Arnold Schwarzenegger's $222-billion infrastructure improvement plan for California has the potential to transform the region's antiquated rail system, which has become increasingly congested with freight and passenger traffic.Southern California's railways remain a relic of the pre-World War II era even as the region has become one of the world's top gateways for goods in the 21st century.With rail space at a premium, freight carriers compete for time with burgeoning commuter rail lines -- an arrangement that has left the Southland's Metrolink system struggling to keep its trains on time.Officials estimate that rail traffic will increase more than 40% in the next decade, creating more-severe congestion.Although the governor's freeway improvement proposals have garnered the most attention, transportation experts say his ideas about rail expansion might have a much greater effect on Southern California in terms of transit and the economy.The governor's proposal calls for spending billions of dollars on rail line improvements, such as adding tracks, creating grade separations -- overpasses or underpasses to keep train and auto traffic separate -- at dozens of rail crossings, and expanding cargo-loading facilities in an effort to speed up trains.The goal, administration officials say, is to encourage more use of freight trains to help clear freeways of cargo-carrying trucks -- and, it is hoped, reduce diesel pollution."The freeways are already too congested, and so part of the governor's strategic growth plan is for capital investments," said Sunne Wright McPeak, Schwarzenegger's secretary for business, transportation and housing.The governor's plan is generating excitement in rail and commerce circles, with officials saying it has the potential to make significant improvements in the movement of goods.But some Democratic legislators believe some of the financial details are too optimistic. "Doing so could reasonably be seen as compromising their objectivity."Sports Editor Bill Dwyre said he planned to stop voting for those awards and expected his writers to follow suit, unless they had "an especially compelling reason for continuing to vote for something."In such instances, Dwyre said he would take the case to the newspaper's managing editor, as outlined in the standards, and attempt to get an exemption."I don't 100% agree or embrace the policy," Dwyre said, "but I understand it."I voted for these things, hesitatingly at the start," he said "But the alternative is you have fans or coaches voting. 25.*New York 12, Baltimore 9 -- Gary Sheffield hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, Jorge Posada hit a three-run homer at New York and the Yankees kept the pressure on the Red Sox.Oriole All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts left in the second inning after his left elbow was dislocated in a collision.Kansas City 5-4, Detroit 4-2 -- Mike Sweeney's run-scoring double with two out in the bottom of the ninth won the opener and Zack Greinke pitched seven strong innings in the second game to help the Royals complete the sweep.Toronto 6, Seattle 4 -- Vernon Wells and Gregg Zaun homered, and Josh Towers pitched into the seventh inning to lead the Blue Jays at Toronto Adrian Beltre hit his 19th homer for the Mariners.. "And we don't have full accountability, nor will we until such time as the operation is complete."Stephen J. At the proceeding's conclusion, Turner was ordered to stand trial, and a pretrial conference was set for March 20, with the trial to begin within 60 days.Turner is serving an eight-year prison sentence in a rape case. A spokesman for Abizaid declined to discuss the general's concerns about Washington's efforts to deal with IEDs.But the spokesman, Maj Matt McLaughlin of U.S. It's because workers began sanding the exterior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall to reduce what nearby residents called an unbearable glare on bright days You just knew rainy skies would immediately follow.

BEIJING China is welcoming back the Avon ladies after seven years in the cold.Avon Products Inc. Glenn Barr and two other officers followed Landa to a back office at the prison, where they threw him to the floor, taped up his arms and legs and beat him up, Landa's lawsuit alleged.When pictures of the hazing came to the attention of prison officials, the state agency launched a criminal investigation and an administrative inquiry, and Landa cooperated with the authorities.Landa said that when he left work at Ironwood on a November evening in 2000, he feared his life was in danger. "Basically, she's embarrassed."The Atlantis crew returned Thursday after performing the first construction work on the International Space Station since the Columbia disaster 3 1/2 years ago.They performed three grueling spacewalks to hook up a 17 1/2 -ton addition, which included a giant set of electricity-producing solar panels.Stefanyshyn-Piper, 43, of St. When Agent Park informs Horatio that Marisol's killer will be extradited to Brazil, he and her brother, Eric Delko (Adam Rodriguez), vow to seek their own justice in Rio de Janeiro.When "CSI: Miami" begins this season, Horatio is standing above the clouds at the top of Rio's famed Corcovado mountain, where the statue of Christ the Redeemer is visible from every corner of the metropolis. he just can't unilaterally decide that that 1978 law is out of date and he will be the guardian of America and he will violate that law."Many lawmakers say that if the FISA law was outdated, the administration's obvious response would be to ask for changes, which the president chose not to do.Sen. When it's happy, it's happy, whether it's got fuel in it or not."*Penske Racing, with driver Sam Hornish Jr.

Many were familiar: "Love Dance," "Comecar de Novo," "Lembra de Mim," "Aparacida" and "E de Deus" among them. and 1430 Union St., San Diego.Henry Fenwick is a freelance writer who frequently reports on food*Lotus of SiamIt's a struggle to get off the Strip in Las Vegas, but sooner or later I find my car heading for a scruffy mall and the Thai restaurant Lotus of Siam There's nothing as good--or as lip-numbingly hot--in L.A. A former city councilman pleaded not guilty Thursday to five charges of misusing public funds to purchase gasoline and a modem, and to rent a car, among other items.William Van Cleave, 51, was arrested Wednesday and remained in jail on $125,000 bond.He is accused of misappropriating public money between 2003 and 2005.A Nov. The valley floor was once ranch land, used for cattle grazing and, at its fringes, timber harvesting. If the judge decides that the outcome would have been different, they could vacate the sentence and conduct a new sentencing hearing, the court said.The majority, led by Judge Johnnie B. But when the fish-king came around for his taxes, the bird shot from the water and rejoined the flock. Holders can use them like debit cards in major supermarkets and discount stores to buy just about anything except liquor.

The rulers, and the ruling classes, of 19th century Europe had convinced themselves that their world was ordered for the best, its moral codes upheld by something they called Civilization, its behavior governed by equitable rules of conduct.But, as Karl Marx and others pointed out, that is not the way it was. 1 pick in Friday's Major League Soccer draft and the freedom to choose any player he wanted.Instead, Bradley traded the selection to the team he used to coach, the MetroStars, who promptly made Marvell Wynne, a UCLA and former U.S. Howard is a retired policeman-turned-private investigator, a polite, no-nonsense married man who doesn't dabble in comforting sentiments or illusions The first thing he uncovers is a pair of Emmett's boots. Ancient stone ruins encircle the family's blue-collar living room in Victoria Profitt's atmospheric set.Nuance was never a hallmark of Jane Martin plays, and this one is no exception. Take calamine lotion, Widome suggests, in case of poison ivy or oak.For sunny destinations, be sure to take sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 15, suggests the American Academy of Pediatrics. Budget travelers tend to be resourceful, but passengers I talked to coming back from shore seemed to have missed interesting sights, suggesting that they didn't know how to make the best use of their time in port.Before disembarking in the sun-struck fishing village of St.-Tropez, they would have benefited from knowing some of the things I discovered on my own, such as the operating hours of the marvelous Annunciation Museum, full of French Post-Impressionist paintings, and where to rent a bike for a ride to the beach through the pretty Provencal countryside.On my own in Monaco, I learned where to see the late Prince Rainier III's incredible collection of vintage cars and that on weekdays after 6 p.m.