The Daily Journal seems to be the lone newspaper in Northern California which devotes attention to the altered California High-Speed Rail project, as shown by your weekend story “State pushes back deadline of high-speed rail construction” of the authority’s CEO in a Feb. 5 letter to the Biden administration requesting a one-year completion extension for a track section in the Central Valley. The High-Speed Rail Authority fails continually to admit to the public that the 119-mile segment is not electrified, doesn’t reach Bakersfield and doesn’t start in Madera. Although now conceding even that misbegotten endeavor won’t be finished until 2023, in the face of a 2022 federal deadline. The authority disregards its failure to complete acquisition of land necessary for the route, that all it has built thus far are bridges, viaducts and crossings, that the actual segment begins in Chowchilla and ends in Wascoe, about 30 miles north of Bakersfield, requiring any passenger to take a bus to Bakersfield.
Voters and taxpayers were promised by others and me (as author of the 1996 legislation creating the authority and campaign chairman of the 2008 general bond measure of $9,950,000,000) that a genuine electrified rail system would be operating by now from San Francisco through the Central Valley to Los Angeles in two hours and 40 minutes. Instead, that business plan was changed completely in 2010 under the Jerry Brown administration and taxpayers’ money squandered on expenditures of most of the general obligation bond proceeds approved by voters in 2008. Let’s see if the current governor and the one party Legislature can stop the lies to taxpayers and restore the 2008 business plan promised to them.
Judge Quentin L. Kopp (Ret.)
San Francisco
The letter writer is a former state senator and retired San Mateo County Superior Court judge.
You can blame Sacramento Democrats and organized labor for this gargantuan loss of money. Cost overruns are already into the billions of dollars. This is the quintessential large public project that 1) comes in way over budget 2) comes in with significant time delays and 3) doesn't come close ultimately to what the public was been promised. High Speed Rail should be used as a defense the next time Democrats in our state want to do a large public project. Just vote NO, they have proven over and over they can't be trusted with their bait and switch tactics that are obvious for all to see. Just get the project started, their will be no will power to shut it down.
Mr. Kopp, many people realized the high-speed (can we really call it that?) rail was a boondoggle from the get-go, or shortly thereafter. It was always meant to be a giveaway to the unions. I mean, imagine if you were an apprentice, starting out on the train-to-nowhere project. Chances are, you’d be able to work from apprentice to retirement, just on this silly taxpayer giveaway. If I were one of those union members, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’d push to continue funding for this low-speed train. And imagine the union jobs available for ongoing maintenance...
It's good to hear from you... I don't think you ever really retired. Thanks for bringing your insight into this discussion. When the high speed rail idea was introduced to voters, there was support for the project. It appeared to be a winning proposition... a high tech transportation system with environmental benefits that made a high speed rail system worth the costs. Not so much, now. I'm guessing if it appeared on the ballot in 2021, it would not garner enough support from voters to continue the expenditure of taxpayers dollars. There is much work to be done elsewhere.
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(3) comments
You can blame Sacramento Democrats and organized labor for this gargantuan loss of money. Cost overruns are already into the billions of dollars. This is the quintessential large public project that 1) comes in way over budget 2) comes in with significant time delays and 3) doesn't come close ultimately to what the public was been promised. High Speed Rail should be used as a defense the next time Democrats in our state want to do a large public project. Just vote NO, they have proven over and over they can't be trusted with their bait and switch tactics that are obvious for all to see. Just get the project started, their will be no will power to shut it down.
Mr. Kopp, many people realized the high-speed (can we really call it that?) rail was a boondoggle from the get-go, or shortly thereafter. It was always meant to be a giveaway to the unions. I mean, imagine if you were an apprentice, starting out on the train-to-nowhere project. Chances are, you’d be able to work from apprentice to retirement, just on this silly taxpayer giveaway. If I were one of those union members, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’d push to continue funding for this low-speed train. And imagine the union jobs available for ongoing maintenance...
Judge Kopp
It's good to hear from you... I don't think you ever really retired. Thanks for bringing your insight into this discussion. When the high speed rail idea was introduced to voters, there was support for the project. It appeared to be a winning proposition... a high tech transportation system with environmental benefits that made a high speed rail system worth the costs. Not so much, now. I'm guessing if it appeared on the ballot in 2021, it would not garner enough support from voters to continue the expenditure of taxpayers dollars. There is much work to be done elsewhere.
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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.