Special problems for high-speed rail
May 31, 2013 By John Seiler The Mercury-News reported today: “SACRAMENTO — High-speed rail officials acknowledged Thursday that they almost certainly won’t break ground on the $69 billion project as planned in July after hitting some last-minute bumps in the
Read MoreVictorville bond bust brings SEC lawsuit
May 31, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi A recent lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged Victorville city officials and bond underwriters defrauded bondholders of $13.3 million in 2008 due to failure to disclose actions and risks of “inflated property
Read MoreCities could be stuck with ‘aesthetic’ impacts of High Speed Rail
May 30, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Like a train horn, controversy is blaring over efforts to reform the California Environmental Quality Act. One issue is whether the state’s environmental law is anti-business — or, conversely, does not go far enough to fight global
Read MoreTesla just a tax-funded government project
May 26, 2013 By John Seiler I’ve seen a couple of Tesla cars tooling around Orange County. They’re neat, as we said in the 1960s. And they’re made in California. They also survived where other electric car companies, such as
Read MoreCap and trade could tax cities for out-of-state pollution
May 24, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Utility companies reportedly bought most of the $280 million in total pollution permits, about $162 million worth, at last week’s statewide cap-and-trade auction. It was the third auction held since last November. Several city-run municipal power
Read MoreShake, rattle and roll in Nor Cal
May 23, 2013 By Katy Grimes Earthquake! Tonight in Sacramento, we felt the rumblings of a 5.7 earthquake centered in in Greenville, CA, in Plumas County — 300 miles from Sacramento. This is considered a moderate earthquake. So far, there
Read MoreCrazifornia: Still more Cali-Incompetence on the Bay Bridge
May 23, 2013 By Laer Pearce It’s been almost a quarter century — 23 years, seven months and five days, to be exact – since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake knocked out a section of the eastern span of the
Read MoreBridge debacle foreshadows bullet train mega-debacle
May 22, 2013 By Chris Reed Mankind has been building bridges for more than 3,000 years. A bridge built in the 13th century BC in Greece is still in use. Building durable bridges over water is not a modern accomplishment.
Read MoreBoxer’s Delta levee bill is real estate pork barrel
May 17, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi “I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry,” go the famous lyrics to singer Don McClean’s 1971 hit song, “American Pie.” The California Dream of home ownership and speculative riches in
Read MoreCA governments need caution on fracking investments
May 16, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Being the home of Hollywood and Disneyland, news in California always has an element of political theater and Fantasyland. This is certainly so for all the contradictory headlines about fracking — the hydraulic fracturing
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