Investigation-InfrastructureState gags rail contractorsThursday, July 29th, 2010 JULY 29, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO All contractors hired by the California High-Speed Rail Authority to prepare environmental reports on the project are contractually prohibited from discussing their agreements with the media, a CalWatchdog examination of the authority’s current contract... ‘Ghosts’ haunt Brown?Thursday, July 8th, 2010 JULY 8, 2010 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Will a set of Green Power plants in northern California planned in the 1970s under former California Gov. Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown’s administration and shut down in 1990 because they were running in the red come back to haunt third-time gubernatorial... A High-speed math problemThursday, June 24th, 2010 JUNE 24, 2010 By JT LONG A month after a report by the California State Auditor warned of possible delays to a planned $42 billion California High Speed Rail project due to inadequate oversight, a veteran private sector CEO brought on board to steer the controversial project has made hirin... Rail plan will crush land ownersThursday, June 10th, 2010 JUNE 10, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO Jim Erickson is in a tough spot. If the proposed California High Speed Rail Route A-1 goes through Madera County, it will bisect his ranch. But if Route A-2 gets built, it will slice off a portion of another part of his farmland. “They’re going to get... AB32 driving higher energy costsTuesday, May 11th, 2010 MAY 11, 2010 By SUSAN M. TRAGER May 3 saw 807,946 signatures submitted to the California Secretary of State to qualify for the November ballot the California Jobs Initiative. If approved by voters, it would suspend AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, until unemployment in Calif... Draconian water plan unveiledMonday, May 3rd, 2010 MAY 3, 2010 By SUSAN M. TRAGER Water is the lifeblood of California. Throughout the state’s history, it has formed the core of political and economic battles. It is actually more important than gold, a commodity that can be mined elsewhere. But California’s water can only be obtained in th... Cities create own traffic fiefdomsTuesday, April 6th, 2010 APRIL 6, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO According to aides to Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, a Long Beach police officer recently gave a Torrance resident a choice: get a speeding ticket for violating the state’s Vehicle Code, which will go on the driver’s record and likely result i... Dam-busting plan shrouded in mysteryThursday, March 4th, 2010 March 4, 2010 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Reading about the recent signing of Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement by Governors Ted Kulongoski of Oregon and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, and U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, reminds this writer of the tourist traps adver... Water bills threaten California prosperityThursday, December 31st, 2009By WAYNE LUSVARDI Will Southern California sell its maximum annual entitlement of 2 million acre feet of water from the State Water Project for a bundle of small water projects of uncertain yield, plus $2 billion of political pork barrel projects, if voters approve the proposed $11.1 billion Co... |