By MICHAEL CABANATUAN, San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO - Scamming free parking at a meter or scoring a prime blue-zone space by displaying a fake, stolen or borrowed disabled parking tag could soon cost a lot more in California.

In the dusty Nevada desert, about 30 miles east of the playa where Bay Area artists and hipsters gather annually to build a temporary city at the Burning Man festival, a San Francisco garbage company wants to build a dump for Bay Area trash.

With the economy in recession, California's plan to ask the federal government for billions of dollars to help build the nation's first high-speed rail system might seem like wishful thinking rather than a feasible financial strategy.

California's network of electronic message boards -- commonly used to display Amber Alerts, travel times or traffic information -- could become flashy digital billboards hawking fast food, cell phones and new cars if federal officials approve a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) request.

The car may still be king in California, but with drivers tiring of traffic congestion and feeling the pinch of high gas prices, the train is quickly gaining popularity.

Californians support the idea of charging "green" vehicle fees that would make drivers of gas-guzzlers pay higher taxes and offer discounts for those with less-polluting vehicles, according to a survey by a transportation researcher at San Jose State University.