Daily Planning News

WASHINGTON - U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in April, one month after topping the 1 million mark for the first time since 2008.

But most of the decline was in apartment construction, which tends to vary sharply from month to month.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, a 16.5 percent drop from the March pace of 1.02 million.

May 16--BOULDER -- The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan shouldn't explicitly state that the county thinks native wildlife species and ecosystems have the legal right to exist and thrive, county staff members have advised the County Planning Commission.

During a Wednesday afternoon Planning Commission hearing, Longmont resident Ruby Bowman renewed her appeal that the document contain a sentence saying that "all naturally occurring ecosystems and their native species populations have a right to exist and flourish."

But members of Boulder County's Land Use Department and Parks and Open Space Department and a representative of the county attorney's office told planning commissioners that a statement about "natural rights" or "the rights of nature" is a legal principal that a county government may not have the authority to promulgate.

May 17--The name isn't likely to leave riders' lips any time soon, but starting Friday the light-rail line that runs from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America won't be called the Hiawatha Line.

The line is being rebranded as the Blue Line, Metro Transit spokesman John Siqveland said.

As part of the change and to educate riders, transit agency officials will hold a launch party from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Friday at the 46th Street Station in south Minneapolis.

Northern Virginia housing advocates are worried that an unexpected decision by the Alexandria City Council last week to end a funding guarantee for affordable housing could result in fewer options for those who need it the most.

The council, with little discussion, removed the guarantee that housing and open-space funds get a certain percentage of tax revenue when it voted on the fiscal 2014 budget May 6.

"All of us are trying to find out what happened," said Michelle Krocker, executive director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance.

May 16--LIVERMORE -- A 120-year-old building that once helped link the city to the greater Bay Area and beyond via the Southern Pacific Railroad is itself moving on down the line -- if only a few blocks.

The Livermore City Council in April approved using a $2.5 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to move the historic railroad depot on South L Street to a spot near the Livermore Transit Center and restore it to its original condition.

"Being a historic structure, it's important to preserve this for the city," said Eric Uranga, Livermore's assistant community development director.

May 16--Apopka plans to look for the money needed to take its eco-tourism plan for Lake Apopka from drawing board to reality, said Richard Anderson, chief administrative officer of Orange County's second-largest city.

"We think it's time to press forward with the next phase of that," Anderson told the City Commission Wednesday night.

At an environmental summit in February, city representatives unveiled a conceptual plan for the north shore of Lake Apopka that featured an "eco-village" to lure anglers, birders and other outdoor enthusiasts to the recovering freshwater lake.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. _ The roughly 125,000 commuters who rely on the Metro-North rail line _ as well as thousands of other travelers _ face a potential nightmare of detours and traffic jams Monday morning in the aftermath of Friday's train crash in Connecticut.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said delays and disruptions are possible throughout the coming week for commuters who take the Metro-North Commuter Railroad into New York City and for those who drive into the city.

During peak commuting hours trains will run about every 20 minutes between New Haven and Bridgeport on the New Haven commuter line.

METRO-NORTH RAILROAD SERVICE PROBLEMS:

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says roads could be a mess for a week as Metro-North Railroad crews repair tracks, overhead wires and other equipment.

A shuttle train will operate between New Haven and Bridgeport with shuttle buses running between Bridgeport and Stamford.

May 19--With employees working from home, temporary quarters and even the homes of neighbors in La Farge, Organic Valley was up and running within days of the fire that destroyed part of its headquarters Tuesday afternoon.

Bedessem said about a third of the 400 employees based in La Farge are expected to return to the undamaged east wing next week, while the rest will continue in temporary or remote locations until the co-op can rebuild.

"Sustainability and environmental consciousness is a wonderful thing, but sometimes those types of developments can present unusual challenges," said Stittleburg, who is meeting with Organic Valley management this week to go over "lessons learned" from Tuesday's fire.

May 19--SOUTH BEND -- First birds, now bees.

On the heels of a new backyard chicken law, Common Council member Tim Scott, D-District 2, has introduced an ordinance amending the city code as it relates to beekeeping.

The ordinance, which has been referred to the Health and Public Safety Committee, is intended to make it easier for people who want to keep domestic honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the city to do so, Scott said.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]WENDY Greuel, 51, has served nearly four years as city controller.

She also is a co-owner of a family-run building supply business in North Hollywood.

She met with the Business Journal recently to discuss the issues related to business and the local economy in the mayor's race.

Park City--The PARK CITY COUNCIL reviewed materials for phase one of the Historic Park City Improvement Plan in early March, setting in motion a 10-year plan to upgrade the infrastructure of Park City's central commercial thoroughfare.

"This plan will make much-needed improvements to our downtown, which is the lifeblood of our community," says Alison Butz, director of the Historic Park City Alliance.

"From the sidewalks and curbs to the addition of public plazas and improved connectivity from parking to Main Street, our downtown is getting the makeover it needs to continue serving our residents and tourists for years to come."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]Many urban areas were not designed with an eye for encouraging recreation and fitness.

Indeed, this issue is inherent in much of the infrastructure in the United States, creating significant barriers to park access and utilization.

The Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department is developing a Parks and Open Space Master Plan to reduce park inequity and increase physical activity.

BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut -- Commuter trains damaged in a crash in Connecticut were being removed Sunday in the first step to making repairs and restoring service, the agency that runs Metro-North said.

Later Sunday, the Connecticut Department of Transportation will announce jointly with Metro-North a plan for the rush-hour commute beginning Monday.

Investigators said Saturday that the crash was not the result of foul play, but a fractured section of rail is being studied to determine if it is connected to the accident.

May 19--Onlookers gathered along the railroad tracks on Saturday afternoon, using smartphones and digital cameras to take snapshots of the train crossing the railroad bridge from Buzzards Bay.

The CapeFLYER train made its unofficial inaugural run in a pilot program that will bring passenger service between Boston and Hyannis each weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The project was introduced by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority in cooperation with the state Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

May 19--Q: The new MacArthur Road Bridge over Route 22 will accommodate a new acceleration lane on each side of 22.

Anecdotally, it has been suggested that if Route 22 would be widened to six lanes, the bridge and interchange currently being constructed would be converted to a 'tight diamond' design, and the new acceleration lanes would become driving lanes.

Will the new bridge be able to accommodate three driving lanes in each direction in the event Route 22 is widened, and if so, what will be the width of the driving lanes?

She originally had planned to connect in New Haven to a Shore Line East train to take her to New London.

New Yorker Matt Southworth, who was on the same New Haven-bound train, told Tom Cleary, co-managing editor of the Register's Torrington Register-Citizen sister paper, in a tweet that he was pretty sure that the eastbound train derailed first.

Visit the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.) at www.nhregister.com

John T. Comes was one of the finest architects practicing in Pittsburgh in the early years of the 20th century.

Instead, Comes designed churches -- specifically, Roman Catholic churches and the parish houses, schools and convents that often came with them.

His work was honored this past January when a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker commemorating him was placed outside one of his best churches, now known as the St. Agnes Center of Carlow University, on Fifth Avenue in Oakland.

May 19--During eight years in office, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa staked much of his legacy on transportation.

And, five years ago, he won voter approval of Measure R, the countywide half-cent sales tax expected to raise more than $30 billion over 30 years for a dozen new transportation projects.

Mayoral contenders Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti view transportation much like Villaraigosa, as a key cog in the machinery of a well-planned city.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Investigators will look closely at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the commuter train derailment and collision outside New York City that left dozens injured.

Meanwhile, the focus begins to shift toward cleanup and rebuilding ahead of challenging times for travelers and commuters along the Northeast Corridor.

Officials also said Saturday the incident was not the result of foul play.

May 19--The owners of Curles Neck Farm say they want to preserve that sprawling property on the James River, home to nesting eagles and other wildlife.?

--???Those are sweet words to conservationists, who have long worried that Curles Neck, in eastern Henrico County, 13 miles from Richmond, might soon harbor more people than animals.

"Tommy and Bill are looking at maintaining the property as a working farm and functioning wetland, and I applaud them for that," said Leonard A. Smock, director of Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Center, a research site along the James just east of Curles Neck.

In February, the Virginia General Assembly voted to significantly raise taxes for transportation.

That's why you saw six leading Republican state legislators hold a news conference at the Manassas Civil War battlefield recently to protest the McDonnell administration's proposal to spend more than $1 billion on the so-called North-South Corridor - better known as the Tri-County Parkway or "Western Bypass" - which many of us see as an unnecessary Outer Beltway.

Meanwhile, commuters sit in gridlock every day on Interstate 66 and other major Northern Virginia roads.

GOV. ROBERT F. MCDONNELL (R) said it best when he signed his name the other day to Virginia's landmark transportation bill, a $6 billion leviathan that fixed a funding shortfall a quarter century in the making.

"The only bad thing from this bill," the governor said at a ceremony in Richmond, "is people will be complaining about construction rather than congestion."

Mr. McDonnell campaigned four years ago on the premise that he could tackle the state's drastic transportation funding shortfall without resorting to tax increases.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The commuter train derailment and collision that left dozens injured outside New York City was not the result of foul play, officials said Saturday, and a fractured section of rail is being studied to determine if it is connected to the accident.

National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Saturday that the broken rail is of substantial interest to investigators and that a portion of the track will be sent to a lab for analysis.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the Metro-North train, heading east from New York, derailed and was hit by a train heading west from New Haven, Conn. Most have been discharged.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Two commuter trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in an accident that sent more than 60 people to the hospital, severely damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the congested Northeast Corridor.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said five people were critically injured and one was very critically hurt in Friday evening's crash on the Metro-North Railroad, which serves the northern suburbs of New York City.

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Station to New Haven derailed about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, MTA and Bridgeport officials said.

May 18--FAIRFIELD -- Federal investigators have ruled out foul play in Friday's Metro-North Railroad crash and say a broken rail on the eastbound track is of "substantial interest."

National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Saturday evening that teams of investigators are looking at everything from maintenance records of the rail cars to the medical history of crew members in the incident, in which a an eastbound trail derailed just after 6 p.m. and was hit by a westbound train.

The derailment injured at least 60 people, including a Metro-North conductor named Helen, who officials say helped passengers even though she'd been hurt herself.

OliverMcMillan, a San Diego-based real estate development firm, and Capri Capital Partners, a real estate investment firm providing institutional capital for development and acquisition of urban commercial and residential communities, announced that construction is underway for The Lofts at 688 13th Street, with a two-year construction schedule.

According to a release, The Lofts at 688 13th Street is planned as a five-story residential building fronting 13th Street between Market and G Streets in the East Village Arts District of downtown San Diego.

"We are excited to be investing in San Diego, and to partner with OliverMcMillan in developing new high-quality residences for the burgeoning community," said Ken Lombard, Partner - Investments, of Capri Capital Partners.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - A simple test could have alerted officials that the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated, long before authorities determined that as many as a million Marines and their families were exposed to a witch's brew of cancer-causing chemicals.

The U.S. Marine Corps maintains that the carbon chloroform extract (CCE) test would not have uncovered the carcinogens that fouled the southeastern North Carolina base's water system from at least the mid-1950s until wells were capped in the mid-1980s.

But experts say even this "relatively primitive" test - required by Navy health directives as early as 1963 - would have told officials that something was terribly wrong beneath Lejeune's sandy soil.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The commuter train derailment and collision that left dozens injured outside New York City was not the result of foul play, officials said Saturday, but a fractured section of rail is being studied to determine if it is connected to the accident.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after a Metro-North train heading east from New York City derailed and was hit by a train heading west from New Haven.

"All of the injured people described the really harrowing experience of having the train jolt to a stop, the dust, darkness, other kinds of factors that made it particularly frightening," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who visited several patients in the hospital.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the crash, which damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor.

"I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident."

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the crash, which damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor.

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed at about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, transit and Bridgeport officials said.

May 18--BRIDGEPORT -- Three people remain in critical condition after an eastbound Metro-North commuter train derailed near the Fairfield-Bridgeport line Friday night, colliding with a train heading in the opposite direction.

Metro-North train service between New Haven and South Norwalk is indefinitely suspended, as is Amtrak service between New York and New Haven.

The eastbound 4:41 p.m. train out of Grand Central Terminal in New York derailed just east of the Fairfield Metro station at 6:10 p.m., said Marjorie Anders, an MTA spokeswoman.

May 18--Most third-grade students can't spell "macroinvertebrates," but a group of them sure learned about the water-dwelling creatures and other moist topics Friday at the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute's 12th annual Watershed Festival.

Moscow's McDonald, Lena Whitmore and Russell elementary schools sent 160 third-graders to the day-long festival at the PCEI Nature Center in Moscow.

"It's very well-rounded," said Heather Huston, PCEI education outreach coordinator.

The first 12 days of May were certainly one of the warmest and driest in recorded history across the Inland Northwest.

Normal high temperatures at this time of year are in the low to mid-60s at Spokane International Airport.

From May 6 through Mother's Day afternoon, high temperatures broke the 80-degree mark in Spokane.

May 18--APTOS -- Valencia Elementary School is going green.

For the past year, students, led by the sixth-grade Green Team, have been working to waste less and recycle more.

The goal is to win a Green Ribbon, a national recognition for schools that implement sustainable practices and environmental education.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five with critical injuries, Gov. Dannel Malloy said.

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Station to New Haven derailed about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, MTA and Bridgeport officials said.

The train was hit by a train heading west from New Haven to Grand Central on an adjacent track, MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said.

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five critically injured and one very critically injured, Gov. Dannel Malloy said.

The Metro-North Railroad, a commuter line serving the northern suburbs, referred in a news release to a "major derailment" near Fairfield.

It said emergency workers were at the scene of the accident, which came shortly after 6 p.m.

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- A New York-area commuter railroad says two trains have collided in Connecticut.

The Metro-North Railroad says emergency workers are arriving at the scene of Friday's accident.

Fairfield Police Officer Matt Panilaitis says 20 to 25 people were injured.

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut -- A New York-area commuter railroad says two trains have collided in Connecticut, and there are preliminary reports of injuries.

The rail line referred to it in a news release as a "major derailment."

The railroad says the accident involved a New York-bound train leaving New Haven.

May 17--The La Crosse County Board unanimously approved the sale of the long-idle Park Plaza site on Barron Island after a lengthy debate Thursday night.

West Coast Development LLC will purchase the 5.7 acres for $800,000 but get $50,000 back on credit at signing.

The tentative plan by West Coast Development calls for lots to hold 60 housing units for "mainly the empty nesters," those looking to downsize, Joe Van Aelstyn, a member of the development group, said earlier.

May 17--The eclectic collection of framed art hanging in a condo hallway was carefully chosen and included a mix of sketches, pictures of insects and a poster that simply said "cinema."

"This is the couple that go to flea markets," said Lisa Simeone, principal and owner of Simeone Deary Design Group.

The clients Simeone is referring to -- a couple with children who don't want to leave Chicago -- don't really exist.

May 17--Transit officials in Berks County have come up with a list of goals for improving services and might start looking for some grants to help meet them.

County planners and BARTA officials met with a small group of private and nonprofit transportation providers earlier this month to figure out how public and private transportation services in Berks could better serve the community.

That's a prerequisite for BARTA and other transportation providers to apply for some federal grants aimed at expanding transportation options for people with disabilities, senior citizens and low-income commuters.

A RAILWAY heritage centre is steaming ahead with a new attraction after its plans were formally approved.

Sherwood Forest Railway intends to turn a disused farm building in to a locomotive and rolling-stock shed.

It is part of improvements at the site, which runs one mile steam- train rides near Edwinstowe.

Tokyo, May 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Councillors passed into law Friday a bill to oblige the government to craft a new plan to combat global warming.

The law requires the government to come up with the new plan before this year's U.N. climate change conference takes place in November.

The new plan will include measures that Japan will take starting in fiscal 2013 that began last month.

May 17--BARTOW -- Polk County officials were invited Friday to become part of a Tampa Bay area transportation organization.

Commissioners agreed to consider it, but want members of the Polk Transportation Planning Organization, which includes city officials, to provide input first.

Legislation that created the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority in 2007 would have to be amended to include Polk County.

May 17--OHIO VALLEY -- Your tax dollars will be hard at work this summer as the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) launches one of the largest, most aggressive construction seasons to date with projects totaling approximately $2.3 billion.

ODOT will begin or continue construction of nearly 1,000 projects statewide including $2.27 million in construction projects to be sold in Gallia County and $3.45 million in Meigs County.

This season will also include Ohio's first-ever double roundabout interchange at U.S. 33 and Ohio 664 in Hocking County.

May 17--As Superstorm Sandy barreled toward the tri-state area, two of the nation's largest transportation agencies worked to safeguard their systems, moving buses and rail cars to areas they thought would be protected.

Eleven MTA rail cars were damaged, compared with 342 pieces of NJ Transit equipment.

When asked for communications regarding Sandy preparations, NJ Transit released a 3 {-page "Rail Operations Hurricane Plan" that was stripped of all information except for the title.

May 16--FERNDALE -- Lummi Nation was on the verge of jump-starting major retail development along Slater Road but canceled the possible sale of 25 acres to a major retailer because the tribe and the city of Ferndale failed to reach agreement on how to divide sales tax revenue.

The Lummis are applying for trust status for 80 acres of land east of Rural.

The Ferndale City Council on Wednesday, May 15, approved a proposal to give the Lummis 25 percent of the tax the city would receive from retail sales on the 25-acre property.

May 17--Navy Pier, the highly commercialized tourist attraction jutting into Lake Michigan, will take on a more park-like feel under the first phase of redevelopment plans to be formally announced Friday morning.

But it includes an array of upgrades aimed at making the state's most visited tourist attraction a place where visitors can splash in an interactive fountain that transforms to a skating rink in winter, stroll along a more heavily planted promenade that edges closer to the lake and rest on an undulating stairway that has unobstructed views of the lake and skyline.

The revamp funding will come from the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority's bond fund, which is supported by hotel tax revenue.

BOSTON - State funding that will allow cities and towns to get to work on their annual road paving and sidewalk repair programs advanced a step Wednesday with the House approving a $300 million local road and bridge repair bill.

While the measure includes a $100 million increase for local road projects over last year that was sought by Gov. Deval L. Patrick, delays in enacting the bill have forced some cities and towns to postpone the start of spring roadwork and paving.

Worcester Public Works Commissioner Robert L. Moylan Jr. said while many cities and towns rely solely on state road funds for local paving projects, Worcester combines it with local funding.