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Caltrain to keep all trains running, for now By Gennady Sheyner Embarcadero Media
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altrain will keep all of its 86 weekday trains running in the next fiscal year, though riders will have to shell out a little extra for tickets and parking, the agency’s board of directors decided April 21. The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which oversees the cash-strapped transit agency, voted 5-3 to adopt a budget plan that depends largely on one-time revenues to balance the books in fiscal year 2012. The approved plan also assumes the agency will close its projected $3.5 million budget deficit through a contribution from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), a regional planning agency. Though the final details of the deal are still being negotiated, the money would likely be transferred from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s allocation for Caltrain’s capital budget to its annual operating budget, Caltrain staff said. Caltrain CEO Michael Scanlon called the deal a “one-year patch” and said the money could come from a vehicle-replacement budget, which is already underfunded. “It’s a complicated deal,” Mr. Scanlon told the board. “It’s close to done. There’s been good, positive spirit that has characterized the talks between the partners
Paul Thomson directs Yale film festival Paul Thomson of Woodside was program director of Yale University’s third annual Environmental Film Festival, which took place from March 28 to April 3, the university announced. Mr. Thomson is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental science at Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. His interests lie in large carnivore conservation and working to popularize conservation through media. Mr. Thomson is also a director of Ewaso Lions (EwasoLions.org), a lion research and conservation project in northern Kenya, where he has been working for the last few years. He said he regularly returns to Woodside to visit his family and eat sandwiches at Roberts Market. “We had a record number of submissions and our lineup is the best we’ve ever had,” Mr. Thomson said of the film festival. “The films cover crucial topics from waste to light pollution to environmental terrorism. And it’s not all doom and gloom — we have some fun films, too.”
and the MTC.” Under the plan, train fare would go up by 25 cents, while the daily parking costs would rise from $3 to $4 starting July 1. The cost of the monthly parking pass would go up from $30 to $40. Members of the public and the board majority hailed the plan as a victory, however temporary, in the agency’s ongoing budget crisis. Caltrain staff had previously proposed reducing service to 76, or possibly even 48, trains, suspending weekend service at some stations (including California Avenue in Palo Alto) and
Caltrain warns of deep budget troubles ahead. closing other stations altogether. These proposals drew heated opposition from the public, with riders, business owners and city officials packing into recent public hearings to urge the agency to keep its service levels intact. The board agreed to adopt the staff proposal to keep all 86 trains running and to keep stations open and weekend service intact. But members also warned that most of the fixes in the proposal are only good for the next fiscal year and that the agency still faces the monumental task of getting permanent, dedicated funding. This is the third year that the Caltrain board has declared a fiscal emergency. “The reality is that we have to be in this together during these
two years to come up with a solution because we could be back here with something far more serious than what we’re talking about now,” said Director Adrienne Tissier, who made the motion to accept the new budget plan. Director Liz Kniss said she was “amazed” that the agency was able to come up with a plan this quickly and called the proposal “very satisfying.” Director Ken Yeager agreed, though he acknowledged that the long-term problem is far from solved. “I think we all sensed the message that this is a service that we’d like to maintain as much as we could,” Mr. Yeager said. “Even though we got the little train up the hill this time, there’s a lot of clouds.” Board Vice Chair Omar Ahmad, who along with Chair Sean Elsbernd and Director Jose Cisneros opposed the resolution, called the proposal a “one-time spending plan” that is “not a solution” to the agency’s financial struggles. He proposed an amendment that, barring a new funding source, would have established a 48-weekday-train model as the “sustainable” service model for the agency. His amendment failed, with only Mr. Elsbernd and Mr. Cisneros supporting it. “I absolutely guarantee with the budget we’re about to adopt, we’ll be here in January or February declaring a fiscal emergency,” Mr. Elsbernd said. “The underbelly of this system is completely corroded.”
Photo by Pete Zivkov, Menlo School
Celebrating diversity Menlo School students Jessica, left, and Monica Juan display their Ojo de Dios (God’s Eye) craft at the Spanish-Speaking Countries booth at the school’s first International Fair. The ornaments are made by wrapping colored yarn around sticks to look like an eye. Held on March 12, the fair included performances, booths and food. It was held to celebrate and learn about different cultures and nationalities represented by students. According to an online survey, the student body consists of more than 70 nationalities, and some 47 languages are spoken.
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David Ramadanoff presents Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra’s Spring Concert With Hans Boepple Tickets:
Beethoven
Egmont Overture
Gen Admission $20
Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 5, Hans Boepple, piano
Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major
Seniors (60+)
$16
Youth
$5
This ad sponsored by Ginny Kavanaugh and Joe Kavanaugh of Coldwell Banker, Portola Valley. Visit them at www.kavanaugh.com
Saturday, April 30 at 8:00 pm Valley Presbyterian Church 945 Portola Rd., Portola Valley (Reception follows) Sunday, May 1 at 2:30 pm Los Altos United Methodist Church 655 Magdalena at Foothill Expressway, Los Altos (Reception at intermission)
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April 27, 2011 N The Almanac N 9