The Los Angeles Times editorial board backs a ballot measure which, if passed, will bring the county sales tax up half a cent in order to fund various transportation improvements.

Thousands of transit experts and enthusiastics descend on San Diego for an event on the future of public transportation. (San Diego Union-Tribune — Steve Schmidt)

The New York Times editorial board applauds California’s passage of an anti-sprawl bill and urges other states to follow its lead.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board pushes hard for a measure on the state’s ballot this November to authorize $9.95 billion in bonds for a high-speed bullet train linking Northern and Southern California.

With a new bill signed on Tuesday by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s planning agencies gain new ammo in the fight against sprawl, carbon emissions, and climate change. (Associated Press — Steve Lawrence)

California residents have suffered through some of the highest gas prices in the country. Unfortunately, they aren’t just paying for themselves — the state’s lawmakers have been given unrestricted use of gas cards, and racked up $220,000 in taxpayer-dollars through July. (Associated Press — Don Thompson)

California moves ahead with a proposal to extend Bay Area Rapid Transit service into San Jose with a $239 million spending plan. (San Jose Mercury News — Gary Richards)

Two weeks after the tragic Metrolink crash in Southern California that killed at least 25 people, Los Angeles Times transportation writer Steve Hymon looks into some of the commuter rail agency’s biggest issues and says that it “gets little money and even less political respect.”

For public transportation in California, the hits keep coming — facing overflowing ridership  and record costs, transit agencies must now deal with a $952 million-dollar cut in funding by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The state’s budget for roads and highways does not face a similar cutback. (San Francisco Chronicle — Rachel Gordon)

Taking inspiration from a recently-enacted law in San Francisco, a Los Angeles councilwoman is considering introducing legislation that would require employers to let workers pay for mass transit on a pretax basis. (Los Angeles Times — Steve Hymon)