Which Way, L.A.?
Do-or-Die-Time for California's Bullet Train
High-speed rail must build now or lose $2.2B in federal funding. Also, local pastors divest money from big banks. Will McCourt sell the Dodgers? And the Beltway Bubble.
By Warren Olney • • 52m ListenIn 2008, voters approved a route from LA to San Francisco but today, the High-Speed Rail Authority said costs have more than doubled and that completion will be delayed by 13 years. It's never been clear where all the money would come from or why the first leg will go from Chowchilla to Bakersfield. In any case, the Authority's under the gun to start building now or lose $2.2 billion in federal start-up funding. We get the latest. Also, local pastors divest money from big banks. On Reporter's Notebook, is Frank McCourt about to sell the Dodgers? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, do America's movers and shakers live in a bubble?
Banner image: Illustration of a typical Anaheim grade crossing along with high-speed rail. Illustration courtesy of the California High Speed Rail Authority.
In this episode
4 storiesFrank McCourt Leaning toward a Sale
Today's Los Angeles Times , citing unnamed sources, reports that Frank McCourt may be forced to sell the Dodgers. The price could be a record one billion dollars. Bill Shaikin wrote the story.
Read the story7 minA 'Watershed Moment' for High-Speed Rail
The ultimate cost of California's high-speed rail system has doubled from $43 billion to almost $100 billion, and the completion date has now been moved from 2020 to 2033. Those announcements came today from the High-Speed Rail Authority, which is taking its latest proposal to the state legislature under deadline pressure.
Read the story13 minLocal Churches Divest from Big Banks
Today, a group of local church leaders called LA Voice told Wells Fargo and Bank of America they were divesting their money. At Third and Hope Street outside B of A, KCRW's Saul Gonzalez spoke with former Obama White House aide Van Jones (at right), now president and co-founder of an activist group called Rebuild the Dream .
Read the story6 minDo America's Movers and Shakers Live in a (Beltway) Bubble?
Washington, DC has now replaced California's Silicon Valley as the wealthiest metropolitan area in the United States. Is that putting policymakers, politicians and journalistic pundits out of touch with the problems of ordinary Americans? Is that why they've been so slow to address the housing crisis and unemployment?
Read the story27 min
