East Bay Young Democrats

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Posts Tagged California

California Awarded $2.35 Billion for High Speed Rail!

Jan 28

Posted by Roobs in State | No Comments

The White House announced yesterday that California would recieve $2.35 billion for for rail related projects.  Specifically, $2.25 billion for high speed rail construction, wich included $400 million reserved for construction of the SF Transbay Terminal Station, and $1 billion for Amtrak corridor improvements including:

Capitol Corridor-South Terminal Station Improvement
Capitol Corridor-YoloXover (Yolo West Crossover)
Capitol Corridor-Track Relocation
Pacific Surfliner -Railroad Crossover Program
Pacific Surfliner – Oceanside Stub Project 1
Pacific Surfliner Corridor-MOW Spurs
Los Angeles to Fullerton Triple Track
Pacific Surfliner Corridor-PE NEPA Ortega
Pacific Surfliner -Corridor Strategic Assessment
Rolling Stock-Locomotive Emissions Upgrade (including San Joaquins)
Rolling Stock-Cab Car Bicycle Storage

I am a staunch supporter of high speed rail in California, and all over the US for that matter.  I have wanted to see a high speed rail in our state since i was a little kid.  I remember absolutely HATING the fact that my mother, who refused to drive through Tehachapi, would make me and my sister join her in the 5 hour journey to San Bernardino to visit my grandparents (driving in a car vs. public transit is only 4 hours).  The trip was a 1 hour Amtrak train ride from Hanford to Bakersfield, followed by a 4 hour bus ride from Bakersfield to San Bernardino.  I get closterphobic just thinking about it.  This same trip on the proposed CAHSR would take approximately 2 hours from Fresno to Ontario or Riverside stations.

The California High Speed Rail Authority released its business plan in December, detailing things like cost projections.  The plan stated it would cost about $42 billion to create the entire system.  Yes, $2.25 isn’t a lot vis a vis $42 billion, but it definately jumps starts a project and allows the Authority to create a visible and tangible portion of the system to help the hesitators and nay-sayors come over to the greener side.  Keep in mind that $42 billion is less than 1/3 the cost to expand our highways to accomodate the same number of projected future travelers at $150 billion.  Not to mention that whole, environmentally friendly and creating about 450,000 permanent and 500,000 temp jobs in the process and stimulating the economy in a recession, thingy…

Who’s excited?  I’m excited!

I will also give a plug to the grassroots organization working to help bring high speed rail to California: Californian’s for High Speed Rail.  They are a new group but i beleive they represent a great opportunity to bring on the ground momentum and make Californians excited about the idea of high speed rail.

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Video from 60-Minutes on the water crisis in CA

Dec 30

Posted by Roobs in Uncategorized | No Comments

California is suffering from a severe drought and with environmentalists clashing with farmers, the heated battles are only making water evaporate faster.  How do we balance between our growing population and large agriculture economy and the need to preserve and protect our environment.

This 12-minute video from 60-Minutes is a good, albeit brief, exploration of the crisis with an interview of the governator.

Link to CBS: California: Running Dry


Watch CBS News Videos Online

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The death penalty is killing California’s budget

Jun 25

Posted by admin in Uncategorized | Comments off

By Shayna M. Gelender, Field Organizer, ACLU of Northern California

For more than three years, California has had no executions. Now, the Governor and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) are considering new guidelines for how to restart executions, killing people by lethal injection.

Advocates are particularly concerned that the CDCR is trying to keep the public in the dark when it comes to executions. The proposed regulations:

  • Limit the access of the media, preventing reporters from seeing critical parts of the process such as the mixing of the drugs.
  • Hide the names of official witnesses from the public, even though these witnesses are present to represent the people of California.
  • Do not allow the public, the media or even the attorney for the defendant to view the records made of the execution.
  • Do not disclose the costs of executions.

Also, the CDCR has failed to allow members of the public to view all of the documents they relied on in developing the regulations, and has failed to notify those most affected, including women on death row.

In the midst of this budget crisis, we have more important things for state workers to do than spend their time – and our money – coming up with a new way to execute people.

Take action now to help prevent executions in California:

1. Submit your comments online. The government is required by law to read and consider all relevant comments, so what you say can truly make a difference. Weigh in prior to the hearing on June 30th.

2. Join us on Tuesday, June 30th in Sacramento for a Day of Action to End the Death Penalty. The Public Hearing on Lethal Injection Regulations will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the Department of Health Services Auditorium, 1500 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento. Free buses will be leaving from San Francisco and Oakland. Sign up for a bus at information@deathpenalty.org. Following the hearing, we will march to the Capitol to tell the governor and our legislator what we think.

3. Learn more about the issues. A telephone briefing will be held on Friday, June 26 for those who RSVP.

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