All NOT Aboard the Bullet Train

Few issues have raised the hackles of taxpayers as California's planned bullet train. There seems to be no gray area in this one; either you’re for’em or against’em… and it looks like the against’ems are growing exponentially.

Calls to kill the project are now coming from those who count themselves as among the most ardent admirers of high speed rail… and the revolt is being led by the legendary Quentin Kopp. Recall that Kopp chaired the state Senate transportation committee for years and co-wrote legislation that launched the bullet-train project. He later served as board chairman of the state agency overseeing construction of the system.

Some longtime backers of the project are objecting to political compromises that undermine legal safeguards for the project, notably a design that would move passengers between urban destinations faster than air travel, as well as requirements intended to prevent a half-built system.

Bullet Train Take 2: The state of California has filed a civil case against everyone -- literally, the whole world -- seeking to validate $8.6 billion in voter-approved bonds for its $69 billion project.

The lawsuit (High-Speed Rail Authority v. All Persons Interested) is meant as a pre-emptive strike so the state can confirm that it's definitely legal to issue some of the bonds needed to begin bullet train construction this summer. By citing a somewhat obscure California civil code, the state can use the "sue now or forever hold your peace" strategy to prevent future lawsuits and deal with the legal issues in one fell swoop.

And guess where this judicial strategy came from? Yep, all-but-announced gubernatorial candidate Kamala Harris. According to the rail authority, the attorney general's strategy "promotes judicial economy" by combining all potential lawsuits into one. The claim is that the strategy will provide certainty in the bond marketplace, giving the state a better chance to find investors with low interest rates... which appropriately troubles taxpayers who say the project is too expensive.

A "summons" for people interested in joining the lawsuit will be published once a week for three weeks in five major newspapers in the state. The summons will provide a detailed description of the bonds in question and directions for joining the suit. Of noteworthy mention, this “sue the world” tactic will not affect the lawsuits related to environmental issues, so the enviros can still block the bullet train. BTW: Only public agencies can use the “litigate the masses” legal strategy.

Bullet Train Take 3: According to the latest survey from the Public Policy Institute of California, fewer than half of the state’s likely voters favor construction of the high-speed rail system (or, for that matter, support an $11.1 billion water bond that is slated to hit the 2014 ballot). Interetsingly, both get majority support with lower price tags.
 
Support for the measures has dropped since last March, when 51 percent of likely voters said they planned to vote "yes.” Today, 42 percent favor it and 51 percent are opposed, fo example,to the water works when read a summary of the issue that includes the bond. When those who plan to vote "no” are asked how they would vote if the bond were a smaller amount, overall support increases to 55 percent. Same goes for the bullet rtrain.

Now here's the puzzler: most voters(68%) say it is important that the bonds be passed... yet to gain passage, the money coming from our pockets has to be reduced... which means the very projects the voters support won't be built to the specifications the voters/riders/H20 drinkers seek. I understand maps to help understand this conundrum can be had at the closest CalTrain station.