Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Notes From All Over, Part 2; Cold Weather In Minnesota Breaks 121-Year Record -- July 31, 2019

Bullet train, California: governor quietly moves money obligated for the "bullet train" to other existing light rail operations along the coast. LA Times. Paywall, unfortunately. Southern California Public Radio carries story -- which by the way -- suggests the futility of paywalls:
California is considering [trial balloon] diverting funds from the Central Valley bullet train to other local rail projects. Many Democratic lawmakers have spoken out in favor of the move arguing the shift in funds would have more public value. That shift could include moving funds toward San Francisco commuter rail and improving rail from Burbank to Anaheim, which is thought to ease traffic congestion on the Interstate 5 corridor. Gov. Gavin Newsom drew back from a plan that would finish the 500-mile high-speed rail system, saying the project didn’t have the funding to succeed. But Newsom said earlier this year in his State of the State speech that doesn’t mean the project will come to an end.
The SCPR story links to the LA Times story. 
Comment: I can hardly wait for the Trump tweets. LOL. With or without tweets, this pretty much kills any talk of the bullet train remaining on life support.
Comment, "considering": looking at legal ramifications; looking at Federal impact grants; looking at political blowback.
Comment, my two cents worth: this is where they should have put the money in the first place; not that it would have made any different in the big scheme of things, but it would have made more sense to many.

Global warming: the fact that otherwise reasonable and otherwise "smart" folks are still worried about global warming tells me that these folks are not paying attention. Another example, from CBS Minnesota:

2 comments:

  1. Unusually chilly mornings, still, in Western Montana in July.
    Has played out well as it has stunted fire season, so far.

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    1. Yes, it seemed cooler than usual when we were in Flathead with Sophia earlier in July. My wife, who does not like hot weather, absolutely enjoyed Montana this year.

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