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Experts missed December CA drenching
Bringing cheer and presents, on Christmas Santa Claus is going to fly over a California a lot greener than was expected a month ago by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and climate scientists. On Dec. 19, the San Francisco Bay
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Bakersfield drops high-speed rail lawsuit
As 2015 approaches, California’s high-speed rail project keeps barreling down the track. On Dec. 19, the city of Bakersfield dropped its lawsuit against construction. The city’s settlement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority stipulated, among other things: “The city has met with
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High-speed rail lawsuits pit CA vs. USA
Like the famous 1860s race to build a railroad across America to California, an epic battle is shaping up over the state’s high-speed rail project. Only this time it’s a legal contest of federal vs. state jurisdiction. It may eventually
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Why green power won’t replace nukes
Last year Southern California Edison mothballed its 2.3 gigawatt San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. As CalWatchdog.com reported at the time, the actual reason probably was mechanical defects caused from retrofitting the plant to ramp up and down rapidly to
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Budget fight shows unlikelihood of fed $ for bullet train
Congress’ most intense squabbles over the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending plan that passed Saturday weren’t over the budget details. They were over plans to add provisions in the measure to modify existing laws, most notably language that would weaken some
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Federal board pushes high-speed rail – a little
Two recent events are keeping California’s high-speed rail project rumbling forward – either to eventual construction or wasteful oblivion. The California High-Speed Rail Authority just announced it would break ground on the project on Jan. 6. The CHSRA is eager
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GOP lawmaker: fund schools with high-speed rail bonds
A Republican lawmaker wants to turn money for California’s high-speed rail project into funding for schools. Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, introduced Assembly Bill 6, which would cancel outstanding bond funds approved by Proposition 1A, a 2008 voter-approved initiative to fund the
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High-speed rail incompatible with current tracks
One reason the American South lost the Civil War was it had numerous incompatible railroad track systems, requiring supplies to be unloaded, then loaded again, for each different segment. By contrast, the Northern rail networks were more uniform, although not
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Bay Delta Plan could wipe out farmland values
Along with the rains finally drenching California in recent days have come clouds over Gov. Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Published on the website of state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a new report by the California Debt Advisory Commission
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