Ports pitch truck plan

The idea is to gradually phase out the oldest, dirtiest trucks, starting next year. The schedule would run all the way into 2014, when every pre-2007 vehicle would be banned from operating in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Port officials will present the idea to their respective harbor commissions next week. The trucking industry has put up a big stink over the proposal to eliminate or retrofit 16,000 short-haul trucks over a 5-year period and forced the ports to reconsider certain parts of the original plan. Earlier this month, a coalition of business and labor groups urged city and port officials to scrap the idea, arguing that it was anti-competitive and sure to be litigated (no doubt true). Rather than ban dirty trucks outright, the coalition said it would be better to focus on emission standards and mitigation fees. L.A. Harbor Commission President David Freeman wants the ports to vote on a plan by Dec. 14, but whether that happens is anybody's guess. (Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach)