◇ Program Summary
1. State lawmakers propose to increase bridge tolls in the Bay Area
Scott Wiener and several other Bay Area state senators introduced a bill, SB532, on Monday that would raise tolls on seven Bay Area bridges to subsidize local transit infrastructure.
The toll increase is temporary, $1.50 for five years. If passed, it will be implemented from January 2024. The seven bridges involved are San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, San Mateo Bridge, Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, Dunbarton Bridge, Carquinez Bridge, Benicia Bridge, and Antioch Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is not among the 7 bridges.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, the utilization rate of public transportation systems in the Bay Area, such as BART and Muni in San Francisco, has not yet returned to its pre-epidemic level, and the federal government’s subsidies during the epidemic will soon stop, bringing BART and Muni, etc. to great pressure. Wiener noted that SB532 will provide life-saving funding for the Bay Area mass transit system.
But State Senator Steve Glazer opposed the bill. He said that past examples show that the benefits of increasing bridge tolls have turned out to be empty promises.
2. San Francisco Mayor Breed down in polls
San Francisco Mayor Breed’s popularity has gone from bad to worse, according to a new poll, which has continued to decline even after she recently announced her plan to arrest drug users.
A recently released poll found 66 percent disapproving of Breed’s administration, up 9 percent from last month’s figure. In the new survey, 39 percent of respondents said public safety and drug issues were their top concerns, followed by homelessness at 28 percent.
Polls show that if the mayoral re-election is held today, Breed is likely to lose the election. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they would vote for her contender, Alderman Ahsha Safai, compared with 26 percent who said they would vote for Breed. But 45 percent of those surveyed said they weren’t sure who to vote for yet.
3. Alameda County’s road jugglers may face jail time
On Tuesday, the Alameda County Council will consider an ordinance that would make it illegal to watch sideshows, punishing spectators with a $1,000 fine and up to six months in prison.
The proposal’s co-authors, Alameda County Council President Nathan Miley and County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, described the ordinance as a way for law enforcement to crack down on illegal auto-highway juggling. “Another Tool”. Such sideshows often attract hundreds of spectators and lead to loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. Sideshow events “require personnel enforcement that would leave Alameda County Police personnel short-staffed to respond to other emergency calls,” they wrote in their proposal. But some legal experts said the proposed statute violates the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, press and religion, as well as the right to peaceful assembly. They said the public and the press have the right to watch, record and report on any public event.
Roadshows began in Oakland in the 1980s as social gatherings where people showed off their cars. These automotive events have grown in the Bay Area over the years. In May, Auckland Council passed a bill making road juggling illegal. In San Jose and Pittsburgh in the Bay Area, there are already bills prohibiting people from watching road sideshows.
2023-06-27 12:25:46
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