The Brief

In response to a budget deficit, the city of Anaheim considered taxing rideshare trips to and from Disneyland and local sports venues. But the idea failed when City Council members declined to vote on a proposal that could have put the issue on the November ballot.

The rideshare tax plan was proposed by Anaheim’s Department of Public Works and the City Manager’s Office. According to a staff report, rideshare services — such as Uber and Lyft — have led to more traffic, especially near special event venues.

And that’s led to greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and wear and tear on public infrastructure.

The staff proposal would have levied a 10% tax on rideshares to and from Disneyland and other major venues in Anaheim. It was designed to help alleviate congestion and raise about $4 million in revenue in a cash-strapped city that faced a $45 million deficit this fiscal year.

But many of those rideshare trips are taken by tourists, whom the city relies on for more than 65% of its tax revenue.

“They are an incredible economic generator,” said city spokesperson Mike Lyster. And that’s going to grow, he said, as planned expansion of Disney theme parks and the sports venues takes place.

Symbols for Uber and Lyft adorn Farhan Badel’s vehicle in Apple Valley, Minn.

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Jenn Ackerman for NPR

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When Anaheim elected officials debated the proposal two weeks ago, some raised concerns that increasing costs for tourists to the city would sour their visits. The plan would have included rideshares to and from Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle, the area in and around Angels Stadium and the Honda Center.

“Residents will use it as well,” Lyster said. “Maybe somebody's meeting somebody else at the theme park or a baseball game, and one person may rideshare and then ride home with somebody else. So [elected officials] didn't want residents to be impacted either.”

Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken at the July 28 City Council meeting.

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Screenshot from Anaheim web site

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The city report said every year, about 1.5 million rideshare trips are taken to or from non-residential areas within the Anaheim Resort — where Disneyland is located — and 240,000 rideshare trips to or from non-residential areas within the Platinum Triangle.

But the rideshare plan isn’t dead. At least one city official indicated the matter could come back to the council for consideration.

“Maybe over the next year, 18 months, we can look into it when we’re not backs against the wall to get something on the ballot in November,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken at the July 28 council meeting when she and the council declined to vote on the issue.

The rideshare plan would have covered only a small portion of the city’s current deficit, but it was part of an ongoing plan to raise revenue.

That deficit is expected to be a moot point next calendar year, when about $120 million in debt from the 1990s is paid off and the city can use those funds for other purposes, Lyster said.

A slow leak from a chemical tank smeared an orange cloud across the sky of a Southern California neighborhood on Tuesday, but authorities said they quickly got it under control.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Aaron Katon said authorities responded to a business that makes cleaning products after receiving a call shortly before noon about the cloud. Police evacuated a nearby middle school as a precaution, Katon said.

They do not yet know what the chemical was, but all shelter-in-place orders have been lifted, he said. The regional air quality management district has deployed staff to the area to investigate, said Connie Villanueva, a spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The company, Shepard Bros., could not immediately be reached for comment.

Three company employees reported minor respiratory irritation and declined further treatment, Katon said.

The leak occurred in the city of La Habra near a mix of residential neighborhoods and industrial warehouses about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Anaheim.

Keary Godinez, who works in a nearby restaurant, said she saw what appeared to be a dark yellow cloud spread across the sky. The 20-year-old said she watched students across the street board buses to evacuate, but police told her the eatery could remain open.

“It looked like pollen dust,” Godinez said, adding she didn’t detect a smell from the cloud. “It just kind of smeared in the sky and started going away.”

La Habra Mayor Jose Medrano had urged residents to shelter in place and said some streets were being evacuated.

Luis Gomez, who manages a nearby pickleball program, said earlier Tuesday he saw the cloud, called police and was told anyone within a mile radius of the location was under an evacuation order.

The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of former coach Phil Jackson outside their downtown arena next year.

The Lakers announced the plan Tuesday to honor Jackson, who led the Lakers to five championships and seven NBA Finals appearances during two stints totaling 11 seasons as their head coach.

The statue will be unveiled April 9 before the Lakers’ home game against Minnesota.

After his famed tenure leading Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to six championships, Jackson joined the Lakers in 1999 and immediately began another era of major success for the 17-time NBA champion franchise.

His first three teams in Los Angeles won championships behind the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and the Lakers added two more titles in 2009 and 2010 led by Bryant and Pau Gasol. His Lakers also made the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2008.

Jackson set the Lakers franchise record for coaches with 610 victories while leading his teams to the playoffs in every year of his tenure, which ended in 2011.

“Phil Jackson defines championship basketball for a reason,” Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His masterful approach to coaching brought out the best in some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. After he accepted my dad’s invitation to join the Lakers, Phil’s unmatched creativity and commitment to excellence restored our championship legacy, bringing five titles and setting a standard of excellence for generations to come. It is a great joy to be able to mark that achievement with the statue he so richly deserves.”

Jackson will be the ninth person associated with the Lakers to be honored with a statue in Star Plaza outside their arena. He joins Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bryant, O’Neal, broadcaster Chick Hearn and former coach Pat Riley, whose statue was unveiled earlier this year.

Jackson’s 11 championships as a head coach are the most in NBA history. The North Dakota native and former New York Knicks forward is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.