Kathy Hamilton, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From Kathy Hamilton

Kathy Hamilton

High-Speed Rail Authority wins time in case brought by landowners

A judge has denied a claim filed by opponents of California’s high-speed rail project, saying that while they raised compelling questions about the project’s viability, the project has not progressed enough for the court to evaluate their claims. The March

High-speed rail workshops will review environmental concerns

Kathy Hamilton September 14, 2015

The High-Speed Rail Authority has restarted an aggressive plan to finish the environmental work on the San Francisco to San Jose and the San Jose to Merced segments of the High-Speed Rail Project. Completion of the final environmental documents is

Court weighs documents in high-speed rail case

Kathy Hamilton August 14, 2015

A court ruling is expected within weeks on whether certain documents should be considered in a lawsuit against California’s High-Speed Rail Authority. The state has argued for limiting the evidence to documents, such as business plans and environmental reviews, from

Cap-and-trade funds targeted for high-speed rail project

Kathy Hamilton July 18, 2015

Bills being introduced that monitor or change terms for the state’s high-speed rail project are a rarity. However, there are two bills brewing in the Legislature. One has a shot at passing. The other doesn’t. Senate Bill 400 would require

Did Rail Authority flout sunshine law?

Kathy Hamilton April 9, 2015

At a recent meeting of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, a board member announced a closed executive session but provided no exception as required by the state’s sunshine law, citizen attendees said. State law requires government bodies to notify the

High-speed rail Legislative Report lists some, but not all controversies

Kathy Hamilton March 13, 2015

Risk, time and money remain the major problems for the construction of California’s high-speed rail project. That’s seen in the biannual Legislative Report of the California High-Speed Rail Authority released this month, as required by law. The report is a serious

Property owners resist high-speed rail condemning land

Kathy Hamilton February 17, 2015

Building public projects often involves acquiring land. That usually means using eminent domain to take private property with “just compensation,” as mandated by the Fifth Amendment. California’s high-speed rail project now is acquiring the land needed for construction, but is

Two new legal actions crash into high-speed rail

Kathy Hamilton February 10, 2015

Yesterday California’s high-speed rail project faced two new legal actions in its path to construction. The first was in state court about the adequacy of the electrification environmental document of CalTrain, the Bay Area commuter system. The second was in

Kit fox endangers high-speed rail construction

Kathy Hamilton February 3, 2015

The California High-Speed Rail Authority faces a new obstacle on its railroad track to construction: the endangered San Joaquin kit fox. The environmentalist group Defenders of Wildlife labels it “one of the most endangered animals in California.” On Jan.

Ground broken on troubled high-speed rail project

Kathy Hamilton January 7, 2015

Yesterday in Fresno the California High-Speed Rail Authority officially conducted the groundbreaking ceremony for its bullet-train project – but no dirt actually was turned. After an hour of speeches, a “ceremonial signing” of a railroad tie was conducted by