(06-15-2019 09:59 AM)Ken Barna Wrote: Dear gobaseline,
Not trying to control your thoughts, and I am not saying there are not some problems with the bullet train. Just pointing out the source you always seem to quote is Fox. Would have helped (in my opinion) if NPR was quoted.
No Ken, you are not trying to control my thoughts you’re trying to contain or limit yours. “Some problems?” To err is human. All human endeavors have shortcomings. It Doesn’t matter their political bent.
But the facts are the facts.
Ken, what is so magical about NPR? Sounds like you need to hear from somebody who shares the same perspective. No?
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/02/20/...california
Here’s an excerpt from the link above of a NPR radio broadcast. Notice they don’t talk about the state not paying the farmers who’s land was confiscated through eminent domain. Why? Because it puts a different perspective on the project.
Sacramento Bee: "No, Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t kill high-speed rail. But what’s his Plan B?" — "It’s been a dream for years in California’s sprawling Central Valley. Sleek bullet trains would race workers to and from booming Silicon Valley in the Bay Area, bridging the economic and cultural gap between urban and rural California.
"Last week, with the words 'let’s get real,' Gov. Gavin Newsom canceled that dream for now - and perhaps forever.
"In his first State of the State speech, Newsom said what many have long thought: The state’s high-speed rail project, which has ballooned in price from $45 billion to $77 billion, is out of control and needs trimming. The governor later added the project otherwise would run out of money with nothing to show for it except 'angst, frustration and finger-pointing.'
"Instead of trying to link to the Bay Area, Newsom said he will focus on finishing the line currently under construction that will run 171 miles through the Valley from Merced to Bakersfield. He said it could open by 2027."
San Francisco Chronicle: "Train to nowhere? Here’s how high-speed project went off the rails" — "It’s the railway dream that bedazzled California for decades: bullet trains whipping up and down the state, cutting a path from Los Angeles, through the orchards of the Central Valley and into downtown San Francisco. The route promised to eventually push north to Sacramento and south to San Diego.
"But high-speed rail has repeatedly hit lawsuits, engineering problems, geological obstacles, bureaucracy, swelling costs and delays. Its budget has ballooned from $33 billion to $77 billion, with no secure financing plan.
"In his State of the State speech last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he might scale back the vision to a 165-mile track between Merced and Bakersfield that seems to have little appeal. He has since backpedaled, saying he’s still open to a longer line, but acknowledged that there is no money for it.
"Which begs the question: How did we get here?"
Stefano Kotsonis produced this hour for broadcast.