Investigation-Infrastructure

CA media ignore Obama administration’s fracking views
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
energy.dept.report

May 14, 2013 By Chris Reed The debate over hydraulic fracturing -- using high-powered water cannons to reach natural gas and oil reserves deep underground -- is heating up in California, driven by the vast economic potential of the Monterey shale formation under vast swaths of the state. La...

Salmon eating farmers along San Joaquin River
Monday, April 1st, 2013
Fish Catches Man

April 1, 2103  By Wayne Lusvardi As with the fish eating Jonah in the Bible story, salmon now are eating California farmers. The San Joaquin River is California’s longest river, running 366 miles from the Sierra Nevadas through the Central Valley, then flowing out into San Francisco Bay....

Lawmakers text while discussing lack of broadband for poor
Tuesday, March 12th, 2013
Internet network nodes Wikipedia

March 12, 2013 By Katy Grimes Click-click-click went lawmakers' smart phones as they texted Monday while seeming to listen to four hours of hearings on expanding broadband Internet services to poor people. At the same hearing, representatives from AT&T, Verizon, and the California Cable a...

‘New’ Delta plan rehashes old plans from 1950s and 70s
Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Swamp Water movie poster 1

Jan. 24, 2013 by Wayne Lusvardi Just as Hollywood often remakes old movies, water engineers apparently rehash old forgotten plans to refashion the Sacramento Delta.  And then the proponents call these plans “new” and “cheaper” alternatives. Water engineer Robert Pyke has gotten a l...

Rail Series: Who will own it? Who will pay for it?
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012
Amtrak - wikipedia

This is Part 6 of a series on Medium-Speed rail alternatives to California’s High-Speed Rail project. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. Dec. 18, 2012 By Stan Brin In any discussion of rail expansion, two gorillas always appear: How do we pay for it? How do...

Rail Series: Surmounting the Tehachapi Barrier
Monday, December 17th, 2012
Tehachapi Loop - wikipedia

This is Part 5 of a series on Medium-Speed rail alternatives to California’s High-Speed Rail project. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6. Dec. 17, 2012 By Stan Brin Now comes the hard part. As Ned Ryerson, that great observer of infrastructure compl...

Rail series: Medium-Speed Rail runs over High-Speed Rail
Monday, December 10th, 2012
Cagle Cartoon High-Speed Rail

This is Part 1 of a series on Medium-Speed rail alternatives to California's High-Speed Rail project. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6. Dec. 10, 2012 By Stan Brin By now, everyone in California knows the voter-mandated High-Speed Rail project is a boon...

Pollution tax storm heads for L.A. County
Monday, December 3rd, 2012
Storm_clouds

This is Part 1 of a three-part series Dec. 3, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi The tax climate forecast for Los Angeles County has turned gloomy. There is an $8 billion annual tax storm that is coming in 18 months. It will rain on every property owner in the county. But the tax monies will mai...

Is California the next Detroit?
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Detroit house

Aug. 14, 2012 By Robert J Cristiano, Ph.D. Most Californians live within about 50 miles of its majestic coastline -- for good reason. The California coastline is blessed with arguably the most desirable climate on Earth, magnificent beaches, a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and natural harbors ...

Park fund scandal a ruse to grab gas tax funds from off-roaders
Monday, August 6th, 2012
off-road vehicle nullFromFlickr

Aug. 6, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi The first wisdom of politics is that things often are not what they seem.  This appears to be the case with the much ballyhooed report that former California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman “hid” $54 million in the off-road vehicle recreation special fund....