Growth
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Democrats say they are committed to high-speed rail
By Juliet Williams
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Newly cleared, bullet train plan chugs to capitol
SAN FRANCISCO -- A financial blueprint for linking the San Joaquin Valley to Los Angeles by high-speed trains within 10 years was approved Thursday by the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
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Oil service company reaches into Bakersfield
A large national company active in North Dakota's booming petroleum industry has stepped into Kern County's crowded oil services business with the purchase of a family-run operation with offices in Bakersfield and Colorado.
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LOIS HENRY: Out of town water baron is not what he seems
He's a rich guy with lots of land, lots of water and lots of power.
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The county's big wind map? It's a lot of hot air
I have some advice for Kern County Supervisors who on Tuesday will be mulling what to do with a proposed wind resources map: scrap it!
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LOIS HENRY: A hard wind blows in favor of turbine approvals
The only time I ever see government get a move on is for two reasons: money or politics.
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On hold: Court's redevelopment decision interrupts local projects
A gas station and market in Arvin. Industrial jobs in Shafter. The need to keep companies in Tehachapi.
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Californian Radio: PG&E's plans for its durable hulk
Editorial Page Editor Robert Price is the host on "Californian Radio" Tuesday.
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Lawsuits could stall or stop high-speed rail plans
Even if state officials can scrape together the billions of dollars needed to fund California's ambitious high-speed rail plans, lawsuits from local cities and opposition groups still could delay, divert or derail the project altogether.
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Fastest growing companies on Californian radio
Californian Executive Editor John Arthur is the host on Californian Radio Tuesday.
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Sierra Club sues over Kern River Valley plan
The Sierra Club is suing to stop implementation of Kern River Valley Specific Plan because it is not specific enough.
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Ask The Californian: Littering tough to prosecute
Q: Does the city of Bakersfield have a way of reporting litterbugs’ license plate numbers online? I live near a city park and the local high school kids just throw their trash out of their car windows onto my street. The sad part is that there is a trash can literally 10 yards from where they litter, but they are either too lazy or too stoned to walk their trash over to the can. Maybe a warning letter in the mail would scare these kids straight. I am sure the city (with their financial troubles) could use the $1,000 per fine to help with the revenue shortfalls if a warning does not work.
— Jon Barrett
A: David Paquette, city code enforcement supervisor, responded:
The act of littering is a misdemeanor. In order for an officer to issue a citation, the violation must be committed in the officer’s presence.
Providing license plate numbers of vehicles involved in littering is not sufficient for code enforcement to take action. With a license plate number, the registered owner of the vehicle could be identified. However, the code enforcement officer would have difficulty proving that the occupants or driver of the vehicle at the time the littering was observed by a private citizen was the registered owner of the vehicle.
The Kern High School District Police Department may be another resource to assist you with addressing problems being created within the community by students in the area of the high schools. They too will be limited in the action that can be taken unless the misdemeanor is committed in their presence.
Q: Although not in Bakersfield or even in Kern County, many of us make the commute south on a fairly regular basis and so I suspect that the mess at Interstate 5 at Templin Highway is of wide interest to the denizens of Kern.
Some years ago, a storm did major damage in this area. The repairs were never completed and that section does not fit any definition of a safe Interstate. Temporary, OK. But for years? And the area has been used as a speed trap.
Currently there is no equipment or personnel at the site. What’s happening? Any timetable for completion? Not interested in hearing about a shortage of funds, as that wasn’t an issue when the problem occurred, and there has been no shortage of other large projects on I-5.
— Name not given
A: Maria Raptis, a spokeswoman for Caltrans, answered your question:
The question concerns the status of a slope reconstruction and stabilization project on northbound I-5 at Templin Highway near Castaic. Two of three phases are complete. The third and final phase will reconstruct the roadway to its original alignment — returning to four lanes in each direction.
The Phase 3 construction project was awarded to Security Paving Company in late October 2009. The public can expect to see work and lane closures beginning mid-February in a construction zone beginning approximately one mile south of the Templin Highway undercrossing to the Templin Highway undercrossing. The project is scheduled to be completed in summer 2011.
After a series of unusually heavy rains in 2006/07, the hillside cut slope along the westbound I-5 at this location experienced a large deep-seated, bedrock-controlled landslide. During Phase 1, one northbound lane was taken, or realigned, in order to maintain four lanes in the southbound direction. The ongoing lane closure will continue throughout the project.
At this time, three northbound lanes and four southbound lanes remain open to motorists.
Much of geotechnical work completed during Phase 2 was not visible to the motoring public because it involved grading, removal of millions of cubic yards of rock, earth and sediment, installation of underground drainage pipes and other erosion and sediment control measures and devices within the hillside.
Q: I read an article in TBC last week featuring someone from Café Med who was delighted that Stockdale Highway’s construction was completed three weeks early.
It seems to me that the street is still far from being finished. There’s a gap of a few inches where the gutter meets the blacktop, there are no lines painted for lanes, and cones still block several turn lanes. Do you have any idea why construction has gone stagnant for the past two weeks?
— Jennifer Randel
A: Unfortunately we’re publishing your answer late but there’s still some useful and timely information to share so we’re doing so.
First off, construction on Stockdale Highway was suspended during the holidays to allow for the increased traffic on this street from people accessing merchants in the area during the busy shopping season, said Rick Millwee, city construction superintendent.
Construction is now expected to be complete sometime in late February or early March, he said.
Q: What are they doing out at the old softball complex at Canteria and Highway 178? It looks like they are finally doing a little work there.
— Name not given
A: That’s the Mesa Marin Sports Complex, which will have four softball fields with lights. Construction will also include a parking lot, restroom and concession stand.
It’s scheduled to be complete in July.
Ask The Californian appears on Mondays and Thursdays. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302. -
Megaprojects like bullet train have big cost overruns, critics say
Will the $45 billion California bullet train come in under budget?
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Prospects dim for billions in federal high-speed rail funding
BY CAROLYN LOCHHEAD
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Palmdale sues high-speed rail authority over Grapevine study
The city of Palmdale followed through Wednesday on its threat to sue the California High-Speed Rail Authority over an ongoing, conceptual study to see whether the Grapevine might make a better bullet train route than the Antelope Valley.
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Company pulls plans for massive wind project
Alta Windpower Development LLC, one of the biggest movers in Kern County's exploding alternative energy industry, chose to yank its 200-megawatt Pahnamid project off the table last week part way through a $138,000 environmental impact study of the project.
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Californian radio hour
Today's Californian hour on KGEO Radio AM 1230 features columnist Lois Henry discussing state air resources rules that some business owners consider burdensome.
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Revisiting of rail route angers cities
The California High Speed Rail Authority's decision to revisit sending a bullet train over the Grapevine has communities throughout the Antelope and San Joaquin valleys confused and angry.
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Councilman calls for more aggressive economic development
The city of Bakersfield needs to go from being reactive to proactive on job creation and economic development.
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Future freeway route through Bakersfield gets update
There's no way around it: There'll be a freeway cutting through someone's backyard eventually.
