Category: High-Speed Rail

Three Cases Await Decisions

Three Cases Await Decisions 01/31/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Filings are now complete in the three currently pending HSR cases: The Sacramento Superior Court, Department 31, will hold a hearing on Friday, February 14 on the Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. (See bottom of this page  for filings.) The Court of Appeal has a Petition for Extraordinary Writ (initially filed with the Supreme Court) before it. A Preliminary Opposition was filed by the Tos Plaintiffs and Kern County. The Court of Appeal will decide in the near future whether to call for further briefing or dismiss the petition. And finally, the Court of Appeal is also considering the issue of federal preemption of CEQA raised by the…

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Flash Bulletin | High-Speed Rail | TRANSDEF

Flash Bulletin 01/29/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The California Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Extraordinary Writ petition to the Court of Appeal, thereby demonstrating its independence and commitment to the law, not to mention its unwillingness to do the bidding of the Governor. Tags: HSR Litigation

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Dan Walters: the Beginning of the End

Dan Walters: the Beginning of the End 01/28/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail In a column that is amazingly aligned with plaintiffs’ legal positions posted on this site, Dan Walters observes the desperation in Governor Brown’s move to request the California Supreme Court to give relief to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. [Please note that Judge Kenny is erroneously identified as Judge Kelly in this piece.] Tags: HSR Litigation

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Desperate Governor Petitions Supreme Court

Desperate Governor Petitions Supreme Court 01/24/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail In a rather shocking act of desperation, Governor Brown has had the Attorney General file a petition for an extraordinary writ with the California Supreme Court. The petition seeks to get around the two rulings of the Sacramento Superior Court, which have tied up the California High-Speed Rail Authority in knots. Interestingly, both the Governor and the Chair of the Authority discounted the significance of the Superior Court ruling when it first came out, and continue to do so. Meanwhile behind the scenes, deputies in the Attorney General’s office were busily working away at a 50+ page brief: “The trial court’s approach to these…

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Authority Pleads for End to Beating

Authority Pleads for End to Beating 01/10/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The California High-Speed Rail Authority filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, seeking to have the Sacramento Superior Court put an end to its losses in the Tos case. See the papers filed on this motion at the bottom of this page. Tags: HSR Litigation

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Judge’s decision also endangers $3.3 billion in federal funds

Judge’s decision also endangers $3.3 billion in federal funds 11/29/13 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Great press coverage:  Judge’s decision also endangers $3.3 billion in federal funds California high-speed rail plans stopped in tracks High-speed rail financing struck down by judge, project in jeopardy Bullet train snag could affect Transbay Terminal Sacramento judge’s ruling throws bullet train’s future in doubt Locals Participated in High-Speed Rail Court Case (This Bakersfield Californian article is no longer available.) EDITORIAL: Pump the brakes on ‘bullet’train Dan Walters: High-Speed Rail ‘blended system’ may help derail it: “It’s time for a backspace-delete. Brown should acknowledge that the project as now planned is doomed and either kill it or go back to…

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TRAC Proposes Plan B for HSR

TRAC Proposes Plan B for HSR 11/27/13 Filed in: High-Speed Rail In the wake of the collapse of the Central Valley project, the Train Riders Association of California has issued its Plan B for High-Speed Rail: 1. The Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) strongly supports a modern High-Speed Rail (HSR) system for California. HSR will be critical in providing interregional mobility to a growing population at a lower environmental impact than widening highways and adding runways. Successful HSR should greatly benefit the economy. 2. Even if the currently proposed $6 billion Merced-Bakersfield project were successfully completed, no funding is available to build the rest of the HSR system. This would leave this very expensive…

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Court Delivers Dual Body-Blows to High-Speed Rail Project

Court Delivers Dual Body-Blows to High-Speed Rail Project 11/25/13 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Judge Michael Kenny of the Sacramento Superior Court placed two major roadblocks today in front of the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s  Central Valley project. The judge had ruled back in August that the Authority’s funding plan for the project had not complied with the requirements of the Proposition 1A High-Speed Rail bond measure. His ruling today will prevent the Authority’s project from spending bond measure funds for construction until the funding plan is brought into compliance. Because that would require finding at least $26 billion in grants, compliance seems virtually impossible. In addition, the judge declined today to validate the issuance…

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Mercury News Editorial Pronounces Death of HSR Project

Mercury News Editorial Pronounces Death of HSR Project 11/25/13 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The Mercury News published the editorial below on the Court’s rulings. Note the sentence in bold on the Read More page. Mercury News editorial: High-Speed Rail ruling is right onA Superior Court judge Monday slowed the California bullet train boondoggle to a crawl. It’s about time. For more than two years, Gov. Jerry Brown and his puppet leading the California High-Speed Rail Authority board, Dan Richard, have overstepped their legal authority and disregarded the will of the voters by pushing ahead full-throttle. Judge Michael Kenny had ruled…

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