the last few days." - Michael G. Mooney, The Modesto Bee

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EX-CONDUCTOR GETS FIVE YEARS FOR STEALING

James A. Schulteis, a 54-year-old former railroad conductor from Shelby, Montana, was sentenced Thursday to five years of probation for stealing from the railroad, according to U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer.

U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon also ordered Schulteis to pay $18,986 in restitution.
From April 30, 1987, until April 1, 2002, Schulteis was an assistant conductor for Amtrak, responsible for collecting fares from passengers who had not bought tickets prior to boarding.

In January of 2002, an Amtrak Office of Inspector General Revenue Protection Consultant initiated an audit that found Schulteis failed to account in any way for 100 tickets that he was issued and failed to remit for documented sales of 225, for a total of 325 tickets.

Schulteis was arrested, charged with theft, and pleaded guilty.

The total loss was estimated at $21,907, but because of the difficulty of determining loss, the parties agreed the total loss and restitution amount to be $18,986. - The Great Falls Tribune

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ALASKA RAILROAD WILL CLEAN BOATS AND CARS FOULED WHEN OIL SPEWED FROM LOCOMOTIVE

WHITTIER, AK -- The Alaska Railroad is contacting dozens of boat and automobile owners in Whittier with an offer to clean their vehicles after an engine spewed oily soot on them last month, officials said.

The incident happened Nov. 22, during an extended cold snap in Southcentral Alaska. Railroad spokesman Tim Thompson said the engine had been idling to stay warm, and lubricating oil accumulated in its smokestack.

When the engine revved up to move, it sprayed the oil into a whipping wind that carried it across a parking lot to Whittier's harbor.

There were about 180 boats in the harbor, and many of them became speckled, Thompson said.

"You're going to notice it, but it's not like somebody took a big paint bucket and dumped it over," he said. The cleanup, including repairs to fiberglass that lacks a protective coating, will run into the thousands of dollars, he said.

The railroad reported the incident to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, but officials did not consider it a significant spill that would require inspection, DEC environmental programs specialist John Bauer said. - The Anchorage Daily News

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RAILROAD ENTHUSIAST UNFAZED BY COUNCIL

McMINNVILLE, OR -- Portland's vaunted Pearl District is a prime example of why Yamhill County should focus its efforts on developing a tourist train, according to Matthew Simek, a Newberg businessman coordinating an effort to raise funds for a feasibility study.

"The Pearl District is a result of the street cars," Simek said in a Wednesday interview. "If not for the street cars, the Pearl would be another neighborhood clogged with traffic. It would not have the class and the enormous economic impact that it has."

A tourist train could do the same thing for Yamhill County, he said. And he'd like local governments along the proposed Sherwood to Grand Ronde route to kick in some study funds.

Simek's enthusiasm wasn't dampened by a wary response from the McMinnville City Council, after it heard a presentation on the project at its meeting Tuesday night.

Councilors expressed interest, but with some clear reservations. They wondered why the businesses and industries Simek says stand to benefit most haven't ponied up any money of their own toward the study he proposes.

He said that's largely because he hasn't asked them yet. Making the rounds of local governments has turned out to be enormously time-consuming in itself, he said.

The council referred him to the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership. Councilors said they want the partnership to hear Simek's presentation and return with a recommendation one way or the other.

"I thought that was a very positive suggestion on the council's part, and it is proper that the economic development group be the one to spearhead that for McMinnville," Simek said.
Several of the council's questions and comments were instructive, he said.

When he volunteered last fall to coordinate the efforts of a group of rail enthusiasts, interested in reviving passenger service along tracks owned and operated by Portland & Western Railroad, a freight-hauling shortline, Simek thought it would be easy to raise enough to fund a study.

It has turned out to be far more difficult and time-consuming than he expected, he said. And after Tuesday night's meeting, he thinks he may know why.

"I think we've been going to the wrong places," he said. "I'm not a politician, so I don't know the politics of how these things are run.

"But I think the truth of it is, the McMinnville council really gave me the clue. I need to be going to the visitors' associations and tourism groups, the chambers of commerce, that really deal with that kind of thing. A lot of those were on my list, but they were further down on the list. I was going to the city councils first."

Simek said a train could not only bring economic development to the county, but also help to contain sprawl and control traffic. "We're not going to eliminate the highways, and we're not going to eliminate the need for highways to grow, but we can certainly slow it down a lot by having something as useful and effective as rail," he said.

That effectiveness is already being proven in other areas, he said.

Simek said, "There are many, many cities putting in rail lines and finding that they are able to concentrate the growth within a block or two of the rail line, instead of having it spread out through the farm land, which nobody in Yamhill County wants to see. ... To be able to focus the growth of Yamhill County in some more narrow corridors instead of having it spread out all over the place, I think, would be a very valuable consideration."

However, he said he is concerned that the time it takes to raise funds to study the proposal is time wasted. He'd rather be raising money for the train itself.

"It's a more complicated process than I was hoping, and it will take longer, which is a concern," he said. "We need to have this study done, and we need to have it done while the Legislature is still in session and there's still time to get something done at the state level."

In 2005, the state Legislature set aside $100 million in lottery funds for precisely this type of project, under the Connect Oregon program. In July, it allocated $99.5 million of that to air, rail, marine and mass transit projects around the state.

"There's a new Connect Oregon project likely be passed in this Legislature, and that's why we need to get on the books and put in for some of this money," Simek said.

With the economy apparently on the upswing, concern about global warming encouraging efforts to cut back on automobile traffic, and more passenger rail lines going in around Oregon and the nation, Simek thinks now is the ideal time to start the project. "There could hardly be a more opportune time to introduce rail, because it is a natural solution to some of the big problems of the future," he said.

Some councilors said they would like to see the county pursue a rail project oriented to commuters rather than tourists, which would seem to be a better match to some of the arguments being put forward. Simek said he agrees, but it would be a mistake to try to start too big.

"You have to start somewhere," he said, "and if we said commuter rail at this time, there would be so many brick walls. Many people would be saying, 'No, no, no. It's too big. It's too expensive. We don't want it.'"

Start with a tourist train and popular demand for a commuter line will naturally follow, he argued.

Simek has bids in hand for the feasibility study, ranging from $25,000 to $30,000. And he has a timeline of 60 days for the contractor, once selected, to complete it.

The fast turnaround would be possible because a feasibility study was already conducted in the late 1990s. It just needs updating.

So far, Yamhill County has pledged $5,000 to the effort, and Austin Industries of Newberg has pledge $1,000. Simek is hoping for $10,000 from McMinnville.

He has plans to approach the wine industry, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, other cities and a variety of industry and retail players to make up the rest. The county also may be able to donate another $5,000, he said.

The previous study showed, among other things, large sections of track needing rehab.
Simek said many of the sections have been upgraded since then. However, he conceded others have deteriorated.

The tracks above Rex Hill, for example, are now so bad that the Portland & Western now ships heavy freight from Cascade Steel Rolling Mills down to Albany to avoid the damaged section.

But upgrading track to support a passenger train could pay dividends for freight-hauling, Simek said. And he thinks that could spur more interest and support from officials at Portland & Western.

"When all the chips are down, I think they're going to see this as a wonderful value-added project for their company," he said. "But we're going to need this information to convince them of that."

Simek said locals would not have to break new ground in learning how to deal with the challenge of operating freight and passenger lines in tandem, either. In October, contractors began work on the Washington County Commuter Rail Project, a 14.7-mile heavy-rail commuter line between Beaverton and Wilsonville.

A joint project of Tri-Met and the Portland & Western, it is scheduled for completion in September 2008. Included in the deal is an agreement that Tri-Met will pay the shortline, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Genesee & Wyoming holding company that grew out of the Willamette & Pacific, an annual bonus of $300,000 if passenger trains meet their schedules 98 percent of the time.

That's designed to avoid the kinds of problems experienced by Amtrak, whose Coast Starlight runs are often shunted aside by freight runs, playing havoc with their schedule.

Ideally, Simek said, Clackamas County will have most of the kinks worked out by the time Yamhill County enters the picture.

Simek's dream is to get the train running by Feb. 14, 2009 - the 150th anniversary of Oregon statehood.

"It's an ambitious goal, but I think it can be done," he said. "If people really believe in this the way it deserves, it can be done." - Nicole Montesano, The McMinnville News-Register

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BUILDER PLANS WAREHOUSE AT DESERT AIRPORT

VICTORVILLE, CA -- Stirling Enterprises, the master developer of Southern California Logistics Airport, has launched plans to build a 407,000-square-foot warehouse to distribute Rubbermaid home products.

The project would be the first of several buildings planned by Stirling at the airport over the next 30 months, according a report from the Victorville Planning Commission.

"Stirling is confident the buildings will have tenants very quickly," Councilman Mike Rothschild said. "We expect the project to move ahead quickly."

The proposed distribution center would occupy 20 acres in a 49-acre site at the airport, the former George Air Force Base.

According to the commission's report, the center is slated for occupation by Newell Rubbermaid, a company manufacturing and selling a variety of cookware and hardware products. Company officials in Ohio could not be reached for comment.

The commission's report said that other structures proposed at the airport will be built on a speculative basis.

As the warehouse site is part of the airport's previously approved specific plan, no public hearing is required for the project, the planning staff indicated.

The staff said an initial study of the project shows it would not cause adverse environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated.

Last year, the City Council, acting in its role as the airport authority board, approved an agreement with Stirling to develop 5.78 million square feet of commercial, industrial and logistics facilities within 30 months.

"The initial phase, funded by private investments totaling $350 million, will generate 13,149 new jobs," said Dougall Agan, principal for Stirling.

Rothschild said Victorville will contribute $60 million in redevelopment tax-increment money for airport infrastructure, including site work, streets and utilities.

The new distribution center is likely to create several hundred new jobs. About 3,000 people already work at the airport, which was closed in 1992 as a jet training base in the wake of nationwide cutbacks by the Defense Department at the end of the Cold War.

Meanwhile, the Victorville council envisions diverse aviation-related businesses at the airport that could generate nearly 20,000 jobs over the next 15 years.

"It's the largest redevelopment area in California, totaling about 60,000 acres that encompasses an eight-mile circle around the airport," Rothschild said.

Plans call for developing the rail-and-air logistics facility in the country, Mayor Terry Caldwell said.

Victorville is completing negotiations to acquire right-of-way for a 2-1/2-mile-long railroad spur to link the airport with the main line of the BNSF Railway Company.

The spur will be a key to linking Southern California Logistics Airport by rail to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where ships loaded with appliances, apparel and other commodities from the Far East crowd the docks.

Officials here say the airport could serve as a major trans-shipment point for this cargo.
About 60 percent is bound for markets in the eastern United States.

"Victorville has committed $60 million of redevelopment money for the rail project and a loop around the airport, expected to cost about $200 million," Rothschild said.

He said the spur line will be completed in about 18 months. The three-phase loop will take an additional two years or more to finish. - Chuck Mueller, The San Bernardino County Sun

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DM&E HEARING NOW SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY

PIERRE, SD -- A state hearing on the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's request to use eminent domain for its proposed $6 billion expansion project has been rescheduled for Jan. 26. The South Dakota Transportation Commission had scheduled the hearing for Dec. 22 in Pierre.

Former governor and U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow, a lawyer for some landowners, asked that his clients be allowed to intervene and that the hearing be delayed. DM&E asked that the original hearing examiner be replaced.

The new hearing examiner, part-time federal magistrate Mark Moreno, set the hearing for Jan. 26 in the Hughes County Courthouse in Pierre. Those seeking to intervene in the case must filed intervention applications by Dec. 29. - The Associated Press, The Sioux Falls Argus Leader

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RAILROAD PALS DO GOOD DEED TO HONOR A DEPARTED FRIEND

ROANOKE, VA -- For about 12 years, a group of retired railroad workers, who call themselves the Lunch Buddies, have had lunch together at The Roanoker restaurant the first Tuesday of every month. During some of those luncheons, they plan the trip they take to Florida every March.

The men share a passion for baseball and follow different teams around during spring training, when the major leaguers practice and play exhibition games, said Lunch Buddy Richard Wright.

Until recently, there were four of them in the group, all from Roanoke: Wright, Charlie Lavender, Bob Cassell and Guy Cooper.

But two weeks ago, Cooper died.

"Guy was a good guy ... he had a friendly personality," Wright said. "At the funeral home, somebody made a comment about him being a perfect gentleman; that pretty much describes him."

Wright said all the Lunch Buddies used to work for Norfolk Southern, and have known each other for more than 30 years. He and the rest of the group decided to donate to the Good Neighbors Fund for the first time this holiday season, in memory of their longtime friend Cooper.

"We miss him," he said.

Checks made payable to the Good Neighbors Fund should be mailed to the Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 1951, Roanoke, VA, 24008-1951. Names -- but not donation amounts -- of contributing businesses, individuals or organizations, as well as memorial and honorific designations, will be listed in the newspaper. Those requesting that their names not be used will remain anonymous. If no preference is stated, the donor's name will be listed. Donations may not be earmarked for specific individuals or families. - Ana Ribeiro, The Roanoke Times

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TRANSIT NEWS

LIGHT-RAIL FOES IRKED OVER SCOTTSDALE VOTE

SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- A Scottsdale City Council vote this week that had no impact on the city's long-term transit plans is being hailed by the anti-rail crowd as proof of the council's desire to bring light rail or modern streetcars to Scottsdale.

And despite council members saying they do not support bringing light rail through the downtown, opponents are concerned the system could be used south of there and that modern streetcars - which they oppose - could be the downtown transit option.

"When (the council) had to option to take light rail off the table and didn't do it, that told me light rail and/or modern streetcar will go all the way through downtown, which is going to condemn businesses and be a hardship for businesses trying to exist," said Mike Fernandez, owner of Pottery Paradise.

Light-rail opponent Becky Fenger added, "It exposed (the council) for where their loyalties lay."

But technically, nothing changed after a spirited council debate Tuesday. Scottsdale Road is still the city's designated transit corridor. There are still three possible transit options for the thoroughfare - light rail, modern streetcars or express buses - that would connect with the 20-mile regional light-rail route in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa.

The council isn't committed to any of the options as it awaits a recommendation from consultant HDR sometime next year. The vote Tuesday was only against removing light rail as an option for Scottsdale Road, not in favor of it or modern streetcars.

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce President Rick Kidder, whose organization supports a fixed-rail route on Scottsdale Road, said he believes council members have not made up their minds and wanted to keep all options available.

He was critical of Councilmen Jim Lane, Bob Littlefield and Tony Nelssen, who wanted to remove the Scottsdale Road designation without offering an alternative.

"It's disturbing to see members of the council willing to buy into someone else's paranoia and willing to throw away hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure studies and federal funding just because they assume something to be the case," Kidder said.

The light rail and modern streetcars debate is being fueled by Scottsdale's $1.2 million update of the city's master transportation plan. One portion of the plan involves recommending a transit alternative for Scottsdale Road, the designated corridor since 2003. Light rail is projected to cost about $70 million a mile, modern streetcars about $30 million a mile and bus rapid transit $20 million per mile.

The plan also looks at traffic patterns downtown, around Scottsdale Airpark and in the north and other street, bicycle and pedestrian plans. The council is expected to vote on the plan by late 2007. - Brian Powell, The East Valley Tribune

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TUNNEL OPTION COULD MAKE LIGHT RAIL COME UP SHORT IN REDMOND

BELLEVUE, WA -- A tunnel for light rail to run beneath downtown Bellevue could mean there's not enough money left over to extend the line all the way to downtown Redmond.

On Thursday, Sound Transit's board of directors gave preliminary approval to a plan that would extend light rail from Seattle, across Interstate 90, through downtown Bellevue and on to the Overlake Transit Center in Redmond - but not to downtown Redmond.

Final approval could come in January.

Board members also unanimously approved narrowing the number of proposed routes on the Eastside that will be studied in a draft environmental impact statement projected for completion in 2008.

Bellevue officials have made it clear they want a downtown tunnel for light rail because there's not enough capacity on the streets to put it above ground.

Tunneling under downtown Bellevue would cost about $300 million more than a light rail line above ground, according to preliminary estimates by Sound Transit staff. Extending the light rail line from Overlake Transit Center to downtown Redmond would cost an additional $649 million to $747 million.

Connie Marshall, a Bellevue city councilwoman and member of the Sound Transit board, said Bellevue officials do not support a light rail line on downtown streets.

"Long term, a tunnel in downtown is the best solution," Marshall said. But she added the city is "committed to working to bring East Link to downtown Redmond."

But Redmond officials are adamant that light rail needs to extend to their downtown area to serve the city's burgeoning employment center, including Microsoft Corp., located near the Overlake Transit Center, more than two miles from the city center.

Nina Rivkin, Redmond's chief policy adviser, said the city's elected officials are "deeply concerned" the environmental impact statement won't include study of light rail to downtown.

"It's too early to assume Sound Transit can't bring light rail to downtown Redmond," she told board members.

Rivkin said later that tunneling in downtown Bellevue would mean that light rail won't be extended to downtown Redmond.

Board members indicated they do want to at least study three route options to push light rail from Overlake to downtown Redmond.

The total cost of the East Link project is estimated at $2.3 billion to $2.8 billion, depending on the route that's chosen and other variables, said Geoff Patrick, a spokesman for Sound Transit.

Sound Transit already is building a light rail system and operates express buses and commuter trains.

The light rail system given preliminary approval Thursday is part of Sound Transit's East Link project, which in turn is one component of Sound Transit 2.

Sound Transit 2 would extend light rail service north to Lynnwood, south to the Port of Tacoma and east to the Overlake Transit Center. It would also include improvements to Sounder train stations and enhance the ST Express bus network.

Sound Transit's first phase, currently under construction, will place a light rail line north from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington and south to Sea-Tac Airport.

The estimated price tag for Sound Transit 2 is $11 billion and would be paid for with a 0.5 percent sales tax increase, costing a typical household an additional $125 per year.

Voters will have the final say on funding the plan in the November 2007 general election.

Sound Transit 2 officials tout the East Link project as a way to provide a fast, reliable connection to major population centers in the region, which is expected to grow by 1.2 million residents and employees by 2030.

They estimate light rail will produce travel times of 10 minutes from Overlake Transit Center to downtown Bellevue, 20 minutes from Qwest Field to downtown Bellevue and 30 minutes from the University of Washington to downtown Bellevue.

In voting to narrow the options that will be studied in the draft environmental impact statement, Sound Transit board members tried to balance the desire of residents in neighborhoods south of downtown Bellevue, who are concerned about noise and visual impacts of a light rail line, with the need to keep costs low.

Members of the Surrey Downs Community Club wrote the board this week supporting a light rail route near Interstate 405, from I-90 to downtown Bellevue, a path "that puts regional transit on regional roads" and keeps it farther from their neighborhood.

Other routes to be studied from I-90 to downtown will be on Bellevue Way, on 112th Avenue Southeast, both at-grade and elevated, and the BNSF Railway corridor near I-405.

In downtown Bellevue, three tunnel routes will be studied, two elevated routes and one at-grade route. - David A. Grant, The King County Journal

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HOME MARKET HITS A LOFTY NEW HIGH

DALLAS, TX -- Who says there's a housing slowdown?

The most expensive home ever to hit the Dallas market just went up for sale.

The Lacerte estate on Park Lane is patterned after a European country home and can be yours for $45 million.

Built in 1992, the 26,620-square-foot spread has six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 10 fireplaces, according to the Dallas County Appraisal District. The taxman thinks the place is worth only about $16 million. But those numbers are notoriously inaccurate for such high-priced homes.

Along with the mansion, you get a greenhouse, tennis count, cabana and pool. There are two attached garages containing more than 3,200 square feet. That's bigger than the average U.S. home.

Indeed, for the $45 million price tag you could buy more than 300 standard Dallas-Fort Worth area homes, based on the latest median sales price.

Ebby Halliday agent Ralph Randall is quietly marketing the house to prospective buyers. The nine-acre estate is being sold by businessman Larry Lacerte.

The Park Lane house is twice the price of the second-most-expensive house for sale in the Dallas area, a $22.5 million, five-bedroom English Tudor manse on Vassar Avenue in University Park.

The previous record price to sell through the local multiple listing service was a $22 million Park Lane home that traded in 2000.

Developers eye DART

Developers are waiting trackside in Carrollton for DART's light rail construction.

Carrollton Crossing Development Co. has purchased about four acres on Interstate 35E at Belt Line Road adjacent to a planned transit stop.

The real estate firm plans to construct a half-million square feet of residential, retail office and hotel space.

"It's a little over $100 million project," said developer Kevin Richardson. "We bought the land almost four years ago, and we've been working to put everything together."

Carrollton Crossing Development hopes to start its project next year and have it open by the time the first DART train arrives, he said. A second future transit line also connects to the property, creating a hub.

"We are working with the city of Carrollton on our design to make this area a destination, not just a station," Mr. Richardson said.

Building's new owners

One of the biggest buildings in Dallas' West End has changed hands.

The six-story Landmark Center office and retail building at Ross Avenue and Lamar Street has been purchased by a California investor.

Argus Realty Investors bought the 137,000-square-foot red-brick building for more than $20 million from local investors who had owned it about two years.

The Landmark Center was built in 1913 and originally housed a regional warehouse for General Electric Corp.

Grapevine, Frisco plans

Developer Brytar Cos. has two new projects in North Texas.

In Frisco, construction has already begun on a three-story, 55,000-square-foot office and retail building adjacent to Pizza Hut Park. The building is being done in partnership with Cirrus Group and will open next May.

And Brytar has a 150,000-square-foot retail and mixed-use complex starting in Grapevine that will open next June. The Grapevine Mills Crossing development is at State Highway 121 and Grapevine Mills Boulevard. - Steve Brown, The Dallas Morning News

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LAGNIAPPE (Something extra, not always railroad related, for Saturdays only)

TRUCKEE UTILITY REJECTS BUYING COAL-FIRED POWER FROM UTAH

TRUCKEE, CA -- Utility officials Wednesday night soundly rejected a proposed 50-year deal to buy wholesale-priced power from a proposed coal-fired power plant in Utah.

The vote by the Truckee Donner Public Utility District board of directors came after dozens of ratepayers and renewable energy advocates testified in an emotional public hearing that Truckee should not be supporting an energy-generating system that contributes to global warming and a host of other environmental and public health ills.

The rejection will force the 12,000-customer utility to purchase power on the open market -- at prices utility staff members say will be twice what the Utah power would have cost them.
Much of the open-market power is likely to come from coal-fired power plants. District officials said rejecting the Utah power likely would result in customer rates rising by 30 percent.

The decision came under remarkable political and media scrutiny. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California both wrote letters urging the board to reject the Utah project, and the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee and National Public Radio all weighed in with stories about the proposed contract. Four TV crews covered Thursday's meeting of the board, which usually operates in relative obscurity.

Renewable energy advocate Paul Vercruyssen, who testified against the contract, said the TDPUD vote attracted so much attention because it represented a microcosm of a national dilemma: How to balance the need for cheap energy with growing concerns over global warming.

"When I drove up from Sacramento, it was raining on Donner Summit," Vercruyssen, a spokesman for the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology in Sacramento, said. "It's winter. It should be snowing. And if the people who live here aren't willing to do something about making sure it keeps snowing, who is?"

Although TDPUD managers urged the five elected members of the board to support the contract with the Utah consortium, a group of 40 communities in six states, only board member Tim Taylor ultimately did.

Board members Pat Sutton and Bill Thomasson were the most vocal opponents of the contract and sternly criticized utility staff members for not doing more to explore adding renewable energy sources to the utility's portfolio and investing more in conservation efforts.

Thomasson said the coal-fired power prices were artificially low because of government subsidies and worried the district could face buying itself out of the contract if the power plant project failed in some way. He noted the district is still paying off a $26 million buyout to get out of a power contract in 2003.

Board member Ron Hemig opposed the contract but sounded like he regretted missing an opportunity.

"Voting 'no' is really the chicken way out of this issue," he said. "I'd like to think that coal is on the way out but it isn't, particularly in the region where we buy out energy.

"We'll be buying contracts for some time to come on the open market, and when our rates go up we'll be hearing from a different group of people." - Jim Sloan, The Reno Gazette-Journal

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I'VE RESERVATIONS ABOUT CHEAP HOTELS

It's probably too late now to change your reservations. Everything's booked up for the ho-ho-holidays. You're stuck.

But here's a word of advice for the new year: Don't cut corners when it comes to accommodations. Get a nice room. A quiet hotel with room service. Spend the money. It's worth it. Trust me. I've done the market research.

In the fall, I visited 15 cities over eight weeks, stumping for a new book. Each week, I'd spend four or five days on the road. In between, I'd go home. Do laundry. Answer my e-mail. Issue stern warnings to the children. Then I'd get on another plane.

Business travel is hard work.

Business travel is hard work. By the time my tour was over, I was a whipped dog who wanted nothing more than to sleep by the fire through the winter.

My publisher set up most of the events, but I booked my own accommodations, using a map and a calendar and online travel services. Nothing to it.

I took some chances on motels. Gambled. I knew I was doing it at the time, but what the heck, a man's gotta live a little.

In some cities, I stayed at swank convention hotels. In others, when it was just me, Mr. Weary Business Traveler, out there on the road, I went cheap. High-rises near the airport. Chain motels near nice parts of town. Cut-rate places that used to be chain motels.

The results were decidedly mixed, but I came away thinking once again that you get what you pay for.

Sure, you can find bargains and sometimes you get lucky (in Pasadena, California, a noisy, aged, pink motel turned out to be attached to a splendid Thai cafe). But more often than not, an iffy motel costs more than a good night's sleep. It taxes your sanity.

Some examples of what I found:

In one motel, the heater blew slightly cool air. So did the air conditioner. No matter how I set the thermostat or adjusted the fan. Slightly cool air.

In another, I couldn't use the heater because it was louder than an Air Force fighter jet, and I can never sleep on runways.

One motel, booked sight unseen, had a panoramic view of a Taco Bell.

At another, nesting pigeons cooed all night outside the window. I woke in a San Francisco motel to find a demolition crew prying the plank walls off the building next door.

I stayed at a wonderful old Indiana hotel that was closing right after our conference. I couldn't understand why it would go out of business until I learned the very busy railroad tracks were one block away.

In Portland, Oregon, I stayed in the leafy suburbs at a resort hotel that had as many guests as your typical ghost town. The staff was relentlessly cheerful. It was creepy.

In Seattle, I spent the night at a chain motel that played host to the 2006 World Door-Slamming Championships, which I didn't even know was a recognized (slam!) sporting event. All night long, doors slammed at irregular intervals (slam!), so hard that (slam!) all the windows rattled. I didn't hear who won the medal, but it was a real pleasure just to participate.

I could go on - gravestone beds, singing toilets, stuttering elevators, outrageous parking fees, suspicious carpet stains, early-bird maids shrieking, "Housekeeping!" - but one does hate to complain.

Don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't go cheap. Splurge on your room. Make it a gift to yourself. You'll be glad you did.

Happy (slam!) holidays. - Steve Brewer, The Albuquerque Tribune

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THE END