At long last, sanity: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/...
As anyone that's listened to my show on KTLK can tell you, we have been beating the drum for this for years--the US in general and California in particular are so far behind the rest of the world on this issue, it's staggering--but at last, we're moving quickly.
Yes, the first part of the line is somewhat a line to nowhere (between Madera and Bakersfield) and the costs will surely overrun 70B. Those are valid critiques from the opponents of the project (generally reflexive worshipers of the Crazy Clown Cult of the GOP). What is not valid is the idea that "this is good money gone bad from a broke state"--bonds are being sold to pay for it, federal funds are coming in and what the demented cultists can't ignore is the obvious--150,000 new jobs to build it, 500,000 new jobs along the lines when they're done and lots less traffic.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but even at 100B over 7 years, that's a fraction of the Iraq War's costs, and Die Partei Republikkkanische was in love with that one.
A victory for sanity!