How many more must die by Caltrain- Another (suicide) death on the sacrifical CA High Speed Rail--Caltrain shill trackway, 8-2015, 60-since 2011, 219-since 1995

How many more must die on Caltrain's HSR surrogate tracks?   What can we do?

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 218 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 voters in the SF Peninsula area should have started in 2000 when SM and SC county voters overwhelmingly voted to support BART, 15 years ago, but late is better than never--especially for those who are toddlers today!

One can only wonder if others are dying in California along tracks secretly held frozen, without improvement for better, safer service, by Gov. Jerry Brown and other Rail Foamers in Southern California and Central California?

Latest deathcount on Democrats' CA HSR sacrificial Altar of Death: Caltrain of SF Bay Area

Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Burlingame voters must understand that Caltrain is and has been the placeholder for CHSRA High-Speed Rail placeholder from Sacramento-based Democrat Party and their local Democrat zombie puppets, Stepford Wives and Zombiers.  To them, it does not matter how many die, how violently since they decided in about 1995 to use Caltrain's tracks. 218 dead since 1995, 7 dead this year, and 59 dead since I started going to the PA aned MP City Councils in 2011 (to meetings after most deaths) to at least 10% each year 

This is the powerful state Democrat agenda, that unless Demcrats Hill, Speier, Eshoo, Honda, "oh so clever" Burt, are convinced to change their positions and support Atherton's Caltrain Electrification lawsuit--that lays out all the reasons for the recent and past track deaths, and fight Caltrain-HSR "improvements" rather than the far safer, same cost, electrified, no horns, more frequent service of BART, then the deaths will occur.  Despite MP's crocodile tears at recent meetings, and the unfunded underpass notion, the real solution is a consensus of Peninsula cities unified to fight the coming state Eminent Domain power of CHSRA and work to bring down BART to join with SJ/SC coming station. Unfortunately, another 200 will die during this planning-construction 20 year period. Too bad we didn't start planning and building BART southward from Millbrae back in 2000 when both counties voters approved BART to join the others around the Bay. 

Bottom line is that the Democrat power politics of CHSRA and its capitalist (profiteers) and socialist (leftist environmental, especially local Sierra Club and high-density (Smart Growth/Sustainable) central planning crony advocates will continue the deaths unabated, even if HSR comes through-no money for Grade Separations and its need for 20% operating funds from HSR-owned (Eminent Domain) retail and denser property values with 1/2 mile of stations--including Palo Alto. 

• Caltrain deaths are politically enabled as the Peninsula's placeholder, since 1995, for state and local Democrat's desire to impose inappropriate HSR into California. 
• (Listen to CHSRA Chair's interview on KCBS, 740 AM, January 11, 2015, and, Rod Diridon Sr's comments on KBAY 94.5, Sunday March 01, 2015 Sunday a.m. radio broadcast w/ Sam van Sant) 
• BART requires, by law, grade separation to zero-out such conflicrts with traffic and avoid many all-too-easy suicides, but it must complete the last 30 miles down the Peninsual from Millbrae to Santa Clara to loop the Bay for bi-directional doubling of capacity, not HSR

The voters of Peninsula voters have to stop being "Gruber-ized" by clever Democrat politicians and influence or elect those who are openly oppsed to Gov. Brown's "Moonbeam" HSR (not Democrat appeasers) and its devastating effects and higher taxes on adjacent communities, but more importantly on our lives.

Assembly Candidate George Yang, who ran for statewide office in 2014, and is likely to run in 2016 understands all this, supports BART around the Bay, including the Peninsula Caltrain replacement, and, if HSR cannot be stopped, then to run HSR up the East Bay to Oakland for riders to use BART from SJ or Oakland to get to SF, and, later, HSR will have a straight track to Sacramento by the demonstrably busy I-80 corridor--as Amtrak does now and with the Capitol Corridor trains..

[Similarly posted on Palo Alto Patch, 03-05-2015]

Two more Caltrain-HSR shill's sacrificial HSR Altar of Death-suicides in do-little Palo Alto Council's City

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.

9/20/14-- 2 more deaths on Democrat politicians' California High Speed Rail extortion Sacrificial Altar of Death delayed transportation facilities

Another 2 deaths, Saturday 9/20/2014, on SF Bay Area's Democrat Party politicians' High Speed Rail (outdated) Sacrificial transportation facilities' Altar of Death:   on the remaining 2-lane farm-to-market deadly 13 miles that leads (shockingly) into of SR152 Pacheco Pass, that I contend (after over 30 years of Santa Clara County citizen and motorist transportation advocacy, including for the early 1990's widening and now SR85 freeway) is directly related to holding back on a search for funding to widen this stretch to far safer 4-lanes in order to extort/fool the public that a toll road is the only way to build this.  Not true though. The real reason these people die (~7 year, plus injuries, property damage and costly congestion and related delays on this highway stretch since about 2004 when CAHSR Chair and rail advocate Rod Diridon Sr (now head of the USHSR Association) announced this would be the route of the future HSR.  Making SR152 Pacheco Pass a toll road would, according to official Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (SCVTA) past and current plan, VTP 2040, generate via the deadly extortion of widening it to a 4-lane Congestion Priced Toll Road over $2 Billion more than needed to construct and maintain it.  The $2Billion would be used to help fund the HSR through the Pass. Until Los Banos rejected a SR152 through its town, the plan had been to makie SR152 from Gilroy to Maders a CP Toll Road. SCVTA has NOT searched for grants, earmarks, or ARRA funds (like the Prunedale bypass, SR46 from Paso Robles to Lost Hills, etc) deliberately to drive for a motorist -CP Tolled windfall to flow to the HSR windfall.  Worse yet, HSR is and has been without public knowledge until last year, the reason that the easy Suicide/Accident killer train Caltrain continues to exist, rather than planning to finally encircle the SF Bay with one high capacity, frequent, safer, electrified, street-separated ( (zero congestion on nearby roads) rail sysstem: BART Around the Bay, as originally planned. Caltrain's outdated (1864) trackage have seen 7 people killed this year on its 64 miles of track, 48 since 2011, and 208 since 1994. Jerry Brown (and Diridon) admitted in separate on-air 2012 media interviews that they have been working to bring HSR "to California for 30 years". Caltrain was started in 1982 with initial 3 year funding by the first Jerry Brtown admiinistration.

Christie's so-called GW Bridgegate is nothing compared to this deadly SR152 Pacheco Pass and Caltrain scandal. It is particularly outrageous and egregious that these two deadly transportation facilities continue to kill and congest and pollute (think GHG) without funding to deliberately feed future HSR.  This is only possible because of the Democrat monopoly of SF Bay Area transportation politics who march together like Stepford Wive Zombies for HSR, no matter the human cost.  Neel Kashkari has been advised of this scandal, but does not seem to realize that Jerry Browm's Achilles Heel is his anti-motorist, anti-road, costly pro-HSR actions, some of which contribute to these accidents, deaths, and GHG.

07/23/14 Comment in Fresno Bee July 14, 2014 article about the first (abandoned, bar) building demolition to make way for the California HSR.  

CA HSR must be stopped to protect jobs that will be lost due to stated decreased roadside businesses, casinos. highway-dependent business cost increases and deprivation of various tax and fee, for example, Airport revenues from diverted motorists (supposedly) and worse, takes still precious and too-few funds for Californians safety net needs ranging from IHSS, schools, University student fee reductions, Calworks, children and disabled assistance, state hospital and prison improvements, our still-underfunded Court system that is slowing our constitutional needs for swift justice.  Worse yet, the Central Valley needs (jobs) for major water projects not absurd, political-only multi-tax increases, road toll (starting with SR152 Pacheco Pass (to Los Banos from US101 Gilroy (Caltrain’s not coincidental starting point—standard track width as HSR) in SCC, was originally to Madera (Wow!, surprise, surprise, then other "high-priority" freight corridors--Gagliani is as disingenuous as politicians can be (much more here) to fund this. 

So, it will cost many more jobs than HSR will create, from Casino workers, to truckers, warehousemen, agriculture, other road-dependent users (much more here). HSR competes with at least 100 flights per day from SF Bay Area to LA Area's "Intense Competition" corridor (per Virgin America, which just dropped its unprofitable routes in the corridor), 5 intercity scheduled coach lines--all of whom pay taxes and fees to all levels of local, regional, state (and Fed) govt entities.  Shame on this project.

But worst of all, is that SF Bay Area's (Gilroy-to-SJ-SF) Caltrain,  Jerry Brown and Rod Diridon Sr's acknowledged placeholder for HSR that they stated on CBS' Face the Nation w/Bob Schiefer and KBAY 94.5 Sunday a.m. Community Show last year, respectively, that they "...have been working for 30 years to bring HSR to California".

Caltrain was started by Gov. JB's initial funding in 1982, unbeknownst, and unapproved by the public with a deceitful and illegal ballot, authored by no-Livinston-Merced State Senator Gagliani, (CA 3rd Appellate Court Case C060441, January 2011) in Nov. 2008 (Proposition 1A).

 

My research of news articles has 205 dead on Caltrain’s (1864, yes Civil War era!) surface trackway ROW, since 1995, already 4+ this year, the latest only days ago July 10, 2014 in its Atherton trackway.  But, Jerry Brown doesn't care. He wants to spend taxpayer billion$ on his Crazy, wasteful, unnecessary, train to run through miles of empty land or, in the SF Bay Area, densely populated, dangerous, narrow Peninsula corridor to share 2 tracks with freight trains, 2 different speed schedules of Caltrain, and its own 110 mph runs. Crazy, Deadly, and Dangerous.    

I contend that the victims died because of Jerry Brown's obsession with his HSR Altar rather than serving the public for their true infrastructure needs with precious state tax and bond dollars..

Want more?  Here's more:  SR152's last 13 miles has been held up since 2005 when fellow Democrat Rod Diridon Sr’s (Brown's former  local 1978 re-election chair, progeny, CAHSR Chair, and, until recently taxpayer-funded (40 yrs) rail zealot, now head of the US HSR Association) announced the SR152 Pacheco Pass alignment would be the HSR route 3 years before the ballot measure.  Diridon had one of his students at the SJSU Mineta Transportation Institute (Diridon was CEO of the “Institute) do a "study" and survey about the palpability of toll roads to fund transit and rail (following the 2004 AB2002, Dutra law that permitted such for nearby transit lines from nearby toll roads). 

Accordingly, a study to finish that last 13 miles was suddenly halted shorthly thereafter due to"no money". 

Hah!  Despite TARP, ARRA, and multiple Highway Bills since, nothing has happened to seek federal or state road monies (pending their Democrat plan for Congestion-Priced Tolling with HSR being built nearby in the future to suck up road monies.  This is the model used in Portland Oregon's I-84/LRT combination, CA SR85/87 with LRT), and apparently France's Paris-Lyon HSR+Toll road.  

SF Bay Area and Central Valley Democrats, especially Gagliani, are aligned.  

But Quentin Kopp and Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom get it--the waste.  They understand HSR funds would be better spent on regional projects--BART all the way around the SF Bay-one high capacity, safer, heavy rail system; Water infrastructure needs funds in the Central Valley; and SoCal major rail and transit projects (roads,too?) need funds to move residents efficiently. 

Because of the (primarily Democrat, plus Republican Swearingen's foolishness), HSR Altar of death is resulting in motorists being killed and injured regularly in Truck/Car and Car/Car collisions on that unimproved, delayed, SR152 2-lane highway's last 13 miles: most recently May 14, 2014 a ghastly beheading in a 1995 Hyundai-truck crash. Just on Monday July 21, another died with others injured in a truck-multi-car crash. Yet, Gov. JB cut Caltrans funding this fiscal year, 2015. Incredible!

All this on Jerry Brown's HSR Altar of Death for HIS ego, not to serve the citizens, taxpayers, residents, motorists, tourists, emergency services works, and farmworkers who use the SR152 essential Farm-to-Market route from Salinas Valley work to/from the Central Valley, etc.  HSR must be killed, not people. So, the Jerry Brown HSR Altar of Death kills.   Hah, and critics say that NJ Governor has a 4-day scandal of delays, no deaths, on the GW Bridge fiasco.

How about JB's 30 year HSR scandal, or let's say last two years of his first administration and 4 years of this administration, where these two outdated transportation facilities remain unimproved 19th Century street level  trackway  (Caltrain:  46 dead since 1/1/2011) and an early 20th Century 2-lane highway (30 dead  estimated) only waiting due to JB's ego-driven rail fetish derived from an insecure childhood and a search for fame and notoriety--that congests and kills Californians in the meanwhile.

The circulating ballot measures and/or lawsuits must be successful to resume real job growth, replenish funding-short public services, schools, court justice and improve water, transportation and other infrastructure facilities. with far greater value to Neel's two focii. The above is just one face, but some of the Fresno-specific "canary in the mine" precursors for the lrest of this modern-day reincarnated SST (remember the SuperSonic Transport that was supposed to revolutionize air travel and "all developed countries" were moving toward adopting. Hah, the EU's Concorde, Russia's TU-144, and US'' Boeing and Lockheed proposal are all gone into the political wasteland of politicians' ego-driven failures. 

Governor Jerry Brown's fetish for this Crazy Train is his downfall.  I've twitted Neel K that JB's Achilles Heel is Transportation including this Crazy Train.   No malice here, just fact, tragedy, and comment.

The above can be verified by searching the web using names and keywords.   

Another NorCal death on the HSR Altars of Death: SR152, [and Caltrain--3 to date]

This latest death (05/14/14} on Pacheco Pass's last 13-mile 2-lane segment is so sad in that it was so unnecessary, except for mostly Democrat Party politicians regimented support for the HSR fraud along this route. Funding for conversion of the last 13 miles of SR152 Pacheco Pass, a southern and eastern Farm-to-Market 2-lane vital gateway to Monterey tourism, Silicon Valley, SF Bay Area and Central Valley jobs, residences, and innovation has deliberately stalled since 2006 in order to position this highway's fix for $ hostage taking to fund High Speed Rail by forcing SR152 to fund its adjacent rail, via Congested Priced Tolling.
SC VTA and its Democrat Board of Directors is hell-bent to hold up a non-toll funding search for this highway's safety upgrades to conventional or freeway standards, despite clear evidence that TARP, ARRA, and other funding, even earmarks could've and can been used as done in Prunedale and SR46 East of Paso Robles to Lost Hills. Despite Los Banos rejection, SC VTA wants to toll from US101 to I-5 Gustine--no matter how many people die. Additionally, and worse yet, the Democrat politicians in the SF Bay Area and Gov. Jerry Brown specifically, have been fighting to keep the deadly Caltrain (Suicide-Killtrain) from Gilroy to S.F. (the long-planned standard-track HSR route) as an HSR placeholder, no matter to Dems how many die on its long-outdated 1864 (Civil War, Covered Wagon era!) street=level tracks each month....204 dead since 1995, 45 since 1/2011, 15 since 1/2013 to block BART completing is full, safe, electrified, street-separated loop around SF Bay. Gov Brown announced last year that he has been "working for 30 years to bring HSR to California" (since his first term started Caltrain with $$$).
 Like a Third-World Dictator or ancient Emperor, that hundreds have died is irrelevant, collateral damage amongst the peasants, thus, to The Leader (Gov. JB) big iconic (wasteful, Unnecessary, subsidized) dreams for his legacy. Hah, and the media thinks NJ Gov Chris Christie had an issue with the 4-day G.Washington Bridge fiasco! This HSR-gate pales. Where are P.I. attorneys when we need them? Neel, Tim, this could be a worthwhile issue for the Governor's race. Feel free to contact me for more depth and information on this and Caltrain trackway's terrible, deadly, politically-inspired High-Speed Rail transportation corridor's managed obsolescence.  Human life has little value on the HSR altars of death on SR152 and Caltrain.

Metro buys out South County news sources/papers critical to Caltrain/HSR shill cover

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 train set 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."

Note: This blog is also posted on my other Blog: BART Around The Bay