The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is preparing an amendment to the recently adopted 1998 Regional Transportation Plan. The amendment is needed to incorporate Santa Clara County Measures A and B, and to develop strategies to close the gap in the estimated $375 million transit capital shortfall due to last-minute changes in the RTP by the Commission. Two public hearings have been scheduled to receive comments on the amendment. They will take place at 9:15 am preceding the regularly scheduled Work Program Committee meetings on March 12 and April 9, 1999, at MTC, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland. For further information, call 520-464-7700, or check the MTC website at http://www.mtc.ca.gov
"Hometown Blues", a 30-minute documentary on the region's housing crisis produced by ABAG and KTEH-TV, will be broadcast by Bay Area public television and cable access stations later this year. Showings in selected locations will be followed by town hall meetings involving local leaders and members of the public. Local residents can watch the town hall meeting on their cable access station and call in questions. The first showing with a town hall meeting will be May 13 at 7:00 pm at Petaluma City Hall. Others are planned for 8:00 pm May 26 at Contra Costa TV studios in Martinez, and at KTEH-TV in San Jose on May 27 at 8:00 pm. Additional broadcasts are also being planned. For reservations for the town hall meetings or more information on the documentary call ABAG, 510-464-7900.
A new report from Urban Habitat, "A Crash Course in Bay Area Transportation Investment", examines regional transportation priorities as revealed by how and where transportation funding is expended. The 40-page publication contains 10 full-color maps. It is available for $20 from the Urban Habitat Program, P.O. Box 29908, Presidio Station, San Francisco 94129, 415-561-3333.
The 4th Biennial State of the Estuary Conference will take place at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco from March 17-19, 1999. The topic of this year's event is The Rehabilitation of the Estuary and its Watersheds. It is sponsored by the San Francisco Estuary Project, Friends of the San Francisco Estuary, the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Estuary Institute, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The first day of the conference will focus on watershed issues, the second on species recovery and estuary rehabilitation, and the final day on management and political issues. A tour of the Crissy Field wetlands restoration site will be available on the final afternoon. For more information, contact SFEP, 1515 Clay St, Ste 1400, Oakland 94612, 510-622-2465.