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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-high-speed-rail\">California’s High Speed Rail\u003c/a> Authority paid nearly $600,000 in unallowable travel expenses to “questionable locations that appear unrelated to state business,” including trips to gyms, a nightclub, an escape room, a tiki bar and a cigar lounge over a two-year period, according to an investigation released Tuesday by the inspector general that oversees the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report found that the agency routinely reimbursed consultants for trips that were unauthorized or poorly justified. Some consultants flew first-class and were reimbursed without questioning, in violation of contracts and state policies. One consultant flew his private plane from Washington, D.C. to California and was reimbursed for a premium fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paying for travel when it is not necessary or when it exceeds what is allowed by state regulations or the contract terms is waste of public funds and is behavior inconsistent with the Authority’s role as the steward of public resources,” the \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Investigative-Report-2026-Allegations-of-Wasteful-and-Unallowable-Travel-Expenses-for-Contracted-Consultants-A11Y.pdf\">Office of the Inspector General report\u003c/a> reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matt Rocco, spokesperson for the high-speed rail authority, said in a written statement that the agency “takes these findings seriously” and will work with the inspector general’s office to fix the issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In response, the Authority will strengthen internal controls around consultant travel, implement more rigorous documentation and approval requirements, and recover any improper costs identified,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters in 2008 approved a plan to build a high-speed rail line stretching from San Francisco to Los Angeles by 2020 at a projected cost of $33 billion. Since then, its route has been significantly scaled back and the cost has ballooned to at least $126 billion. \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/us-news/years-late-billions-over-budget-californias-high-speed-rail-hasnt-laid-a-track-bac525ee\">No tracks\u003c/a> have been laid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12100017\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12100017\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction on the high-speed rail project over a ramp above Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters via CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The inspector general reviewed $1.15 million out of more than $2 million in travel reimbursements to four outside consulting firms between 2024 and 2026. The OIG said the firms are KPMG LLP, a global financial consulting firm; Nossaman LLP, a national law firm; AECOM-Fluor Joint Venture, which manages and coordinates the authority’s projects, and SYSTRA/TYPSA Joint Venture, which provides tracks and systems design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the firms immediately responded to CalMatters’ requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report found the high-speed rail authority greenlighted at least $685,000 — roughly 60% — in payments without first approving the travel. In some cases, agency staff didn’t even know about the trips until they received invoices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even for approved trips, the report found the agency failed to sufficiently vet the requests and lacked records to justify the need for the travel.[aside postID=news_11983907 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-White-672x372.jpg']The authority frequently approved expenses with vague justifications, such as “typical M-F week” trips, and approved travel at the request of executives without asking why. One consultant flew to California from Denver 20 times during the two-year period to “meet with the executive team” or attend executive meetings, without explaining why the meetings couldn’t have been remote, the report says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One legal consultant was paid $40,800 in travel reimbursements and an additional $86,500 in “travel time” for 30 trips between Denver and Sacramento in a year. The same consultant “frequently booked flights on the same day the traveling occurred,” the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When questioned about whether he needed to attend the meetings in person, the consultant said the authority’s chief executive, Ian Choudri, had requested his presence so he did not need to justify it and that it would not be appropriate for him to question Choudri’s direction, “as other consultants in other Authority offices are learning the hard way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly $600,000 of the $1 million in travel expenses violated state travel policies or the contracts, the report found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The questionable expenses included:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Premium Uber and Lyft rides to and from a restaurant, bar, and nightclub between 9:40 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. that “clearly appear to be for personal enjoyment rather than for the benefit of the state;”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Numerous meals in Folsom, where CEO Choudri has a home;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Repeated reimbursed ride-hailing trips to Planet Fitness gyms in and around Sacramento, even after a supervisor wrote that “the state does not cover ride share[s] to gyms”;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$118,000 in international travel despite the contracts explicitly barring international travel;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A nearly $40 Uber Black luxury car charge for a trip of less than one mile in downtown Sacramento.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Financial adviser KPMG was the consulting firm that billed the authority for trips to the night club, the tiki bar and the cigar lounge, Deputy Inspector General Amanda Millen told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is important to remember that the critical issue here is not why the consultants visited these locations, but why (High-Speed Rail Authority) consultants included rideshare costs to these locations in their travel claims and why HSRA paid the cost of rideshares to these locations without questioning the business need for these costs,” Millen said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report sparked instant outrage from Assembly GOP Leader \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/alexandra-macedo-187421\">Alexandra Macedo\u003c/a> of Visalia, who called the spending “\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/AsmwomanMacedo/status/2099948331107828032\">wasteful and unallowable.\u003c/a>” She has been a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/02/california-high-speed-rail-record-exemption/\">vocal critic\u003c/a> of the project even though Visalia sits along the planned route of the high-speed rail tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083557\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A viaduct runs alongside Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 27, 2019. \u003ccite>(Alex Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The investigation is the latest wrinkle in the high-speed rail authority’s already troublesome history. The office of inspector general warned in \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/OIG-HSR-Review-of-2026-Business-Plan-A11Y.pdf\">a scathing July report\u003c/a> that the agency could run out of cash by December 2027, raising doubts about its ability to finish its planned segment connecting Merced to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers this year approved \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1608\">Assembly Bill 1608\u003c/a>, which would strengthen the inspector general’s oversight of the agency. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the new investigation report, the inspector general’s office made several recommendations to help the authority better enforce its travel policies. The authority should require travel expenses to be cost-effective, capped at state employee reimbursement rates and only for state business, the office says. The agency should also send a memo from the chief executive reiterating that all travel be approved in advance, even when the executive requests it, and that the agency review the expenses for the four contractors and seek reimbursement for unjustified travel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, authority officials agreed to adopt some recommendations and partially adopt others by March 2027, including that it would send a memo from the chief executive clarifying travel expectations by February 2027 but it would be issued “‘at the appropriate executive level’ indicating that it may not come from the CEO.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the authority insisted it didn’t need to justify each consultant’s trip, prompting the inspector general to reply: “We explained to the Authority that this interpretation is fundamentally incorrect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The office will conduct another evaluation after March 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/09/california-high-speed-rail-travel-expenses/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California’s High-Speed Rail Authority paid nearly $600,000 in unallowable travel reimbursements to outside consultants while keeping a poor record to justify them, a state investigation found.",
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"title": "California High-Speed Rail Consultants Flew First-Class, Visited Bars and a Nightclub on Taxpayers’ Money | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-high-speed-rail\">California’s High Speed Rail\u003c/a> Authority paid nearly $600,000 in unallowable travel expenses to “questionable locations that appear unrelated to state business,” including trips to gyms, a nightclub, an escape room, a tiki bar and a cigar lounge over a two-year period, according to an investigation released Tuesday by the inspector general that oversees the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report found that the agency routinely reimbursed consultants for trips that were unauthorized or poorly justified. Some consultants flew first-class and were reimbursed without questioning, in violation of contracts and state policies. One consultant flew his private plane from Washington, D.C. to California and was reimbursed for a premium fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paying for travel when it is not necessary or when it exceeds what is allowed by state regulations or the contract terms is waste of public funds and is behavior inconsistent with the Authority’s role as the steward of public resources,” the \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Investigative-Report-2026-Allegations-of-Wasteful-and-Unallowable-Travel-Expenses-for-Contracted-Consultants-A11Y.pdf\">Office of the Inspector General report\u003c/a> reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matt Rocco, spokesperson for the high-speed rail authority, said in a written statement that the agency “takes these findings seriously” and will work with the inspector general’s office to fix the issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In response, the Authority will strengthen internal controls around consultant travel, implement more rigorous documentation and approval requirements, and recover any improper costs identified,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters in 2008 approved a plan to build a high-speed rail line stretching from San Francisco to Los Angeles by 2020 at a projected cost of $33 billion. Since then, its route has been significantly scaled back and the cost has ballooned to at least $126 billion. \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/us-news/years-late-billions-over-budget-californias-high-speed-rail-hasnt-laid-a-track-bac525ee\">No tracks\u003c/a> have been laid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12100017\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12100017\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/CMHighSpeedRail2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction on the high-speed rail project over a ramp above Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters via CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The inspector general reviewed $1.15 million out of more than $2 million in travel reimbursements to four outside consulting firms between 2024 and 2026. The OIG said the firms are KPMG LLP, a global financial consulting firm; Nossaman LLP, a national law firm; AECOM-Fluor Joint Venture, which manages and coordinates the authority’s projects, and SYSTRA/TYPSA Joint Venture, which provides tracks and systems design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the firms immediately responded to CalMatters’ requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report found the high-speed rail authority greenlighted at least $685,000 — roughly 60% — in payments without first approving the travel. In some cases, agency staff didn’t even know about the trips until they received invoices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even for approved trips, the report found the agency failed to sufficiently vet the requests and lacked records to justify the need for the travel.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The authority frequently approved expenses with vague justifications, such as “typical M-F week” trips, and approved travel at the request of executives without asking why. One consultant flew to California from Denver 20 times during the two-year period to “meet with the executive team” or attend executive meetings, without explaining why the meetings couldn’t have been remote, the report says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One legal consultant was paid $40,800 in travel reimbursements and an additional $86,500 in “travel time” for 30 trips between Denver and Sacramento in a year. The same consultant “frequently booked flights on the same day the traveling occurred,” the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When questioned about whether he needed to attend the meetings in person, the consultant said the authority’s chief executive, Ian Choudri, had requested his presence so he did not need to justify it and that it would not be appropriate for him to question Choudri’s direction, “as other consultants in other Authority offices are learning the hard way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly $600,000 of the $1 million in travel expenses violated state travel policies or the contracts, the report found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The questionable expenses included:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Premium Uber and Lyft rides to and from a restaurant, bar, and nightclub between 9:40 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. that “clearly appear to be for personal enjoyment rather than for the benefit of the state;”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Numerous meals in Folsom, where CEO Choudri has a home;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Repeated reimbursed ride-hailing trips to Planet Fitness gyms in and around Sacramento, even after a supervisor wrote that “the state does not cover ride share[s] to gyms”;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$118,000 in international travel despite the contracts explicitly barring international travel;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A nearly $40 Uber Black luxury car charge for a trip of less than one mile in downtown Sacramento.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Financial adviser KPMG was the consulting firm that billed the authority for trips to the night club, the tiki bar and the cigar lounge, Deputy Inspector General Amanda Millen told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is important to remember that the critical issue here is not why the consultants visited these locations, but why (High-Speed Rail Authority) consultants included rideshare costs to these locations in their travel claims and why HSRA paid the cost of rideshares to these locations without questioning the business need for these costs,” Millen said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report sparked instant outrage from Assembly GOP Leader \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/alexandra-macedo-187421\">Alexandra Macedo\u003c/a> of Visalia, who called the spending “\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/AsmwomanMacedo/status/2099948331107828032\">wasteful and unallowable.\u003c/a>” She has been a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/02/california-high-speed-rail-record-exemption/\">vocal critic\u003c/a> of the project even though Visalia sits along the planned route of the high-speed rail tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083557\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083557\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/IMG_4619_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A viaduct runs alongside Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 27, 2019. \u003ccite>(Alex Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The investigation is the latest wrinkle in the high-speed rail authority’s already troublesome history. The office of inspector general warned in \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/OIG-HSR-Review-of-2026-Business-Plan-A11Y.pdf\">a scathing July report\u003c/a> that the agency could run out of cash by December 2027, raising doubts about its ability to finish its planned segment connecting Merced to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers this year approved \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1608\">Assembly Bill 1608\u003c/a>, which would strengthen the inspector general’s oversight of the agency. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the new investigation report, the inspector general’s office made several recommendations to help the authority better enforce its travel policies. The authority should require travel expenses to be cost-effective, capped at state employee reimbursement rates and only for state business, the office says. The agency should also send a memo from the chief executive reiterating that all travel be approved in advance, even when the executive requests it, and that the agency review the expenses for the four contractors and seek reimbursement for unjustified travel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, authority officials agreed to adopt some recommendations and partially adopt others by March 2027, including that it would send a memo from the chief executive clarifying travel expectations by February 2027 but it would be issued “‘at the appropriate executive level’ indicating that it may not come from the CEO.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the authority insisted it didn’t need to justify each consultant’s trip, prompting the inspector general to reply: “We explained to the Authority that this interpretation is fundamentally incorrect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The office will conduct another evaluation after March 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/09/california-high-speed-rail-travel-expenses/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "some-california-high-speed-rail-records-could-remain-secret-under-proposed-law",
"title": "Some California High-Speed Rail Records Could Remain Secret Under Proposed Law",
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"headTitle": "Some California High-Speed Rail Records Could Remain Secret Under Proposed Law | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The auditor of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-high-speed-rail\">California’s High-Speed Rail Authority\u003c/a> wants the power to keep certain records confidential, drawing concerns from transparency advocates that the agency could shield vital information about a controversial and costly public infrastructure project from the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1608\">Assembly Bill 1608\u003c/a>, authored by Assembly Transportation \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11937950/lori-wilson-on-her-faith-family-and-the-special-session-on-oil-prices\">Committee Chair Lori Wilson\u003c/a>, would allow the inspector general overseeing the high-speed rail authority to withhold records that the official believes would “reveal weaknesses” that could harm the state or benefit someone inappropriately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would also prevent the release of internal discussions and “personal papers and correspondence” if the person involved submits a written request to keep their records private.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation appears to have the blessing of Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration released a nearly identical \u003ca href=\"https://trailerbill.dof.ca.gov/public/trailerBill/pdf/1379\">budget trailer bill\u003c/a> — a vehicle for the governor and legislative leaders to adopt major reforms swiftly with minimal public input — on Monday. The language for both proposals came from the inspector general’s office, said H.D. Palmer, spokesperson of the state Department of Finance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Office of the Inspector General of High-Speed Rail Authority, which audits, monitors and makes policy recommendations to the authority, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/07/high-speed-rail-california/\">was formed in 2022\u003c/a> after Assembly Democrats held bullet train funding hostage in exchange for increased oversight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11913625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_7164-scaled-e1652127989772.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11913625\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_7164-scaled-e1652127989772.jpeg\" alt=\"A construction worker walks down a steep bridge arch.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A worker on the partially constructed Cedar Viaduct in Fresno in March. The 3,700-foot-long structure, with four massive arches, is part of California’s high-speed rail project. \u003ccite>(Saul Gonzalez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The rail line, designed to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, was approved by voters in 2008. At the time, it was estimated to cost $33 billion and be completed by 2020. It is now estimated to cost more than $100 billion, with only a 171-mile segment connecting Merced and Bakersfield planned for completion by 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project delays and ever-increasing price tag have frustrated both Democrats and Republicans. Former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Los Angeles Democrat who held up the funding in 2022, said at the time there was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/05/california-high-speed-rail-standoff/\">“no confidence”\u003c/a> in the project. U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Rocklin Republican, has fiercely criticized it as a waste of money and \u003ca href=\"https://kiley.house.gov/posts/representative-kiley-introduces-legislation-to-eliminate-funding-for-the-ca-high-speed-rail-project\">introduced legislation to gut federal funding\u003c/a> for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and a former county auditor, said her bill would empower the inspector general’s office and shield it from public records requests for sensitive data, such as whistleblowers’ identities, details of fraud, documents regarding pending litigation and records about security risks. High-speed rail authority officials often will not turn over sensitive records to the oversight agency out of fear that the office would be compelled to release them, forcing the inspector general’s office to jump through hoops to obtain information for audits, she argued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only way we’ll get the level of transparency and the accountability that the Legislature requires is to make sure that our (inspector general’s office), who are technically the eyes and ears of the public … have every protection they need to be able to take the full deep dive without hindrance,” Wilson told CalMatters in an interview last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer echoed Wilson’s point, arguing that the governor’s proposal aims to allow the inspector general’s office to “communicate sensitive findings to external bodies in position to take corrective action.”[aside postID=news_12057238 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/AP25265725194713-1-2000x1333.jpg']But some good government groups see the measure as offering the inspector general’s office blanket authority to withhold anything it doesn’t want to disclose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a wholesale atom bomb on disclosure,” said Chuck Champion, president of the California News Publishers Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the measure is drawing opposition from Republicans who already consider the project a failure. Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/alexandra-macedo-187421\">Alexandra Macedo\u003c/a>, a Visalia Republican, said it is “insulting” that the project began when she was in middle school and remains far from complete. She called the empty concrete high-speed rail structures throughout her district a “modern day Stonehenge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as I’m concerned, every ounce of this project should be available for public consumption and should be presented factually and in entirety to the entire legislative body,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials from the High-Speed Rail Authority and the inspector general that oversees it declined CalMatters’ request for comment. Newsom’s office also did not respond to CalMatters’ questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill is the latest in a series of legislative attempts to shield records and agencies from the public. Last year, lawmakers passed laws that loosened public meeting requirements for various groups, from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb707\">local governments\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1103\">research review organizations\u003c/a>, and exempted \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb495\">insurers\u003c/a> from having to disclose information they report to the Legislature. State Treasurer Fiona Ma sponsored a measure to establish a new infrastructure agency within her office while exempting much of its operations from public disclosure, a bill that was ultimately watered down and killed last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Records Act, which applies to all state and local agencies except the state Legislature and judicial offices, already exempts disclosure of various types of sensitive information Wilson’s measure aims to protect, said Ginny LaRoe, advocacy director at the First Amendment Coalition, which champions press freedom and transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, state law \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-2/chapter-3/article-1/section-7922-000/\">broadly allows\u003c/a> agencies to withhold records when they believe it serves the public interest. There are also specific protections for \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-5/chapter-11/section-7927-500/\">preliminary drafts\u003c/a> and internal discussions, \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-5/chapter-12/section-7927-605/\">trade secrets\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-5/chapter-8/section-7927-200/\">documents related to pending litigation\u003c/a> involving a public agency, which are disclosable once a lawsuit is resolved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/030623-High-Speed-Rail-LV_CM_17-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Construction on the High-Speed Rail above Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 6, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local\">\u003cfigcaption>Construction on the high-speed rail project above Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 6, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But interpreting the public records law would take up a lot of the inspector general’s capacity, said Wilson’s chief of staff Taylor Woolfork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bill’s objective is for this small oversight body to concentrate on generating meaningful reports that strengthen the high speed rail program, not to divert limited resources toward interpreting complex CPRA questions or defending disclosure decisions in court,” he said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Woolfork acknowledged the existing exemptions for the agency in the public records law, he said it does not go far enough to protect the inspector general’s office. Under current law, if the high-speed rail authority is being sued, the inspector general’s office could be required to release information because the agency itself isn’t being sued, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both proposals would allow people who communicate with the inspector general’s office to stay confidential as long as they make a written request, a practice in laws that govern the state auditor’s office and inspectors general at other agencies, such as the state departments of transportation and corrections and rehabilitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>‘If any project should have intense transparency and scrutiny, it’s the high-speed rail.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ccite>Chuck Champion, president of the California News Publishers Association\u003c/cite>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the decision to withhold that information should be based on a set of “objective legitimate criteria … independent of someone’s personal wishes,” LaRoe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A whistleblower … understandably may have fear of coming forward with important information about waste, fraud or abuse, but that doesn’t mean that they should unilaterally be able to control what the public has access to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaRoe also took issue with allowing the inspector general to shield information due to potential “weaknesses” such as “information security, physical security, fraud detection controls, or pending litigation” — language that CalMatters could not find anywhere else in state public records access laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On its face, I could see an agency refusing to disclose information because it’s embarrassing, because it shows a weakness,” LaRoe said. “Too often, we see agencies interpreting words in ways that ultimately protect people or decisions that maybe look embarrassing or are uncomfortable or create controversy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked about the language, Wilson said she expects the proposal will be “honed in” on through the legislative process. “This was, we felt, a good starting point,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it is troubling whenever lawmakers seek to further shield public agencies from disclosure requirements — especially a watchdog agency overseeing such a controversial project, LaRoe and Champion said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If any project should have intense transparency and scrutiny, it’s the high-speed rail,” Champion said. “This project has been a disaster from jump street. And what else is in there that we have not yet found that they could tuck into this loophole?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/02/california-high-speed-rail-record-exemption/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California created an inspector general to monitor its long-delayed high-speed rail project. Now, one lawmaker wants to allow that office to withhold some investigative records from the public.\r\n\r\n",
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"title": "Some California High-Speed Rail Records Could Remain Secret Under Proposed Law | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The auditor of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-high-speed-rail\">California’s High-Speed Rail Authority\u003c/a> wants the power to keep certain records confidential, drawing concerns from transparency advocates that the agency could shield vital information about a controversial and costly public infrastructure project from the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1608\">Assembly Bill 1608\u003c/a>, authored by Assembly Transportation \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11937950/lori-wilson-on-her-faith-family-and-the-special-session-on-oil-prices\">Committee Chair Lori Wilson\u003c/a>, would allow the inspector general overseeing the high-speed rail authority to withhold records that the official believes would “reveal weaknesses” that could harm the state or benefit someone inappropriately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would also prevent the release of internal discussions and “personal papers and correspondence” if the person involved submits a written request to keep their records private.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation appears to have the blessing of Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration released a nearly identical \u003ca href=\"https://trailerbill.dof.ca.gov/public/trailerBill/pdf/1379\">budget trailer bill\u003c/a> — a vehicle for the governor and legislative leaders to adopt major reforms swiftly with minimal public input — on Monday. The language for both proposals came from the inspector general’s office, said H.D. Palmer, spokesperson of the state Department of Finance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Office of the Inspector General of High-Speed Rail Authority, which audits, monitors and makes policy recommendations to the authority, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/07/high-speed-rail-california/\">was formed in 2022\u003c/a> after Assembly Democrats held bullet train funding hostage in exchange for increased oversight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11913625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_7164-scaled-e1652127989772.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11913625\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_7164-scaled-e1652127989772.jpeg\" alt=\"A construction worker walks down a steep bridge arch.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A worker on the partially constructed Cedar Viaduct in Fresno in March. The 3,700-foot-long structure, with four massive arches, is part of California’s high-speed rail project. \u003ccite>(Saul Gonzalez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The rail line, designed to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, was approved by voters in 2008. At the time, it was estimated to cost $33 billion and be completed by 2020. It is now estimated to cost more than $100 billion, with only a 171-mile segment connecting Merced and Bakersfield planned for completion by 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project delays and ever-increasing price tag have frustrated both Democrats and Republicans. Former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Los Angeles Democrat who held up the funding in 2022, said at the time there was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/05/california-high-speed-rail-standoff/\">“no confidence”\u003c/a> in the project. U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Rocklin Republican, has fiercely criticized it as a waste of money and \u003ca href=\"https://kiley.house.gov/posts/representative-kiley-introduces-legislation-to-eliminate-funding-for-the-ca-high-speed-rail-project\">introduced legislation to gut federal funding\u003c/a> for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and a former county auditor, said her bill would empower the inspector general’s office and shield it from public records requests for sensitive data, such as whistleblowers’ identities, details of fraud, documents regarding pending litigation and records about security risks. High-speed rail authority officials often will not turn over sensitive records to the oversight agency out of fear that the office would be compelled to release them, forcing the inspector general’s office to jump through hoops to obtain information for audits, she argued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only way we’ll get the level of transparency and the accountability that the Legislature requires is to make sure that our (inspector general’s office), who are technically the eyes and ears of the public … have every protection they need to be able to take the full deep dive without hindrance,” Wilson told CalMatters in an interview last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer echoed Wilson’s point, arguing that the governor’s proposal aims to allow the inspector general’s office to “communicate sensitive findings to external bodies in position to take corrective action.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But some good government groups see the measure as offering the inspector general’s office blanket authority to withhold anything it doesn’t want to disclose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a wholesale atom bomb on disclosure,” said Chuck Champion, president of the California News Publishers Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the measure is drawing opposition from Republicans who already consider the project a failure. Assemblymember \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/alexandra-macedo-187421\">Alexandra Macedo\u003c/a>, a Visalia Republican, said it is “insulting” that the project began when she was in middle school and remains far from complete. She called the empty concrete high-speed rail structures throughout her district a “modern day Stonehenge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as I’m concerned, every ounce of this project should be available for public consumption and should be presented factually and in entirety to the entire legislative body,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials from the High-Speed Rail Authority and the inspector general that oversees it declined CalMatters’ request for comment. Newsom’s office also did not respond to CalMatters’ questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill is the latest in a series of legislative attempts to shield records and agencies from the public. Last year, lawmakers passed laws that loosened public meeting requirements for various groups, from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb707\">local governments\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1103\">research review organizations\u003c/a>, and exempted \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb495\">insurers\u003c/a> from having to disclose information they report to the Legislature. State Treasurer Fiona Ma sponsored a measure to establish a new infrastructure agency within her office while exempting much of its operations from public disclosure, a bill that was ultimately watered down and killed last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Public Records Act, which applies to all state and local agencies except the state Legislature and judicial offices, already exempts disclosure of various types of sensitive information Wilson’s measure aims to protect, said Ginny LaRoe, advocacy director at the First Amendment Coalition, which champions press freedom and transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, state law \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-2/chapter-3/article-1/section-7922-000/\">broadly allows\u003c/a> agencies to withhold records when they believe it serves the public interest. There are also specific protections for \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-5/chapter-11/section-7927-500/\">preliminary drafts\u003c/a> and internal discussions, \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-5/chapter-12/section-7927-605/\">trade secrets\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-gov/title-1/division-10/part-5/chapter-8/section-7927-200/\">documents related to pending litigation\u003c/a> involving a public agency, which are disclosable once a lawsuit is resolved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/030623-High-Speed-Rail-LV_CM_17-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Construction on the High-Speed Rail above Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 6, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local\">\u003cfigcaption>Construction on the high-speed rail project above Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 6, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But interpreting the public records law would take up a lot of the inspector general’s capacity, said Wilson’s chief of staff Taylor Woolfork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bill’s objective is for this small oversight body to concentrate on generating meaningful reports that strengthen the high speed rail program, not to divert limited resources toward interpreting complex CPRA questions or defending disclosure decisions in court,” he said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Woolfork acknowledged the existing exemptions for the agency in the public records law, he said it does not go far enough to protect the inspector general’s office. Under current law, if the high-speed rail authority is being sued, the inspector general’s office could be required to release information because the agency itself isn’t being sued, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both proposals would allow people who communicate with the inspector general’s office to stay confidential as long as they make a written request, a practice in laws that govern the state auditor’s office and inspectors general at other agencies, such as the state departments of transportation and corrections and rehabilitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>‘If any project should have intense transparency and scrutiny, it’s the high-speed rail.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ccite>Chuck Champion, president of the California News Publishers Association\u003c/cite>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the decision to withhold that information should be based on a set of “objective legitimate criteria … independent of someone’s personal wishes,” LaRoe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A whistleblower … understandably may have fear of coming forward with important information about waste, fraud or abuse, but that doesn’t mean that they should unilaterally be able to control what the public has access to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaRoe also took issue with allowing the inspector general to shield information due to potential “weaknesses” such as “information security, physical security, fraud detection controls, or pending litigation” — language that CalMatters could not find anywhere else in state public records access laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On its face, I could see an agency refusing to disclose information because it’s embarrassing, because it shows a weakness,” LaRoe said. “Too often, we see agencies interpreting words in ways that ultimately protect people or decisions that maybe look embarrassing or are uncomfortable or create controversy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked about the language, Wilson said she expects the proposal will be “honed in” on through the legislative process. “This was, we felt, a good starting point,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it is troubling whenever lawmakers seek to further shield public agencies from disclosure requirements — especially a watchdog agency overseeing such a controversial project, LaRoe and Champion said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If any project should have intense transparency and scrutiny, it’s the high-speed rail,” Champion said. “This project has been a disaster from jump street. And what else is in there that we have not yet found that they could tuck into this loophole?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/02/california-high-speed-rail-record-exemption/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Trump administration wants to redistribute $2.4 billion \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-high-speed-rail-funding-federal-trump-efaabea020967ec42338c47bac863f4e\">it pulled\u003c/a> from California’s \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-high-speed-rail-ca70a2fe9174ee267bcbf24be201af2f\">high-speed rail project\u003c/a> as part of a new $5 billion program announced Monday to fund rail projects to boost passenger rail traffic nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new program’s rules for states and others wanting to participate remove any mention of diversity or climate change, dating to the Biden administration. The new program will also put a priority on projects in areas with higher rates of birth and marriage and projects that improve safety at railroad crossings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has removed climate change and so-called DEI language from other grant requirements, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took a jab at that Biden-era language and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rail project in his announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our new National Railroad Partnership Program will emphasize safety – our number one priority – without the radical … DEI and green grant requirements. Instead of wasting dollars on Governor Newsom’s high-speed rail boondoggle, these targeted investments will improve the lives of rail passengers, local drivers, and pedestrians,” Duffy said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest chunk of this money, the Federal Railroad Administration announced, comes from the $4 billion that was pulled from the California project. The rest of the money comes from a combination of what was announced last year and what is in this year’s budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11913626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11913626\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_7318-800x600.jpeg\" alt=\"A long line of concrete columns.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A long line of concrete columns near Fresno that will eventually support train tracks for one of the initial sections of California’s high speed rail project. \u003ccite>(Saul Gonzalez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump and Duffy have both criticized the decades-old California project for its cost overruns and many delays that have kept the train that’s designed to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles from becoming a reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California officials said they will fight the effort to redistribute money they believe should be going to their project. They had already filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to pull federal funding from the rail project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The FRA’s decision to terminate federal funding for California high-speed rail was unlawful, unwarranted, and is being challenged in federal court. Now, their attempt to redirect a portion of that funding, currently the subject of litigation, is premature,” said Micah Flores, a spokesman for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. “The Authority has been prepared for this possibility and will take imminent legal action to block this misguided effort by the FRA.”[aside postID=news_12042706 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/IMG_7164-1020x765.jpeg']The focus on areas with higher birth and marriage rates reflects Trump’s executive orders that make spending that benefits American families a priority in his administration, according to an FRA spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Federal Railroad Administration said railroad crossings are important to address because \u003ca href=\"https://railroads.dot.gov/railroad-safety/divisions/crossing-safety-and-trespass-prevention/railroad-crossing-safety\">more than 200 people\u003c/a> a year are killed when trains collide with vehicles or pedestrians at crossings. That has long been something the government and railroads have worked to address, but it is costly to build bridges or underpasses that allow cars to safely bypass the tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the money is targeted toward improving passenger rail, some of it will almost certainly go to improvements on the nation’s major freight railroads because Amtrak uses their tracks for most of its long-distance routes across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration also said it would give priority to projects that improve the traveling experience for families by adding amenities like nursing mothers’ rooms, expanded waiting areas and children’s play areas in train stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Applications for this money are due by Jan. 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Associated Press writer Sophie Austin contributed to this report from Sacramento, California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The focus on areas with higher birth and marriage rates reflects Trump’s executive orders that make spending that benefits American families a priority in his administration, according to an FRA spokesman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Federal Railroad Administration said railroad crossings are important to address because \u003ca href=\"https://railroads.dot.gov/railroad-safety/divisions/crossing-safety-and-trespass-prevention/railroad-crossing-safety\">more than 200 people\u003c/a> a year are killed when trains collide with vehicles or pedestrians at crossings. That has long been something the government and railroads have worked to address, but it is costly to build bridges or underpasses that allow cars to safely bypass the tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though the money is targeted toward improving passenger rail, some of it will almost certainly go to improvements on the nation’s major freight railroads because Amtrak uses their tracks for most of its long-distance routes across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration also said it would give priority to projects that improve the traveling experience for families by adding amenities like nursing mothers’ rooms, expanded waiting areas and children’s play areas in train stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Applications for this money are due by Jan. 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Associated Press writer Sophie Austin contributed to this report from Sacramento, California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Trump administration is once again targeting California’s controversial high-speed rail project, with federal transportation officials on Thursday announcing an investigation and possible withdrawal of about $4 billion in federal funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters first approved $10 billion in bond money in 2008 for a project designed to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles in less than three hours. It was slated to cost $33 billion and be finished by 2020. However, the project has been beset by funding challenges, cost overruns and delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, state officials are focused on a 171-mile stretch connecting the Central Valley cities of Bakersfield and Merced, which is set to be operating by 2033. The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles line will now cost an estimated $106 billion to finish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the (California High-Speed Rail Authority) has followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference in Los Angeles. “If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"more on California HSR\" tag=\"high-speed-rail\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/7a9b03eed47a44c986a1a2f06d0a6c4e\">canceled nearly $1 billion\u003c/a> in federal funding for the high-speed rail project in 2019, during his first term. The Biden administration later restored the funding and, in December 2023, allocated $3.3 billion more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Losing federal support would be a major blow to the project. The rail authority’s most recent business plan counts on receiving up to $8 billion in federal money to help close a funding gap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ian Choudri, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which oversees planning and funding for the project, said he welcomes the investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With multiple independent federal and state audits completed, every dollar is accounted for, and we stand by the progress and impact of this project,” Choudri said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the project has created nearly 15,000 jobs and that more than 50 major structures have been completed so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/7a9b03eed47a44c986a1a2f06d0a6c4e\">canceled nearly $1 billion\u003c/a> in federal funding for the high-speed rail project in 2019, during his first term. The Biden administration later restored the funding and, in December 2023, allocated $3.3 billion more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Losing federal support would be a major blow to the project. The rail authority’s most recent business plan counts on receiving up to $8 billion in federal money to help close a funding gap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ian Choudri, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which oversees planning and funding for the project, said he welcomes the investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With multiple independent federal and state audits completed, every dollar is accounted for, and we stand by the progress and impact of this project,” Choudri said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the project has created nearly 15,000 jobs and that more than 50 major structures have been completed so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a recent weekday in Fresno’s Chinatown, a steady stream of customers flow into the Central Fish Company. The Japanese grocery store doubles as a modest restaurant, where owner Morgan Doizaki serves up catfish nuggets and fish and chips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This business is bustling, but around the shop, there’s not a lot of activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When my great uncle opened the store, this was the downtown for communities of color,” Doizaki said. “Then, it became a ghost town.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because, in the 1960s, Fresno’s Chinatown was hit hard by \u003ca href=\"https://www.urbandisplacement.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Fresno.pdf\">urban renewal\u003c/a>. A major highway cut through the once-vibrant neighborhood, resulting in demolished buildings and shuttered stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the California High-Speed Rail Authority promises to bring economic prosperity back to this area by constructing a new station — one of the first to be built along the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while some Chinatown residents said this station will be a boon to the local economy, others worry it will be a catalyst for gentrification, ultimately pushing out the very people and businesses the new station aims to benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Margaret Cederoth, the director of planning and sustainability at the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said that after decades of segregation, she hopes the new station — with entrances on both the Chinatown and downtown sides of the tracks — will be a bridge to reknit the two neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s actually a fantastic opportunity for reconnecting downtown and Chinatown,” Cederoth said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983935\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11983935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 2024 rendering of the high-speed rail station in Fresno. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California High-Speed Rail Authority)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To jumpstart economic activity, the authority secured a \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/RAISE-2023-Factsheet-Revised-A11Y.pdf\">$20 million grant\u003c/a> from the federal government to build a plaza in front of the new station that will host food trucks and street vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plaza, which will sit on the downtown side of the tracks, is slated to open in 2026, a full four years before trains are expected to start running. On the Chinatown side, the authority plans to build an electric vehicle charging station for residents. The funding will also help restore the historic train depot, which will be incorporated into the new station’s design and is believed to be one of Fresno’s oldest buildings, according to the High-Speed Rail Authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Fresno] was a city that was really born out of the railway, and having that historic station next to the future high-speed rail station creates this real chemistry between old and new,” Cederoth said. “We want these to be places that are enjoyed by the public, even in advance of high-speed rail service.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The history of Fresno’s Chinatown\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chinese immigrants were among the first to settle in Fresno after they helped build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. When white landlords in the city agreed not to sell or lease homes east of the railroad to Chinese residents, they were forced to relocate to the west side of the tracks, where Chinatown is now, separating downtown Fresno from Chinese residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These residents created a bustling neighborhood filled with shops, restaurants and civic organizations. But, Jan Minami, director of the Chinatown Fresno Foundation Project, said it was also a locus of illicit activity, which took place inside a warren of underground tunnels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At one point, Chinatown was a red light district,” Minami said. “Many of the underground tunnels and basements were created to escape the heat, but they were also used to essentially hide gambling and prostitution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chinese immigrants continued to move to the neighborhood and began working at nearby farms, picking figs, grapes, cotton and wheat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in the 1880s, the Chinese Exclusion Act diminished the Chinese workforce. Japanese immigrants, including Doizaki’s family, moved in with many replacing Chinese workers in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983937\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut-800x601.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut-1020x766.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morgan Doizaki stands outside his family business, Central Fish Company, in Fresno’s Chinatown on March 26, 2024. Doizaki’s family has run the shop since 1950. \u003ccite>(Madi Bolanos/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Doizaki’s great-grandpa first moved from Japan to Fowler, a small rural town south of Fresno, in 1898. He and his family relocated to Fresno’s Chinatown years later and began creating a life there — until World War II when Japanese immigrants were forced into internment camps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doizaki’s family was one of the few that was able to rebuild and maintain a business in the area. Over time, Fresno’s Chinatown would become home to 11 different cultures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’re starting to see improvements,” Doizaki said of his neighborhood. ” High-speed rail definitely has helped put a lot of focus into Chinatown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chinatown revitalization\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The High-Speed Rail Authority estimates it will spend more than \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/2023/06/28/news-release-high-speed-rail-authority-receives-20-million-from-federal-government-to-revitalize-historic-fresno-train-depot/#:~:text=NEWS%20RELEASE%3A%E2%80%8B%20High%2DSpeed,Revitalize%20Historic%20Fresno%20Train%20Depot&text=FRESNO%2C%20Calif.\">$33 million\u003c/a> on the plaza and other early work near the new station — an investment that’s also prompting city officials to get in on the revitalization effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno City Council members recently approved a $10 million contract, with funding from the \u003ca href=\"https://sgc.ca.gov/grant-programs/tcc/\">Transforming Climate Communities Program\u003c/a>, to construct median islands with greenery and new sidewalks, as well as install street lights with Chinese lanterns to honor the neighborhood’s culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11983940\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 2024 rendering of the high-speed rail station in Fresno. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California High-Speed Rail Authority)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the last year, the city has opened an apartment building with \u003ca href=\"https://fresnohousing.org/properties/the-monarch-chinatown/\">57 affordable units\u003c/a> just three blocks from the Chinatown station. Councilmember Miguel Arias, who represents the district, said the city has also acquired old motels and historic buildings that will eventually be converted into market-rate and affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a responsibility to these communities to not allow the next modern transit system to continue that historical redlining because the freeway system, the train system fundamentally killed Chinatown,” Arias said. “Our goal is to have about half a dozen housing projects be opened or in the final stages of construction by 2026.” [aside label='Related Coverage' tag='central-valley']But housing advocates said building more is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Marisa Moraza, a campaign director with Power California, said the city needs to ensure that all this new development does not price out tenants and business owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For that, she’s advocating for the city to impose a rent cap, increase tenant protections and institute a new oversight board to oversee these efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s Department of Housing and Community Development has mandated that Fresno build nearly \u003ca href=\"https://fresnocog.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FCOG_RHNP_Public_Review_Final_November_2022_Compiled.pdf\">37,000 new homes and apartments\u003c/a> by 2031 as part of California’s broader goal to construct \u003ca href=\"https://statewide-housing-plan-cahcd.hub.arcgis.com/\">2.5 million homes\u003c/a> in that time. And in a \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eZOB6B6RPRgSnWfKu27p8iYwbPij2vaU/view?usp=sharing\">letter to the city\u003c/a> (PDF), the department recommended it listen and incorporate comments from community groups, such as Power California, as it plans for its share of that new housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to continue to see the city of Fresno grow,” Moraza said. “However, we want to ensure that we are not increasing displacement in downtown and in southwest Fresno as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Doizaki, whose family business has been in Chinatown since 1950, he hopes the city and businesses can work together to provide enough housing for residents with a healthy range of incomes and backgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of the plans that I’m seeing right now is to fill Chinatown with affordable housing. That’s not how you build a thriving community,” he said. “It’s 2024; we should be able to foresee that this is not how you treat a cultural minority district that was born through racism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent weekday in Fresno’s Chinatown, a steady stream of customers flow into the Central Fish Company. The Japanese grocery store doubles as a modest restaurant, where owner Morgan Doizaki serves up catfish nuggets and fish and chips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This business is bustling, but around the shop, there’s not a lot of activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When my great uncle opened the store, this was the downtown for communities of color,” Doizaki said. “Then, it became a ghost town.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because, in the 1960s, Fresno’s Chinatown was hit hard by \u003ca href=\"https://www.urbandisplacement.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Fresno.pdf\">urban renewal\u003c/a>. A major highway cut through the once-vibrant neighborhood, resulting in demolished buildings and shuttered stores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the California High-Speed Rail Authority promises to bring economic prosperity back to this area by constructing a new station — one of the first to be built along the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while some Chinatown residents said this station will be a boon to the local economy, others worry it will be a catalyst for gentrification, ultimately pushing out the very people and businesses the new station aims to benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Margaret Cederoth, the director of planning and sustainability at the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said that after decades of segregation, she hopes the new station — with entrances on both the Chinatown and downtown sides of the tracks — will be a bridge to reknit the two neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s actually a fantastic opportunity for reconnecting downtown and Chinatown,” Cederoth said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983935\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11983935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-Crossing-Path.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 2024 rendering of the high-speed rail station in Fresno. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California High-Speed Rail Authority)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To jumpstart economic activity, the authority secured a \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/RAISE-2023-Factsheet-Revised-A11Y.pdf\">$20 million grant\u003c/a> from the federal government to build a plaza in front of the new station that will host food trucks and street vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plaza, which will sit on the downtown side of the tracks, is slated to open in 2026, a full four years before trains are expected to start running. On the Chinatown side, the authority plans to build an electric vehicle charging station for residents. The funding will also help restore the historic train depot, which will be incorporated into the new station’s design and is believed to be one of Fresno’s oldest buildings, according to the High-Speed Rail Authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Fresno] was a city that was really born out of the railway, and having that historic station next to the future high-speed rail station creates this real chemistry between old and new,” Cederoth said. “We want these to be places that are enjoyed by the public, even in advance of high-speed rail service.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The history of Fresno’s Chinatown\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chinese immigrants were among the first to settle in Fresno after they helped build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. When white landlords in the city agreed not to sell or lease homes east of the railroad to Chinese residents, they were forced to relocate to the west side of the tracks, where Chinatown is now, separating downtown Fresno from Chinese residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These residents created a bustling neighborhood filled with shops, restaurants and civic organizations. But, Jan Minami, director of the Chinatown Fresno Foundation Project, said it was also a locus of illicit activity, which took place inside a warren of underground tunnels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At one point, Chinatown was a red light district,” Minami said. “Many of the underground tunnels and basements were created to escape the heat, but they were also used to essentially hide gambling and prostitution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chinese immigrants continued to move to the neighborhood and began working at nearby farms, picking figs, grapes, cotton and wheat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in the 1880s, the Chinese Exclusion Act diminished the Chinese workforce. Japanese immigrants, including Doizaki’s family, moved in with many replacing Chinese workers in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983937\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut-800x601.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut-1020x766.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/8A450199-F2F2-4509-AAE8-C6ED1F7A34D1_1_105_c_qut-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morgan Doizaki stands outside his family business, Central Fish Company, in Fresno’s Chinatown on March 26, 2024. Doizaki’s family has run the shop since 1950. \u003ccite>(Madi Bolanos/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Doizaki’s great-grandpa first moved from Japan to Fowler, a small rural town south of Fresno, in 1898. He and his family relocated to Fresno’s Chinatown years later and began creating a life there — until World War II when Japanese immigrants were forced into internment camps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doizaki’s family was one of the few that was able to rebuild and maintain a business in the area. Over time, Fresno’s Chinatown would become home to 11 different cultures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’re starting to see improvements,” Doizaki said of his neighborhood. ” High-speed rail definitely has helped put a lot of focus into Chinatown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chinatown revitalization\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The High-Speed Rail Authority estimates it will spend more than \u003ca href=\"https://hsr.ca.gov/2023/06/28/news-release-high-speed-rail-authority-receives-20-million-from-federal-government-to-revitalize-historic-fresno-train-depot/#:~:text=NEWS%20RELEASE%3A%E2%80%8B%20High%2DSpeed,Revitalize%20Historic%20Fresno%20Train%20Depot&text=FRESNO%2C%20Calif.\">$33 million\u003c/a> on the plaza and other early work near the new station — an investment that’s also prompting city officials to get in on the revitalization effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno City Council members recently approved a $10 million contract, with funding from the \u003ca href=\"https://sgc.ca.gov/grant-programs/tcc/\">Transforming Climate Communities Program\u003c/a>, to construct median islands with greenery and new sidewalks, as well as install street lights with Chinese lanterns to honor the neighborhood’s culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11983940\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/2024_01-Fresno.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 2024 rendering of the high-speed rail station in Fresno. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California High-Speed Rail Authority)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the last year, the city has opened an apartment building with \u003ca href=\"https://fresnohousing.org/properties/the-monarch-chinatown/\">57 affordable units\u003c/a> just three blocks from the Chinatown station. Councilmember Miguel Arias, who represents the district, said the city has also acquired old motels and historic buildings that will eventually be converted into market-rate and affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a responsibility to these communities to not allow the next modern transit system to continue that historical redlining because the freeway system, the train system fundamentally killed Chinatown,” Arias said. “Our goal is to have about half a dozen housing projects be opened or in the final stages of construction by 2026.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But housing advocates said building more is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Marisa Moraza, a campaign director with Power California, said the city needs to ensure that all this new development does not price out tenants and business owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For that, she’s advocating for the city to impose a rent cap, increase tenant protections and institute a new oversight board to oversee these efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s Department of Housing and Community Development has mandated that Fresno build nearly \u003ca href=\"https://fresnocog.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FCOG_RHNP_Public_Review_Final_November_2022_Compiled.pdf\">37,000 new homes and apartments\u003c/a> by 2031 as part of California’s broader goal to construct \u003ca href=\"https://statewide-housing-plan-cahcd.hub.arcgis.com/\">2.5 million homes\u003c/a> in that time. And in a \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eZOB6B6RPRgSnWfKu27p8iYwbPij2vaU/view?usp=sharing\">letter to the city\u003c/a> (PDF), the department recommended it listen and incorporate comments from community groups, such as Power California, as it plans for its share of that new housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to continue to see the city of Fresno grow,” Moraza said. “However, we want to ensure that we are not increasing displacement in downtown and in southwest Fresno as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Doizaki, whose family business has been in Chinatown since 1950, he hopes the city and businesses can work together to provide enough housing for residents with a healthy range of incomes and backgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of the plans that I’m seeing right now is to fill Chinatown with affordable housing. That’s not how you build a thriving community,” he said. “It’s 2024; we should be able to foresee that this is not how you treat a cultural minority district that was born through racism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s high-speed rail project has been way over budget and way behind schedule since voters approved it in 2008. But progress is actually being made. Scott talks with KQED transportation editor Dan Brekke and CalMatters reporter Yousef Baig about the impact of the high-speed rail project in the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cp>After a decade of cost, schedule, technical, regulatory, personnel and legal problems, the California high-speed rail project soon will be getting an inspector general as part of a deal between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new investigative position is intended to intensify oversight and improve performance of the $105 billion railroad project. Enthusiasm for the change is high, but whether it will fix everything is uncertain, even among state leaders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is nothing but problems on the project,” said Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Lakewood Democrat. “The inspector general provides oversight and some sense of what is going on with management. That has been missing for a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But will it work?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know,” Rendon said. “We need to be vigilant. The IG will provide what we need to carry that out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until now, a variety of outside agencies have advised the Legislature and the governor on the project, resulting in recommendations that often were not carried out. In some cases, they required changes that nobody had the power to make and in other cases carried too high a political price with outside interest groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"More Stories\" tag=\"high-speed-rail\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2012, the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended against an appropriation to start construction, arguing that the California High-Speed Rail Authority wasn’t prepared. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown lobbied the Legislature for it and won. Now, many agree the LAO was right. The Peer Review Group has long warned that the state needs a secure financing plan. But the project proceeds without one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such outside advisers have lacked the resources and the mission to intensively delve into the day-to-day work of the rail project, its army of consultants and its stable of international contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The IG will bring a level of oversight that we have not had before,” said Helen Kerstein, the lone bullet train expert at the Legislative Analyst’s Office. “This is very powerful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law creating the inspector general lists a wide range of authorities the new office will have: full access to all the project’s records; authority to review contracts and change orders; and the power to issue subpoenas for witnesses and records, among much else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is not some person sitting in a basement,” said Laura Friedman, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, who is widely credited with pushing through the inspector general idea. “It is going to be staffed. It is going to be real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would include investigating waste, fraud and abuse, as well as working with law enforcement and prosecutors, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What the position might look like\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>How big an organization will it require? So far, there is no budget. But the IG would be paid the same as the IG for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who makes $192,382 and will have a staff of 212 in the coming fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fred Weiderhold, a West Point civil engineer who served for 20 years as Amtrak’s inspector general, said if he were taking the California job, he would want to start with a staff of at least 50 people: half auditors, 30% investigators and 20% inspectors and evaluators.[pullquote size='medium' align='left' citation=\"Fred Weiderhold, civil engineer who served as Amtrak's inspector general\"]‘It is a daunting job. You have to follow the money. I guarantee you that on any project this large you will have fraud, product substitution and waste.’[/pullquote]“It is a daunting job,” Weiderhold said about the California project. “You have to follow the money. I guarantee you that on any project this large you will have fraud, product substitution and waste.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time Weiderhold left as Amtrak’s inspector general, he had helped put several hundred people in jail and caused 2,000 people to be fired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high-speed rail inspector general will not have authority to control actual spending, a decision that was considered and rejected by Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A more aggressive plan was followed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 2015, when it faced a breakdown in Boston area service and spiraling capital cost overruns. State lawmakers fired the authority’s existing board and installed a new Fiscal and Management Control Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Estimated construction costs on a 4.3-mile extension of a light rail line had grown from $1 billion to $2 billion, said Joe Aiello, the board’s chair. The board stopped work, threw out existing contractors and put in an independent team to evaluate what was going wrong, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was outrageous scope creep,” Aiello said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time the board was dissolved last year, the construction cost had been hammered back down to $1 billion, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>State still needs actual train\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even while increasing oversight, the deal doubles down on the bullet train mission. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/05/california-high-speed-rail-standoff/\">An appropriation will release $4.2 billion\u003c/a> from a 2008 bond fund, but only for completing a 171-mile Central Valley segment from Bakersfield to Merced.[pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation=\"Laura Friedman, chair, Assembly Transportation Committee\"]‘They need to deliver something soon that the public understands is a train.’[/pullquote]“They need to deliver something soon that the public understands is a train,” said Friedman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom met another Assembly demand by adding $3.5 billion for transit projects in the Bay Area and Southern California, as well as $300 million to fix an Orange County Amtrak rail that is ready to fall into the Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t have enough oversight on a project like this,” Friedman said. “This is not a minor change. It will be a very big change for the project.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2012, the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended against an appropriation to start construction, arguing that the California High-Speed Rail Authority wasn’t prepared. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown lobbied the Legislature for it and won. Now, many agree the LAO was right. The Peer Review Group has long warned that the state needs a secure financing plan. But the project proceeds without one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such outside advisers have lacked the resources and the mission to intensively delve into the day-to-day work of the rail project, its army of consultants and its stable of international contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The IG will bring a level of oversight that we have not had before,” said Helen Kerstein, the lone bullet train expert at the Legislative Analyst’s Office. “This is very powerful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law creating the inspector general lists a wide range of authorities the new office will have: full access to all the project’s records; authority to review contracts and change orders; and the power to issue subpoenas for witnesses and records, among much else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is not some person sitting in a basement,” said Laura Friedman, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, who is widely credited with pushing through the inspector general idea. “It is going to be staffed. It is going to be real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would include investigating waste, fraud and abuse, as well as working with law enforcement and prosecutors, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What the position might look like\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>How big an organization will it require? So far, there is no budget. But the IG would be paid the same as the IG for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who makes $192,382 and will have a staff of 212 in the coming fiscal year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fred Weiderhold, a West Point civil engineer who served for 20 years as Amtrak’s inspector general, said if he were taking the California job, he would want to start with a staff of at least 50 people: half auditors, 30% investigators and 20% inspectors and evaluators.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California sued Tuesday to block federal officials from canceling $929 million for the state's high-speed rail project, escalating the state's feud with the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Federal Railroad Administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11747776/trump-administration-pulls-1b-from-california-high-speed-rail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced last week\u003c/a> it would not give California the money awarded by Congress nearly a decade ago, arguing that the state has not made enough progress on the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state must complete construction on a segment of track in the Central Valley by the end of 2022 to keep the money, and the administration has argued the state cannot meet that deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lenny Mendonca, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said in a statement that California has performed its obligations on the project thus far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"While this project has long been a political football, our determination to get the work done and bring high-speed rail to California is undaunted,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[documentcloud url=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6021947-California-v-DOT-Complaint.html\" responsive=true height=800]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom said the move is retribution for California's criticism of President Trump's immigration policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The attempt to revoke funding for the bullet train \"puts every large-scale infrastructure project in the United States of America at risk,\" he added. \"Everybody knows what it was; it was a petulant act by a petulant president.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit doubled down on that criticism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The decision was precipitated by President Trump's overt hostility to California, its challenge to his border wall initiatives, and what he called the 'green disaster' high-speed rail project,\" the complaint said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11741446,news_11732523,science_1938750' label='more on trump vs. california']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has worked for more than a decade on the project to build high-speed rail service between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but the project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. It's now projected to cost nearly $80 billion and be finished by 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $929 million the Trump administration plans to cancel is key funding for a Central Valley track segment expected to cost about $12 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California was not expected to tap those funds until 2021. The state has already spent another $2.5 billion in federal grants, and the Federal Railroad Administration said last week it's exploring whether it can try to get that money back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED's Katie Orr contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California sued Tuesday to block federal officials from canceling $929 million for the state's high-speed rail project, escalating the state's feud with the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Federal Railroad Administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11747776/trump-administration-pulls-1b-from-california-high-speed-rail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced last week\u003c/a> it would not give California the money awarded by Congress nearly a decade ago, arguing that the state has not made enough progress on the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state must complete construction on a segment of track in the Central Valley by the end of 2022 to keep the money, and the administration has argued the state cannot meet that deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lenny Mendonca, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said in a statement that California has performed its obligations on the project thus far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"While this project has long been a political football, our determination to get the work done and bring high-speed rail to California is undaunted,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Trump administration on Thursday canceled a promise of $929 million in funding for California's high-speed rail project, further throwing into question the future of the ambitious plan to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco by bullet train.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag=\"high-speed-rail\" label=\"California's High-Speed Rail Saga\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration also repeated an earlier promise to try to force California to return $2.5 billion in federal money that has already been spent on the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move by the Federal Railroad Administration came several months after President Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom sniped at each other over the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump made the rail line an issue when he seized on Newsom's remarks in February that the project as planned would cost too much and take too long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has shifted the project's immediate focus to a 171-mile line in the San Joaquin Valley, but he said he's still committed to building the full line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, federal officials said California has repeatedly failed to make \"reasonable progress\" and abandoned the original vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom declared the action \"illegal and a direct assault on California\" and said the state would go to court to keep the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is California's money, appropriated by Congress, and we will vigorously defend it in court,\" the governor said in an emailed statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters initially approved about $10 billion in bond funds for the project in 2008, with state officials saying the project could be built for about $33 billion and start running by 2020. It has faced repeated cost increases and delays since then. It's now projected to cost nearly $80 billion and be finished by 2033.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11725616/gov-gavin-newsom-gives-first-state-of-the-state-address\">announced\u003c/a> in February that, as currently planned, the state's full high-speed rail project would take too long to build and cost too much, farm bookkeeper Joanna Spence was relieved. For her, that acknowledgement was long overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As I drive up and down (Highway) 99, I just see bits and pieces, nothing happening,” Spence said. “It’s been totally graffiti’d.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bullet train has long been a difficult subject at Parichan Farms, a large almond ranch in Madera County that sits directly in the path of the high-speed rail line. Late owner Harold Parichan \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-harold-parichan-20160103-story.html\">fought\u003c/a> the project’s encroachment on his thousands of acres of almonds and other crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" citation=\"Joanna Spence, Parichan Farms\"]'Why would I ride it to Merced? Even Modesto. ... And when I get there, what am I gonna have to do? First I’ve had to pay for a train ticket. Now I’m gonna have to rent a car or an Uber.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several years ago, around 50 acres were cleared to make way for the trains' right of way. There’s now a diagonal path straight through the orchard outside Spence’s office, where she’s worked for over 20 years. In one area of the farm, the contractor for the bullet train project is building a $2.5 million underpass so farm crews will be able to get from one side to the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Spence said, much of the cleared land has gone to weeds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could have been farming those trees, and making more money for the ranch,” Spence said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immediately after Newsom made his announcement in February, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11725636/state-of-the-state-newsom-pulls-plug-on-s-f-to-l-a-high-speed-rail-project\">he tried to clarify\u003c/a> his administration's plans for the project: The initial focus will be to get the bullet train running on the 170-mile route from Merced to Bakersfield during the next decade while finishing environmental studies of the full \"Phase One\" line from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Phase One would still be built at some unspecified point in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news angered Spence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why would I ride it to Merced? Even Modesto. I could be there in 45 minutes,” she said. “And when I get there, what am I gonna have to do? First I’ve had to pay for a train ticket. Now I’m gonna have to rent a car or an Uber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not even the ones who wanted it. It was the people who commute,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know that some critics will say this is a 'train to nowhere,' \" Newsom told legislators in his State of the State. “But that’s wrong and offensive. The people of the Central Valley endure the worst air pollution in America, as well as some of the longest commutes. And they have suffered too many years of neglect from policymakers here in Sacramento. They deserve better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Newsom did not acknowledge is that when it comes to high-speed rail, some of the most disillusioned and skeptical Californians are Central Valley residents \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/state/california/big-valley/article223441880.html\">themselves\u003c/a>. While some dream of the opportunities a bullet train could bring, others see it as a misuse of funds and believe that it will never be built — or that if it ever is, no one will ride it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>'A Commitment to the Central Valley'\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>When voters approved a \u003ca href=\"https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2008/general/pdf-guide/suppl-complete-guide.pdf#prop1a\">$10 billion bond measure\u003c/a> in 2008 to fund high-speed rail, they were told it could be running between Los Angeles and the Bay Area in little more than a decade and cost about $34 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its most recent estimate, the California High-Speed Rail Authority said the link between San Francisco and the L.A. area would be finished in 2033. That's \u003cem>if\u003c/em> the authority can locate the tens of billions of dollars more needed to pay for the project, now priced at around \u003ca href=\"http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/about/business_plans/2018_BusinessPlan.pdf\">$77 billion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, about 2,600 construction workers are working on 119 miles of the route between Madera and Wasco, the latter a town just north of Bakersfield, by the end of 2022. That deadline is part of the rail agency's agreement for $3.5 billion in federal funding — money that the Trump administration is now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11727539/feds-battle-with-california-over-bullet-train-funding-may-be-just-beginning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trying to take back\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11740351\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11740351\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morgan Doizaki stands beside a fence that was recently erected across the street from Central Fish Co, which he manages. Doizaki says the fence has cut off foot traffic between downtown Fresno and Chinatown, and he worries about how that will impact the business. \u003ccite>(Alexandra Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Annie Parker, a spokeswoman with the bullet train agency, said service from Madera to Bakersfield could start by the end of 2027, with passengers riding from Bakersfield to Merced a year later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is more of a commitment to the Central Valley,” Parker told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for connecting the rail to San Jose and elsewhere, Parker said, \"It’s not on hold. We will work to get to those regions.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area and Los Angeles, the high-speed rail agency has helped fund infrastructure that could someday be part of a bullet train system. In the Bay Area, those projects include the Transbay Transit Center and Caltrain's electrification project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But actual development of high-speed trains in the state's two biggest metro areas?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have the funds in hand to build Phase One, to build San Francisco to Los Angeles,\" Parker said, adding that the agency is \"working to establish a full funding package for the delivery of the high-speed rail project.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>‘The Biggest Challenge Is Surviving’\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>Even though trains might not run for years, residents are already feeling the effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, at least 230 businesses in Fresno have relocated to make way for construction, according to the rail authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Central Fish Co., a seafood market and Asian grocery in Fresno's Chinatown neighborhood, has been able to stay in its current location, unlike other businesses that once surrounded it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been dealing with this for a few years now and we’re just trying to hang in there,” said Morgan Doizaki, general manager of Central Fish Co.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doizaki supports high-speed rail. He just wants it to get built — sooner rather than later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fresno needs something big like this,” Doizaki said. In the meantime, \"the biggest challenge is surviving.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" citation=\"Lee Ann Eager, Fresno County Economic Development Corp.\"]'I think there's a lot of people, if they actually ever ride on one they'll have a different opinion. ... We don't want to sit on freeways for three and four hours to get just from one city to another. This is that option to get us out of that rut. But it might just take another generation to do that.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A fence built recently between high-speed rail's right of way and the existing Union Pacific line has cut off foot traffic between an already isolated Chinatown and downtown Fresno’s popular baseball stadium, Chukchansi Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every year, we kind of wait till the baseball season starts,” Doizaki said, “And everyone gets a little bit busier, but this is the first year we’re gonna have no foot traffic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some businesses, Doizaki noted, have done well since relocating, including the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/living/food-drink/article92735407.html\">Cosmopolitan restaurant\u003c/a> that was once in Chinatown but has since moved a few blocks away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno County’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.fresnoedc.com/\">Economic Development Corp.\u003c/a> has been assisting businesses along the rail line alignment or otherwise impacted by road closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked about Newsom’s plan to focus on finishing what the authority has started in the Central Valley first, EDC President and CEO Lee Ann Eager said the policy does not signify a huge shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that's the fallacy now, that somehow (Newsom’s) speech stopped high-speed rail, and nobody is doing the work anymore — and that's not the case,\" Eager said. \"I think all he said was we're going to do it in stages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eager said she is aware of the criticism coming from Central Valley residents who think no one will ride the train if it does not connect to the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That has really always been an issue with us here is that we had expected the entire Central Valley to understand what those opportunities would mean for us,” Eager said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there's a lot of people (that) if they actually ever ride on one they'll have a different opinion,\" Eager said. \"Because we don't want to be in cars, we don't want to have the bad air quality and we don't want to sit on freeways for three and four hours to get just from one city to another. This is that option to get us out of that rut. But it might just take another generation to do that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">W\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>hen Gov. Gavin Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11725616/gov-gavin-newsom-gives-first-state-of-the-state-address\">announced\u003c/a> in February that, as currently planned, the state's full high-speed rail project would take too long to build and cost too much, farm bookkeeper Joanna Spence was relieved. For her, that acknowledgement was long overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As I drive up and down (Highway) 99, I just see bits and pieces, nothing happening,” Spence said. “It’s been totally graffiti’d.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bullet train has long been a difficult subject at Parichan Farms, a large almond ranch in Madera County that sits directly in the path of the high-speed rail line. Late owner Harold Parichan \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-harold-parichan-20160103-story.html\">fought\u003c/a> the project’s encroachment on his thousands of acres of almonds and other crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "'Why would I ride it to Merced? Even Modesto. ... And when I get there, what am I gonna have to do? First I’ve had to pay for a train ticket. Now I’m gonna have to rent a car or an Uber.'",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several years ago, around 50 acres were cleared to make way for the trains' right of way. There’s now a diagonal path straight through the orchard outside Spence’s office, where she’s worked for over 20 years. In one area of the farm, the contractor for the bullet train project is building a $2.5 million underpass so farm crews will be able to get from one side to the other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Spence said, much of the cleared land has gone to weeds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could have been farming those trees, and making more money for the ranch,” Spence said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Immediately after Newsom made his announcement in February, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11725636/state-of-the-state-newsom-pulls-plug-on-s-f-to-l-a-high-speed-rail-project\">he tried to clarify\u003c/a> his administration's plans for the project: The initial focus will be to get the bullet train running on the 170-mile route from Merced to Bakersfield during the next decade while finishing environmental studies of the full \"Phase One\" line from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Phase One would still be built at some unspecified point in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news angered Spence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why would I ride it to Merced? Even Modesto. I could be there in 45 minutes,” she said. “And when I get there, what am I gonna have to do? First I’ve had to pay for a train ticket. Now I’m gonna have to rent a car or an Uber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not even the ones who wanted it. It was the people who commute,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know that some critics will say this is a 'train to nowhere,' \" Newsom told legislators in his State of the State. “But that’s wrong and offensive. The people of the Central Valley endure the worst air pollution in America, as well as some of the longest commutes. And they have suffered too many years of neglect from policymakers here in Sacramento. They deserve better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Newsom did not acknowledge is that when it comes to high-speed rail, some of the most disillusioned and skeptical Californians are Central Valley residents \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/state/california/big-valley/article223441880.html\">themselves\u003c/a>. While some dream of the opportunities a bullet train could bring, others see it as a misuse of funds and believe that it will never be built — or that if it ever is, no one will ride it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>'A Commitment to the Central Valley'\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>When voters approved a \u003ca href=\"https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2008/general/pdf-guide/suppl-complete-guide.pdf#prop1a\">$10 billion bond measure\u003c/a> in 2008 to fund high-speed rail, they were told it could be running between Los Angeles and the Bay Area in little more than a decade and cost about $34 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its most recent estimate, the California High-Speed Rail Authority said the link between San Francisco and the L.A. area would be finished in 2033. That's \u003cem>if\u003c/em> the authority can locate the tens of billions of dollars more needed to pay for the project, now priced at around \u003ca href=\"http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/about/business_plans/2018_BusinessPlan.pdf\">$77 billion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, about 2,600 construction workers are working on 119 miles of the route between Madera and Wasco, the latter a town just north of Bakersfield, by the end of 2022. That deadline is part of the rail agency's agreement for $3.5 billion in federal funding — money that the Trump administration is now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11727539/feds-battle-with-california-over-bullet-train-funding-may-be-just-beginning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trying to take back\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11740351\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11740351\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS36529_IMG_4681-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morgan Doizaki stands beside a fence that was recently erected across the street from Central Fish Co, which he manages. Doizaki says the fence has cut off foot traffic between downtown Fresno and Chinatown, and he worries about how that will impact the business. \u003ccite>(Alexandra Hall/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Annie Parker, a spokeswoman with the bullet train agency, said service from Madera to Bakersfield could start by the end of 2027, with passengers riding from Bakersfield to Merced a year later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is more of a commitment to the Central Valley,” Parker told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for connecting the rail to San Jose and elsewhere, Parker said, \"It’s not on hold. We will work to get to those regions.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area and Los Angeles, the high-speed rail agency has helped fund infrastructure that could someday be part of a bullet train system. In the Bay Area, those projects include the Transbay Transit Center and Caltrain's electrification project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But actual development of high-speed trains in the state's two biggest metro areas?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have the funds in hand to build Phase One, to build San Francisco to Los Angeles,\" Parker said, adding that the agency is \"working to establish a full funding package for the delivery of the high-speed rail project.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>‘The Biggest Challenge Is Surviving’\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>Even though trains might not run for years, residents are already feeling the effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, at least 230 businesses in Fresno have relocated to make way for construction, according to the rail authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Central Fish Co., a seafood market and Asian grocery in Fresno's Chinatown neighborhood, has been able to stay in its current location, unlike other businesses that once surrounded it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been dealing with this for a few years now and we’re just trying to hang in there,” said Morgan Doizaki, general manager of Central Fish Co.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doizaki supports high-speed rail. He just wants it to get built — sooner rather than later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fresno needs something big like this,” Doizaki said. In the meantime, \"the biggest challenge is surviving.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A fence built recently between high-speed rail's right of way and the existing Union Pacific line has cut off foot traffic between an already isolated Chinatown and downtown Fresno’s popular baseball stadium, Chukchansi Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every year, we kind of wait till the baseball season starts,” Doizaki said, “And everyone gets a little bit busier, but this is the first year we’re gonna have no foot traffic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some businesses, Doizaki noted, have done well since relocating, including the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/living/food-drink/article92735407.html\">Cosmopolitan restaurant\u003c/a> that was once in Chinatown but has since moved a few blocks away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno County’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.fresnoedc.com/\">Economic Development Corp.\u003c/a> has been assisting businesses along the rail line alignment or otherwise impacted by road closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked about Newsom’s plan to focus on finishing what the authority has started in the Central Valley first, EDC President and CEO Lee Ann Eager said the policy does not signify a huge shift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that's the fallacy now, that somehow (Newsom’s) speech stopped high-speed rail, and nobody is doing the work anymore — and that's not the case,\" Eager said. \"I think all he said was we're going to do it in stages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eager said she is aware of the criticism coming from Central Valley residents who think no one will ride the train if it does not connect to the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That has really always been an issue with us here is that we had expected the entire Central Valley to understand what those opportunities would mean for us,” Eager said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there's a lot of people (that) if they actually ever ride on one they'll have a different opinion,\" Eager said. \"Because we don't want to be in cars, we don't want to have the bad air quality and we don't want to sit on freeways for three and four hours to get just from one city to another. This is that option to get us out of that rut. But it might just take another generation to do that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A day after the Trump administration put California on notice that it would try to take back as much as $3.5 billion in federal funding for the state's high-speed rail project, just one thing is clear: The dispute is likely to take months to resolve and could well wind up in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ronald Batory, the head of the Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration, sent \u003ca href=\"https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5745224/Batory-Letter-to-Kelly-Re-CAHSR-Termination-021919.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a letter\u003c/a> to the California High-Speed Rail Authority on Tuesday informing the agency it intended to revoke \u003ca href=\"https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5745223/Executed-FY10-Amendment-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a 2010 agreement\u003c/a> to provide $929 million for construction of the bullet train.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter also said the FRA would try to recover another \u003ca href=\"https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5745222/HSRFRA-CooperativeGrantAgreement-Amendment6.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$2.5 billion in funds\u003c/a> granted as part of the federal stimulus program in 2009 -- money that has already been spent on the high-speed rail program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batory said the federal rail agency was acting after finding that the state had \"materially failed to comply\" with the terms of its grant agreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday's FRA letter came in the midst of a dispute between President Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom, touched off in part by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11725636/state-of-the-state-newsom-pulls-plug-on-s-f-to-l-a-high-speed-rail-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the governor's announcement last week \u003c/a>that the state would focus on building a 160-mile segment of high-speed rail route and essentially put key segments of the project -- building out the route to the Bay Area and Los Angeles -- on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom's declaration came after a seemingly unending series of delays and difficulties that have increased the bullet train network's estimated cost from $33 billion to $77 billion and delayed the projected completion date for the San Francisco-Los Angeles link from 2020 to 2033. The problems confronting the project have included lawsuits challenging various aspects of the enterprise, long delays in acquiring land for construction and major cost overruns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump blasted Newsom's announcement last week and vowed to seek repayment of the federal funds already granted for the project. The president upped the ante after the Newsom administration announced California was joining 15 other states in a legal challenge to his declaration of a national emergency to secure funding for his long-sought wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1097856404629700609\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The situation leaves veteran transportation officials and analysts shaking their heads at a move they say is virtually without precedent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I’ve never heard of a case where it escalates to this level,\" Randy Rentschler, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's director of legislation and public affairs, said Wednesday. \"Usually these things are worked out quietly, not on the front pages of the papers. I can think of nothing remotely close to this. It’s unprecedented.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Art Bauer, a former senior staffer with the state Senate Transportation Committee who was involved in crafting the language for the state's 2008 high-speed rail ballot measure, said he was \"unfamiliar with any precedent\" for such a funding withdrawal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Certainly, in my 25 or 30 years of being involved in transportation policy development in the state, I'm unfamiliar with the idea of canceling a grant,\" Bauer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer said that the state could have a problem hanging onto the $929 million grant because it hadn't yet filed for reimbursement of some work already done on the rail project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The way the grants work is you do a piece of work, then you file a claim with the Department of Transportation for reimbursement, and the grant money flows to you at that point,\" Bauer said. \"Evidently, the state has not done that. So I guess if you're sitting in Washington and you're looking at this $930 million or whatever it is, and you say, 'Well, no one's used this money,' ... and you may feel, 'We can withdraw the money, we can withdraw their ability to claim the money.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer predicted it will take months, at least, to unravel what happens to the funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal rail agency's letter alleged that the High-Speed Rail Authority has failed to meet certain funding and accounting requirements for work on the bullet train project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter also said a review of the authority's documents led federal officials to conclude that the rail authority \"has failed to make reasonable progress\" on the project's initial segment in the San Joaquin Valley -- leading the federal agency to declare the work cannot be completed by the December 2022 deadline set by grant agreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, a strong proponent of public transportation in general, said the Trump administration's criticism of the high-speed rail project is disingenuous at best.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's Donald Trump's allies in the Central Valley who have done everything in their power to slow down the land acquisition and the other logistical steps to build the project,\" Wiener said. \"So this project has been so politicized by Trump's own colleagues in the Republican Party who are opposing the project that it's hard for him to say, 'Well you didn't do it quickly enough.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Newsom may have put the high-speed rail project in the crosshairs by taunting Trump in his State of the State speech last week, Wiener wouldn't criticize the Democratic governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The governor said what he said and I believe what he was expressing was ... let's just finish the backbone of the system in the Central Valley. We're already constructing it. It's funded. Let's get it done and then we will move north and south from there.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Moore, a USC professor of engineering and public policy and director of the university's transportation engineering program, said the matter could well wind up in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore said the issues itemized in Batory's letter \"appear to me to be ... technicalities that normally would not stop a project. But much depends on the exact language in the full-funding agreements, and much depends on the posture the federal government wants to take. These are in fact agreements, they're contracts. 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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A day after the Trump administration put California on notice that it would try to take back as much as $3.5 billion in federal funding for the state's high-speed rail project, just one thing is clear: The dispute is likely to take months to resolve and could well wind up in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ronald Batory, the head of the Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration, sent \u003ca href=\"https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5745224/Batory-Letter-to-Kelly-Re-CAHSR-Termination-021919.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a letter\u003c/a> to the California High-Speed Rail Authority on Tuesday informing the agency it intended to revoke \u003ca href=\"https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5745223/Executed-FY10-Amendment-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a 2010 agreement\u003c/a> to provide $929 million for construction of the bullet train.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter also said the FRA would try to recover another \u003ca href=\"https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5745222/HSRFRA-CooperativeGrantAgreement-Amendment6.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$2.5 billion in funds\u003c/a> granted as part of the federal stimulus program in 2009 -- money that has already been spent on the high-speed rail program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batory said the federal rail agency was acting after finding that the state had \"materially failed to comply\" with the terms of its grant agreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wednesday's FRA letter came in the midst of a dispute between President Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom, touched off in part by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11725636/state-of-the-state-newsom-pulls-plug-on-s-f-to-l-a-high-speed-rail-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the governor's announcement last week \u003c/a>that the state would focus on building a 160-mile segment of high-speed rail route and essentially put key segments of the project -- building out the route to the Bay Area and Los Angeles -- on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The situation leaves veteran transportation officials and analysts shaking their heads at a move they say is virtually without precedent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I’ve never heard of a case where it escalates to this level,\" Randy Rentschler, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's director of legislation and public affairs, said Wednesday. \"Usually these things are worked out quietly, not on the front pages of the papers. I can think of nothing remotely close to this. It’s unprecedented.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Art Bauer, a former senior staffer with the state Senate Transportation Committee who was involved in crafting the language for the state's 2008 high-speed rail ballot measure, said he was \"unfamiliar with any precedent\" for such a funding withdrawal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Certainly, in my 25 or 30 years of being involved in transportation policy development in the state, I'm unfamiliar with the idea of canceling a grant,\" Bauer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer said that the state could have a problem hanging onto the $929 million grant because it hadn't yet filed for reimbursement of some work already done on the rail project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The way the grants work is you do a piece of work, then you file a claim with the Department of Transportation for reimbursement, and the grant money flows to you at that point,\" Bauer said. \"Evidently, the state has not done that. So I guess if you're sitting in Washington and you're looking at this $930 million or whatever it is, and you say, 'Well, no one's used this money,' ... and you may feel, 'We can withdraw the money, we can withdraw their ability to claim the money.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bauer predicted it will take months, at least, to unravel what happens to the funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal rail agency's letter alleged that the High-Speed Rail Authority has failed to meet certain funding and accounting requirements for work on the bullet train project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter also said a review of the authority's documents led federal officials to conclude that the rail authority \"has failed to make reasonable progress\" on the project's initial segment in the San Joaquin Valley -- leading the federal agency to declare the work cannot be completed by the December 2022 deadline set by grant agreements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, a strong proponent of public transportation in general, said the Trump administration's criticism of the high-speed rail project is disingenuous at best.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's Donald Trump's allies in the Central Valley who have done everything in their power to slow down the land acquisition and the other logistical steps to build the project,\" Wiener said. \"So this project has been so politicized by Trump's own colleagues in the Republican Party who are opposing the project that it's hard for him to say, 'Well you didn't do it quickly enough.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Newsom may have put the high-speed rail project in the crosshairs by taunting Trump in his State of the State speech last week, Wiener wouldn't criticize the Democratic governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The governor said what he said and I believe what he was expressing was ... let's just finish the backbone of the system in the Central Valley. We're already constructing it. It's funded. Let's get it done and then we will move north and south from there.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Moore, a USC professor of engineering and public policy and director of the university's transportation engineering program, said the matter could well wind up in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore said the issues itemized in Batory's letter \"appear to me to be ... technicalities that normally would not stop a project. But much depends on the exact language in the full-funding agreements, and much depends on the posture the federal government wants to take. These are in fact agreements, they're contracts. There is an obligation to perform.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The question then becomes, 'What is substantive non-performance?' \" Moore said. \"That's typically where judges get involved.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moore also pointed to a 2010 case in which the Department of Transportation demanded repayment of grants awarded to a major transportation project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
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