Simitian's 8/6/15 outrageous and desperate "80%" sales tax to BART versus deadly Caltrain/ aka HSR comments

Reference recent article in local media (~August 6, 2015) citing Supervisor, former State Senator, and former Palo Alto City Council (PA) and and prior land-use attorney about spending county sales tax monies for BART for San Jose--ignoring that PA and county-wide voters overwhelmingly support BART, and, I submit, BART Around The Bay.  To get around the SF Bay, BART must first come to SJ, Santa Clara, then up the Peninsula, and/or down the Peninsula to finish the final 30 miles to close the bay area loop to make BART the most effective transit system in the West!  But, the state Democrat political machine, of which Simitian is a key member, is hell-bent to continue dangerous, deadly Caltrain as the outdated, human sacrificing, HSR surrogate (same track size, unlike BART's) where over 220 people have died on its tracks since he, Senator Hill, and other Dem's were first elected to office in the early 1990's Lives don't seem to matter over their Democrat political HSR allegiance.  

Thus, Simitian's "80%" comments are aimed at those uninformed or easily suckered that he is grossly taking advantage of in the worst way of any politician.   

This alleged 80% 'social justice' transportation inequity is the worst of Simitian's despicable demagoguery on the human sacrificial deadly Caltrain-High Speed Rail tracks.  It is another outcropping of the strongly state Democrat-machine backed HSR vs BART and other transit ops battle and his desperate attempt to rejoin the pro-HSR power block of crony-Capitalist profiteers and crony-Socialist Big Government Soviet style urban density advocates. Simitian ignores to mention a number of items: 

Palo Alto voters in both 2000 joined the 70%county-wide voters in approving that initial BART tax.  

In 2008, both MV and PA voters approved this "operations and maintenance 1/8c BART tax by 66.7%+.  

PA voters, the most educated and highest percentage of post-graduate degree residents of all SCC cities, and Mountain Viewers know that in order for BART to eventually get to their cities, to complete the final 30 miles from Millbrae to SCU to have a one-seat, no-transfers, bidrectional, high-capacity, far safer, zero traffic congesting, quieter, parallel bike/ped trail (redundancy for station incident bypass) loop (reference my BARTAroundTheBay blog) single Bay Area heavy rail reach to the major universities (SCU, SJSU, Stanford, Berkeley, etc), airports, walkable downtown centers, many shopping malls, and other major venues, using tunneling, trenching, at-grade (where no crossings) or aerial configurations--as each city deems appropriate--for about the same cost as the Caltrain ROW (since 1995 HSR placeholder current deadly tracks (227 dead, 16 this year, ~12+ annually)+ Dumbarton surface rail (re-using its 1910 pylons within the Don Edward Wildlife Refuge!)+$2 Billion SF tunneling to TBTerminal, and $1.7 Billion electrification monies). Simitian's despicable "80%" citation and MV and WV cities ignore broad likely and actual voter  support for BART, higher than Caltrain in both North County and South County in past surveys as well as the latest SVLG survey.   The Democrat/Labor Union, crony, and Democrat-led (BAC, SVLG) groups' support for HSR at all costs has, and continues to, ignore citizens desires to implement Silicon Valley's hallmark Creative Destruction to replace deadly Caltrain/HSR standard track's width with BART's unique tracks, while moving HSR, if it cannot be stopped, to come over the (ACE) Altamont Commuter tracks to SJ and Oakland (with BART connections to SF, as Amtrak SF-destined riders do today) as the ACE Board is apparently pushing as a lower cost, lower environmentally destructive, option to current Pacheco Pass tunneling.   With the all-Democrat Palo Alto out-of-touch, HSR-owned city council (Kniss, Wolbach, Berman, Burt, etc) and Democrat-HSR "Stepford Wife"-like majorities in Menlo Park, Mountain View and other Peninsula cities (not Atherton), Caltrain/HSR deaths will continue on this 1864 trackway.   SCC Supervisor Simitian, Sen. Hill, Speier, Tissier, Kniss, Eshoo and other early 1990s first-election politicians all have responsibility to terminate their support for HSR up the Peninsula in order to save 12-20 deaths/year on the Caltrain tracks until they can be replaced over the next 15-20 years with BART (with a safe, separate single freight track).  Congresswoman Speier, who built her politicial career on the basis of deaths around her over the years (Caltrain locomotive #925 emblazoned with her name) stated at the Golden Gate Bridge barrier dedication (16 died over the past 2 decades on bridge head-on collisions vs over 227 on Caltrain tracks--despite fewer Caltrain users/day). 

At the GG Bridge barrier dedication, Speier announced "It is is obligation of elected public officials to protect the public health and public safety", a fact Simitian, Kniss (a former union(?) nurse), Sen. Beall, and especially Senator Jerry Hill, ardent, long-time, BART foe have dutifully ignored in their allegiance to the HSR Democrat "Hall:" machine and its cronies.

Finally, Simitian's demagoguery could've been used when the Hetch-Hetchy aqueduct was being built toward Palo Alto from the Sierra with some of Palo Alto's upfront money. The same could have been said about I-280's construction as it was being built, partly with Palo Alto's gas taxes, and other infrastructure projects--until they arrived into Palo Alto.  

Clearly, Simitian and other Peninsula Democrats "80%" abuse is designed only to acquire more funds for the HSR money-sucking whirlwind cyclone using the deadly Caltrain tracks, and, to block efficient, effective BART around the Bay. 

Motorist Pulled from car on Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR tracks in Sunnyvale by heroic San Mateo Transit cops seconds before train hits, Monday 8-3-2015.

Motorist Pulled from car on Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR tracks in Sunnyvale by heroic San Mateo Transit cops seconds before train hits, Monday 8-3-2015.

It is absolutely crazy that Silicon Valley cities tolerate this deadly street level,1864 (pre-Civil War Appomattox peace signing, President Lincoln) trackage, except for knowing that the Sacramento power of the Democrat political machine that controls almost all city councils and legislative majorities because of Caltrain's same width trackage ass placeholder and sacrificial altar for High Speed Rail (or as former CAHSRA Chair now calls it "Low Speed Rail).  Until voters demand extending electrified, street separated (required by law), zero traffic congesting, B.A.R.T. the final 30 miles from Millbrae/SFO to Santa Clara future B.A.R.T. station & to connect communities, universities, shopping centers, etc. from their politicians, especially Democrats, this carnage risk on the outdated Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR tracks will continue.  

Political change with the ouster of State Senator Jerry Hill, a long-time opponent of B.A.R.T due to his longstanding HSR support on this embarrassing, deadly, trackway.  Incude Palo Alto City Council members notably (union?) nurse Liz Kniss and others.

 need Silicon Valley's famous "Creative Destruction" to replace Caltrain/HSR with modern BART (775 new BART cars on order to arrive starting in 2017).  Unfortunately, 200+ more will die during that 15-20 year plan-fund-build process--when the city councils move to bring BART down to Santa Clara to complete its bidirectional, high capacity, safe, frequent service via San Jose or San Francisco between the East, South, and Peninsula cities. If HSR cannot be stopped, then it should come to the Bay Area (SF, SJ, Oakland, East Bay) via ACE over the less costly Altamont, freeing up the very dense Peninsula for for far safer, more frequent, electrified, non-congestion, less carbon GHG pollutants--BART--"only" 7 have died this year on its tracks, though it runs many more trains on more stations with higher service frequency, and greater ridership (430,000 weekdays vs. 58,000 on Caltrain-Killtrain's reserved Democrat HSR "sacrificial altar of death" trackway. Since Caltrain's tracks were designated for HSR in the mid-1990's (per Dan Richard, CAHSRA Chairman, January 2015 KCBS interview) were designated for HSR 227 people, teens, hi-tech workers, tourist visitors, young and old, have died on these easy-to-access, outdated street-level trackage, 16 this year alone, 65 since I started periodically to attend Palo Alto (all Democrat), Menlo Park (Democrat majority) and other local (all Democrat controlled) city councils in 2011 appealing to them to seek BART down the rest of last 30 miles of the Peninsula Corridor that Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR altar tracks now occupy.. Unfortunately, some may say that local and Sacramento Democrat politicians' years-long acceptance and support of Caltrain-Killtrain-HSR accidents is not unlike Democrats outright callous, acceptance and encouragement of Planned Parenthood's fetus/baby abortions and body organ and limb sales due to their political aims

. 

Such is life in this Bay Area/Sacramento one-party political monopoly--until the people (voters) make the change.

Fresno landowners fight the altar of CA HSR, and, up another Caltrain-HSR shill death to 220 dead in SF Bay Area-Mountain View

Poatings on Fresno Bee site, 03-18-15 about Farmers resisting selling their land to CHSRA

People are dyinng now in the SF Bay Area due to the 1995 decision (13 years before 
Prop 1A in 2008, and 17 years before the formalized 2012 "blended Solution MOU) Dan Richard confirmed this decision on air (KCBS 740 AM radio "Indepth" Interview, January 11, 2015) by the nascent, secretive, CHSRA to share the Caltrain commuter surface train tracks (same size) which are at-grade. minor gate improvements do not improve an 1864 Civil War era street level track in the midlst of increasingly dense urbanity, no longer rural area.   220 people have died by accident or all-to-easy suicide on Caltrain's HSR tracks from SJ to SF since 1995, mostly by the 70mph Caltrain Express (Baby Bullet train.  HSR is planning to go up to 110mph for a faster horizontal guillotine effort to kill anyone on its tracks.  The ROW is frozen at street level awaiting HSR.  Horribly, 9 this year so far have died. including yesterday's suicide in Mountain View.  HSR has no $ or plans for most grade separations.  All the while, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) could use the 30 miles of the Caltrain-HSR ROW to build its required-by-law grade-separated tracks.   Where are the Personal Injury attorneys when we need them? More at my blog..BARTaroundthebay or freemotorist.   One can only wonder how many tracks HSR has reserved (frozen with minimal improvements) and for how long in Central Valley and LA Metrolink lines where others may also be getting killed.  HSR must be stopped.  As Newsom and Kopp and others have said, there are better local projects, whether rail, water (CV), or I-5.   Richard's statement about highways is bogus as Terry Stephan points out...because highways carry goods and services commerce, not just subsidized passenger bodies!  I-5 requires very few interchange improvements to fill its 8-lane design width since most road crossings in the CV are overcrossings..and a wider highway now is a safer highway with more lane room for human driving errors, unlike today's congested 1972-built 4-lanes,

Reply to Glen Parsons and Terry Stephans Comment on the article about Farmers resistance to sell land to CHSRA:
Central Valley needs water, reservoirs (and recreation), distribution systems, and 4-lane+ highways, I-5 and SR99 to 6 or 8 lanes, not 2-lanes; SR43, 140, 145, 65, 58 to I-5, 46, etc; SF Bay Area needs BART around the Bay, 34 miles or so to go to carry ~800,000 up from about 420,000/day now; and LA area needs more non-toll highway upgrades, esp. SR1238, SR14, I-210, 74, 79, 118, 126, 23, etc, safer rail, and transit. No one needs or wants HSR--except 40-yr taxpayer gigolo Diridon and Richard and Morales "rail foamers" who never outgrew their childhood enthusiams for choo-choo trains-at the expense of UC, CSU student tuition (discount Gov Brown's typical two-step--stealing from students by General Fund HSR interest on bonds ($550 Million/yr at each $10Billion in bonds), Cal works, Court system justice underfunding, In-home care, Medi-cal reimbusrement, K-12 education, homeless, mentally ill care. Brown is a terrible Democrat, elitist hypocrite with HSR exercising his childish train fetish (2012 interview with CBS' Face the Nation, Bob Sceifer, later with Scott Pelley "I've been working to bring HSR to California for 30, 40 years". At January 27, 2015 HSR groundbreaking: "I like trains")--no matter who gets hurt or what the cost, including all the deaths on the frozen-in-place HSR shill in the SF Bay Area since 1995...when 220 people have died by Caltrain collision accidents or all-too-easy Gov. Brown-provided suicide, horizontal guillotine effect- euthanasia on the tracks. 9 have died this year on the Caltrain-HSR tracks, including yesterday's latest in Mountain View. Terrible.

Another Caltrain -HSR sacrificial Altar of Death killing 219 since 1995, 60 since 2011, 8 YTD 2015

How many more must die before Caltrain is replaced by safer SF Bay Area BART?

Posted on Palo Alto Patch: Monday, 03-09-02015 after a 15 year old boy from Paly High (is deemed to have) kills self by the Caltrain Killtrain.

What we can do is fight to pressure the respective Democrat-controlled city/town councils along the Peninsula Rail Corridor to bring far safer, grade-separated--by law! to replace this 1864 (US Civil War, once Rural) trackway with electrified, quieter, more frequent, high-farebox recovery BART down the Peninsula. I've been doing this for the past 4 years, ever since a grandfather of 5 that I used to see in the supermarket was killed by a Caltrain, similar to the latest one near blossom Hill. Since I've been begging the city councils (right after many deaths occur) to open talks to extend BART and close the BART Around The Bay loop for safety in 2011--60 have died.   Also, demand at tonight's (most Mondays) 6:pm Palo Alto Council meeting that Palo Alto join the Atherton lawsuit against Caltrain-HSR Electrification as they cited multiple similar safety issues that are built-in to the Caltrain-HSR surface trackway. Remember, Caltrain tracks are the designated HSR trackway since 1995--13 years before the deceptive, unconstitutional ballot 2008 vote for Prop 1A HSR. (KCBS "Indepth" interview with CHSRA Chair Dan Richard, January 11, 2015: Gov. Jerry Brown, "...working for 30 years to bring HSR to California." Face the Nation interview with Bob Schiefer, 2012 (Caltrain was started in with Gov Brown funding in 1982) ).
Worse yet, the election of Sacramento Democrat machine puppets Liz Kniss and Sen. Hill's coy Cory Wolback have created a pro-HSR majority on the all-Democrat PA CC, so only public pressure from locals, esp. Democrat citizens, *might* get them to buck Sacramento's powerful Democrat machine--Peninsula Lives Matter!!!.  These kids and the 219 who have died on Caltrain's tracks since the 1995 decision by Sacto's CHSRA to use these tracks (same size as HSR, unlike BART's different track width). If HSR is to be then, it ought to go up the East Bay, not the more densely, and increasingly dense, dead-end (no pun) Peninsula Corrdior.  BART's elevated, tunnel, or trench requirement will save lives. The sooner we start to get BART, now that all counties have voted for it, and PA and MV voters in 2008 both voted (Measure A) by over 2/3 to tax themselves for BART additional 1/8 cent, then the sooner these deaths, even suicides, will be reduced due to harder to access tracks--but the citizens and councils and all levels of govt (Dem) must form a consensus to work with VTA and SamTrans to collaborate with BART and get funding.  BART will have the newer cars then--and allow bicycles more as well
The sooner we start this effort, the sooner the 15-20 year plan-fund-build work will replace Caltrain-HSR street-level tracks with BART grade separated tracks.  As I have repeatedly advised PA, MP, MV councils, that still means these higher speed, horizontal-guillotine violent  dismemberment or crushing deaths, especially by the higher speed (Baby) Bullet trains will amount to about 200 more dead on the tracks.  How many more must die before we work to stop this sad, horrorific situation in our midst?  We should have started in 2000 when SM and SC county voters overwhelmingly voted to support BART, 15 years ago.

Two more die on Gov. Brown's Caltrain HSR-placeholder Altar of Death route in recent 3 weeks

On October 15, 2014 a 19-year old, 1-year post-high school graduate committed suicide, according to Caltrain's administration, near the Charleston Road crossing,  by placing himself in front of an oncoming urban Caltrain street-level commuter rail placeholder (for High Speed Rail)...yet another of Governor Jerry Brown's and California Democrat Party political sacrifice...on his vanity(vanity per Kashkari) project HSR, and its altar of (easy access) death.

On November 4, 2014 another teenager, 16 years old from Palo Alto's Gunn High School, Caltrain suspects committed suicide around 1:00 am just south of Palo Alto's California Street station.   This is yet another of Governor Jerry Brown's and California Democrat Party political sacrifice...on his vanity("vanity project" per Neel Kashkari, former 2014 candidate for Governor) project HSR, and its altar of (easy access) death. '

I am concerned that these all-too-easy fatalities, whether by accident or suicide or whatever, amounting to 9 this year, 2014; 50 since 1/1/2011, 210th since 1/1/1995, are a continuing result of the one-party, e.g., Democrat, majority rule, monopoly, and obedience of the unified result of San Francisco Bay Area political bodies at local, county, regional, state, and federal levels who have united to support their insensitive, uncaring, ego-driven Democrat Governor and the cronies who support him, regardless of how many die on these outdated trackage, a deadly embarrassment to Silicon Valley's innovation, creative, and "creative destruction attitude that prevails up the SF Bay Peninsula--except for this long-time deadly street level HSR shill--Caltrain.  Even HSR is currently set to be at street level, thus terminating those people on its shared street tracks, but at 110 mph instead of Caltrain's up  to 75 mph speed (whether by accident or suicide).

It is past time to start work to replace Caltrain-HSR shill with a safer, electrified, street-separated, zero traffic congesting, bay area wide, integrated real mass transit system--BART.   Replacing the Caltrain-HSR shill will cost about the same as "upgrading" the outdated Caltrain-HSR train from SJ to SF by replace it with BART for the final 30 miles up the Peninsula, to seamlessly connect and close the Bay Area loop with Eastbay commuters to/from the Peninsula's Silicon Valley employers.  BART should save many more lives due to its legally required street separation.  Unfortunately, replacing Caltrain-HSR with BART will take about 15-20 years, thus another 200 deaths of friends, neighbors, and others on Caltrain-HSR tracks.  But, the effort will only start with public/voter pressure on local, regional, and state Democrat officeholder sufficient to overcome Governor Brown, the (anti-human) Sierra Club, Big Labor, and Democrat-led Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Bay Area Council go-along, get-along business members.

Here is a 2010 article response Comment about these unfortunate deaths and the Mineta Transportation Institute's so-called "Correction" about Caltrain deaths, for some background:

 Important footnote:  In 2010 the earmark, specially Democrat funded "Mineta Institute for Transportation" //(MIT) was headed and, from my own experience, an anti-automobile, pro-rail federal and state Democrat funded advocacy "institute" (hah!!!!) thus any such "Correction": as noted above that downplays the extreme danger of this outrageous, out-of-place, ought-to-be, and once was pre-urban, rural commuter train that runs through increasingly dense SF Bay Area Peninsula cities at street level (causing huge cross and parallel traffic delays must be viewed from MIT's  "rail foamer" bigotry.  The hidden agenda is the scandal that not only prevents electrified street-separated BART from replacing this deadly Caltrain (210 dead since 1995, 50 since 1/1/2011, and 9 so far this year on this historic (1864 US Civil War built) trackage, but that Caltrain is really the Peninsula placeholder for the CA and Bay Area Democrats' High-speed rail corridor--regardless of how many lives must be sacrificed by suicide or accident.  As Gov Jerry Brown and MIT's then-ExecDir, former CAHSRA now US HSR head, Rod Diridon Sr said, in separate media (CBS Face-the-Nation with Bob Schiefer), Kbay, Southbay Sunday with Sam van Zandt) interviews, verbatim that "I've been working for 30 years to bring high speed rail to California...." HSR was only approved in 2008, though the CAHSRA had been funded for over a decade by Sacramento Democrat legislators.  Additionally, I allege that the last two-lanes 13 miles of SR152 Pacheco Pass near Gilroy that kills and injures a number of people every year (4 dead this year alone) because it was determined by local Democrats to be extorted into an improved 4 lane congestion-priced toll road whose excess revenue (about $2Billion to 2040) could help fund the adjacent planned HSR.  That is the full story of the result of one-party Democrat monopoly control of all local, county, regional, state, and federal elected and appointed boards--and the two leading business leadership groups in cahoots.  By the way, another two suicides occurred on the Palo Alto Caltrain-HSR tracks in the past 3 weeks--but public officials (Democrat- controlled) will do nothing in sacrificial service to their crony-capitalist (or, perhaps, crony Socialist)HSR god.  If HSR is to be, then it should follow the existing Amtrak route to San Jose, then Oakland to points east, not the few riders heading to SF.

I am hopeful that political candidates running for office in the November 2014 California elections will take on the proper and wise and cost-effective and transportation excellence cause of BART Around The Bay by committing to replace Caltrain along the SF Peninsula with BART over the next two decades and provide a transferless frequent, safer, non-polluting rail capability for travelers at any major trip generation point around the Bay.  

Caltrain Death Count as of today:
7 dead in 2014 into August.
48 dead since 1/1/2011
208 dead since 1/1/1995

Below is another recent blog on the BAtB Twitter:

On the question of Grade-separating street-level tracks such as Caltrain has, are not as effective as grade-separated tracks as BART would have. 

Caltrain's easy street-level fatalites, including suicides, and accidents ought to speak loudly to you. Caltrain deaths at San Antonio road overcrossing of the Caltrain street-level tracks and other i/cs are clear. Additionally, Caltrain has a higher kill rate due to its train-to-track clearance than BART--which, because of its third rail has more space--and has saved lives from both suicide attempts and accidents from those who fell on the tracks, much to the dismay of the former.

As for costs, the Transportation Demand Management capability of one-seat BART Around The Bay to unite East, South, and Bay riders, commuters, event attendees, University students, and shoppers, offers huge environmental, time, and motor-vehicle cost-saving benefits.  As written previously in blogs of "BARTAroundTheBay" and "Freemotorist', apparently some rigid Caltrain (always done it this way") zealots cannot understand readily that spending another dime on Caltrain also known as the 30-year High-Speed Rail (HSR) shill and placeholder (as Jerry Brown and his 40-yr long taxpayer-funded pro-rail progeny Rod Diridon Sr confirmed when they both said that they"...have been working to bring HSR to California for 30 years" KCBS-Face The Nation, 2012; KBAY Sunday Southbay w-Sam Van Zandt-2012). 

Caltrain was initially funded by Gov JB1 in 1982, 30 years ago, with local support by then-politician Diridon.  Replacing Caltrain (a 15 yr project for the future betterment of the Bay Area transit users, in which another 200 people or so will die on Caltrain's tracks), and using its Right Of Way (ROW) for BART Around The Bay wouild minimize cost by $Billions.  

Redirecting the $5Billion or so planned for Caltrain-aka HSR construction from SJ to SF and the TransBay Terminal, to BART would go a long way to closing the $8 Billion in funding for the last 21 miles gap in BART Around The Bay from Millbrae to the planned SouthBay/SCU station.  This would nearly double BART's capacity with unified two-way BART travel capability around the bay area's major university, shopping, airport/train, downtowns' trip generation points.  

Caltrain (aka HSR) vs BART cost deflection arguements ignore that, as Brown and Diridon said essentially, Caltrain is HSR. HSR is going to cost well over the current $68 Billion fraudulent number for a completely unneeded public tax(es), toll, and fee choo-choo.  

Eight Billion $ for a top-notch BARTAroundTheBay two-way closed-circuit, frequent, safer, electrified, grade-separated (by tunnel, trench, or aerial viaduct) zero-congesting rail, is far 'cheaper and far more beneficial than the boutique, limited, less-frequent, dangerous, polluting (think:1910 Dumbarton Rail resurrection) over the now-Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge South Bay. waters) back-and-forth only limioted set of at-capacity trains. 

Embrace a better SF Bay Area backbone (high-capacity) mobility future, not mired in "always done it this way thinking", certainly not in progressive Silicon Valley/SF Bay Area where "Creative Destruction" is the hallmark of our innovation and creativity.

SJ Metro papers buyout Santa Clara/San Benito crucial news sources

On news today that Metro Newspapers bought out the critical newspapers of Gilroy Dispatch, Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Freelance and Santa Cruz paper, I wrote the following Reply with respect to these communities and their newspapers key informative role in the Governor Brown's Northern California Trackway Scandal that far outpaces anything New Jersey Governor Christie is alleged by his opponents to have done.   Here, in Calfornia, Governor Brown's longstanding rail fetish, dating back to his first term where he used, manipulated state road right of way lands to effect the return of taxpayer-funded mostly inefficient, congesting, money-losing streetcars (now labeled with the generic term of "light rail") that failed due to their inflexibility in contrast to auto-mobiles and buses and coaches.

But despite 204 deaths to date from 1/1/1995 to today, at a current rate of more than 1 death per month, including too-easy suicides. Already 3 track deaths this year, 2014, including a Pleasanton-homed Good Samaritan high-tech worker (Nividia) death in Santa Clara, just two days after the SC VTA held a "celebration" of Caltrain, the HSR's 30-year SF Bay Area Peninsula rail placeholder\.  Incredible, to think this aged trainset is allowed to exist, and no Democrat in any local, regional, state, and federal position, except truly progressive Gavin Newsom are willing to fight to redirect HSR funds to local/regional needs, such as closing the final one-seat rail gap from SJ to SF with safer, electrified, non-congesting, frequent two-way BART in the Caltrain/HSR right-of -way:  Here's my Reply note in Metro's San Jose Insider comment on Metro's takeover of the South Santa Clara County's critical news sources"

"I hope Metro maintains the independent integrity that Metro & Insider demonstrated on the Shirakawa and other scandals....  Gilroy and MH are the crux of SoCounty/SCC VTA HSR fraud enablement--and Democrat-backed VTA Board's plan for the final 13 mile SR152 (joint with SR156) Pacheco Pass toll road to US101 to help fund it (as allowed for nearby transit facilities, per AB2032, Dutra, 2004).  Sorry to read of Gilroy Editor Mark Derry's departure.
Christie's Washington Bridgegate issues are nothing compared to Caltrain, the now, out-of-the-closet, placeholder/shill admitted Jerry Brown and Rod Diridon Sr clear rail fetish put on taxpayers, with its 150 year old street-level suicide, accident deathtrap and increasingly dense congestion (GHG) generator. The Caltrain shill, with same track size as HSR, blocking finally extending BART around the whole Bay, as BART was originally planned, and that all Bay Area counties have approved taxes to support BART, indeed, SCC by 2/3 vote in 2008!
BART would be super-efficient with dual direction high-frequency, safer, electrified, quieter, one-seat rail transit (like the 2 freeway loops around the Bay), separated from street-level traffic (required by law).
Both Gov. Brown and Diridon had on-air interviews (CBS Face the Nation w/ Bob Schiefer, and KBAY Sunday a.m with Sam Van Sant(?) in mid-2012) where they admitted to their up-to-now secret agenda. They both said they've been "...working to bring High Speed Rail to California for the past 30 years."  This is when the first Gov. Brown gave the initial 3-year funding for Caltrain (1982).
The scandal is that hundreds have died in Caltrain's 150-year old street level trackway.  Based on B.A.N.G. reporting, 204 dead since 1/1/1995, 45 dead since 2010, three this year (2014) continues the average of just more than  12 dead per month. Far fewer die on BART by any measure, including suicides.  New BART trains, more bicycle friendly focus, and huge efficiencies result by our politicians and business leaders planning BART to close the last 21 mile gap from Santa Clara (Univ) to Millbrae with minimal neighborhood and environmental or land needs would be possible by replacing deadly Caltrain by ending HSR and redirecting NoCal $ to bring BART to SJ, SCU, then up to Millbrae.  This save Billions that would be needed to update, separate, electrify, the incompatible Caltrain with BART's united efficient, ultimate Bay Area Loop.
Gilroy and MH would be better served with a Santa Cruz VTA coach-like service north to SJ multi-modal train/bus station than infrequent, rigid Caltrain, thus, the importance of Gilroy and MH, Hollister and commuters'points south--and completing SR152 without any tolls (we already pay for roads with our auto taxes and exorbitant auto fees).
 This deadly, congestion-causing Caltrain placeholder for HSR ought to be investigated and exposed, at least since Santa Clara and SM Counties' voters voted to support BART, as other Bay Area counties did previously.  Note that BART took over the ROW of at least 3 other formerly street-level trackways. Christie's 4-day Bridgegate is nothing compared to Brown's HSR/Caltrain Trackgate!

The Bay Area needs the Josh and Dan duo to investigate and expose this deadly, ongoing Caltrain/HSR sham and scandal that pollutes and endangers Peninsula residents instead of BART."

Also, posted on my Freemotorist blogspot site.