Transportation

California Pacific Airlines going nowhere fast

After 10 years of effort, Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport-based California Pacific Airlines finally took flight on November, 2018. It flew high for a whole month before being grounded, kicked out of the state of South Dakota and sued. A long-time pursuit of Ted Vallas, a 97-year-old Rancho Santa Fe businessman with an ambitious plan to pick up the traditionally failing Carlsbad passenger traffic market, the airlines may never…


‘Round town: Hercules, low gas, and murder

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s at Valley Center History Museum The January birthdate of famed actor-bodybuilder Steve Reeves is being remembered at the Valley Center History Museum which has a collection of the late star’s memorabilia. Known internationally as the winner of every major bodybuilding competition as as the star of “Hercules” and 17 other motion pictures, Reeves is little-known as a rancher…


Cal v. Trump over vehicle emission standards

The Trump administration this summer formally announced a proposal to freeze fuel economy standards and tailpipe emission standards for new cars. In addition, it is proposing to revoke California’s authority to set more stringent rules. This move by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while expected for months, is the most significant action yet in rolling back efforts by the…


Clean vehicle rebate project test begins

Starting in San Diego County this week, The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) is rolling out Rebate Now, a pre-approved rebate program that makes it easier and faster for California residents to lease or purchase electric vehicles. If the local rebate test proves successful, it will be applied statewide. San Diego’s diverse communities and car buying options make it an ideal test ground for this…


California highway safety laws best in US

Amid a resurgence in U.S. traffic fatalities now taking roughly 100 lives a day, an advocacy group today issued a report card identifying states that do the most, and least, to improve highway safety. The ratings by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety credited six states — California, Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, Delaware and Rhode Island—with having the most protective road safety laws. The safety group…


Wasted days and wasted nights on SR 78

And maybe someday we will find, that it wasn’t really Wasted time Mm,hm Oh hoo, ooh, ohh, Ohh, ooh, mm. — Eagles “Wasted Time” With great fanfare, SANDAG in 2012 broke ground for a $41 million road widening project on State Route 78 near Interstate 15 as well as around Nordahl Road “to ease traffic congestions during morning and afternoon commuting hours.” Guess what? It…


Local bus drivers say show us the money

Bus drivers and mechanics for San Diego’s North County Transit District allege they are owed thousands of dollars in accrued vacation, sick and personal time from First Transit, a national company that operated NCTD’s bus service for the past seven years under a $178 million contract. It’s unclear how many people are affected and how much money is at stake, though interviews with drivers and…


Traffic more hassled headed down I-15

According to traffic volume counts collected by the state, traffic has increased on the winding stretch of the 15 that runs past Rainbow and Fallbrook by almost 6 percent since 2013 alone. That translates to thousands of additional cars on that stretch and 20,000 plus south of the Highway 78 merge in Escondido. TRAFFIC VOLUME The annual average daily traffic volume between Temecula and Escondido along Interstate-15…


Smartphone distractions, drinking help spur rising pedestrian death toll

Pedestrian deaths are surging across the nation, and analysts are putting much of the blame on drivers and walkers who are looking at their smartphones instead of watching where they are going. Tipsy walking also is part of the problem, with one in three victims legally drunk when they were struck and killed. The latest report on U.S. pedestrian deaths, from the Governors Highway Safety Association,…


Drive Tales: ‘It’s upside down, so what?’

Drive tales One of my many jobs right now is delivering packages for Amazon Prime Now. It’s a little different from Amazon Prime where packages are delivered at Amazon’s choosing by USPS, UPS, and FedEx. With Prime Now, YOU choose when you want your goods delivered. You can choose any two-hour window between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week at no extra…