On Nov. 8 communities of all sizes around the country will cast ballots on various issues. Three Colorado communities will decide on transportation-related issues.

It took only a conversation to lure truck driver Efren Gonzalez-Perez into the world of Mexican drug cartels. Gonzalez-Perez was approached last winter outside a Mexican dentist office near the U.S.-Mexico border, where he said “everyone knows he is a truck driver.”

Round up your creative kids because it’s time for the “Be Ready. Be Buckled.” annual art contest.

Over the past couple of years, readers enjoyed “Spitballin’ with Cowpoke.” It quickly became a favorite in the Land Line stable of offerings. Bob died Oct. 11, but not before leaving a legacy of columns full of snark, laughs and pointed truths. The LL staff compiled our favorite columns by Bob. Enjoy.

In less than one week after the cross-border long-haul “pilot” program started, the FMCSA has granted the first participant permanent operating authority. As part of being given permanent authority, Transportes Olympic will no longer be inspected at the border every time. “It goes to show how much of a joke this so-called pilot program actually is. Our government should be ashamed,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer.

Efren Gonzalez-Perez was approached last winter outside a Mexican dentist office near the U.S.-Mexico border, where “everyone knows he is a truck driver.” Gonzalez-Perez became the first of at least four defendants charged in a large-scale drug-running operation last week originating from drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Election Day is two weeks away, and voters in southwestern Ohio communities soon will be making decisions on whether to fund road, bridge and streetcar initiatives.

Reefer owners who complied ahead of schedule with California’s Transportation Refrigeration Unit Regulation have an opportunity to delay additional upgrades to their reefers.

OOIDA’s fifth annual Truckers for Troops – scheduled for Dec. 5-9 this year – is one of the Association’s favorite events. The effort raises money to pack and send care packages to service personnel stationed in combat zones, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are only a few days left to sign up for the third Convoy for a Cure to raise money for breast cancer research. OOIDA Life Member Cindy Stowe of Will’s Point, TX, is organizing the event again this year, which will be on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the TravelCenters of America at exit 374 on Interstate 35 in Carl’s Corner, TX.

All but three trucks had made it home by Monday, Oct. 24, after Sports Associated, the company they drove for, abruptly shut its doors a few days earlier. Roger Grisham, vice president of transportation and warehousing for Kansas City, KS-based Sports Associated, told Land Line that PacLease “covered the fuel” to get many of the trucks home.

A trucker who crashed on southbound Highway 101 in San Francisco early Wednesday morning, Oct. 19, had a guardian angel he’d never met. And for the second time in as many weeks, a trucker who crashed – and whose rig was on fire – has been rescued by passersby.

An extension of the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax has been passed by Congress and signed by the President. It lasts through Sept. 30, 2012. Taxpayers will be required to file Form 2290 for the 2011 tax year for all qualified vehicles first used in July, August, September and October 2011. The form is expected to be available by Nov. 1 and will become delinquent after Nov. 30, 2011.

Truck owners will see the first of California’s diesel particulate filter requirements hit Jan. 1 as part of the state’s Truck and Bus Regulation. CARB’s Truck and Bus rule, also known as the Retrofit Rule, requires trucking fleets to install diesel particulate filters and upgrade their truck engines beginning in January 2012.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is reporting that fuel prices are on the rise for the second straight week, up 2.4 cents per gallon from a week ago to average $3.825 per gallon nationwide on Monday, Oct. 24.

Friday, Oct. 21, was the first day of the new Mexican cross-border trucking program – with a Mexican truck hauling a load of industrial equipment nearly 600 miles from Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to Garland, TX. At a press conference at the Otay Mesa border crossing in California this week, OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer explained what that really means.

On Friday, Oct. 21, nearly 90 employees and truck drivers for Sports Associated Inc. of Kansas City, KS, received the unexpected news that the company was shutting its doors that day. It appears the plug has been pulled on several companies operating under the umbrella of GMJ Co., Inc., including Sports Associated, Topeka Transfer and Storage Inc., and O’Neil Relocation.

A U.S. Senate committee is scheduled to mark up its version of the next long-term authorization bill in November. Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-CA, and ranking member James Inhofe, R-OK, of the Environment and Public Works Committee say they’ve made significant progress on putting a bill together that would last two years and be funded at current levels.

Truckers traveling on Interstate 476 northbound between Wyoming Valley (Exit 115) and Clarks Summit (Exit 131) should find an alternate route beginning Saturday, Oct. 22 at midnight.

A Michigan Senate panel has voted down an effort to build a new toll bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Intended to relieve congestion on the existing structure, the $4 billion project appears to be in trouble.

With CSA came the “pre-employment screening program,” or PSP. What does it mean for your business? What is on your driver profile? The last in this OOIDA business education series explains PSP and more on Oct. 25.

With the clock winding down on the time until Election Day, there still is an opportunity to register to vote in certain states. Although most states have seen their deadlines to register come and go, potential voters in some states still have time to ensure their opportunity to cast a ballot on Nov. 8.

Know a truck driver who has performed a heroic deed? You can help make sure truck drivers who put themselves in harm’s way to help others are recognized by the entire trucking industry. Nominations for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 29th annual North America Highway Hero Program will be accepted until Nov. 30.

OOIDA Life Member Cindy Stowe is once again hosting the Convoy for a Cure USA. This year it is on Oct. 29 at Carl’s Corner Petro near Hillsboro, TX. Or get some sun at the Meca South Florida Truck Show, Nov. 4-6 in Miami, FL. And the Band Together for SCF (St. Christopher Fund) Drive at all TA/Petro travel centers will take place Nov. 15-Dec. 15.

In spite of the litany of problems associated with the safety and security of Mexican trucks operating on U.S. highways, the border opened today to the first trucks from Mexico. Or did it? Land Line Senior Editor Jami Jones takes a look at what really happened Friday when the first truck crossed the border.