My New Year’s Wish: Fact-Checking the Correctness of “Politically Correct” Environmental Policies
Norm King served as city manager in three Southern California cities and is the former executive director of the San Bernardino Transportation Commission. It is important for the reader of the following critique of various “politically correct” assertions to understand that I believe that climate change is serious and is caused by human activity, that […]
Fantastical Claims about Public Transit are Slowing Us Down
The publication of two articles this past week prompted the composition of this essay. The first was the LA Times Editorial Board, “COVID’S Toll on Public Transit.” (August 16). The second appeared in Fox&Hounds, “California’s Search for Equitable, Sustainable and Safe Transportation Choices,” by Karen Philbrick of the San Jose State University Mineta Transportation Center. […]
A Retrospective on High Speed Rail: Always Off the Track
Twenty years ago I was Executive Director of the San Bernardino Transportation Commission and had the opportunity to spend three weeks at U.C. Berkeley on a “micro-sabbatical.” The high-speed rail proposal was then attracting attention. While there I analyzed the newly issued high-speed rail feasibility studies. Two months later Cal’s Institute of Governmental Studies published […]
A Conservative Strategy to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
I am fiscally conservative and unlike many of my fellow Republicans I have no doubt that climate change is occurring and that carbon consumption is a major cause. I believe that human ingenuity will mitigate many of the effects of a warming climate. While there needs to be a more open scientific debate about how […]
Tax Reform: Tax the Rich—Except Not Us
I do not personally support the Republican tax reform plan, at least in its present form. I do support the components of the reform which would eliminate the federal income tax deduction for state income taxes and property taxes and which would reduce the cap on the deduction of mortgage interest payments from $1 million […]
Why I am Quitting the Sierra Club
In 1902 John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club and my favorite environmentalist wrote: “Fortunately, nature has a few big places beyond man’s power to spoil–the ocean, the two icy ends of the globe, and the Grand Cañon.” The great conservationist was wrong. Our increasing demand for power, water storage and combustion of fossil fuels […]
L.A.’s Measure M: Long Range Spending Based on Short Term Thinking
Los Angeles County is potentially poised to inflict a “forever” sales tax on itself and spend a majority of the funds in ways which cannot possibly produce what its supporters claim. Advocates appear oblivious to transit ridership trends and new technologies which will make Measure M an expensive and futile experiment. Metro’s CEO Phillip Washington has […]
Irreverent and Unsolicited Advice to Transit Advocates – Part 5
(Editor’s Note: This week Fox and Hounds is running a five part series by Norm King dealing with transportation issues based on his years of experience as a city manager and transportation consultant) Drivers Must Pay More with “Smart” Pricing Support policies which require drivers to pay more of the costs they inflict such as […]
Irreverent and Unsolicited Advice to Transit Advocates – Part 4
(Editor’s Note: This week Fox and Hounds is running a five part series by Norm King dealing with transportation issues based on his years of experience as a city manager and transportation consultant) Sustainability & Mobility Plan Strategies Are Unsustainable Give up trying to increase densities as a realistic way to reduce greenhouse gases and […]
Irreverent and Unsolicited Advice to Transit Advocates – Part 3
(Editor’s Note: This week Fox and Hounds is running a five part series by Norm King dealing with transportation issues based on his years of experience as a city manager and transportation consultant) Willingness to fund transit is up; willingness to use it is down. Be realistic about the impossibility of increasing taxes enough to […]