Posts Tagged ‘Governor Jerry Brown’

Bullet Train BS


Wednesday November 16th, 2016   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 3:00pm PST   •   4 Comments

Politicians pitched it as a magic carpet that would speed riders from Los Angeles to San Francisco in record time, with complete safety and total comfort. According to promoters California’s high-speed rail project, also known as the bullet train, would also clear up the state’s crowded highways and of course protect the environment and…
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Costing Out Governor’s Tunnel Vision


Wednesday August 24th, 2016   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 3:49pm PDT   •   2 Comments

As we noted, California’s vaunted high-speed rail project will require 35 miles of tunnels through the mountains north of Los Angeles. Governor Jerry Brown, a backer of the bullet train, also has tunnel vision for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Brown wants to dig 35 miles of tunnels to convey water to the State Water…
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Lift the Bridge on Wiser Transportation Spending


Thursday April 14th, 2016   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 5:12am PDT   •   0 Comments

The California Department of Transportation has been rebuilding parts of Interstate 80 between the city of Auburn and the Nevada state line. Part of this work was the elevation of bridges to 16 feet 6 inches above the road surface so they can accommodate larger trucks. The final project, completed in March, was the…
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Government Rail Switches Tracks on Taxpayers


Monday February 22nd, 2016   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 12:48pm PST   •   1 Comment

We have been keeping track of California’s so-called high-speed rail project, backed by governor Jerry Brown and facing huge problems. As in Blazing Saddles, one thing stands in the way of the land they need: the rightful owners. The farmers, in particular, are not eager to sell. The project will supposedly cost $68 billion,…
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Tidings of Coercion, Regulation and Taxes


Tuesday December 8th, 2015   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 8:42am PST   •   1 Comment

When confronted with seismic-safety issues on the new span of the Bay Bridge, which came in 10 years late and $5 billion over budget, California governor Jerry Brown famously quipped, “shit happens.” As David Siders of the Sacramento Bee observes, Brown the former seminarian does better with the orthodoxies of statist superstition. “Never underestimate…
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Jerry Brown’s Gusher of Government Abuse


Monday November 9th, 2015   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 9:01am PST   •   0 Comments

California governor Jerry Brown casts himself as a visionary leader in climate change and likes to demonize the oil and gas industry. When it comes to his own property and his own interests, the governor sings a different tune. As Ellen Knickmeyer of the Associated Press noted, according to state records, “Gov. Jerry Brown…
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Government Tunnel Vision Versus Drought Solutions


Tuesday August 25th, 2015   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 5:44am PDT   •   0 Comments

California borders the Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water in the world, so desalination is a no-brainer for the Golden State. But as Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee shows, government is not exactly eager to slake the parched state’s thirst. The San Diego County Water Authority is building a desalination plant near…
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Bullet Train Cap and Raid


Monday March 30th, 2015   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 9:41am PDT   •   1 Comment

Politicians promoted the California high-speed rail project as a rapid route between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. But as we noted, the “bullet train” broke ground near Fresno. Now Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee finds a gap between other bullet-train claims and reality. The California High-Speed Rail Authority claims that…
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Bay Bridge Boondoggle Boss Escapes Accountability


Monday February 9th, 2015   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 8:52am PST   •   3 Comments

As we have noted several times, the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was $5 billion over budget and, count ‘em, ten years late. That’s a full decade but after all that time and money, safety issues linger with faulty welds and such, which California governor Jerry Brown dismissed with his…
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Government Tunnel Vision Shafts Taxpayers


Monday January 12th, 2015   •   Posted by K. Lloyd Billingsley at 5:27am PST   •   1 Comment

As part of his $25 billion plan for California’s water system, governor Jerry Brown wants to build two tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Each tunnel would be 40 feet high, 35 miles long, and together they would cost nearly $17 billion. Backers of the plan would do well to consider the pitfalls…
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