Sunday paper

Its a sunny Sunday morning. It's 9:30 a.m. and its already 81 degrees.

In my patio honey bees are hovering over the echinaeca flowers, which in appearance seem to be a pinkish variety of a black-eyed susan and a bumble bee is pollinating the budding flowers of what will soon be this year's crop of raspberries.

I'm relaxing after a day at the beach, a train ride to Bayshore and a ferry ride to Ocean Bay Park with Wanda, a turbulent swim at Point 'O Woods, a midday sun retreat into the forest, first to visit Annalise in Oakleyville, a friend I met last summer - an anthropology professor, who teaches in Europe, then a walk through Sunken Forest and finally a swim back the coast from one end of Point 'O Woods to the other.

Nearly a week earlier on Monday July 24th, after returning from dropping off my brother at JFK airport and out of food, I set out on my bicycle to Wild Oats to refill my refrigerator.

After listening to morning radio news bites, I routed my visit to the Boulder, Colorado organic food provider via South Norwalk, when I learned that Joe Lieberman and Barbara Boxer were rallying at Sweet Rexie's. I thought I might have an opportunity to say hello to Barbara Boxer, my one time Marin County supervisor.

But that never came to pass, after a reporter from the Washington Post, Shailagh Murray, an attractive brunette, approached me to find out my name after I made a quiet attempt to communicate with Senator Lieberman as he walked down Washington Boulevard. But that was a blessing, as the conversation, which ensued with Ms. Murray, was intriguing.

Today as I open up the online Sunday Washington Post, the results of Ms. Murray's reportage appear as a feature story (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/29/AR2006072900667.html) entitled "Lieberman's Eroding Base." She closes the article quoting me, my first appearance in that paper.

Defending the status quo on LIRR (why LIRR's single minded focus on Eastside Access to GCT thwarts sensible improvements to LIRR)

On Tuesday July 18, 2006 at 12:27 p.m. I sent the following electronic letter to Long Island Railroad (LIRR):
suggested LIRR improvements
1. LIRR needs to electrify Montauk branch line track to Speonk - more efficient, faster.
2. LIRR needs to electrify LIRR Main branch line track to Riverhead - more efficient, faster.
(LIRR should use MNR-style 3rd rail - safer, winter storm resistant)
3. LIRR needs to grade separate track Montauk branch line track to Speonk - more efficient, safer, faster.
4. LIRR needs to grade separate track LIRR Main branch line track to Riverhead - more efficient, safer, faster.
5. LIRR should build platforms to connect with 33rd "6" line station so commuters so they can get downtown faster than de-boarding at Penn Station.
6. LIRR needs to jointly plan for one-seat direct service from New Haven to Jamaica & Nassau County via New Rochelle Junction, Hellsgate Bridge, Astoria, Bay Bridge branch line to LIRR main track east of Woodside - destination Jamaica and beyond.
7. LIRR needs to a) drop bicycle pass requirement and 2) draw up a plan to remove bicycle boarding restrictions - this discriminatory regulation, which is counterproductive to meeting clean air standards (bicycle boarding restrictions increase car trips to & from suburban stations.)
8. In the meantime, to stimulate commuter & beach ridership, LIRR should run one-seat Montauk branch line trains out of Hunterspoint Avenue and co-ordinate with MNR & MTA to offer a joint discounted ticket on travel between MNR, 7 train & LIRR. And publicize it.

The letter was assigned a reference number 060718-000098

Today at 10:05 a.m. I received a response from Mike Charles, a LIRR-MTA representative.

"Thank you for your e-mail. We appreciate your interest in improving
the public transit system in the metropolitan area, particularly
concerning the LIRR. Capital improvement dollars are severely limited
and each proposal is carefully considered before any implementation.
At the present time, there are no available capital dollars for most of the
suggestions you make since the money has already been committed for other
projects that are either underway or will be in the near future. I suggest
you refer to the Capital Improvement program section of the MTA
website for details of on-going projects that will improve connectivity of
the MTA system along with other major capital programs. Concerning the
bicycle pass program, as you may be aware, the bike pass program covers
both commuter railroads. Restrictions are necessary in order to accommodate
the majority of customers who do not have bikes, especially during rush hour
periods and to heavy summer travel locations."

LIRR trains are crowded on Friday evening rush hour trains during the summer beach getaway season. The solution to that problem is providing (buying) the requisite number of train cars and subsequently add service to accomodate commuters and bicycle commuters during peak hours. Currently LIRR is doing neither and Metro-North to a lesser extent isn't either. In this coming age of post-peak petroleum production and higher gasoline costs its time to abandon the status quo and demand our public agencies support providing bicycle access on peak hour trains without a bicycle permit.

Clearly, capital dollars are scarce because the primary Capital Improvement project LIRR has committed to is the LIRR 'deep cavern' Eastside Access to Grand Central Terminal, a project projected to cost approximately nine billion dollars. Its time for LIRR to think outside a cavern.

Glacial meltdown

As the world warms, photographers are documenting the rapid changes. The Science Section of the New York TImes on Tuesday June 13, 2006 displayed photographs the Muir Glacier in 1941 and 63 years later, in 2004 see http://www.nsidc.org/data/glacier_photo/special_high_res.html