Better to vote early than late on HSR
The Californian said in its Feb. 5 editorial, "Supervisors' HSR vote is premature," that it would like Kern County Supervisors to wait to take a position on the high-speed rail project until the final business plan is released. Yet the California High-Speed Rail Authority will begin acquisition meetings later this month with Fresno-area property owners. Apparently, the authority isn't waiting for its own business plan. The carrot of the high-speed rail maintenance facility has been promised to nearly every city between Bakersfield and Merced. So, why is this a reason to delay the vote?
Certainly, jobs are needed in Kern County and elsewhere. If the state has money, construction jobs can be generated from a host of needed infrastructure projects without paying for inner-city destruction and tearing up the prize asset: some of the best farmland in the world.
The state is projected to run out of money next month. Gov. Jerry Brown says we need increased sales and income taxes to continue operating the state. Yet in his proposed budget Brown has more than doubled rail authority expenditures for staff and consultants from $6.8 million to $15.9 million.
Call it drawing a line in the sand or what you will. We have heard enough project pros and cons. Reports from the Legislative Analyst's Office, peer review groups and the state auditor conclude HSR is an extreme financial risk. If you want to be heard, the time to vote is now, not when you hear jackhammers and bulldozers in the backyard.
Bill Descary
Bakersfield
