The California Page -- February 21, 2024

Locator: 46858CA.

The update, link here.

Because funding for the entire project remains an uncertainty, a decision was made to spend the state and federal money the Authority does have, and some that officials hope to get in the near future, on completing a much shorter 171-mile section of the project from Merced to Bakersfield, called the “Initial Operating Segment.” 

The area currently has passenger rail service via Amtrak’s San Joaquins line, but that trip takes about three hours and offers only seven roundtrips per day. Those trains also share tracks with freight trains, which often leads to delays and slowdowns.

I love the reporting, "only seven roundtrips per day." Holy mackerel, how many do you need?

The area currently has passenger rail service via Amtrak’s San Joaquins line, but that trip takes about three hours and offers only seven roundtrips per day. 

Seven roundtrips per day! Holy mackerel. The Amtrak stops in Williston, ND, once a day, going east, and once a day, going west. One stop. Central Valley, California, seven round trips per day. Really? And by train, the trip takes up to 6 hours, one direction. By car? Significantly less; less than three hours.

By the way, that "Los Angeles-to-Anaheim" segment is from downtown Los Angeles, east to Disneyland. We'll never see it in Sophia's lifetime.

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California Budget

California budget deficit: probably worse than projected just weeks ago. These are the estimates (please feel free to fact check all of this):

• a year ago: $24 billion
• Newsom, the governor's office, "recently": $38 billion
• LAO, a few months ago: $58 billion
• LAO, most recent, February, 2024: $73 billion
• to put that $73 billion deficit estimate in perspective, the general fund spending for the state of Texas is $144 billion for the biennium (two years) -- California's projected deficit is equal to Texas' general fund spending for one year  -- and Texas has no income tax. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The tug-of-war between California Governor Gavin Newsom and the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office over the state’s projected budget deficit took a new turn Tuesday, February 20, 2024, when the LAO announced a revised shortfall of $73 billion — $15 billion more than previously forecast, and significantly more than the $38 billion gap that Newsom has estimated.

The LAO reported that recent revenue collection data “reflect even further weakness” for the state’s financial outcome.

“All else equal, this means the budget problem is likely to be higher” when the governor gives his revised projection of the state’s finances in May, 2024, the LAO said in a Tuesday update.