The state of California, already $28 billion in debt, is supposed to begin construction of a $68 billion high-speed rail project in July. The state’s High-Speed Rail Authority voted last week to issue $8.6 billion in taxpayer-approved bonds to build the first 130 miles of track between Fresno and Bakersfield.
But a slew of lawsuits threatens to delay the project, and state authorities still have not purchased a single acre of land on which to build the rail line. Now one of the project’s original supporters, the co-author of the ballot initiative that launched it, has joined an effort by Central Valley farmers to stop the train dead in its tracks.
Recommended Stories
Print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account
Digital subscriber? Click here to login/register your account.