Though the California legislature has given the green-light for the long-awaited, long-debated high-speed rail connecting L.A. to S.F., there still remain five persnickety lawsuits to be settled or litigated in the courts, and which still carry the threat of a possible injunction that would halt construction before it's begun.
Of the five, the two we've reported on before from Peninsula NIMBYs who wish this thing didn't have to come through their towns, are in the process of being settled, thankfully.
Then there are three pending in the Central Valley, from towns and farmers' groups claiming that the project was rushed through the planning stages and will illegally impact air quality and noise under the California Environmental Quality Act. While judges often side with the state on big projects like this, the threat of injunction remains, and one Central Valley organizer and opponent, Aaron Fukuda, says he's in this fight "to the very bitter end." Also and seriously all of this makes us really want to take a nap Santa Cruz environmental attorney Gary Patton, who's representing the opposition on the Peninsula and in the Central Valley, insists that there will be "real opposition at every little step."
For god's sake people, can we not build anything big in this country anymore without every last fool getting lawyer'd up?
And listen here, Central Valley towns who oppose this train: Much like the Intercontinental Railroad did for half of the Midwest, this shit is going to put you on the map. So pipe down.
