Lawmakers seek answers on Boston transit troubles

BOSTON (AP) — State lawmakers plan to grill MBTA and state transportation officials about the massive breakdowns and delays that have angered and frustrated commuters during the recent stretch of severe winter weather. http://www.boston.com/news/weather/2015/02/26/lawmakers-seek-answers-boston-transit-troubles/wZhCa6WYYTSDmYRNbu96jN/story.html?p1=feature_stack_1_hp
Article Courtesy of Boston.com by Associated Press by Bob Salsberg

San Francisco residents relying less on private automobiles

San Franciscan Rian Adams has broken her reliance on the automobile. Parking in the city's congested urban core where she lives and works is too much hassle, and her two-mile commute typically takes five minutes on BART.  http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0224-california-commute-20150224-story.html
Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Dan Weikel and Soumya Karlamangla

State's 5 worst bottlenecks are in L.A., Orange counties

During the evening rush hour, a section of Interstate 5 between the 710 and 605 freeways becomes a mosh pit of commuters as tens of thousands of vehicles outbound from L.A. squeeze from five lanes to four. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0210-california-commute-20150210-story.html
Article courtesy of The LA Times by Dan Weikel

Digging out | Boston deals with massive amounts of snow

Boston is a city that flaunts its ability to tough out winter with an army of snowplows and salt by the ton. But this week a sense of crisis set in as residents realize it will be at least several more weeks before the city--and their lives--can be fully functional again.
Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times

Snow, Dangerous Winds, Cold Strike New England Again

BOSTON (AP) — Snow and dangerously high winds roared across parts of New England in the dark of night to face an army of road crews and emergency workers Sunday, who had readied themselves for the fourth winter onslaught in less than a month. The odds favored the ominous weather.  http://www.boston.com/news/weather/2015/02/15/snow-dangerous-winds-cold-strikes-new-england-again/wdtd4vBylkysM1U5dYV1TN/story.html?p1=well_ItKeepsSnowing_subheadline_hp
Article courtesy of boston.com /Associated Press by Sylvia Lee Wingfield

Apple’s electric car dreams carry challenges

Apple has put a few hundred people, including some new workers from the auto industry, to work on the early development of an electric vehicle resembling a minivan. Such a car would challenge Tesla, as well as electric and hybrid cars sold by Nissan, General Motors, Ford and other companies.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Apple-s-electric-car-dreams-carry-challenges-6086121.php
Article courtesy of SFGate by David White and Dana Hull

California’s snowless winter worsening; Oregon also in trouble

WASHINGTON — California’s unusually high temperatures and shortage of precipitation — especially snow — will probably continue into the spring, federal scientists said Thursday.
And it isn’t just California that is experiencing growing problems, the scientists said: An unusually warm winter in Oregon is creating alarm there about the lack of snowpack to fill reservoirs.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-s-snowless-winter-worsening-6090485.php
Article courtesy of SFGate by Carolyn Lochhead

Chillin’: Bostonians Build Snow Lounge with Fire Pit

When faced with a pile of snow taller than a fence, Imgur user WeAreNotRealWeAreJaden and a few friends broke out the shovels, the fire pit, and the beer to show snow what American ingenuity is all about, with a little inspiration from our neighbors to the north. Behold the fire pit:




Article courtesy of boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/2015/02/18/chillin-bostonians-build-snow-lounge-with-fire-pit/sTxr8vM5FWvewazkYJkzTK/story.html

How Will MBTA Issues Affect Home Buying in Greater Boston?

The ability to walk to public transportation has been a popular priority for many home buyers in the Greater Boston Area over the past several years, but the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) recent service disruptions may make living close to the subway or commuter rail less important going forward.  http://www.boston.com/realestate/sponsored/boston_home_buyer_education/2015/02/how_will_mbta_issues_affect_home_buying_in_greater_boston.html
Article courtesy of boston.com

Boston’s Rising Tide Isn’t Dampening Development

Surging sea levels may eventually give the term “underwater condo” a whole new meaning in Boston.

Still, the Urban Land Institute’s much-touted report warning of a Boston half under water in the decades to come shows no signs of slowing down a hot market, one in which multi-million dollar condo sales are routine and a new luxury tower is seemingly going up on every corner.http://www.boston.com/real-estate/news/2014/10/04/boston-rising-tide-isn-damping-development/NA9BoaMvmb1kG8EetEWloN/story.html?p1=related_article_page

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Scott Van Voorhis 

EPA urged to tighten ozone standards

It is time to strengthen the nation's smog limits to improve the health of millions of people who suffer the ill effects of air pollution, dozens of environmentalists, doctors, asthmatic children and religious leaders told a panel of federal officials Monday at a daylong hearing. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0203-ozone-hearing-20150203-story.html
Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Tony Barboza

Little-known agency keeps commuter rail network on track

The 351-mile rail corridor that runs along the coast between San Diego, Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo is the second-busiest intercity route in the nation.
Its annual passenger load of 7.4 million is surpassed only by that of the northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., which handles more than 11.4 million a year.


But keeping those trains running on time — and safely, as they occasionally share tracks with freight traffic — is a constant challenge. The job has fallen to a little-known regional authority known as the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-california-commute-20150127-story.html
Article courtesy of the Los Angeles Times by Dan Weikel