CALIFORNIA PREFERS DEFICIT REDUCTION TO MASS TRANSIT. Apropos of debates over whether sprawling Los Angeles or dense New York City will lead the way in fighting global warming, the LA Times reports Sacramento will use $1 billion raised from a gasoline tax on drivers not, as planned, to extend the Expo light rail line, but instead to reduce a long-term, multi-billion dollar state deficit. Legislators say they need to bring their three week budget impasse to a close. But according to the Times, "Local transportation officials said the tax was created specifically to fund transportation projects. They characterized the cut as a major setback, warning that certain projects could get delayed for years. ... The budget deal will impart a 'ripple effect through our entire long-range plan,' said David Yale, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's deputy executive director for regional programming." It's not uncommon for large metropolitan cities to have their progressive policies stymied in this fashion by backwater state capitals. Mike Bloomberg and Antonio Villaraigosa can bond over this one. --Dana Goldstein
