Los Angeles officials, always with grabbing more taxes on their minds, have come up with a nifty (they think) idea: charge motorists more to drive, noted Grumpy Editor.
L.A. County politicians claimed they have no choice but to contemplate charging motorists more to drive in efforts to relieve congestion.
Terming it “congestion pricing,” among moves being considered are converting carpool lanes to toll lanes, taxing drivers based on the number of miles traveled and charging a fee to enter certain neighborhoods and business districts.
The Metropolitan Traffic Authority (MTA) figured getting more drivers off the road would allow freeing up space for better bus service, while incoming billions of dollars in revenue could fund a major expansion of the transit network.
But how does charging to drive, with daily commuters motoring to work and others with necessary tasks that require them to get behind the wheel, result in getting more vehicles off the roadways? For example: How will driving a pregnant woman to a hospital be treated, especially with using a popular road?
How will merchants in targeted business districts feel about curbing potential customers?
To avoid road fees, will there be more use of recently-developed flying cars? That would lead to more flight control personnel.
MTA’s board of directors next month will be asked to approve a study and assemble a panel of experts to examine how congestion pricing would work.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
GANNETT SLASHES JOBS. Poynter reported Gannett Co., Inc. began slashing jobs across the country Wednesday in a cost-cutting move that was anticipated even before recent news that a hedge-fund company was planning to buy the chain that includes USA Today, Indianapolis Star, Cincinnati Enquirer, Des Moines Register, Arizona Republic and many others.
DAILY WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFINGS SHELVED President Donald Trump directed White House press secretary Sarah Sanders not to hold traditional daily briefings because "most (reporters) will never cover us fairly and hence, the term, Fake News!" Last press briefing was on Dec. 18. But there is no lack of media accessibility. Sanders reminded that "I take questions from reporters every single day."
MOST ADULTS DON'T BUY NEWSPAPERS. A Rasmussen Reports survey tallied 63 percent of adults rarely or never buy a print version of their local newspaper, up from 57 percent last May and 30 percent 10 years ago.
FINE PRINT DISTRACTS WITH APPEALING AD. A Wells Fargo half-page ad under the headline “Give your money a raise,” with an appealing savings account interest figure, also has 23 page-wide lines in hard-to-read tiny type on “to qualify for this offer...”
BRITISH PAPER APOLOGIZES TO FIRST LADY. The Telegraph newspaper in Britain apologized and paid undisclosed damages to First Lady Melania Trump after publishing a Jan. 19 cover story it said contained many false statements.
DOG RETURNS HOME WITH TWO PALS. A Concordia, Kansas, family thought their dog was lost when it did not return home from the back yard. But the dog did return much later accompanied by another dog --- and a goat.
BERKELEY TO CHARGE FOR DISPOSABLE CUPS. Patrons of Berkeley, California restaurants and coffee shops who don't bring reusable beverage cups, will need to pay a 25-cent fee for a disposable cup starting next January. The Disposable-Free Dining ordinance also will require eateries to provide takeout containers that are compostable by mid-2020 and to use only reusable plates and utensils for those eating in.
RUNAWAY EMUS CAPTURED IN GALVESTON. Police in Galveston, Texas captured a pair of runaway emus ---not permitted in the city --- that had been loose after escaping from their owner's backyard. Its owner said the large, flightless birds were brought in after the death of his mother who owned them at her Houston home.
DRUNK ON RUSSIAN PLANE MAKES HEADLINES IN U.S. Must have been a dull news day when U.S. newspapers carried a story on an intoxicated passenger threatening the crew of a Russian passenger plane flying from a Siberian city to Moscow, forcing it to land shortly after takeoff.
