Latest news with #JohnGoodwin
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
'Obsolete' toll booths to be removed from 7 Bay Area state-owned bridges
The Brief Open Road Tolling is coming to all seven of the Bay Area's state-owned toll bridges. This means the existing toll booths will have to be removed from these bridges. Up first is the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge. Work should be completed by early 2026. OAKLAND, Calif. - The removal of the toll booths for the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is slated to happen at the end of May, officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission - Bay Area Toll Authority say. What we know John Goodwin, assistant director of communications for MTC-Bay Area Toll Authority, on Friday said the plan is for "now-obsolete" toll booths for all seven of the Bay Area's state-owned toll bridges to be removed, as the spans will convert to open-road tolling over the next three to four years, he said. This will help prevent traffic from bottle-necking. "The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge simply will be the first. The construction timeline is not set just yet," said Goodwin. Officials say the open-road tolling system will streamline the driver experience once the toll booths are removed. As for the first bridge to undergo the toll-booth removal, Goodwin says it's unlikely anything, including excavations, foundation work, and gantry erection, will be visible to passing motorists until this summer. The schedule calls for the work to be completed on the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge by early 2026. MTC- Bay Area Toll Authority shared conceptual renderings of what the open-road tolling could potentially look like. Instead of toll booths, an overhead structure called a gantry, equipped with technology to process tolls, will go up. Since there will be no toll booths, drivers won't have to stop and cars will flow freely. SEE ALSO:Bay Area bridges due for collapse risk assessment in the event of ship strike: NTSB report According to MTC, implementation of open-road tolling has also been shown in other regions to improve traffic flow and reduce vehicle emissions. Goodwin says the 'go-live' targets for other bridges include Antioch and Carquinez in 2027; Benicia-Martinez, Dumbarton and San Mateo-Hayward in the first half of 2028; and the Bay Bridge in late 2028.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Yahoo
Those Unpaid Toll Texts You Keep Getting Are Just The Latest Scam
If you have a phone, you probably get more texts from scammers and political fundraisers (wait, is there really a difference at this point?) than you get texts from actual people you know. It certainly isn't the worst part of living in 2025, but it sure is annoying. To make things worse, they keep coming up with new angles, and this time around, it's apparently unpaid toll charges. By some miracle I only got my first one recently, but as it turns out, they're so common now that CNBC's already done an entire story on them. And yes, those text messages claiming you have to pay unpaid toll charges are 100% scams. Shocking, I know. Why text message scams need names like "smishing," I don't know. Sure, it's a portmanteau of "SMS" and "phishing," but the term makes me physically uncomfortable, and you can't make me use it. As you can imagine, the goal is to get people to hand over their information or download malicious software that allows the scammers to take far more than the small amount of money they initially claim people owe. I would hope you're savvy enough not to fall for it, but that's the thing about scams — the easier they are to spot, the more likely it is that the people who still fall for them will let themselves get taken for massive amounts of money. So, especially if you have older relatives who still drive in areas with toll roads, it's probably a good idea to make sure they know. Read more: Alleged Horse-And-Buggy Thief In Way More Trouble Than If She Had Just Stolen A Car It doesn't help that license plate-reading tech is much more common these days and used to send toll charges to drivers who don't have an E-ZPass in their car, nor does it help that so many people do everything on their phones these days. The state isn't going to actually text you a link to pay a fine, but it's at least plausible if toll roads exist where you live. Maybe you just forgot at some point, right? And while these texts aren't really any different than the undeliverable package texts that are also all scams, they've gotten so common, the FTC, FBI, state governments and even transportation departments have had to address them directly. "We have been bedeviled by these scams for over a year now," John Goodwin, an assistant communications director for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the Bay Area, told CNBC. "It began early February of 2024. The scamsters kind of mutate every few weeks with different messages. The messaging has become more sophisticated over time. The messaging has become more aggressive over time." The bad news is, as previously mentioned, because many of these scammers are overseas, shutting down their operations isn't easy and requires working with law enforcement in other countries. The worse news is that it's unlikely the Trump administration has any interest in the kind of international collaboration required to put a stop to the endless stream of scam texts you get every day. Still, the more we talk about it, the less likely it is that other people in your life, especially older folks, won't get taken for all they're worth. If they ever do, though, maybe give Jason Statham a call. I hear he hates scammers. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Rare opportunity' to own extraordinary townhouse
A "rare opportunity" has arisen to own a characterful townhouse in a charming Herefordshire market town. The listed townhouse in Ledbury is part of an "exclusive" courtyard development, which is steeped in history. According to agent John Goodwin, it's understood that the original house dates back to the 16th century and was a former gentleman's residence. It is up for sale with a guide price of £745,000. (Image: John Goodwin) During the 1800's, substantial renovations were carried out by the renowned Biddulph family with influences being drawn from the Arts and Crafts movement, which can still be seen today. During World War II, the house was used by evacuee children and in 1950 the house and estate were sold to a stationery business before being developed and renovated in 1997/98 into 17 individual homes. Now, the characterful home has been "lovingly maintained" by the current owner, with a wealth of period features remaining. (Image: John Goodwin) The property includes a dining room, which has a double-height ceiling with painted ceiling timbers, central light, wall lights, extensive oak panelled walls with carved decorative detailing, two radiators, and a useful storage cupboard. Nearby, there is an "impressive" drawing room, complete with an original marble fireplace, panelled walls, and exposed floorboards. Upstairs, there is a master bedroom, which has a window seat, giving views across the grounds. (Image: John Goodwin) There is also an ensuite bathroom, which includes a large walk-in shower, a wash hand basin, and a WC. There is also a separate family bathroom, with a bath, a walk-in shower, a wash hand basin, and a WC. Outside, the property is approached via the communal courtyard, which has parking available for owners and guests. To the rear of the property, there is a private part walled gravelled courtyard area enjoying a south-facing aspect providing an "ideal" seating area with a mature shrub border.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Don't fall for new ‘Unpaid Toll' scam
Washingtonians beware! We've seen them before, but scammers are always looking for the next big score. The latest grift may look familiar: an 'unpaid toll' text scam that's going global. It's been going on for just over a year, but it's recently made its way to the Pacific Northwest. You may have seen it; a message that pops up on your phone prompting for a minimal payment that needs to be made immediately. However, the last thing you want to do is click the link. It appears to be from 'Fastrak,' the California-based electronic toll collection agency, similar to Washington's 'Good to Go.' But, these texts have been showing up on phones across our state and in Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. If you ever find yourself questioning the authenticity of an 'unpaid toll' message, John Goodwin says it's not how they do business. 'Legitimate toll operators are not going to communicate with customers by text asking for money and asking to be paid by clicking on a link to a website,' said a spokesperson with the Bay Area Toll Authority. He says the scam has spread across the United States since last February, affecting other e-toll agencies like 'E-ZPass' across the East Coast and Florida's 'SunPass.' He also notes that a new wave or mutation of the scam seems to evolve every six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, scammer URLs have originated from multiple foreign countries, including China, Russia, and several in South America. If you've been affected, experts suggest you call your bank or credit card company to put an immediate freeze on your account. One of the best things you can do if you believe your cellphone has been compromised is to back up your essentials, go to your settings, and do a factory reset for your device. 'This will guarantee that any kind of malware that's hidden in folders that you can't find, any kind of bloatware that they put on your device, will be wiped clean,' says Abdullah Syed, Co-Owner of Seattle Device Repair. Even though phishing scams like these have been around as long as the internet, Syed says the bad news is, they're here to stay. 'Unfortunately, this is going to get more and more common with A.I.,' says the co-owner of Seattle Device Repair. 'This is going to be something that's not going to go away.' Syed says Android phones are more susceptible because of their software, but to be wary of anything that's not associated with the App Store. He also says to look out for spelling mistakes and never click an unknown link. Treat every message as potentially dangerous unless you can verify the sender. Both Syed and Goodwin stress that common sense goes a long way. If something looks out of the ordinary, or you're getting a text for a toll road you've never used, that should be a red flag. More important, stay alert. Because these scams are likely only going to get more sophisticated.
