Impounding the vehicles of unlicensed drivers is a discretionary call for police officers, one that can be an expensive hardship for immigrant workers in Sonoma County.

Once a vehicle has been impounded, the law dictates that it will be held for the full 30 days, but the owner can request a hearing to get it released soon. Sgt. Dough Schlies of the Santa Rosa Police Department, explains how that process works.

Here's the full explanation of the Santa Rosa Police Department policy governing the release of impounded vehicles.

While acknowledging that the law grants police officers individual discretion to decide whether or not to call in a tow truck when they find an unlicensed driver, Davin Cardenas, an activst and organizer with the Committee on Immigrants Rights of Sonoma County is concerned that those decisions often vary widely. And he suspects that in at least some cases, ethnic profiling is involved.

"Vehicle impoundment" is governed by Section 14602.6  of the California Vehicle Code. This is the California Highway Patrol's explanation of that law.

From the announcement of the Halloween Day march in Santa Rosa:

"On October 31st, the Committee for Immigrants Rights of Sonoma County will sponsor a march and symbolic Trick or Treat at City Hall to bring awareness about the impounding of immigrants automobiles. We want to let people know what we are asking for, as well as what our responsibilites are in order to bring change about. Bring the kids! Bring a costume! We will also be promoting the usage of safer forms of transportation, such as carpooling, bicycles (bring your bikes!), and walking. There will be face painting prior to the march, as well as a whole lot of candy. Where: Begin at 665 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, Ca (Dollar Tree parking lot)
            End at Santa Rosa City Hall
When: Saturday October 31st
           3pm - 6pm (rally and face paint begin at 3pm, march at 4pm)
For more information, contact the Committee for Immigrants Rights of Sonoma County at
(707) 571- 7559.

“Cash for Clunkers” wasn’t just a economic boost for the automobile industry, says one of the me who designed it. It was also a tool for reframing consumer’s decision-making.

Jack Hidary,  co-founder of SmartTransportation.org and chairman of Americans for Clean Energy.org,  is confident that consumers will come to recognize the economic benefits of owning and driving vehicles that are less dependent on fossil fuels. The greater challenge, he says, is mobilizing business and government to develop the infrastructure that those vehicles will require.

Pointing to his experience in shaping the “Cash for Clunkers” program, Hidary cites three key procedural steps they had to address to win the institutional support necessary for that program to happen.

Jack Hidary will be among the featured speakers at the annual Bioneers conference in San Rafael, beginning on Friday. To explore the  Bioneers 2009 Conference program click here.

Driving Highway 101 through Rohnert Park will be more complicated for the next two years, as the road is widened and reconfigured.

Located in Rohnert Park, this project will modify the Wilfred Avenue/Golf Course Drive Interchange by constructing a new bridge undercrossing structure linking Wilfred Avenue to Golf Course Drive, and modifying the existing ramps. This project will also  realign and widen Highway 101 from 4 to 6 lanes for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) or carpool lanes between  the Rohnert Park Expressway overcrossing to the Santa Rosa Avenue 0vercrossing, a length of approximately 1.6 miles.

The first big change affecting traffic in this section of Highway 101 will be implemented early on the morning of September 29^th, explains CalTrans spokesman Bob Haus, and will affect southbound traffic as it approaches Rohernt Park from Santa Rosa.

The scope of the work area, and the anticipated final result can be seen in the images below. The upper photograph shows the work area as it was before the project began, while the second image has been modified to show the configuration of the new lanes, ramps and bridges.

Compared to other states, Californians are only moderately vulnerable to changes in the cost of oil, but we’re leading the list in taking steps to reduce our use of gasoline.

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You can read the full 21-page report here, or  a two-page summary here.

Percent of Income Spent on Gasoline by the Average Driver, 2008

 important way to reduce oil vulnerability is by adopting public policies to reduce across the board consumption of fossil fuels. Deron Lovass, the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Transportation Policy Director, says those policies tend to fall in one of three general areas.

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Oil Vulnerability Rankings by State 2008