Transportation : Buzz

It won't work exactly like Gene Roddenberry envisioned on Star Trek, but teleportation will likely be a reality one day. Pioneering research being conducted at the University of Maryland's Joint Quantum Institute, among others, on quantum entanglement could lead to the ability to instantly transport an item from one end of the galaxy to another.

Here's an excerpt:

"According to the quantum theory, everything vibrates," theoretical physicist Michio Kaku tells NPR's Guy Raz. Kaku is a frequent guest on the Science and Discovery channels. "When two electrons are placed close together, they vibrate in unison. When you separate them, that's when all the fireworks start."

This is where quantum entanglement � sometimes described as "teleportation" � begins. "An invisible umbilical cord emerges connecting these two electrons. And you can separate them by as much as a galaxy if you want. Then, if you vibrate one of them, somehow on the other end of the galaxy the other electron knows that its partner is being jiggled."

This process happens even faster than the speed of light, physicists say."

Listen to or read the entire article here.

As Norfolk, Va. awaits the launch of its TIDE lightrail system, local television station WAVY takes a trip to Charm City to see how a successful lightrail system operates.

Watch the video.

Maryland's Federal Facilities Advisory Board, the officials who will pave the way for cooperation between federal, state, government and private companies meet last week to discuss the plans to bring the U.S. Cyber Command and the Defense Information Systems Agency move from Arlington.

Here's an excerpt:

"Everyone focuses on BRAC because that's the big animal, the 800-pound gorilla ... but growth at Fort Meade is a bigger issue than BRAC ... As we looked at this growth over a five- to seven-year time frame -- let's go out to 2013 -- we saw 5,695 [jobs] from BRAC; we estimated [another] 4,000 [new jobs] at NSA [National Security Agency] ... The magnitude of the growth is what really counts here ... At the beginning, this is going to be a mass assault on the transportation system around Fort Meade." -- Robert C. Leib, the Anne Arundel county executive's special assistant for BRAC and education"

Read the entire post here.

Vacationers will now be able to travel to Bermuda and the Eastern Caribbean from Baltimore year round on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.

Here's an excerpt:

"Today is a big day at the Port of Baltimore as Royal Caribbean debuts its first year-round sailings from the city.

The industry giant's 2,252-passenger Enchantment of the Seas is replacing the smaller, 1,950-passenger Grandeur of the Seas, which only sailed seasonally out of the Baltimore port.

Enchantment of the Seas initially will sail a series of five-night Bermuda and nine-night Eastern Caribbean roundtrip itineraries from the city."

Read the entire post here.

No matter how you feel about the airlines, apparently the folks over at Maryland's BWI airport at least leave passengers feeling good as the prepare to board the airplane or claim their bags and go, according to two recent surveys.

Here's an excerpt:

"Talk about flying the friendly skies -- or not. The D.C. area boasts three major airports in the region, but only one of them is nationally ranked in the top 10 for customer satisfaction, according to a new survey.

The ranking comes courtesy of J.D. Power and Associates. It names Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport as seventh in medium-sized airports."

Read the entire article here.

Here's an excerpt:

"Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is the best airport of its size in the world, according to a survey by Airports Council International.

BWI ranked No. 1 for airports serving 15 million to 25 million passengers in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) 2009 survey released Wednesday. The airport led the list of the top five mid-size airports, finishing ahead of Taipei, Shenzhen, New Delhi and Salt Lake City. In the ranking of the best airports by number of passengers served, BWI was the only U.S. airport to place first in any size category. BWI was not ranked in any category in the 2008 ASQ survey."

Read the entire blog post here.

Been wondering what to expect with the Charm City Circulator, Baltimore's new free and green shuttle service? Adam Van Bavel, a contender for the 10th district city council seat in Baltimore, went for a ride and took his camera along.

Blogging from an Annapolis cafe, the Washington Note's Steve Clemmons gives Gov. O'Malley kudos - Maryland roads, schools, the Chesapeake Bay - could lead to the gov to the White House.

Here's an excerpt.

"But driving out here from Washington, I was impressed with the quality of roads and "the look" of Highway 50. I have a couple of places I hide in Maryland -- one in Chestertown, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay's Eastern Shore and another way at the tip of the opposite end of the state in McHenry, Maryland near Deep Creek Lake...

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley deserves a great deal of credit for this. I razz him sometimes -- but he's one of the few governors I know who works hard at public policy and thinks things through.

One of the recent areas of action by O'Malley that has won him praise from most quarters is taking action to restore the oyster beds in Chesapeake Bay. I heard about this from none other than Obama National Security Adviser General Jim Jones and his wife Diane who clearly prefer their time at their home on the Chesapeake Bay to the Washington scene. They are thrilled that O'Malley is working to get the oyster beds back in shape -- and I am too.

Healthy environments, healthy communities, healthy schools, healthy people -- I think that's how it goes."

Read the entire article here.

Dave Murphy of Greater Greater Washington argues that the Central Maryland Transit Alliance should not prioritize the extension of Baltimore's Yellow Line light rail to Columbia, saying it would do better to focus on central transit.

An excerpt from the column reads:

The Green Line extension will hit developed areas in a large city with a burgeoning centralized train system in place. This is smart. The Yellow Line extension will connect Columbia to downtown Baltimore on a very long, very circuitous route that by-passes Fort Meade, the largest employment center in the state of Maryland.

Baltimore City needs transit connections. It needs an expanded system. It needs a centralized system. A Yellow Line extension would bolster businesses in Columbia and Towson. These are decentralized locations. A Green Line extension would bolster more centralized business districts like the Belair Road and Harford Road corridors. These are centralized areas. Baltimore has been decentralizing for fifty years, and it's not working.

From Columbia, the Yellow Line would take 42 minutes to get to BWI Airport, and then another 27 to get to downtown Baltimore. An hour and nine minutes to get from Columbia to Baltimore isn't a good transit connection. The northern section of the Yellow Line is actually a good idea, connecting several colleges along a main thoroughfare through the city proper. But the southern portion is as circuitous and useless as the current plan for the CCT in Gaithersburg.

Read the entire column here.

A blogger notes wryly that Taneytown is considering the installation of speed cameras "EXACTLY" when it's in the red, but says the city may want to put the breaks on that plan.

An excerpt from the blog posting reads:

The folks out in Taneytown, Maryland, may well want to consider Baltimore and Chicago's troubles with speed cameras, because they're planning to be next in.

The mayor of Tareyton, James L. McCarron Jr, is looking at getting the cameras in following a new state law allowing their use in school zones, calling it a "good idea" and "something (they) should truly consider".

Meanwhile, the city council wasn't so convinced (perhaps they HAD talked to Baltimore first), wondering about rules and expenses.  McCarron deferred to the October council meeting to address those concerns.

Interestingly, this comes at right about the same time that a hole in the city's budget to the tune of just shy of three hundred grand was discovered by City Manager James Schumacher, and now Taneytown is left to consider a debt policy.

Read the entire posting here.

JetBlue has fired a salvo in the low-cost carrier battle by entering the Boston-Baltimore/Washington market, beginning Sept. 9. The carrier's announcement was accompanied by a $19 each-way fare, but if you blinked, you missed it.

An excerpt from the article reads:

The Boston-BWI route has perhaps become the single-biggest flashpoint highlighting the increasing competition between U.S. low-cost carriers. Beginning one week from today, JetBlue will launch its first-ever service from Baltimore with daily service to Boston. The route will be one of the first outside Florida where the three big low-cost carriers will compete head-to-head between the same airports.

The Boston-BWI route has at least symbolic value for all three carriers as they increasingly try to expand in each other's shadow. Southwest and AirTran are the top two carriers at BWI, while JetBlue says it is the top carrier (by number of nonstop destinations) out of Boston. AirTran has slowly been building its presence in Boston, while Southwest just added service there last month with flights to BWI and Chicago.

And just yesterday, Southwest announced plans to add St. Louis service out of Boston. As for JetBlue, it announced its plans to add Baltimore � and to go head-to-head with both AirTran and Southwest � shortly after Southwest announced its Boston plans.

Read the entire article here.

Otis Rolley III, president and chief executive officer of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, admonishes readers of the Sun who object to surface portions of the Red Line along Boston Street in Canton and Edmonson Avenue to consider the infeasibility of a subterranean route there and to participate in talks with city planners about alternatives.

An excerpt from the letter reads:

The Maryland Transit Administration has stated it will study traffic mitigation and parking management plans for both Edmondson Avenue and Canton. It will examine streetscape enhancements and environmental sustainability strategies and work with residents who are impacted by the Red Line route.

That's an open invitation for critics to become part of the solution rather than remaining part of the problem. It's the way other cities with light-rail projects have proceeded: They listened to opponents' critiques and sought to find acceptable solutions. The results there have been highly positive. We must hold the Maryland Transit Administration to its stated commitment and make sure everyone is part of the process.

From my experience as a former Baltimore City planning director, the Red Line process has been the most open and inclusive of any transit project in Baltimore's history. The number of public meetings and hearings has been extensive, even before Maryland submits a plan to the Federal Transit Administration.

Read the entire letter here.