Infrastructure

Gov. Brown redefines ongoing programs as emergency drought aid

Thirty-four days after California Gov. Jerry Brown declared an official statewide drought emergency, he joined State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John A. Perez on Feb. 19 in announcing an emergency drought aid package. (They

Obama drought relief package aids his constituency

Wayne Lusvardi February 19, 2014

On Friday Feb. 14, President Barack Obama choppered into California’s drought zone in Democratic-leaning Fresno. As shown in the adjacent photo from the White House, he traveled with U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Rep. Jim Costa, all California

Court of Appeal keeps high-speed rail chugging for now

Kathy Hamilton February 17, 2014

This is Part 2 of a three-part series on the Draft 2014 Business Plan of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Part 1 is here. On Friday, California’s 3rd District Court of Appeal kept California’s high-speed rail project chugging at least a

Ivanpah solar plant bets on wrong technology

Joseph Perkins February 16, 2014

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz was in the unincorporated San Bernardino County community of Nipton Thursday, where he dedicated the new $2.2 billion, 392-megawattt Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (SEGS). “The Ivanpah project is a shining example of how America

New High-Speed Rail business plan mainly raises questions

Kathy Hamilton February 13, 2014

This is Part 1 of a three-part series on the Draft 2014 Business Plan of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Part 2 is here. There are more questions than answers in the Draft 2014 Business Plan of the California High-Speed Rail

New CARB Scoping Plan claims fighting ‘climate change’ is a ‘great unifier’

Wayne Lusvardi February 11, 2014

Yesterday the California Air Resources Board released the first update of its Climate Change Scoping Plan. The original Scoping Plan came out in Dec. 2008. Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, required the original Scoping Plan

Can CA public-employee pensions be reformed?

Wayne Lusvardi February 10, 2014

Almost everyone acknowledges that California’s public pension system needs reform. Gov. Jerry Brown brought up reform in his his Jan. 2014 budget proposal for fiscal year 2014-15, which begins on July 1: “Future liabilities — to schools, public employees’ pensions and

GOP vs. bullet train

John Seiler February 9, 2014

Republicans in California no longer have much influence. But they still can exercise the bully pulpit. They did so last week, calling to put the bullet train before voters again. According to Capitol Weekly: California Republicans, long opposed to the

New bullet-train biz plan still doesn’t address judge’s objection

Chris Reed February 8, 2014

On Friday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority released a new business plan for the bullet train project. The authority’s document still doesn’t identify how it will pay for the 300-mile initial operating segment, the $31 billion question that led Sacramento Superior

East Coast freeze triggers voluntary CA electricity cutback

Wayne Lusvardi February 7, 2014

It’s not just water Californians are being asked to conserve. Yesterday, California’s Independent System Operator, which regulates the state’s electricity grid, called for a rare voluntary cutback in electricity use from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. The unusual reason: The