Ribbon Cutting for Jepson Parkway in Suisun City

Caltrans chief urges continued sales tax push

Article Last Updated: Thursday, Jun 02, 2005 - 11:17:30 pm PDT
By Barry Eberling

VACAVILLE - California's transportation head urged - in his own words, "implored" - local leaders on Thursday to keep working on a county transportation sales tax measure.

"Keep going," state Department of Transportation Director Will Kempton said. "Keep trying."

Kempton spoke at the Solano Economic Development Corp. breakfast at the Travis Credit Union. He granted an interview afterward.

The Caltrans leader knows about Solano County's roads. He worked as a consultant in 2002 on the county's first failed transportation sales tax attempt. He experienced the rough Interstate 80 pavement near Vacaville while driving to the breakfast.

And Kempton has driven through the center of Solano County's congestion universe, the traffic-plagued Interstates 80 and 680 interchange. Traffic jams on some days begin at 2 p.m. and go until 7 p.m., he said.

"I know it well," Kempton said.

He also knows about the congestion on Highway 12 through Jameson Canyon, the major link between Solano and Napa counties. A former employee of his drives this highway, he said.

Of course, every county has its transportation gripes. Solano County isn't special in that regard.

"Everybody has their interstates 80 and 680 interchange," Kempton said. "But this is a particularly bad one."

Local transportation leaders expect the congestion at the interchange to worsen when the new Benicia Bridge span opens and so does Kempton. The belief is the bridge congestion, once alleviated, will move to the next bottleneck down the line.

"We've got to address that problem and soon," Kempton said.

Kempton has experience with transportation sales taxes. During the late-1980s, he managed the Santa Clara County transportation tax program. He worked on creating a state matching program for county sales taxes.

Things go easier for a $100 million project with $50 million available from a local tax, Kempton said. Counties with transportation taxes use this money to attract state and federal matches.

Solano County's two failed transportation sales tax measures in recent years had some opponents. If any were present at the Solano EDC breakfast, they kept quiet.

One opposing argument is that the state and federal government should fix the interchange - that it's a state and federal responsibility, not a local one. Passing county transportation sales taxes simply encourages the state and federal governments to dump more costs on local taxpayers.

Kempton addressed this viewpoint in an interview.

Caltrans has part of the responsibility for the interchange, Kempton said. But it doesn't have a lot of money, he said. The approach needs to be one of partnership, not just differentiating between different levels of government, he said.

"The traffic is not going to go away, folks," Kempton told the breakfast gathering. "It's only going to get worse."

Kempton lives in Folsom. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him the Caltrans director in November 2004.

The Solano Transportation Improvement Authority is working to put together a half-cent county transportation sales tax measure. It is unclear whether the measure will go on the November ballot or the November 2006 ballot.

Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.

Caltrans Director Will Kempton speaks at Solano EDC Member-Investor Breakfast

June 2, 2005 -- Vacaville, CA

Appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in November 2004, Mr. Kempton is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of California's state transportation system, which includes more than 50,000 lane miles of state highways, stretching from Mexico to Oregon and from the Pacific Ocean to Nevada and Arizona.

At the event, which was hosted by Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, Mr. Kempton spoke on matters of direct significance to the citizens of Solano County. Topics of discussion included the I-80/I-680 interchange, SR 12 Jameson Canyon, the current status of Bay Bridge construction, and the importance of local self-help measures to state funding of transportation projects. Mr. Klempton also addressed in more general terms his plans for the future of Caltrans as an organization.

If you would like to hear what Mr. Kempton had to say, you can access an audio recording of the meeting here.

Travis personnel given a well-deserved salute

Article Launched: 06/01/2005 08:21:13 AM

By Jason Massad/Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher revealed Tuesday an Epiphany she recently experienced about the nation's military - one that originated very close to home, she said.

In mid-May, many of America's lawmakers were assembled in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., when an out-of-breath staffer entered a legislative chamber to announce that they were under attack.

Thousands of people rushed out of the building in panic, not knowing what could be awaiting them.

The frightened mass was greeted outside the Capitol by incoming F-16 fighter planes that were scrambled from nearby Andrews Air Force Base. The planes created a powerful drone that Tauscher remembered "sounds like music."

But it was only later, when the panic subsided and the cause of the frenzy was found to be a wayward two-seated Cessna that had flown into restricted air space, that the deeper lesson of the day materialized, Tauscher said.

"This is what our military does, all day long, all night long," she said to a large group of Travis Air Force Base active duty and reserve personnel gathered at Fairfield's community center with Solano's government and business leaders to honor the achievements of the local base. "Unlike us who run for our lives, none of you do ... You run toward the fight."

In the short story, Tauscher's personal experience summed up the feel and thrust of Tuesday's "Salute To Travis," a community event aimed at recognizing the local base, and organized by the Travis Community Consortium.

The luncheon event individually honored the active duty and reserve Air Force units that have been intimately involved in the war in Iraq, as well as the Army, Navy and National Guard units that are important components of the local base.

There has been a lot to celebrate at Travis and in the wider community in the last few weeks. Years of nagging fears surrounding the fate of the base ended weeks ago when it was announced that Travis was not included on a highly anticipated federal base closure list.

Tuesday's event was a forum for the good news to be celebrated.

"I don't know about you, but I think that deserves a round of applause," said Kevin O'Rourke, head of the Travis Community Consortium.

The event to honor the base and the service personnel there comes a day after Memorial Day, when much of the nation celebrated at barbecues, picnics and patriotic parties the sacrifice of soldiers.

Dixon Mayor Mary Ann Courville, in honoring Col. Timothy Grosz, head of the 615 Contingency Response Wing, asked the audience to use their imagination to conjure the enormity of the military's might and its sacrifice.

In talking with him before the presentation, she had asked the colonel how many men and women were under his command. Courville used the figure in her speech honoring the wing.

"As I present this, I want you to envision 800 men and women standing with him," she said.

Not all of the 17,000 personnel stationed at Travis Air Force Base could cram into the Fairfield community center Tuesday to hear the praises that were sung for their service.

But in remembering the local soldiers, no doubt many of the people that were there could imagine the size of the sacrifice.

Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.