Eleven down, one to go. Perhaps 2022 will be better than 2021 was. We went into 2021 with so much optimism after 2020 and its craziness. It looked like things were going better, but then we were slammed with supply chain woes, and people that seemed more concerned with themselves and partisan political positioning than with making the world a better place (Tikkun Olam). But we can make 2022 better. You can do your part. Get vaccinated (and get a booster if have your first shots). Put your vaccine card in your digital wallet (it makes things easy). Wear your masks. Let’s keep beating this virus down until we can get that R0 to 1 or below. Right now, the R0 is at 1.1, so we’re getting closer. This chart visualizes how infectious SARS-COV-2 is without the vaccine, compared to other diseases.
But November has been crazy in other ways. On the plus side, theatre is coming back and I saw two shows in November: Hamilton and Head Over Heels. That’s the good. The bad is that I saw the last show with a friend, not my wife. That’s because my wife fell in a store the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and has been in the hospital since. They repaired the broken kneecap and tib-fib fracture, and now it is just rehab until mid-December at least. That sees me on the roads more, but not for a good reason.
But at least I can give you something fun. Here are the headlines I collected for November. As always: Ready, Set, Discuss, and get your vaccine or booster.
Key
[Ħ Historical information | $ Paywalls, $$ really obnoxious paywalls, and ∅ other annoying restrictions. I’m no longer going to list the paper names, as I’m including them in the headlines now. Note: For $ paywalls, sometimes the only way is incognito mode, grabbing the text before the paywall shows, and pasting into an editor. ]
Highway Headlines
- $Goodman urges California officials to widen I-15; Caltrans says not so fast (Las Vegas Review-Journal). After an end to any busy weekend in the Las Vegas Valley, you can almost count on two things happening: a miles-long traffic backup on Interstate 15 southbound, and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman tweeting about it. With the interstate going from three lanes on the Nevada side to two on the California side, traffic can back up more than 20 miles on some busy holiday weekends. Last week’s EDC music festival drew hundreds of thousands of people, with many driving in from Southern California. The backup on Monday, after the festival ended, got up to at least 15 miles long, according to Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada traffic alerts. Goodman took to her Twitter account to urge California transportation officials to help ease the congestion.
- $$American Canyon looks at gas stations and hotels on Highway 29 (Napa Valley Register). American Canyon’s main drag of Highway 29 could get another hotel, though adding gas stations beyond an upcoming Circle K looks doubtful. This week, the city Planning Commission had two discussions that could affect the Highway 29 ambiance. It recommended the City Council allow a Hampton Inn and favored a ban on new gas stations, pending a few details to be worked out. American Canyon’s highway stretch is the first look at Napa County for many visitors. It is a mixture of new shopping centers, old buildings and vacant lots. A three-story, 112-room Hampton Inn with such features as a fitness center and meeting room would be just south of Donaldson Way. It would replace, among other things, a house with a windmill in front of it on a 2.5-acre lot that is largely vacant.
- $Who killed L.A.’s streetcars? We all did (Los Angeles Times). Suppose you’re thinking of moving to Los Angeles, and you ask your friends, what movies should I watch to learn all about the place? Easy, they say. “Chinatown,” “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” That’s fine — if you’re willing to let movies teach you history. But do remember, please, that “Chinatown” is a brilliant but truth-adjacent film and that “Once Upon a Time” delivers a happy grisly alternate ending to the Charles Manson saga. And as for “Roger Rabbit,” do you really want your source material about L.A.’s electric streetcar system to come from a cast of animated lagomorphs? Next to the Black Dahlia, that is probably L.A.’s favorite murder-conspiracy whodunit: Who killed the Red Cars, once the grandest electric streetcar system in the nation?
- Phase 2 of the Route 70 Safety and Passing Lanes Project (District 3/FB). Caltrans and its partners celebrated the completion of Phase 2 of the Highway 70 Safety and Passing Lanes Project in Butte County this morning. The new roadway improves safety along Highway 70 corridor by providing continuous passing opportunities for vehicles from East Gridley Road to the Butte-Yuba county line. The project is the third of six major roadway improvement projects completed on Highway 70 between Oroville and Marysville.
- South Fresno Corridor Project (District 6/FB). District 6 will host a virtual public hearing for the South Fresno Corridor Project. The hearing will be held on November 4th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. You may access the virtual hearing through the project website: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-6/district-6-projects/06-0h240
- Golden State Bridge Inc. Delivers Unique Reconstruction Project (Construction Eqpt. Guide). The new $18 million Klamath River Bridge, a 300-ft. long, one lane in each direction, arch structure located north of Yreka, Calif., constructed by Golden State Bridge Inc. for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), was fully delivered on Oct. 1 of this year. The complex project dealt with many environmental hurdles, which required a unique falsework system envisioned and implemented by Golden State’s Project Manager Paul Lukaszewicz, Superintendent Jim Banbury and Project Engineer Evan Huber to meet all concerns of the permitting agencies with no temporary structures in the flowing water. An engineered bridge removal plan also was required to dismantle the old structure and prevent debris from falling into the river.