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Atop massive viaducts and bridges under construction for the bullet train in the San Joaquin Valley, the state has hung banners proudly proclaiming “5,000 workers and counting.”
The slogan is catchy, but misleading. The state rail authority has never had anywhere near 5,000 construction workers on the high-speed rail project at any one time. A review by The Times also found other transportation programs generally employ more workers for every $1 million in spending.
The banners are an important part of a campaign that the California High-Speed Rail Authority has waged to maintain political support, calling attention to the hourly jobs it has funded in the depressed economy of California’s heartland.
Tue April 06, 2021 - West Edition #8
Associated Press
(California High Speed Rail Authority photo)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Officials in charge of California s high-speed rail project want to tap $4.1 billion in bond money to finish ongoing construction in the
Central Valley, completing a segment of track that is just a fraction of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line voters approved the money for in 2008.
Project leaders presented the latest change on how to pay for the project – and what it will cost – to the California High-Speed Rail Authority s board of directors. The new use of bond money, if approved, would go toward finishing 119 mi. of track in the Central Valley. The state now expects to finish that construction by 2023, a year delay from the last proposal.
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Courthouse News Service – February 17
California lawmakers are proposing a new tactic in the state’s endless fight to reduce homelessness: litigation. Under a bill introduced this Wednesday, a “homeless inspector general” would have the authority to sue cities unable or unwilling to get people off the street. Backed by a group of Assembly members from the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles two regions at the forefront of the crisis the proposal is the state’s latest attempt to find solutions for an estimated 150,000 homeless residents. Under AB 816, the Department of Housing and Community Development would be required to set a statewide goal in reducing homelessness by 2029. Local governments would then have until 2023 to develop individual plans and submit progress reports to the department annually.