Lats Friday, Joan Irvine Smith (wealthy heiress, environmental activist and hard-core anti-241 opponent) and Richard O'Neill (wealthy developer and former California Democratic Party chairman)
hosted a reception for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who is running for Treasurer.
While billed as a reception honoring Lockyer, judging by the roster of speakers it was more like an anti-Foothill South rally. Bill Lockyer recounted his efforts to litigate the 241 completion to death. Lockyer was followed by Governor Schwarzenegger's brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Joel Reynolds -- both of whom are dedicated to killing the completion of the 241 toll road.
According to my source, some of those in attendance were actually Foothill South supporters who were under the impression the event was going to be what it was billed as: a Lockyer reception.
Among those in attendance at this event for the Democratic Treasurer nominee was Cassie DeYoung, who two nights before had been a guest speaker at the Laguna Woods Democratic Club along with Democratic Controller nominee John Chiang.
Now, what was Cassie DeYoung doing at a Bill Lockyer/anti-Foothill South rally?
Remember, Cassie DeYoung is on record as supporting completion of the 241 toll road (albeit on the condition that TCA and the enviros find a mutually agreeable consultant to do another EIR). Does her attendance at this anti-241 rally signal a change in position?
Or was Republican DeYoung one of those who went thinking it was a reception to honor the Democratic nominee for state Treasurer?
Neither possibility is comforting to 5th District voters who are pro-241 completion, Republican -- or both.
Blogger and Huntington Beach council candidate Joe Shaw posted yesterday about a HB City Council
workshop which took place Monday. The topic: the proposed Huntington Beach-to-Anaheim choo-choo, which the city is using a $100,000 OCTA Go Local grant to study:
Cathy Green, Huntington Beach's OCTA Queen, is getting behind a $100,000 study involving a diesel engine taking passengers almost to the beach and almost to Disneyland. "This could really be a fabulous thing," said Green.
If fabulous is getting off a train at Ellis Ave. three miles from the beach or in Anaheim 1/2 mile from the Magic Kingdom. It will be nearly impossible to get the train from Ellis to the beach. Can you imagine a diesel engine running people from Anaheim through our city's most upscale neighborhoods to the Beach? Ain't. gonna. happen.
I just have to say it again, studying PRT makes a lot more sense, it just takes a little vision to get there. It would be far wiser to use the $100,000 studying a technology that is more energy efficient, actually can go where people want to go and is affordable.
You can read the rest of Joe's post here.
Another workshop participant sent along these observations:
Green proposes using the Union Pacific freight track that runs south from Stanton and terminates at Ellis Street. They haven't a clue about how to get the remaining three miles to the beach.
Other bullets of this awful plan include deftly avoiding both Disneyland and Downtown Disney, coming only within about a quarter-mile of the area.
Also, the segment where the route turns north near Disney is in the middle of a residential neighborhood that now only hears freight cars on an infrequent basiss.
There was no discussion of the number of grade crossings or any speculation as to traffic stoppages due to a train passing by.
The route to the Anaheim Metrolink station is is very convoluted -- and runs on the street somewhere along its northernmost route. I think the locomotive could have some small number of passenger cars trailing behind it.
The double-pointed arrow on the graphic illustrates the desire to build a more direct connection to the Metrolink station, but I can tell you they are unlikely to find any space for that to happen, and certainly not along expensively groomed Katella Avenue.
The Public Works Department people quietly mentioned that Anaheim wasn't thrilled with the idea of this large train running on their streets, they apparently going to be the sponsor city for this scheme, in any case. Stanton, Garden Grove and Westminster might also join this team.
Cathy Green was beside herself with enthusiams for this plan, and outgoing Councilman Dave Sullivan was also strongly in favor. HB Councilwoman Debbie Cook was predictably reserved and repeated her interests in Bus Rapid Transit.
And although this train is proposed to run along the Union Pacific's right-of-way, no one seems to have asked the Union Pacific about it, according to this workshop participant:
The notion of running a diesel train, however modern, by HB's million-dollar homes and into an area that the Coastal Commission has some say over is ridiculous. They've ignored all the possible alternatives and apparently have yet to speak with the Union Pacific.
My understanding is Union pacific has no interest in this idea or any other transit project running along their right-of-ways. A lot of work and tax money could be expended on this by the above-mentioned cities, only to have the UP tell them to go pound sand. It's a mistake to assume Union Pacific will simply submit to political pressure and surrender use of their right-of-way.
Close enough for government work, I suppose.
