The Texas Bullet Train got a big boost recently with a federal environmental report that pushes forward the North Texas-to-Houston passenger line. This state-of-the-art, high-speed train will provide an eco-friendly option for traveling between two commercial powerhouses. The Federal Railroad Administration’s draft environmental impact study said the project is being...
Poll Shocker: Republican Could Face Newsom in Governor Showdown
A poll released at 9 o'clock Wednesday night shows that an anticipated all-Democrat showdown to determine Gov. Jerry Brown's successor might not materialize. San Diego businessman John Cox, a Republican, is gaining traction with voters, according to the latest survey of likely June primary voters conducted by the nonpartisan Public...
Bullet Train Leader is 'OK' With a Do-Over Vote
Dan Richard, the longtime chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, told a Bay Area newspaper columnist Thursday that he is "OK" with allowing voters a second say on the controversial, budget-busting bullet-train project. "I actually would be OK with that," Richard told Richard Borenstein, a columnist and editorial page editor...
High-Speed Rail Deniers Have It All Wrong
If California’s train deniers are right—that no one ever rides trains here, that Californians prefer to drive or fly, and that high-speed rail is a boondoggle that won’t attract riders — then how do you explain my wife’s public humiliation? Recently, our family was on Amtrak from San Diego to...
High-Speed Rail Deniers Have It All Wrong
If California’s train deniers are right—that no one ever rides trains here, that Californians prefer to drive or fly, and that high-speed rail is a boondoggle that won’t attract riders — then how do you explain my wife’s public humiliation? Recently, our family was on Amtrak from San Diego to...
Take 5: Get Up Close With State Treasurer Candidate Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma's first brush with politics came in 1994 when she was elected president of the Asian Business Association, a role that required her to lobby San Francisco City Hall and the state Legislature on business issues affecting women and minorities. Soon she was producing a report to Congress on the...
Take 5: Get Up Close With State Treasurer Candidate Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma's first brush with politics came in 1994 when she was elected president of the Asian Business Association, a role that required her to lobby San Francisco City Hall and the state Legislature on business issues affecting women and minorities. Soon she was producing a report to Congress on the...
Dan Walters Calls for More Rigorous High-Speed Rail Audit
In his Feb. 1 column, CALmatters columnist Dan Walters points out that the audit of California's over-budget, behind-schedule high-speed rail project commissioned by state lawmakers this week is limited in its scope. Walters opines that a top-to-bottom examination by state Auditor Elaine Howle of the estimated $70 billion project would...
Dan Walters Calls for More Rigorous High-Speed Rail Audit
In his Feb. 1 column, CALmatters columnist Dan Walters points out that the audit of California's over-budget, behind-schedule high-speed rail project commissioned by state lawmakers this week is limited in its scope. Walters opines that a top-to-bottom examination by state Auditor Elaine Howle of the estimated $70 billion project would...
Patterson's High-Speed Rail Audit Request Approved
At long last, Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) is getting his High-Speed Rail audit. The Joint Committee on Legislative Audit voted unanimously to move ahead with an examination on the estimated $67 billion project. That estimation for the first 119-mile segment, from Fresno to San Jose, increased earlier this month by...