June 25 - The Need for Mass Transit

National Transportation Safety Board officials have stated in recent
days that they had warned the D.C.-area Metro that trains were in need
of upgrades or replacement. Video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6gktsHxWvE&eurl= .

FRANK HAMMER
     Hammer is a retired GM employee of 32 years. He was president of
United Auto Workers local 909 and also worked in the GM department of
the UAW. He said today: "Auto workers have been saying that to address
the global climate crisis and at the same time the crisis of the auto
industry, we could be the ones to build the trains for mass transit
systems that are obviously needed -- not just for the systems we have
now but for train systems we should have."

ANISE JENKINS
     President of the Stand Up! for Democracy in D.C. Coalition (Free
D.C.), Jenkins said today: "What were they thinking? Wasn't it obvious
to our elected officials that upgrading those subway cars as recommended
by the National Transportation Safety Board was a much better choice
than spending over $700 million of our tax dollars on a new baseball
stadium that D.C. doesn't even own?"

HARVEY WASSERMAN
http://www.harveywasserman.com, http://www.solartopia.org
     Author of the new book "Solartopia: Our Green-Powered Earth, AD
2030" (which includes an introduction by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.),
Wasserman said today: "The fatal crash on the D.C. Metro system
underscores the critical funding needs faced by our ailing mass transit
system. The crash of America's auto industry reflects more than bad
management -- it signifies an epic shift from the car to light rail.
Passenger train service both between and within our cities holds the key
to a green future. This is where the Obama administration must re-focus
its attention. If Detroit is to be re-made, it must be in building
passenger rail cars rather than private automobiles."
     Wasserman's recent articles include "Is this the end of the age of
the automobile?" He can also address aspects of the energy bill.

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020, (202) 421-6858; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167