GRID Logistic Incorporated » Politics

Garcetti nominates shipping executive as Port of Los Angeles director

gridadmin — Thu, 29 May 2014 17:56:26 +0000

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday nominated a veteran shipping company executive to become director of the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest harbor for container cargo.

If approved by the City Council, Gene Seroka, 49, head of the Americas division of American President Lines, will replace Geraldine Knatz, whose resignation became effective in December.

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Beyond Freeways: Commerce, Community, and Contention along Los Angeles’s 710 Corridor

gridadmin — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:24:38 +0000

How a freeway crushes communities, how residents are fighting back plans to make it even bigger, and what alternatives have been presented to yet more of the same….

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Cost of terminal upgrade at Port of Los Angeles doubled over 4 years

gridadmin — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 23:45:55 +0000

The price tag for a major container terminal upgrade at the Port of Los Angeles has more than doubled over the last four years, caused in large part by major design changes OK’d without the approval of city elected officials.

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Bipartisan BRIDGE Act Bridges Infrastructure Investment Gap

gridadmin — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 20:05:50 +0000

Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2013) – General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – Terry O’Sullivan, praised the Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment Act, introduced by a bipartisan group of ten senators today, which would create an infrastructure financing authority that will help ‘jump-start investment, job creation and boost U.S. competitiveness,’ with the following statement:

“LIUNA applauds the Republicans and Democrats who put partisan politics aside for the good of our country today by coming up with this proposal to help rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure. This financing mechanism provides a much-needed incentive for future private investment in our transportation system, which has been relying on a highway trust fund that is on the brink of insolvency. Along with strong federal and state investments private capital could go a long way toward restoring America’s economic competitiveness in the world for generations to come. With new public and private investments in transportation, water and energy infrastructure across the country, LIUNA will provide some of the best trained workers in the world to help get the job done.”

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In New Orleans, Obama pushes exports

gridadmin — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 05:22:06 +0000

President Obama headed to the Port of New Orleans on Friday to call on Congress to get behind his plan to pour tens of billions of dollars into the nation’s infrastructure, action that he says is crucial to bolster U.S. exports.

The visit to New Orleans, an effort to remind Americans that bolstering the economy is still Obama’s top priority, comes as his administration has struggled to right the ship after a bungled rollout of the federal health exchange.

Obama wants Congress to spend $50 billion for roads, bridges and ports, and establish a National Infrastructure Bank. He says such steps would help attract more private-sector investment to repair the nation’s infrastructure and create American jobs.

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Obama Promotes Ambitious Plan to Overhaul Nation’s Infrastructure

gridadmin — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 05:18:52 +0000

MIAMI — President Obama came to the congested ocean port here on Friday to promote his plans to rebuild the nation’s “raggedy” roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure with a marriage of public and private investment.

At the end of a week absorbed by social issues like gun control and gay rights, the president returned to the economic challenges he has called his top priorities with a set of proposals to generate money for construction projects.

“What are we waiting for?” Mr. Obama asked, surrounded by massive cranes and cargo containers. “There’s work to be done. There are workers who are ready to do it. Let’s prove to the world that there’s no better place to do business than right here in the United States of America, and let’s get started rebuilding America.”

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Will City Hall Torpedo the Port of Los Angeles?

gridadmin — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 21:56:15 +0000

LA WATCHDOG - The Port of Los Angeles is a major economic component of the Southern California economy, responsible, along with Port of Long Beach, for economic activity that supports over 900,000 jobs. However, the Port has run into strong headwinds as the volume of imported containers has slipped 6% over the last twelve months.

Even exports of loaded containers are down 12% this year after almost doubling over the last ten years.

These lower volumes, both of which are about 10% below their peak volumes, should serve as a wakeup call to the management of the Port, its Board of politically appointed commissioners, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and the City Council, especially as the competitive environment for international waterborne trade is increasing, eating into the Port’s market share and revenues and the incomes of Southern Californians.

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Mayor Garcetti Appoints LA City’s First International Trade Director

gridadmin — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 02:57:27 +0000

This month TPR sat down with Stephen Cheung, the Mayor of Los Angeles’ first Director of International Trade, to discuss the purview and capacity of the new position, which coordinates between the Port of Los Angeles, LAX, and City Hall. With trade being a central component of the LA regional economy, and with the infrastructure of trade constantly evolving, Cheung works for goods movement, logistics, storage, and transportation to operate as smoothly as possible to retain customers doing business in and through LA. The growth of ethanol trade with Brazil serves as an example of how LA is making strides to adapt.

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Obama, on ‘Tonight,’ says he’ll push Republicans on infrastructure

gridadmin — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:42:45 +0000

President Barack Obama on Tuesday told “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno that he’s going to “keep on pushing Republicans” to work with him on infrastructure investment, taking a favorite fight to a national TV audience.

“We’ve got a bunch of construction workers who aren’t working right now,” Obama said. “They’ve got the skills. They want to get on the job. It would have a huge impact on the economy not just now, but well into the future.”

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New House Caucus Focuses on Public Private Partnerships and their Role in Transportation Infrastructure

gridadmin — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:39:25 +0000

Congressional representatives this week announced the creation of a new House caucus that will focus on building and maintaining the nation’s transportation infrastructure through the increase of public private partnerships across the country.

The Congressional Caucus on Public Private Partnerships is a bi-partisan group formed by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). The caucus aims to raise awareness of the use of public private partnerships to address a range of transportation infrastructure issues, as state transportation departments are utilizing these partnerships to deal with smaller budgets, rising costs, and growing infrastructure needs.

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