Lowenthal takes helm of Alameda Corridor board

Lowenthal takes helm of Alameda Corridor board    Long Beach City Councilmember Bonnie Lowenthal was installed as the new chair of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority last week.
   Lowenthal succeeds Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn who served as the ACTA chair during the previous year.
   The year-long rotational position puts Lowenthal at the helm of the seven-person board governing the quasi-governmental agency overseeing the Alameda Corridor railway's budget and expenditures.
   The 20-mile-long Alameda Corridor rail expressway, which speeds container trains from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the transcontinental rail yard near downtown Los Angeles, is expected to generate more than $95.6 million in user fees and container charges in the next 12 months, according to ACTA’s 2008 budget.
   The 17-member agency's governing board comprises the executive directors of the two ports, a commissioner from each port's boards, a city councilperson from both Long Beach and Los Angeles and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
   Lowenthal, who also serves as vice-mayor of the City of Long Beach represents the city's 1st Council District, which includes the city's port. She is the ex-wife of State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who has made port-related environmental issues one of the mainstays of his tenure in Sacramento.