By Jim Beal and Scott Wiener, Special to CalMatters California’s High-Speed Rail project is under fire again, but history shows us that major infrastructure projects are almost always controversial. Before it was built, the Golden Gate Bridge was derided as financially unsound, legally dubious and an aesthetic blight. BART was...
Man Stabbed to Death Aboard San Francisco Area Train
SAN FRANCISCO — A man who was stabbed to death aboard a San Francisco Bay Area commuter train Tuesday may have been trying to stop the theft of another rider’s shoes, authorities said. The man was stabbed around 1 p.m. aboard a BART train pulling into a Hayward station. Police...
WATCH: Video Shows Worker Saving Man as Speeding Train Approached
SAN FRANCISCO — A transit supervisor in Oakland is being hailed as a hero after pulling a man up from train tracks and away from a speeding train. BART released surveillance video showing John O'Connor spring to action Sunday after a man falls into the tracks at a crowded Coliseum station...
Bringing High-Speed Rail to California, One Building Block at a Time
California has long been the leader in innovation, bold action and tackling projects that others wouldn’t dream of. The state highway system, BART, and the Golden Gate Bridge stand out as prime examples of challenging projects that were seen through, and today benefit millions. The vision for high-speed rail is...
Time for Yosemite and Humanity to Take a Break?
The road to Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park is closed to cars, and the shuttle bus wasn’t running. Would the Three Stooges—my sons, ages 10, 8 and 5—agree to a 2 ½ mile uphill hike to see Yosemite’s signature sequoias? This month I made my first trip to Yosemite...