There are so many propositions to review for this November’s ballot that my mailbox is jammed with slate cards and over sized mailers promoting one proposition or another, and I haven’t even considered the candidates’ mail. But today I’m going to focus on transportation issues; yes, you’re going to hear more about the airport, but I also promise some interesting stuff about highway and mass transit that are Propositions 1A and 1B. 
You may have thought that our problems were solved when San Diego passed a renewal of the half-cent sales tax to fund TransNet transportation projects for the region. In truth, that was just a good start at addressing our transportation needs and reflected the frustration that voters and government officials felt because state and federal funding were so inadequate, and so inconsistent, to meet our needs. The best planning in the world is worthless if there is no money to implement it; and conversely speaking, no reasonable amount of money can make up for a lack of planning when a transportation crisis occurs in a region. Today, San Diego and the state are trying to “double up to catch up” on surface transportation projects through Propositions 1A and 1B because there was no meaningful money allocated to this area during the state’s budget deficits in 2002 through 2004. And Proposition A is trying to ensure that proper planning will occur for our air transportation needs in the future because building or expanding an airport is a 10-15 year process.
During Friday’s blog, I’ll give you some surprising information on these topics from a San Diego point of view.