BART expects a $10 million to $28 million surplus next year, and there is talk of using the extra cash for such things as running trains later at night.
Meanwhile, the transit agency, which averages 350,000 rides a day, can't seem to find the money to clean trains or repair escalators.
"Non-safety maintenance has, for lack of a better word, been deferred," said BART spokesman Linton Johnson.
BART board member Joel Keller said infighting over how to spend district dollars has been a problem. Now, however, Keller said, "the general consensus is that we have to make sure the core system is taken care of."
In the meantime, years of cutbacks have taken a toll.
Take the Daly City Station, for example. For the last six months, one of its three escalators has been closed for repairs.
Last week, officials issued an update, saying the escalator would be out of service through April in part because of a "shortage of manpower."
A spot check of the entire transit system showed that as of Friday, seven escalators were broken.
The trains aren't faring much better. This year, directors spent $750,000 for "deep cleaning," but it only covered 50 of the system's nearly 700 railcars.
Another common complaint from riders is noisy rides, which is largely due to rough tracks.
BART spent $9 million to buy a pair of grinders to smooth the rails, but they are only using one. The second grinder has sat largely unused due to a lack of staff - another victim of "deferred maintenance."
BART also needs $600 million (and that's just the local share) to replace all of its aging train cars. So far, however, there is no plan for how to raise the money.
Giant hand: Giants CEO Bill Neukom, team President Larry Baer and broadcasters Jon Miller, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow all visited Bryan Stow at the Los Angeles hospital where he is in critical condition after being severely beaten last week by two Dodgers fans.
They brought along a jersey signed by the team and the lineup card from the previous night's game.
"It's not a happy story," Baer said. "But hopefully we can help give it a happier ending."
Countdown: A piece of East Bay history will disappear in seconds this Friday when Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid pushes a button and sets off 800 pounds of dynamite to bring down the 11-story former Oak Knoll Naval Hospital.
Southern California-based SunCal Cos. paid a mind-boggling $100 million at the height of the building boom for the 167-acre site in the hills of East Oakland.
SunCal had been planning a major mixed-use development there until its chief partner and lender, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy in 2008.
The project has since stalled, but City Hall and locals have pressed the developers to get the property cleaned up in the meantime.
The hospital first served wounded soldiers returning from the Pacific during World War II, and later treated patients from the Korean and Vietnam wars before closing in 2006 as part of the national base realignment effort.
Port call: Port Commission nominee Doreen Woo Ho comes from the same political pool as Mayor Ed Lee, who appointed her.
For years, the administrations of mayors Art Agnos and Willie Brown drew heavily from the ranks of the Chinese Hospital and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce when looking for commissioners - often at the recommendation of chamber head Rose Pak.
After Pak helped elect Agnos, she persuaded the mayor to name her friend James Ho as a high-ranking member of his economic development staff.
And now it looks like Pak also had a hand in getting his wife a political appointment of her own.
Surprise package: As vehicle tows go, it was pretty normal: a plain white van hauled away for parking in a Tenderloin yellow zone without commercial plates.
That is, until they found the body in the back.
It turns out the van was owned by a local funeral home and its driver had been headed back to work when he made a stop and illegally parked.
The cops were called and then the funeral home, which arrived a little later to discreetly move the cadaver to one of its other vehicles.
But only after completing the proper paperwork - and paying the $473 tow and ticket charge.
EXTRA! Catch our blog at www.sfgate.com/matierandross.
Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Phil can be seen on CBS-5 morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815 or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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