Appeals Court Lifts Bond Restrictions on CAHSR, Funding Picture Clears
A California Court of Appeals has removed the most significant legal impediment threatening California’s High Speed Rail project. The unanimous decision of the three-judge panel, rendered on Thursday, reversed Judge Michael Kenny’s Nov. 25, 2013 ruling, which had blocked the state from issuing bonds under Prop. 1A, the High Speed Rail Act of 2008.
August 1, 2014
The Los Angeles Times and its Disgraceful Reporting on High Speed Rail
On the morning of March 24, I was in the café car on the Eurostar high-speed train, on my way from Paris to London. I glanced out the window as we zoomed at nearly 200 mph past a stopped train, a concrete platform and some parked cars.
June 18, 2014
The Myth of the Magic Bus: The Weird Politics and Persistently Strange Logic Behind the Orange Line
May 27, 2014
Did Metro Build a Perpetual Motion Machine?
Even if you've never seen “The Seven Year Itch,” you probably know the bit where Marilyn Monroe's skirt is blown by a subway train. Her skirt lifts because subway trains generate wind--lots of wind.
May 5, 2014
Connecting the Dots: VerdeXchange/FutureBuild Conference Looks at the Sustainable Los Angeles of Tomorrow
Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke during a lunchtime plenary at the VerdeXchange/FutureBuild, a conference on sustainability, business and public policy, on Tuesday at the L.A. Hotel Downtown on Figueroa. He urged all departments in the city to look at everything through a lens of environmentalism.
January 29, 2014
LAPD Crackdowns and Complete Streets: City’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee Puts its Foot Down
Thursday afternoon, in a fluorescent-lit conference room on the third floor of the east building of City Hall, Sean Karmody, a police sergeant, addressed over 20 people at the Los Angeles City Pedestrian Advisory Committee about jaywalking tickets. He stressed that police traffic enforcement’s “biggest priority is to reduce hit and runs.” He also said of the 500,000 or so tickets issued each year, only five percent are given to pedestrians.
January 17, 2014
Wendy in a Wheelchair: Awakening to the State of LA’s Sidewalks
Wendy, my girlfriend, is a skilled rock climber with eight years experience. Unfortunately, sometimes rocks just break.
December 18, 2013
California High Speed Rail: Media Piling-on Continues, as Does the Project
Last week, the media reported, once again, that the California High Speed Rail (HSR) project is in its death throes.
December 9, 2013
Denver’s East Corridor Rail Line: Colorado’s Airport Train to Leave Crenshaw-to-Near-LAX Project in its Prairie Dust
(Everyone remembers Roger Rudick, right? Good. - DN)
November 26, 2013
A National Infrastructure Bank: Can the U.S. Learn From Europe?
On Labor Day, President Barack Obama gave a speech in which he pushed for the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank. Legislation that would establish the bank was introduced over the summer in Senate Bill 1926, authored by Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. But the idea of an independent financing entity for large infrastructure projects originated in Europe. The European Investment Bank (EIB) was created in 1958 as part of the Treaty of Rome, which started Europe on the path towards economic integration.
October 11, 2010