It wasn’t exactly earth-shattering news not long ago when it was announced that the state’s grotesquely over-budget high-speed rail project was at least $100 billion short of the cash needed to complete the planned line from San Francisco to Los Angeles (and, presumably, Anaheim).
The latest numbers just keep on confirming what’s been painfully obvious for years. For critics — and they are legion now as the evidence mounts that HSR is a fiscal nightmare and a monumental economic mistake — it was one more reason to put the kibosh on this bloated white elephant that simply will not die a quiet death.
Maybe the best and most eloquent argument against throwing more billions into this bottomless pit occurred 12 years ago. The speaker was then state Sen. Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, a Democrat and an admitted former HSR booster.
His eloquent Senate floor speech, which emphasized the important, unresolved monetary issues that worried him at the time and have since come to pass with the relentless march of time, is worth listening to again. His well-reasoned points still resonate a dozen years later.
Interested parties can access his memorable oratory via a Google search at “Senator Simitian Floor Speech on High-Speed Rail.” It’s a classic.
By the way, Simitian, who was termed out of his Sacramento gig, is currently a Santa Clara County supervisor, having lost an extremely close primary race to compete for the state’s 16th Congressional District seat in the November general election. The district covers a portion of southern and coastal San Mateo County.
His rational voice is still missed at the policy-making state level, however.
POSY PARADE IS SET SUNDAY: It’s back. The 82nd Lions Club Posy Parade, an upbeat cultural staple in the city of San Bruno since 1941, will be conducted this coming Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m.
It will be held along a three-block stretch of San Mateo Avenue in the community’s downtown district. The parade, as always, is primarily geared for children and features a floral motif.
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It has become an iconic event; it has a traditional, low-key flavor in tune with a more innocent pre-World War II era and is one of the oldest in the genre in the region.
If possible, it would be fitting to include the 2024 Central Coast Section championship baseball and softball teams from San Bruno’s Capuchino High School in the festivities. Major kudos to both of them, by the way.
COUNTY COMETS STAND ALONE: The California Interscholastic Federation’s state prep track and field meet was held last weekend in Clovis. San Mateo County sprint performers did not achieve championship status at this annual gathering of the state’s top teen talent. Not unusual. The competition is fierce.
The only male county athlete to ever capture a California sprint title was Chuck Bommarito, a senior at since-closed Crestmoor High School in San Bruno in 1971. The Falcon Flash won the CIF 220-yard dash; he also placed a close second in the 100.
A dozen years later, Leslie Maxie of Mills High School in Millbrae, a future U.S. Olympic Team member as a world-class hurdler, won the state girls’ 400 in 1983. She’s the sole female county sprint champ on the female side of the state meet.
A REAL GASSER OF A HEADLINE: A Peninsula newspaper (not this one, mercifully) produced this mini-headline on a front-page national brief last week: “Biden releases gas.” Really? Someone call The Daily Show. Though easily misunderstood, the alert actually referred to the president’s use of the nation’s petroleum reserves as summer (and an election) beckons, not the president’s own private internal functions.
A NOTE OF APPRECIATION: We would be remiss if we didn’t express a whole-hearted thank-you to readers who checked in during our month-long hiatus from this weekly exercise due to a nasty shoulder injury. Thanks much. Rehab continues. Ouch.
John Horgan has been chronicling the ups and downs of people, places, plans and programs in San Mateo County since the fall of 1963 at the long-shuttered Burlingame Advance Star. You can contact him by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com or via instant messaging on Facebook and Instagram.
The high speed rail is a disaster. The spending should be shifted to more important things but that won't happen because Democrats are using the spending on the HSR to buy votes in the Valley,
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The high speed rail is a disaster. The spending should be shifted to more important things but that won't happen because Democrats are using the spending on the HSR to buy votes in the Valley,
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.