UC SAN DIEGO PLANS ‘SMART’ SIGNALS AT 26 LA JOLLA INTERSECTIONS

Adaptive signals hoped to ease traffic congestion near university, facilities

UC San Diego has proposed a system of adaptive “smart” traffic signals intended to aid traffic flow, a university representative told the La Jolla Town Council at its March 11 meeting.

UC San Diego “has been collaborating closely with the city of San Diego to implement these adaptive traffic control systems,” said assistant director of communications and community planning Anu Delouri.

Smart signals adjust traffic signal timing in real time, based on actual traffic demand. They are built to “either expedite or they might slightly prolong a green signal to allow for enhanced traffic flow,” Delouri said. “They speak to each other.”

The signals would be installed

efits to death row inmates, potential $31 billion unemployment fraud, backlogs in legitimate unemployment claims, and 19,000 businesses closed (according to a Yelp survey).

Patterson also noted Newsom’s children received in-class instruction at their private school while millions of public school students were required to learn online.

And in case anybody forgot, she also mentioned Newsom’s attendance at a lobbyist-friend’s birthday dinner at the upscale French Laundry restaurant in Napa County in November as he was urging Californians to refrain from such activities.

Still, it could be a challenge for recall leaders to keep the public focused on what they consider to be Newsom’s poor pandemic performance and other shortcomings.

For the past year, there was mostly bad news and Newsom was delivering much of it. As the situation changes, the governor is expected to go around the state highlighting all the good that’s happening. His recent vaccine-center tour will morph into a reopening tour.

Also, the state budget has a big surplus from a surprising increase in tax revenues and federal stimulus funds — so he’ll have

money to shower on Californians.

“I think the economy here will be in good shape, and I think the virus will be contained, if not crushed,” Bob Shrum, a longtime political strategist who has served on Democratic presidential campaigns, told Politico. “And people will say, ‘Well, maybe Newsom did a pretty good job, after all.’”

Even if Shrum’s right, that doesn’t mean unrelated problems — another horrible wildfire season with repeated power outages, for instance — won’t test Newsom.

In the end, the governor’s fate may depend on whether the pro- or anti-recall forces win the messaging campaign, and who has the superior resources.

State recall campaigns have no fundraising limits and some analysts are speculating Newsom, who raised some $50 million for his 2018 election, could double that to fend off this challenge.

In the absence of other major elections this year, the recall has quickly become nationalized. GOP luminaries such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have joined the anti-Newsom effort, as has the national GOP.

The anti-recall campaign lists support from the likes of Democratic Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams.

On its face, that would seem to be to Newsom’s advantage in heavily Democratic California.

Recall leaders and the candidates opposing Newsom want to make the campaign about their version of his record. Newsom and his allies are trying to tie the recall to right-wing extremists, QAnon believers, the Republican Party — and especially Donald Trump, who has been very unpopular in California.

The anti-recall campaign, launched this week, is called “Stop the Republican Recall.”

Rescue California, one of the recall organizations, says Newsom is attempting to paint the 2 million voters who signed petitions as extremists. Leaders of the group say one-third of the signatures collected come from Democrats and independents.

Trump, who lost California to Joe Biden by more than 5 million votes last year, has not weighed in on the recall, or endorsed a replacement candidate. Even if he stays on the sidelines, the anti-recall forces will make him central to their campaign.

Just months ago, California Democrats couldn’t wait to get Trump out of office. Now they see him as key to keeping Newsom in his.