The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • Page 10

A10 I TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1998 thDrtSim om ATr.ios?:ELiG 15 PiUEB 17I7C3 way meoG wiNNnns feather cca Valley Valley, Surrounding Areas Downtown falm Sprinjt Tahqufti ft IndlM Coivon Dr. f30 (0.00 Today's forecast Twentynine Palms VV-' vfc'iVi bunny witn gusty winas. I se 9 7i fo.oo; i Shown is today's weather Temp- -eratures are today's highs and tonight's -lows. Yest- I erday's temperatures are shown Hit temperatures are through 4 p.m. Across the Nation ri 87 High: 70" Palm Springs High; 70 Palm Springs i46 Tonight's forecast 00) Front 4 7 Wl Us- Clear.

Cold a i.y i Indian IS i. Statlohary; biiowers "ancho 70 V4S Shown are noon positions of weather systems. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Yastorday's Palm "ir Palm Springs Thermal Low: 46 Low: 44 Extranws 1 In NopiesV storms lM ipaln jT7l Rufries wiow vJ(o Oasf 714S 44 7140 1 5M fO. Five-day outlook mi.

aSk. Mecca 714 (O.00) -lo. rsTCSa iot rasnmn 40. ri so. 1 to.

twsc Nortn snore -7 aso High: 75" LOW: 46" Bright sunshine; windy. Oasis; $11 (0.00) fiau "jth-v, i 7S43 (0.00A. Oione Satellite Summary Yesterday's satellite picture shows an unusual feature for this time of year clear skies over much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation. Not only was the sun out, but the air was unseasonably warm in the middle of the nation. Patches of clouds moved through the northerh Rockies but contained little precipitation.

Thursday High: 78' Low: 48" Sunny, breezy and warm. Valley almanac The stars Tomorrow (Dec. 16) at 6:45 p.m. see the waning crescent moon 36 south of 65 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 so 40 30 20 10 0 Air quality (Pollutant Standard Index) 0-50: Good 51-100: Moderate 101-200: Unhealthy 201-300 Very Unhealthy 300 hazardous east, 17 above the horizon; Mercury is 4 lower, 0.7 to the This day's records and averages Record high: 86 (1980) Record low: 28 (1987) Average high: 69 Average low: 42 Yesterday's apparent high temperature The combination of actual temperature and relative humidity. Avg.

Humidity: 32 High temp: 71 National temperatures Temperature on the left Indicates the previous day's high and overnight low to 4 p.m. PST. left. A good chance to see Mercury! (Without its thumb, your fist at arm's length spans approximately 10). Friday High: 76 Low: 46 Sunny and nice.

Yesterday Today Source: South Coast Air Quality Management District. Source: ASTRO DATAMlchael Rubertson Around the World Canadian temperatures Previous day's conditions from midnight to 4 p.m. The moons Breathing better Main pollens: Ragweed, Grass, Scale weed. Pine This week's O-lOO: Low pollen count ll-200: Moderate. Saturday High: 68 Low: 43 Partly sunny and cooler.

400: Extensive 244 Provided by Dr. David Waldman 568-3595. I HI 32 27 pc 34 21 pc 31 21 pc 32 23 pc 41 8 pc 39 23 pc 44 38 c. 46 36 pc 48 34 pc Daily dust updates: (80U) The sun Today Rise: 6:43 a.m. Set: 4:39 p.m.

Wednesday Rise: 6:44 a.m. Set: 4:39 p.m. The moon Today Rise: 3:38 a.m. Set: 2:50 p.m. Wednesday Rise: 4:32 a.m.

Set: 3:27 p.m. New Moon Dec. 18 First Quarter Dec. 26 Full Moon Jan. 1 Last Quarter Jan.

9 Calgary Edmonton Montreal Ottawa Regina Toronto Vancouver Victoria Winnipeg World Sunday High: 68 Low: 43 MmumjO-2 low 3-4 56 t-" 7-9 'J 10 UV Index 3-4: A person with fair skin without protection can be exposed to the sun for 45 minutes before beginning to burn. Some sunshine. DacamlMr 14 temperatures Previous day's conditions from midnight to 4 p.m. Southern California two-day forecast RiversideSan Bernardino The Southland and All of California Yesterday's temperatures and today's forecast Shown is today's weather. Temperatures are today's highs and tonight's lows.

Yesterday's temperatures are shown in italics. Amsterdam Athens Auckland Bangkok Barcelona Beijing Berlin Bermuda Brussels Budapest State temperatures Previous day's conditions from midnight to 4 p.m. Today: sunny. YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW HI PRC HI HI Albuquerque 51 23 0.00 52 26 53 26 Anchorage 19 4 Tr 22 12 sn 14 -8 pc Atlanta 51-46 Tr 51 35 61 35 Atlantic City, 44 33 Tr 55 31 52 32 Baltimore 46 33 Tr 54 32 50 32 Billings i 52 40 0.00 45 36 'pc 49 38 pc Birmingham 51 44 0.01 57 27 62 34 Bismarck 61 24 0.00 36 17 38 26 pc Boise 43 28 0.00 42 26 pc 45 32 pc Boston 41 31 0.00 54 39 45 32 pc Buffalo 37 24 0.00 50 33 35 28 Charleston, S.C 56 47 Tr 54 41 sh 67 39 Charleston. W.Va.

39 26 0.00 55 32 44 33 pc Charlotte, N.C. 55 40 0.00 50 32 59 35 Cheyenne 59 27 0.00 50 28 50 31 pc Chicago i47 25 0.00 52 30 i 42 26 Cincinnati 46 28 0.00 56 33 42 29 pc Cleveland 44 33 0.00 54 35 37 29 Dallas 60 38 0.00 66 37 63 40 Denver 64 34 0.00 50 30 58 31 Des Moines 55 25 0.00 45 22 45 28 pc Detroit 43 28 0.00 54 32 35 27 1 Duluth 49 30 0.00 34 12 pc 26 17 sn El Paso 60 27 0.00 62 32 62 30 Fairbanks -17 -28 Tr -8-18 sn -13 -36 sn Flagstaff 49 17 0.00 38 24 pc 48 18 Grand Rapids 44 21 0.00 44 27 pc 36 27 Honolulu 80 63 Tr 81 67 81 66 i Houston ''4 65 36 0.00 68 41 70 40 1 Indianapolis 49 30 0.00 i 53 30 i 40 28 pi Jacksonville 57 54 Tr 60 41 pc 64 38 Kansas City 56 0.00 54 '30 48 32 pc Las Vegas 63 38 0.00 62 42 68 38 Los Angeles i 69 52 0.00 50 80 52 Memphis 54 37 0.00 58 37 57 40 Miami Beach 72 68 0.05 72 56 pc 70 54 Milwaukee 47 20 0.00 45 23 pc 35 27 Minneapolis 55 27 0.00 39 22 32 22 I sf Nashville 53 34 0.03 55 31 53 34 New Orleans 62 49 0.00 60 40 68 41 New York City 43 37 0.00 54 42 53 41 pc Norfolk, Va. 46 44 0.02 62 37 'is 54 38 Oklahoma Ctty 59 34 0.00 60 33 55 37 Omaha S7 25 0.00 -44 '21 'i 47 28 pc Orlando -s''. 59 Tr 67 45 Upc 66 46 Philadelphia 45 35 0.00 54 35 52 35 pc Phoenix 76 46 0.00 67 49 pc 73 49 Pittsburgh 41 27 0.00 60 34 38 30 Portland, Maine 38 29 0.00 52 31 41 26 pc Portland, Ore. 49 34 0.06 48 40 sh 53 44 Reno 49 27 0.00 50 24 55 27 Richmond 47 37 0.01 55 31 53 34 St.

Louis 53 28 0.00 58 31 47 36 pc Salt Lake City 42 22 0.00 40 25 45 29 pc San Antonio 7 38 0.00 65 37 67 39 San Diego 58 51 Tr 70 48 73 48 Santa Fe 52 22 0.00 44 15 44 19 Seattle 45 36 0.01 48 42 51 46 Sioux Falls 57 24 0.00 39 18 41 24 pc Spokane 43 31 Tr 40 33 43 38 Syracuse 36 23 0.00 54 34 37 28 Tampa 62 59 Tr 69 49 pc 66 44 Topeka 57 25 0.00 53 26 53 29 Tucson 75 46 0.00 67 46 pc 67 42 pc Tulsa 59 29 0.00 60 33 57 37 Washington, D.C. 46 38 Tr 55 36 55 38 Wichita 55 27 0.00 53 29 52 32 Wilmington, Del: 45 35 0.00 52 33 50 33 pc Yuma 72 45 0.00 66 48 70 48 Lone Pine Ns. "it vv 1 Buenos Aires 83 Highs 70-76 I Wednesday: Windy, Cairo 7i sunny. Highs 73-78. Copenhagen Dublin Frankfurt Geneva Hanoi Havana Helsinki Hong Kong Istanbul Jerusalem Johannesburg 84 59: London Los AngelesOrange County MMfc4 Today: Sunny, windy.

Highs 72-76. jj Wednesday: Sunny, Jj windy. Highs 74-80. Antelope Valley, Moave Desert and Death Valley Today: Windy, sunny, i i Highs I fc Wednesday: Windy, i it 1 I I i i i S. 7SH 0952 PNC HI PRC Anaheim 62 43 0.00 Mt.

Laguna 66 35 0.00 Bakersfield 53 44 Tr Needles 71 41 0.00 Barstow 61 36 0.00 Newhall 50 43 0.00 Big Bear 52 28 0.00 Newport Beach 65 41 0.00 BigSur 57 43 0.25 Oakland 59 50 0.00 Bishop 51 35 0.00 Oceanside 58 43 0.00 Blue Canyon 45 28 0.53 Ontario 62 38 0.00 Blythe 73 37 0.00 Palmdale 48 36 0.00 Borrego 72 47 0.00 Pasadena 68 44 0.00 Burbank 64 43 0.00 Paso Robles 54 40 0.00 Carson 64 50 0.00 Red Bluff 60 40 0.50 Catalina 57 50 0.00 Redding 61 37 0.48 Chico 60 35 0.70 Redwood City 60 48 0.01 Crescent City 54 39 0.00 Ridgecrest 60 29 0.00 Edwards AFB 57 30 0.00 Riverside 67 41 0.00 Eureka 52 38 0.18 Sacramento 58 41 0.05 Fairfield 63 45 0.00 Salinas 59 42 0.12 Ft. Bragg 54 44 0.07 San Bernardino 67 40 0.00 Fresno 54 39 0.05 San Diego 58 51 Tr Glendale 66 47 0.00 San Fernando 67 46 0.00 Imperial 71 38 0.00 San Francisco 57 48 0.05 Lancaster 54 31 0.00 San Gabriel. 67 42 0.00 Livermore 63 45 0.00 San Jose 56 47 0.03 Long Beach 65 48 0.00 San Luis Obispd 59 45 0.03 Los Angeles 69 52 0.00 San Rafael 62 47 0.00 LA. Airport 64 48 0.00 Santa Barbara 66 45 0.00 Lompoc 60 46 0.00 Santa Clara 56 47 0.03 Malibu 59 48 0.00 Santa Cruz 59 41 Tr Mammoth Lakes 42 30 0.00 Santa Maria 60 37 0.00 Marysville 59 40 0.06 Santa Monica 66 52 0.00 Mecca 68 39 0.00 Santa Rosa 61 42 Tr Mojave 59 32 0.00 Stockton 58 42 0.00 Monrovia 67 41 0.00 Tahoe Valley 41 15 0.00 Montebello 63 45 0.00 Ventura 64 40 0.00 Monterey 59 45 0.19 Yosemite Valley 39 29 0.00 sn sunny. Highs 50-75.

58 89 52 6 80 601 37 1 53 84 55! 88 39 49 88 28 81 70 58 39 32, 42 Madrid Manila Mexico City Moscow New Delhi Osaka Oslo Paris Rio Rome San Juan Sapporo Seoul Singapore Stockholm Sydney Tel Aviv Tokyo Vienna Warsaw Zurich San Diego area Today: Sunny, windy. Uidhc 7rV7R 7048 Wednesday: Sunny, windy. Highs 73-78. M51 WeattMn frsunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy. lb-showers, thunderstorms.

Main, sf-snow flurries, Hi-snow, l-ice. Prcp-precipitation, Trtrace I cloauraa: In Southern California: (800) 427-7623 Southland weather: (213) 554-1212 Beaches: (714) 496-2210 San Diego: (619) 289-1212 Air duality: Current pollution forecasts: (800) 288-7664 Infcrmatisn Broadcast Information: National Weather Service radio forecasts: 162.55 MHz U.S. Coast Guard. Marine and Weather 157.10 MHza Wind: Desert and Pass conditions: (800) 427-7623 All maps, forecastt and data provided by AccuWeather, Inc. 01998 RAIL Continued from Al Utilities fight time limits for power restoration a lot of sense and making more sense every single day," he said.

"And the only question we need to answer is, can we match the public's need with private railroad concerns?" Lenwood Howell, senior project manager for Parsons Transportation Group in Pasadena, is conducting a study for alternative transportation for the valley. "We are looking at existing conditions and going over travel information that exists to develop alternatives suitable for moving people from one end of the valley or within primary- activity-centers, spokesman Mike Furtney could not comment on CVAG's plans but justified the company's position "It is the most heavily traveled freight route on the Union Pacific system and there is always some anxiety about how much additional traffic you can put on a system without making some allowances on it," he said. "One of the issues always with freight railroad is if we are using available track pretty much to the would be $26, he said, far cheaper than airfare. The cost of a round-trip plane ticket from Palm Springs to Los Angeles with advance purchase averages about $120. It's $200 for on-the-spot purchase of a round-trip ticket, according to a local travel agency.

STATION SHORTAGE: Another factor that must be addressed is the lack of train stations in the valley, he said. Currently, only Palm Springs has a station on Indian Avenue, south of Interstate 10. In-dio's station closed in October due to the lack of riden.ar.TTJ "I really think there has been great interests over the years in the Coachella Valley for train service," Schiermeyer said. "And with that increasing growth in the greater Los Angeles region and highway congestion, it is just more and more of a real heartburn to think of driving into Orange or Los Angeles counties. "Train service has always made Iransportation to allow for more passenger travel on a not-so-heavily traveled section of rail from the Bay area to Sacramento.

But it cost $50 million to $60 million to improve the tracks for additional traffic, Furtney said. If CVAG plans to pursue rail services, Caltrans or Amtrak would probably be the lead agency to negotiate with Union Pacific, Schier-meyer said. And Amtrak would be the operator if the train services go through. Schiermeyer said the operating costs for daily round-trip service from Los Angeles to Palm Springs would be $2.6 million a year for the crew, equipment, supplies and railroad fees. That cost would be onset by a projected $500,000 in revenue the first year.

State funds would subsidize the shortfall, he said. For weekend-only service, Friday to Sunday, the cost would be $1.6 million, with an estimated $235,000 in revenue the first year, he said. The cost for a one-way ticket The) Associated Prsss SAN FRANCISCO Requiring utilities to restore power within a set time period after blackouts would be unsafe and expensive, Pacific Gas Electric Co. said. made those statements to the state Public Utilities Commission last month, weeks before a work crew's error shut off power" to more than 1 million people in San Francisco and a southern suburb Dec.

8. It took eight hours before the utility restored service to all customers. Mayor Willie Brown publicly criticized for the delay, saying he had been told that morning that service would be restored about 2V6 hours after the blackout Failing to restore service after mass blackouts costs the state money and threatens citizens' safety, the PUC said in a July ruling. The PUC is considering a penalty for utilities that fail to promptly restore service after major emergencies where more than 10 percent of customers lose But the state's three major utilities Southern; California Edison and San Diego Gas Electric oppose an emergency power restoration standard i "The utilities are not! opposed to standards in general! but we feel they have to be reasonable, and they have to take into account the costs involved," said spokesman Len Anderson. best efficient use ot it, he ex-nlained.

"Before we let anvbodv else Palm Springs, Palm Desert, as well as down toward Indio," Howell said. Some options under study are using express buses, improving traffic signalization so cars can move more rapidly and light rail, he said. The Southern California Association of Governments is funding the studies for $50,000. on it they have to pay for the additional cost of making whatever they want to put on our tracks fit in the existing traffic pattern." HIGH COSTS: He said accommodating passenger trains is neither easy nor cheap. Recently, Union Pacific worked with the California Department of til ''V J-r 'Pit- '1 ittitti' i3 i 3ifMi tf 'HH; uj ih Hut'.