• Today is the first day of school! It’s also the first day of the Metro transportation pilot for Franklin and Ballard students. Wonder how it’s faring…
• Speaking of schools: There’s a new elementary in Redmond Ridge that’s named after my all-time favorite bus chick, Rosa Parks. Ironically, Rosa Parks Elementary doesn’t currently offer bus transportation. (This is not necessarily a bad thing, since all students live within a mile of the school, and there are organized groups of walkers. But still.)
• A couple of the major travel websites have recently launched programs to help guilt-ridden travelers offset the ecological damage their of their vacations (air travel, car rentals, etc.). Customers who participate pay an additional fee at the time of booking. That fee is then donated (as far as I know, in its entirety) to an organization that works to preserve the environment.
• PCC and Metro are teaming up to reducing driving in the region:

The “Metro Challenge” program at PCC is designed to let residents throughout King County add down-to-earth meaning to the broader policies King County is putting into place to reduce the harmful greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

The goal is to show PCC members that they actually can make a difference and improve the quality of life in their neighborhood by taking the bus, walking, bicycling, or even sharing a ride. And, if they try these alternatives just twice a week over a ten-week period instead of driving, Metro and PCC are betting they just may discover there’s a lot more to green than meets the eye.

Amen.