North County "Unmet Transit Needs" had a huge victory for Farmworkers
For years, North County has diverted State money designated for transit
into road paving.
They did so by claiming there are no "Unmet Transit Needs" in North County.
The Coalition for Sustainable Transportation (COAST) along with lawyer
Marc Chytilo has been challenging this for over a year
At the January 18 SBCAG hearing in Santa Maria, they made their case.
18 people spoke about the need for transportation for farmworkers
No one spoke in favor of the continued diversion of transit funds for road paving
The result: A unanimous vote to provide vanpools for farmworkers
at a cost of $150,000 per year

Fuel taxes are proposed by Supervisor Brooks Firestone as a way to fund road
maintenance as a response to the defeat of the Measure D sales tax.
Firestone noted that a fuel tax rightly charges those who drive motor vehicles for the
expense of that activity.
Firestone conducted a County wide poll asking voters if they support a fuel tax or
a sales tax for future transportation funding. The result is worth noting:
Only half of those polled support making everyone pay a sales tax
But 3/4 of those polled support having motorists pay a fuel tax to pay their way for roads
Robert Bernstein wrote a letter to all the Supervisors affirming that this is also
National Sierra Club policy and challenging them to support Supervisor Firestone's
proposal.
