Central Valley HSR Workshops Begin This Week
As part of the EIR/EIS process in the Central Valley, a series of workshops will be held this week on the project and the draft EIRs. The workshops will be informational, and public comments will be accepted in written or electronic form. Spoken comments won’t be accepted until public hearings in September, which I am sure will go over well with the NIMBYs that will attend these workshops.
The schedule for this week (all events last from 4 to 7PM):
Tuesday
Fairmead: Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, 22491 Fairmead Blvd
Bakersfield: Grace Baptist Church, 2550 Jewetta Ave.
Wednesday
Le Grand: LeGrand Legion Hall, 12560 Le Grand Road.
Wasco: Veterans Hall, 1202 Poplar Ave.
Thursday
Chowchilla: Chowchilla Fairgrounds Little Theater, 1000 S. Third St.
Corcoran: Technology Learning Center, 1101 Dairy Ave.
Tuesday, August 30
Fresno: Harmony of Harvest Church, 1410 Kern St.
These workshops are good opportunities for Valley residents to learn about the project and examine the details and options for themselves, rather than simply rely on what project opponents and NIMBYs have to say about it.
CARRD: “The timing was inconvenient! The fonts used on the print outs weren’t readable enough! The coffee was an inferior blend!”
Miles Bader Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 6:08 pm
[*] Followed by a well-researched screed on coffee taste-profiles.
VBobier Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 7:04 pm
MJB not Folgers… ;)
http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_18740658
Oakland Tribune editorial: Brown errs on California high-speed rail plan.
I grade it an F-. Poorly argued opinion.
morris brown Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 7:45 pm
I give it an A++. Thanks for pointing it out.
joe Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:25 pm
There’s no coherent argument against HSR – oh yeah.
Peter Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Of course you do. You also believe and repeat anything that Cato, Reason, or Heritage puts out, too.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:43 pm
I think the oil situation and other things are going to hit harder than anyone wants to admit, and is doing so now. Our current economy was crashed partially because of this, and also is being held back by it; as soon as things pick up, the price of gas goes up, the economy sinks again, the gas price drops a bit, and the pattern comes back.
We absolutely have to get oil-free transportation, and HSR (despite its faults in execution), along with conventional rail, light rail and–dare I say it considering what some others here have said, BART–are all parts of what we need. This should have settled and started 35 years ago!!
There’s also the generational shift I’ve been seeing for 20 years.
Finally, can’t the writer avoid using “boondoggle?” I would be more creative than that.
joe Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:53 pm
What qualifies for an A++ in Morris-ville
It reads like a 1970′s comic-book dialog.
morris brown Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 5:52 am
Oh my my— how the truth hurts. Read the preliminary discussion of the upcoming business plan that is now posted on the Authority’s website.
Matthew B. Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 5:59 am
Not sure which one he’s referring to. Business plans available for the public: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/Business_Plan_reports.aspx
Might as well actually read something rather than spout random criticism.
synonymouse Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 12:10 am
The Oakland Tribune’s editorial position very likely reflects MTC-BART’s own private and tacit evalution of the CHSRA. Hsr competes with BART both for territory and funding.
Peter Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Agreed. My favorite part: the Authority has bungled the project because there’s “no decision on the route”. WTF?
joe Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:48 pm
I was astounded that the Editor didn’t bother to use bullet list some faux grievances. It’s F’n obvious as the nose on his face – no Altamont or anything. Just kill it and build BART to San Jose.
3.5B in ARRA funding will be revoked in 2012 if we delay the project. 12% unemployment.
Andrew Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Like the people at the Riverside paper – people who have nothing to say but have to crank out an opinion article on today’s hot topic before they can punch out for the day. Sigh.
joe Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:17 pm
Riverside is the 2nd worse city in te USA for public transit to work – worst is Melbourne FL.
Matthew B. Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 6:02 am
Riverside is where they’re planning an extension to metrolink that goes directly past UC Riverside and doesn’t stop. One of the biggest employers in the region will be bypassed because the RTC were afraid of NIMBY lawsuits. The train will still go by their houses, it just won’t stop at the university with its tens of thousands of students, staff, and faculty.
joe Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 6:34 am
Wow.
Andrew Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 6:46 am
We have gone from the rule of law to the rule of lawsuits.
The Merced to Fresno DEIR/DEIS seems to rule out a Meced Castle HMF because of the higher costs and impacts caused by the extra track extension to get there. It looks like the HMF will be in either Madera, Fresno or Kern county sites.
Donk Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Uh oh, brace yourselves for the next Castle Expert rant. Now he will be opposed to the entire HSR project again.
Peter Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Especially unlikely because they’d have to build an extra spur to Castle, it couldn’t be on the mainline.
Ben Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 6:57 am
Regarding the maintenance facility at Castle, it looks like Merced Co. supervisors have other plans.
New project could revitalize Castle
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/08/23/2014886/new-project-could-revitalize-castle.html
datacruncher Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 7:57 am
I agree about Castle but I don’t think the Madera sites are likely either. I think the HMF selection is now between the Fresno site and Kern County’s Shafter site (Stewart Resnick’s donated land). I don’t see anything in either DEIR/DEIS’ that significantly seems to change it beyond a competition between those two sites.
China rail firm boss, blamed for crash, dies of heart attack
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE77M3CS20110823
Alon Levy Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 1:07 am
Heart attacks are a very modern disease.
Useless Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
@ Alon Levy
Heart attack is rare among communist party officials, who are fed special diet from a communist party run farms to ensure health and longevity, unlike the rest of population.
Many think he was the fall guy to take the blames and shames to his grave.
Alon Levy Reply:
August 24th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Did you click the link? It’s a satire news story about how China celebrates its status as the world’s top polluter. The Chinese ambassador there keeps trumpeting China’s industrial progress, and finally says, “This year a million people in China will die of cancer – cancer is a very modern disease.”
Miles Bader Reply:
August 25th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
… and sadly, this sort of attitude tends to drive an awful lot of otherwise questionable development (on the part of governments) and behavior (on the part of individuals)…
“America has giant superhighways everywhere and loves cars/SUVs … America is the most modern and powerful country [this part of the meme is a bit shakier nowadays of course!] … therefore we should build giant superhighways everywhere and all drive cars/SUVs! We will be the most modern!”
Kinda the same process by which teenagers take up smoking … :[