Portland May Require Developers to Offer Residents, Employees $600 for Biking or Transit

​Got a new job in Portland? Have a new bike. Deals like that could become common under a set of proposed rules being discussed by the City of Portland that might require developers or property managers to give each new resident or on-site worker $600 that could be spent only on non-car transportation: a nice new bike, six months of TriMet passes, four years of bike share memberships, or whatever.http://smartgrowth.org/portland-may-require-developers-to-offer-residents-employees-600-for-biking-or-transit/?utm_source=SGN+2015-1123&utm_campaign=sgn-news-2015-1123&utm_medium=email
Article courtesy of BikeOregon.org

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MBTA board considering cutting late-night T service

For the second time this year, late-night T service is on the chopping block.

Members of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Fiscal and Management Control Board on Wednesday seemed open to abandoning the weekend bus and subway service, which runs until 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday mornings, to cut costs.  http://www.boston.com/business/2015/11/18/mbta-board-considering-cutting-late-night-service/JFvW3SaUOTckRqGAca2f2J/story.html?p1=Must_Reads_hp

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Adam Vaccaro

#TBT: The worst earthquake in Massachusetts history 260 years ago

On November 18, 1755, Massachusetts experienced its largest recorded earthquake.

The earthquake occurred in the waters off Cape Ann, and was felt within seconds in Boston, and as far away as Nova Scotia, the Chesapeake Bay, and upstate New York, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Seismologists have since estimated the quake to have been between 6.0 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, according to the Massachusetts Historical Society.  http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/11/19/tbt-the-worst-earthquake-massachusetts-history-years-ago/b2byfYaFeX2IqiLxN8czxN/story.html?p1=Must_Reads_hp

Article courtesy of Boston.com by Hilary Sargent

El Niño temperatures in Pacific Ocean break 25-year record

Temperatures in a key location of the Pacific Ocean are now far hotter than normal than ever were in the record 1997 El Niño.
Some scientists say the readings show that this year’s El Niño could be among the most powerful on record -- and even topple the 1997 El Niño from its pedestal.  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-el-nino-temperatures-new-record-20151117-story.html
Story courtesy of the Los Angeles Times by Rong-Gong Lin II and Rosanna Xia

MBTA considers price increases, other changes for disability service

Before MBTA leaders began a scheduled discussion about the finances of its paratransit service, The Ride, several of its users stood before them Monday to urge them to keep prices stable and all existing service in place.  http://www.boston.com/news/2015/11/09/mbta-considers-price-increases-other-changes-for-disability-service/3kj4fR8Ru0c0mUcsJVB4zI/story.html?p1=stream_business
Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Adam Vaccaro

MBTA will unveil its commuter rail winter plan Wednesday

The MBTA and the operator of its commuter rail service, Keolis, will explain their winter weather plans at a media event Wednesday. Commuter rail riders were beset by severe delays and cancellations during last winter’s record-setting snowfall.  http://www.boston.com/news/2015/11/04/mbta-will-unveil-its-commuter-rail-winter-plan-wednesday/POwLt7rUgKtuQsfU3YYSuI/story.html?p1=feature_stack_7_hp
Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Adam Vaccaro

At lawmakers' urging, agency reveals report on growing bullet train costs

he California high-speed rail authority bowed to pressure from California legislators and members of Congress late Tuesday and released a copy of a 2013 report showing a large estimated increase in the cost of building the initial segment of the bullet train project. http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-bullet-cost-response-20151104-story.html
Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Ralph Vartabedian

Freezing temperatures expected after warmest October on record in Southern California

Antelope Valley residents are in for a cold couple of days.
A frost warning issued for Wednesday morning -- meaning temperatures could hover just above 32 degrees -- will be followed by an advisory for possible freezing temperatures after sundown, the National Weather Service said. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-freezing-cold-20151104-story.html
Article courtesy of the Los Angeles Times by Joseph Serna