Traffic backs up on I-5 at the scene of an Amtrak train derailment. (Photo: Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa USA, via AP Images)Although it might be regarded as an opportunity to score points against Gov. Jerry Brown’s beloved high-speed rail project, the train crash that killed at least three people Monday in Washington state is receiving a muted response from both opponents and boosters – at least for the time being.
Illustration by Kheng Guan Toh, via ShutterstockOPINION: The California Public Utilities Commission is about to make a landmark decision about the merger of Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks that will have a generational effect on closing—or possibly making permanent—the Digital Divide.
In an artist's rendering, California's proposed bullet train zips along the Central Valley. (Illustration: High Speed Rail Authority)California’s $67.5 billion bullet train has been described as “off-track” so long that some thought it was permanently derailed. In fact, the outlook has brightened: A series of court decisions, a move by Gov. Brown to pump money into the effort and an awakening interest from high-dollar investors has given the huge project new momentum.
California bullet train. (Illustration: High Speed Rail Authority)The latest actions are far from conclusive but they may force delays in the project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2028 to link San Francisco and Los Angeles through the Central Valley. High-speed rail has long been popular in Europe and Asia, but earlier efforts in the U.S. to develop high-speed rail have failed in Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida. (Photo: High Speed Rail Authority).