SoCal HSR News

[WhoozOn1st]

"There were two important high speed rail reports released this week in California. One of them, by CALPIRG, showed how HSR is a clear success around the world, having no trouble meeting its ridership goals and improving transportation. The other, by the Berkeley Institute for Transportation Studies, questioned some of the assumptions of the HSR ridership study.
Guess which one got covered breathlessly by the media - and guess which one was ignored."

Complete article from Calitics, How the media gets HSR wrong.

Officials defend high-speed rail project

"The state panel charged with building California's 800-mile bullet train network pushed back Thursday against an academic analysis challenging the reliability of ridership and revenue estimates underpinning the massive project."

 

[George Harris]

It's like holding a grudge against the modern South for slavery and the Civil War. Oh wait, I actually do that.

How about holding a grudge against what the damnyankees did to the South during and after the War Between the States? That makes a lot more sense. The basic motto of most of the yankee troops, particularly those under Sherman seemed to be pillage, rape and burn, and after the war steal whatever was left. Learn the real history, not the victor's propoganda.

 

[jis]

It's like holding a grudge against the modern South for slavery and the Civil War. Oh wait, I actually do that.

How about holding a grudge against what the damnyankees did to the South during and after the War Between the States? That makes a lot more sense. The basic motto of most of the yankee troops, particularly those under Sherman seemed to be pillage, rape and burn, and after the war steal whatever was left. Learn the real history, not the victor's propoganda.

Learning history from all angles is good. But I still think that holding either of those grudges against presumed descendants of the original perpetrators is silly at best and quite pointlessly provocative at worst, unless of course said descendants are behaving in the same abhorrent way. In which case they should be dealt with based on their current actions, and it would not really matter if they descended from saints or tyrants.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Learn the real history, not the victor's propoganda.

"Real" history, in the Confederate telling, usually amounts to little more than Southern revisionism and hagiolatry of losing generals. Relying on the blinkered version as sole source, one might be hard pressed to learn that the Union actually prevailed over treason, insurrection, and the vile use of "states rights" doctrine (think Arizona) as a tool to preserve slavery. That's the real history, not propaganda by victor or vanquished.

And now back to high speed rail!

 

[George Harris]

Learn the real history, not the victor's propoganda.

"Real" history, in the Confederate telling, usually amounts to little more than Southern revisionism and hagiolatry of losing generals. Relying on the blinkered version as sole source, one might be hard pressed to learn that the Union actually prevailed over treason, insurrection, and the vile use of "states rights" doctrine (think Arizona) as a tool to preserve slavery. That's the real history, not propaganda by victor or vanquished.

And now back to high speed rail!

Whooz: I have thought about how to make a reasoned response to your flame, and decided it was not worth bothering. Suffice to say you are welcome to have a right to your opinion regardless of how insulting or poorly suppported by reality, and the same right to free speech was also in the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

 

[KayBee]

Learn the real history, not the victor's propoganda.

"Real" history, in the Confederate telling, usually amounts to little more than Southern revisionism and hagiolatry of losing generals. Relying on the blinkered version as sole source, one might be hard pressed to learn that the Union actually prevailed over treason, insurrection, and the vile use of "states rights" doctrine (think Arizona) as a tool to preserve slavery. That's the real history, not propaganda by victor or vanquished.

And now back to high speed rail!

Whooz: I have thought about how to make a reasoned response to your flame, and decided it was not worth bothering. Suffice to say you are welcome to have a right to your opinion regardless of how insulting or poorly suppported by reality, and the same right to free speech was also in the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

Well said, George!

Never forget that the histories are always written by the victors.

You wouldn't suppose there was any "Northern Revisionism" going on at any time, would you?

Just sayin' <_<

 

[Spokker]

The basic motto of most of the yankee troops, particularly those under Sherman seemed to be pillage, rape and burn, and after the war steal whatever was left. Learn the real history, not the victor's propoganda.

Ugh, I know. The North was so inhumane that it lacked any respect for basic human rights.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Ah, politics...

Inquiry into state rail board sought

"Critics of California's high-speed rail project Tuesday urged the state attorney general to investigate whether two prominent officials in Los Angeles County and Anaheim have conflicts of interest because they sit on the bullet train's board while holding other public offices.

"A Palo Alto group known as Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design asserts that Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle and Richard Katz, a board member for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, might be violating a state law that forbids public officials from simultaneously sitting on a board, commission or other government body whose interests are likely to clash with their public duties.

"The group cited an opinion from the Legislature's legal office, which concluded in April that a court would probably rule that Katz and Pringle hold incompatible offices — a finding that could force them to resign one or more of their positions.

"Anaheim City Council members and the MTA board make decisions related to segments of the high-speed rail project planned for Los Angeles and Orange counties. A leg of the system would end in Anaheim."

The story also notes that a proposal to waste - I mean utilize - $200 million of HSR funds on an Anaheim Transportation Center next to Angel Stadium has been dropped. Among more practical reasons I consider this good news, as based on the renderings I thought the thing woulda been an architechtural and aesthetic abomination:

EDIT: Looks like the business end of a giant golf club lying on the ground!

​

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Same gripe as yesterday, from a different direction. Perhaps future generations will be able to read about actual groundbreaking and construction progress.

Conflicts alleged on high speed panel

"Tony Bushala, a Fullerton businessman, and Denis Fitzgerald, a mayoral candidate in Anaheim, are seeking an investigation of Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, the chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority board, and Richard Katz, a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member."

 

[jimhudson]

It's the latest thing in Politics, the outs will "Investigate" the crooks, er statesmen in power soon as they take over! Been big ever since the 50s when the witch hunts for "Communists" went on by Tailgunner Joe and Tricky Dick! Coming soon to a Government near you! :help:

 

[WhoozOn1st]

It's the latest thing in Politics, the outs will "Investigate" the crooks, er statesmen in power soon as they take over! Been big ever since the 50s when the witch hunts for "Communists" went on by Tailgunner Joe and Tricky Dick!

Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon were the "ins" when they used red baiting and the politics of fear as career advancement tools. EDIT: Nixon did use such tactics to get elected in the first place.

 

[Guest]

"Critics of California's high-speed rail project Tuesday urged the state attorney general to investigate whether two prominent officials in Los Angeles County and Anaheim have conflicts of interest because they sit on the bullet train's board while holding other public offices.
"A Palo Alto group known as Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design asserts that Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle and Richard Katz, a board member for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, might be violating a state law that forbids public officials from simultaneously sitting on a board, commission or other government body whose interests are likely to clash with their public duties.

What we have here is a group that is viciously opposed to the high speed rail taking action against some people that are trying to make it happen. Why would we not smell the scent of dead rat here?

This Palo Alto group, and others like it along the Penninsula are doing every thing possible to stop the HSR, and if not discredit it or delay it, and if failing that, so constrain the alignment revisions necessary to increase speed that the segment north of San Jose is not really a high speed line at all, resulting in the entire line failing to achieve the legislature required run time.

The shortsighted dog-in-the-manger selfishness and arrogance of this little group or not so little groups of wealthy dilattanes to attempt to frustrate the real transportation needs of the rest of the states, and the reduction per person moved in energy consumption that a functional rail system will achieve is simply beyond both belief and tolerance.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

More heat, little light, in the ongoing ruckus over conflict of interest issues at the California High-Speed Rail Authority:

Sparks fly in rail plan e-mail

"The public and legal debate over possible clashing responsibilities involving [Cal HSR board members and multiple officeholders Curt Pringle and Richard Katz] has simmered for months. The attorney general, at the request of a state Senate committee, is examining whether decisions on rights of way usage, station development, final routes or other issues could present impermissible conflicts for the two authority board members."

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Ugh, I know. The North was so inhumane that it lacked any respect for basic human rights.

They should have followed the humanitarian nature of the Southern states? :wacko:

 

[Anderson]

Look, while I'll say that I wish stations were a bit nicer than the "Amshacks" in some towns...that station you put the picture up is a wonderful waste of taxpayer dollars. Couldn't they build a functional, less showy station for...say, $100 million and put the other $100 million to good use (or if they're going to spend $200 million, at least use some taste with it)?

 

[DET63]

The basic motto of most of the yankee troops, particularly those under Sherman seemed to be pillage, rape and burn, and after the war steal whatever was left. Learn the real history, not the victor's propoganda.

Ugh, I know. The North was so inhumane that it lacked any respect for basic human rights.

Unless the HSR is going to be built with slave labor, I don't think we need to rehash the Civil War/War Between the States.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

California's High Speed Rail Authority board has approved construction of the first route segment, between Borden and Corcoran in the Central Valley. Naturally, a chorus of myopic naysayers has already dubbed this initial leg of a larger, complete system the "train to nowhere" (an allusion to the notorious Alaska bridge project).

Bullet train board OKs 1st segment

"Included in the plan are tracks, station platforms, bridges and viaducts, which would elevate the line through urban areas. The initial section, however, would not be equipped with maintenance facilities, locomotives, passenger cars or an electrical system necessary to power high-speed trains."

And...

"To satisfy federal requirements, the starter route must have 'independent utility.' That is, other passenger railroads must be able to use the track if funding dries up and high-speed trains never come to fruition. The rail authority says Amtrak's well-established San Joaquin service could shift from its conventional track to the high-speed route between Borden and Corcoran in such a case.

"Amtrak trains might be able to go faster on the line, but how much actual benefit the passengers on the San Joaquin service would realize hasn't been determined."

 

[WhoozOn1st]

The California High-Speed Rail Peer Review group, a 6-member panel said to be composed of transportation, financial, and HSR construction experts, has issued a 20-page assessment warning that major funding, planning, and staffing issues must be addressed for California's HSR plan to succeed.

Warning issued over high-speed rail

Among the findings:

-- The authority's small staff, which is struggling to manage dozens of engineering, management and public relations contractors, is "totally inadequate to oversee a project of this magnitude."

-- The "lack of a clear financial plan is a critical concern," and confusion about possible on-going taxpayer subsidies for the project must be resolved.

-- Fixes are essential to the reliability of ridership and operating revenue forecasts. Criticisms by experts at UC Berkeley and elsewhere "have raised sufficient concerns [about the model] so as to call into question the project's fundamental basis for going forward."

-- The authority must immediately focus on a business model for the project, including the extent to which public and/or private entities will design, build, finance and operate the system.

 

[George Harris]

Take this report with a large grain of salt. Controversy is the media's life blood.

You particularly gotta love Lowenthal's statements quoted at the end of the article.

While the main issue appears to be that the project is moving too slow, he states, "The project may need to be slowed down"

The even goofier one is that the authority has been in denial. There are people out there that are in dennial, but for the most part they are forming the opposition that denys the need for a major change in the handling of transportation issues in California (and elsewhere.)

 

[WhoozOn1st]

These three pieces - 2 news stories and an editorial - appeared in the L.A. Times this past week. The first concerns a formal civil rights complaint alleging that the California HSR authority has systematically excluded minority-owned businesses from project contracts. Without passing judgement on the merits, I think it fair to say that this is neither the first nor the last of peripheral issues to drain attention, time, money, and effort from the central goal.

Complaint lodged on rail project

"'This $43-billion undertaking appears to not be for all citizens of California, but for the middle-class and a small group of large established companies,' said Frederick Jordan, president of the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce. 'Minority-owned business and small business have been almost totally left out of the planning, engineering and construction of this project.'"

Next are a story and editorial about the redirection to California and other states of federal HSR funds spurned by Wisconsin and Ohio. The editorial borders on gloating.

Rail funds shifted to California

"Rail officials said the additional money could be used to extend the first segment of the line in the Central Valley to Merced or Bakersfield. Last week, the rail board approved construction of an initial 65 miles of track between Corcoran and Borden. The work is expected to begin in 2012."

Their loss, California's gain

"Scott Walker, Republican governor-elect of Wisconsin, fretted that his state's train would cost $7.5 million a year to operate. As train supporters pointed out to the New York Times, this is sort of like turning down a free car because you don't want to have to pay for gasoline and insurance. Not only did Walker and Ohio Gov.-elect John Kasich, also a Republican, ignore the construction jobs the projects would have created, but they ignored the positive impact on their states' economies, freeways and environment that the trains would have brought to future generations."

 

[George Harris]

These three pieces - 2 news stories and an editorial - appeared in the L.A. Times this past week. The first concerns a formal civil rights complaint alleging that the California HSR authority has systematically excluded minority-owned businesses from project contracts. Without passing judgement on the merits, I think it fair to say that this is neither the first nor the last of peripheral issues to drain attention, time, money, and effort from the central goal.

Complaint lodged on rail project

"'This $43-billion undertaking appears to not be for all citizens of California, but for the middle-class and a small group of large established companies,' said Frederick Jordan, president of the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce. 'Minority-owned business and small business have been almost totally left out of the planning, engineering and construction of this project.'"

This sort of stuff is called attempting to get your name in the news and then later taking credit for what is happening anyway. There are extensive laws and rules, both Federal and in California, giving required percentages of participation for both minority owned and small businesses. You better believe that these are being followed and treated as minimums regardless of whether or not Mr. Jordan gets out there and stomps and screams or sits back and does nothing.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

California's HSR Authority has announced plans for a joint acquisition, with LACMTA, of Los Angeles Union Station and other land for a SoCal HSR hub, light rail regional connector, and other projects...

Rail board plans to buy Union Station

"The price tag for Union Station is confidential, but the bulk of the money is expected to come from the MTA. Negotiations with private equity firm TPG Capital, which is buying the property from Colorado-based ProLogis, are winding up. A deal could be concluded by late February, said Roger Moliere, MTA's chief of property management."

 

[WhoozOn1st]

No harm, no foul. While this is surely not the last of the distractions, at least it's one more outta the way as we continue to hope for shovels to start hitting California soil in 2012.

Rail board members cleared after probe into trips

"The [Los Angeles] Times reported in October that the rail agency was unable to document officials' trips to various countries, including France, Spain and Germany. The trips, which typically included visits with manufacturers, government officials and rail operators, as well as rides on high-speed systems, were paid for by foreign governments trying to help their homeland firms win large contracts.

"In November, the state's ethics watchdog agency notified board members Curt Pringle, Lynn Schenk, Quentin Kopp and Tom Umberg, as well the agency's former executive director, Mehdi Morshed, that it was investigating.

"The five received letters this week saying the inquiry 'determined there is no evidence that you committed a violation' of state law and that the cases were being closed."

 

[George Harris]

"The [Los Angeles] Times reported in October that the rail agency was unable to document officials' trips to various countries, including France, Spain and Germany. The trips, which typically included visits with manufacturers, government officials and rail operators, as well as rides on high-speed systems, were paid for by foreign governments trying to help their homeland firms win large contracts.

This is classic. It is a near equivalent to the "Are you still beating your wife" question.

If the people go, they are accused of being influenced by whoever they visit. If they do not go, they are accused of being unwilling to learn from what has been done elsewhere that is needed to build a "world class" system.

(There are two phrases that cause me a near allergic reaction: "World Class" and "State of the art", and I almost forgot one more, "International Standard" or "International Best Practice" Generally when you hear these, it is usually from someone trying to convince you that this is what their standards are and that you should use their standards without analysis.)

 

[George Harris]

Look, while I'll say that I wish stations were a bit nicer than the "Amshacks" in some towns...that station you put the picture up is a wonderful waste of taxpayer dollars. Couldn't they build a functional, less showy station for...say, $100 million and put the other $100 million to good use (or if they're going to spend $200 million, at least use some taste with it)?

These things are called Architectual Renderings. They are exactly what they appear to be: A painting of a concept. The reality will undoubably look much different, particularly as financial realitites begin to set in. Way too many people want a beautiful monumental structure so long as someone else is writing teh check.