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Costs go up and up for BART's escalators

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After nearly six years and $27 million of work, BART's breakdown-prone escalators still rack up an average of 20 "trouble calls" a day.

That adds up to hundreds of calls a month.

The problem is especially acute at those 19 new, $500,000, state-of-the-art escalators that BART has installed at its busiest stations.

One problem has been the built-in motion detectors that automatically shut down the escalators if there's sudden or sharp movement.

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It's a nice safety feature, but at one San Francisco station, there was a 300-pound BART patron who every morning jumped up and down on the bottom step.

"Just because he thought it was fun to shut it down," says BART spokesman Ron Rodriguez.

And, of course, there's the constant punishment from skateboarders and even news carriers hauling stacks of papers on handcarts, he says.

While the breakdowns are less frequent than in years past, the costs just keep going up, up and up. Maintenance costs for escalators are expected to total $2.1 million this fiscal year, up from $1.8 million last year -- with a good deal of that going to the nearly three dozen escalator repair people now on staff.

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Not that any of this will help the 14,000 riders who are expected to swarm the gates of the Coliseum station tomorrow night on their way to either the A's home opener or Paul McCartney's sold-out concert at the arena next door.

BART has been working on one of the station's four escalators for months -- and although the work is done, "we can't open it without a state inspection," Rodriguez says. "And the state inspection is scheduled for Friday."

RESIDENT PRESIDENT: State Senate President Pro Tem John Burton has apparently shelved any mayoral aspirations and, instead, will remain on as the second most powerful politician in the state.

Word is, Burton told fellow Democrats of his decision the other day at a caucus meeting aimed at heading off a succession fight that was already developing.

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"He said he had every intention of staying through full time until he's termed out in '04," says one caucus attendee.

"And he specifically said he wasn't planning on running for mayor (of San Francisco in 2003), which surprised me because it was the first time I'd ever heard him raise the subject."

Almost as fast, however, another rumor started making the halls -- Burton for lieutenant governor in '06.

Now that would bring some life to the office.

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TAKING AIM: The heavily Democratic Greenlining Institute, a San Francisco- based coalition of minority businesses, churches and civil rights groups, has come out swinging against the nomination of Richard Blum to the University of California Board of Regents.

Seems the Greenliners are miffed that the governor didn't pick a Latino or other minority for the job -- and they're letting everybody know that Blum, Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, doesn't measure up.

In a letter sent to their friend, Sen. John Burton, whose Rules Committee will hold Blum's confirmation hearing, representatives of 18 Greenlining groups question the multimillionaire businessman's competence and label him another "wealthy, white male."

And that's just for openers.

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The Greenliners also blast Gov. Gray Davis for failing to appoint regents who reflect the state's diversity, noting that the majority "have been wealthy,

white contributors to the governor's multimillion-dollar war chest."

Greenliners say Blum is cut from the same cloth, having contributed $75,000 to Davis already, and "is likely to contribute substantially more in the coming years, including any presidential race the governor may enter."

For its part, the governor's office brushes off the charges, saying Blum is more than qualified for the job.

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"We wanted to get the best person who we feel comfortable will do a quality job on the board and who shares the governor's commitment to education," says Davis press deputy Alex Traverso.

And what does Blum have to say?

As far as he's concerned, he's getting an unfair rap, saying he's committed to issues high on the minority agenda -- "accessibility and affordability." Not to mention his personal commitment -- the more than $1 million he pledged or contributed to the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, where he's served on the advisory board for the past decade.

ENRON HANGS ON: The Enron signs are coming down at the Houston ballpark, but here at Pac Bell Park, they'll be hanging around for a while.

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Enron, the failed energy giant whose name has become synonymous with greed, isn't exactly the image the Giants want plastered all over the outfield -- but the Texas firm was one of the team's corporate sponsors.

And a deal is a deal -- at least until a new deal with a new sponsor can make its way through the tangled web of Enron bankruptcy.

"With any luck, it will be shortly after the first homestand," says team exec Larry Baer.

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE: Rich Kales passed his local gas station at 11:50 a. m. the other day and noticed the price of premium was $1.94. When he passed by again two hours later, it was $2.16.

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Says Kales: "They didn't even wait until dark to make the change."

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