The Monday Roundup

Here’s the news that caught our eye this week:

– Major U.S. climate change legislation could pass today—leaving many wondering what it will mean for transportation.

– Could agriculture be the new golf?

– A woman in Israel claims she was attacked and beaten for sitting in the front of a city bus, rather than in the back where women usually sit.

– A major oil spill in the gulf of Mexico is rapidly increasing in scope.

– The FTA has released a report ranking the carbon emissions of various forms of transit in different cities.

– Arizona has been in the news for other reasons this week, but take a break to contemplate this tale of transit funding woe and bureaucracy.

– Residents of Dallas neighborhood Oak Cliff temporarily resuscitated a lifeless, high-car-traffic block into a walkable complete street, installing bike lane markings, trees, and benches, fixing up storefronts, and creating a sidewalk cafe for the occasion.

– In New York, the trial of the former police officer who shoved a Critical Mass participant off his bike continues. The incident was caught on video, making the case fairly clear cut, and apparently allowing the prosecution the freedom to express themselves with unusual freedom.

– In the state of Georgia, the legislature has passed a transportation funding bill that could lead to major new spending on rail projects as soon as 2013.

– Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the transit union protested service cuts all last week, painting large red “X”s on trains and buses that will be grounded.

– A new California ballot measure proposes to charge car owners an extra $18 a year to increase state parks funding.

– In Oakland, a collective of Black cyclists has started a monthly Black Critical Mass.

– A New Zealander articulates his frustration with the uncertainty and expense of being car-dependent.

– When new infrastructure is being planned for bikes, discussions about unsafe cycling always seem to come up, while the analogous scenario for car infrastructure is far less likely to occur, points out one blogger.

– Check out this collection of impassioned love stories about bicycles. And then submit your own!

– If you’re at work right now, probably better not to open the link to this fascinating description and analysis of a very particular car-oriented sexual fetish.