Job Hunting Articles

JobHuntersBible.com: Newsletter Archive

Job Hunting Articles



All job-hunting articles divide into three basic categories:
WHAT, (What do you want to do?)
WHERE, (Where do you want to do it?)
and HOW (How do you get hired there?)


My Parachute Picks:

WHAT do you want to do?
1998 Career Guide: Find Your Career
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/bccguide.htm
Written particularly for college students or would-be college students, this guide from U.S.News and World Report lists "the hottest jobs of the year in 20 different fields" and has career outlooks for those jobs; it also lists related job-listing sites and associations, for each career. Very Nice! This guide has a number of other interesting articles, such as "Job search on the Net," "Part-time career paths" and "Estimated Starting Salaries for Graduates."

When the normal lists don't interest you, and your searching for something really different, check Unusual Jobs.

For additional help with the WHAT question, look in the Research section of this Guide, under Research Sites: Career Fields

WHERE do you want to do it?
Informational Interviewing
http://danenet.wicip.org/jets/jet-9407-p.html
This important technique, serving as an alternative to the traditional job-hunt, is explained and discussed at this site; while they make the technique a bit more complex than it needs to be, this site still provides a good overview.

For additional help with the WHERE question, look in the Research section of this Guide, under Research Sites: Geography and Research Sites: Companies.

HOW do you get hired there?
Careers.wsj.com
http://www.careers.wsj.com
Under the heading "Job-Hunting Advice," this site has a number of articles about the HOW: Including how to react after losing one's job, plus other HOWs: Making a career change, relocating, searching, networking, using resumes and interviewing. While the articles are aimed at executives and management, their advice should be useful to all job-hunters. Taken from the Wall Street Journal's archives (among other places), these articles are on this relatively new Web site, under the leadership of Tony Lee, a former editor of WSJ's National Business Employment Weekly. (The one negative: The way that frames are used on this site drives me nuts. Some other users of the site have reported a similar reaction. Hopefully, however, you will love them.)
Virtual Interview
http://campus.monster.com/tools/virtual/
Monster.com's Career Center has a famous virtual interview exercise. It gives you the opportunity to practice a hiring interview, by offering you questions with multiple choice answers, and then telling you whether or not you chose the best answer. If you did not, it gives you a chance to try and choose a better answer the second time around. While some of the questions are cute, in the case of the more serious questions, personally I didn't think any of the answers they offered was the correct ones to give! The exercise needs: "None of the above" as an option, after each question. But, taken with a grain of salt, the exercise is fun to do, and you should learn some things by practicing.
Copyright©1996-2009 by Richard N. Bolles
All rights reserved. No part of this site may be quoted or reproduced without written permission.
For any suggested additions, updating or corrections to this site, please e-mail the Webmaster.

High Speed Rail in a national context

Getting America to Ride the High-Speed Rails

HNTB's America THINKS survey highlights public perspectives on high-speed train travel

KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The romance of riding the rails may be returning to America thanks to new federal funding and a public hungry for ways to save time, money, the environment, and add a measure of convenience in their hectic lives.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090407/CG95377)

According to a new study commissioned by HNTB Corporation, more than half of Americans (54 percent) would choose modern high-speed trains over automobile (33 percent) and air travel (13 percent) if fares and travel time were about the same.

"Our country needs high-speed rail as part of a balanced transportation system," said Peter Gertler, chair of the firm's high-speed rail practice. "It has been the missing lynchpin in our national network. Without it, the whole system is less effective."

Now is the time to act

High-speed rail is receiving renewed attention in this country due to a variety of factors, including last year's spike in fuel prices, the passage of a $10 billion bond measure in California last November to support the development of a high-speed rail system there, and $8 billion this year for high-speed rail in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Prominent supporters from both political parties include President Barack Obama; Vice President Joe Biden; Rep. Jim Oberstar, chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Rep. John Mica, ranking Republican member of the committee; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, who recently toured high-speed rail systems in Spain.

The survey showed Americans would be most excited by the possibility of more convenient travel (71 percent), less expensive fares (69 percent) and faster trains (55 percent) with the introduction of high-speed rail in their region.

Gertler said educating people who haven't ridden high-speed trains remains a priority. There were clear differences between experienced and nonexperienced riders, including a much lower preference for traveling to large cities nearby via car (41 percent versus 69 percent) and a higher expectation of productivity when traveling high-speed rail on business (51 percent versus 38 percent). He added the fact that less than three in ten (29 percent) Americans understand the environmental impact high-speed trains can have versus traditional train travel - and high-speed rail's overall positive impact versus other forms of transportation - emphasizes the need for a more informed public.

"High-speed rail will benefit the country in a variety of ways, including improved mobility, job creation, reduced usage of fossil fuel and fewer annual greenhouse gas emissions," Gertler said. "High-speed trains use one-third as much energy as comparable air travel and consume less than one-fifth as much energy as driving. This is proven technology that America can adopt and protect its status as a mobility super power."

Transforming transportation in America

High-speed trains operate significantly faster than traditional trains, traveling from 110 mph to more than 200 mph. The highest-speed trains are powered by electricity, but others run on diesel fuel. Currently, the only operational high-speed rail system in the U.S. is the Acela Express, which travels between Boston and Washington, DC, and achieves speeds up to 150 mph.

HNTB's research, the second in a series of "America THINKS" surveys, found even greater acceptance of high-speed rail among the 18 percent of Americans who have experienced such travel here or abroad. An overwhelming majority of high-speed train travelers (82 percent) found it more enjoyable than plane travel and slightly more than half (51 percent) said they would be most productive on high-speed trains when traveling for business.

"For more than 40 years, with the exception of the Acela, the United States has not been able to implement high-speed rail while other countries developed, ran, and are retiring their first high-speed trains to museums," Gertler said. "Now with new funding and renewed vision, more Americans will be able to appreciate the value of this transformative transportation alternative."

Even among those who haven't traveled by high-speed rail, more respondents said they would prefer traveling on such trains (22 percent) rather than by plane (6 percent) or bus (3 percent) to the closest large city. Only Americans' love affair with their cars provided a stronger pull (69 percent).

In fact, nearly half of the nation (49 percent) said the best benefit of high-speed rail in their region would be the ability to travel more easily to cities up to 400 miles away. Experts agree high-speed rail is best-suited for journeys of 100-500 miles or 1 to 3 hours. The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration has identified 10 such corridors as potential centers of high-speed rail activity.

About the survey

HNTB's America THINKS survey polled a random nationwide sample of 1,007 Americans March 18-23, 2009. It was conducted by Kelton Research, which used an e-mail invitation and online survey. Quotas were set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population ages 18 and over. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.

About HNTB Corporation

HNTB Corporation is an employee-owned infrastructure firm serving federal, state, municipal, military and private clients. With nearly a century of service, HNTB has the insight to understand the life cycle of infrastructure and the perspective to solve the most complex technical, financial and operational challenges. Professionals nationwide provide award-winning planning, design, program management and construction management services. For more information, visit www.hntb.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Additional Survey Results

• Seven in ten (70 percent) think train travel in general would be more appealing to Americans if it included more routes or cities in certain regions.
• A majority (56 percent) of Americans would be more apt to sign-up for high-speed train travel if it was the most comfortable option.
• Americans who live in urban areas are the biggest proponents of improved quality and comfort of train travel (65 percent) versus rural and suburban dwellers (57 percent).
• Nearly a third (31 percent) place job creation at the top of their lists benefits from high-speed rail coming to their region.
• Women would be more excited than men about the environmental benefits of high-speed rail in their area (45 percent versus 41 percent) while more men would appreciate faster trains (62 percent versus 50 percent.)

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Peter Gertler

http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=87447

California High-Speed Rail Authority officials funded till end of fiscal year

Balance of 2008-09 Funding for High-Speed Train Confirmed

Balance of 2008-09 Funding for High-Speed Train Confirmed
Posted : Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:05:34 GMT
Author : California High-Speed Rail Authority
Category : Press Release



SACRAMENTO, Calif. - (Business Wire) California High-Speed Rail Authority officials confirmed today that the balance of its funding for the 2008-09 fiscal year has been made available by the State Treasurer’s Office.

The state’s High-Speed Rail Finance Committee approved the Authority’s $29.1 million bond loan request in January, but processing was stalled due to the state’s Pooled Money Investment Board’s decision to freeze disbursements for this and other projects until the successful sale of General Obligation bonds on March 25.

Following the successful sale of the bonds, the State Treasurer’s Office notified the High-Speed Rail Authority and confirmed at a meeting of the Pooled Money Investment Board today that it had issued $29.1 million in commercial paper (short-term loans) to meet the remainder of the Authority’s 2008-09 funding authorization.

“Today’s confirmation that funding for the project will continue as planned is good news for California’s taxpayers who approved Proposition 1A last November to help fund the construction of the high-speed train project and who rightfully expect that progress will be swift and uninterrupted,” said Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

“It’s also an enormous relief to the dedicated and talented staff and the engineers and planners that continued to work on the project over the past three months without a commitment that they would be paid,” said Morshed.

The High-Speed Rail Finance Committee is comprised of the Department of Finance Director, State Controller, Business Transportation and Housing Agency Secretary, and High-Speed Rail Authority Board Chair. The Pooled Money Investment Board (PMIB) governs the state’s Pooled Money Investment Account, which is used to invest taxpayers’ money to manage the State’s cash flow. The State Treasurer chairs the PMIB, which also includes the State Controller and the State Director of Finance.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is responsible for building high-speed train service covering 800 miles at speeds up to 220 MPH. By linking all major cities in California with a state-of-the-art new transportation option, California's high-speed train system will increase mobility while cutting air pollution and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Building the high-speed train system will cost less than half the cost of freeway and aviation alternatives. Operating the system will create an annual surplus of over $1 billion.

For route information, visual simulations and more, please visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov.

For California High-Speed Rail Authority
Kris Deutschman, 916-444-8801
Cell: 916-425-7174

USC expo line station to be completed in 2010

Where Trojans are in bloom - Los Angeles Times

Expansion plans

The light rail Expo Line, now under construction along Exposition Boulevard, will be completed in 2010 with a stop just south of USC. Also underway is a new ecology wing on the California Science Center (39th and Figueroa streets, [323] 724-3623; www.californiasciencecenter.org) and the renovation of the original 1913 building and rotunda at the Natural History Museum (900 Exposition Blvd., [213] 763-3466; www.nhm.org). Amid all the construction, enjoy a peaceful moment in the city's 7.5-acre Exposition Park Rose Garden (980 Menlo Ave. at Exposition Boulevard, [213] 748-4772). April and May are the peak blooming months for the 15,000 rosebushes.

Metro is seeking comments on possible four routes for Metro Gold line extention

Streetsblog » More Metro Meetings Coming Up: Gold Line Eastside Extension Phase II

More Metro Meetings Coming Up: Gold Line Eastside Extension Phase II

by Damien Newton on April 6, 2009
1_5_09_metro.jpg

With meetings already announced to advance the Subway to the Sea and the Regional Connector, Metro could be forgiven if they held off on any other major announcements; but that's not the way things work. Late last week, Metro announced another set of meetings to gather information on the four possible routes for the second Eastside Extension for the Metro Gold Line.

Everyday, 50,000 commuting trips to Downtown Los Angeles from the cities of Bell, Commerce, Downey, El Monte, Industry, Los Angeles' Eastside, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte, Whittier, and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County; and with both jobs and residency expected to balloon in the coming years, an increase of transit options is needed. Thus, Metro as designed four possible routes to extend the Gold Line into this area to better meet the current and future demand.

During the current round of public outreach, Metro is seeking comments on these four routes, one would utilize SR-60, another would run glide along Beverly, another would split time on Beverly and Whittier and the last would run on Washington. Each route would service different cities, and each is sure to draw different supporters and detractors as people clamor for better transit in their community. As a matter of fact, one of the first posts I ever wrote back at Street Heat was about the Latino Urban Forum's public support of the alternative along Route 60.

For a full list of the upcoming meetings, check out our calendar section, Metro's press release, or just read on after the jump.

he meetings and open houses will be at:

* City of Montebello, Wednesday, April 8, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 1600 W. Beverly Blvd., Montebello, CA 90640
* City of South El Monte, Tuesday, April 14, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 1415 S Santa Anita Av, South El Monte, CA 91733
* City of Pico Rivera, Tuesday, April 14, 6 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 6615 Passons Blvd. , Pico Rivera CA, 90660
* City of Monterey Park, Wednesday, April 15, 7 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 320 W Newmark Av, Monterey Park, CA 91754
* City of Commerce, Tuesday, April 21, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 2535 Commerce Wy, Commerce, CA 90040
* City of Rosemead, Tuesday, April 28, 7 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 8838 E Valley Bl, Rosemead, CA 91770
* City of Whittier, Tuesday, May 12, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 13230 Penn St, 1st Floor, Whittier, CA 90602

Meeting on phase 2 of the Gold LIne extention

Metro's Gold Line Plans to Head Further Eastward to More Cities - LAist: Los Angeles News, Food, Arts & Events

Metro's Gold Line Plans to Head Further Eastward to More Cities

Phase Two of Metro's Gold Line Eastside Transit Corridor project is poised to move ahead into the community meeting phase, as plans to add on rail service extending the line from East Los Angeles to cities further east are in motion.

Now under construction, the Gold Line is reaching eastward from Downtown through Little Tokyo and along 1st street with a current terminus at 3rd and Atlantic. Metro aims to connect several "corridor" cities, Bell, Commerce, Downey, El Monte, Industry, Los Angeles, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte, Whittier, and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, to the current Gold Line Eastside extension, and is prepping to hold seven meetings and open houses between now and the end of May to discuss "refining and reducing the number of alternatives that will advance for further study into the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report (DEIS/DEIR)," according to a press release issued today.

Up for discussion:

The four build alternatives; SR-60, Beverly, Beverly/Whittier and Washington, will be refine and reduce by Metro staff based on the following criteria: cost, ridership, cost-effectiveness, economic development/land use, travel time savings and comparisons, reliability, community acceptability, environmental effects, sustainability factors, safety and security, and financial capability.

Metro is eager to serve these 13 cities and communities in the 80-square-mile area in question because factors like population growth, number of commuters, and traffic congestion indicate linking them to LA's Gold Line would be beneficial.

Upcoming meetings:

City of Montebello
Wednesday, April 8, 6:30pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
1600 W. Beverly Blvd.
Montebello, CA 90640

City of South El Monte
Tuesday, April 14, 6:30pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
1415 S Santa Anita Av
South El Monte, CA 91733

City of Pico Rivera
Tuesday, April 14, 6pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
6615 Passons Blvd.
Pico Rivera CA, 90660

City of Monterey Park
Wednesday, April 15, 7pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
320 W Newmark Av
Monterey Park, CA 91754

City of Commerce
Tuesday, April 21, 6:30pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
2535 Commerce Wy
Commerce, CA 90040

City of Rosemead
Tuesday, April 28, 7pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
8838 E Valley Bl
Rosemead, CA 91770

City of Whittier
Tuesday, May 12, 6:30pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
13230 Penn St, 1st Floor
Whittier, CA 90602
user-pic
By Lindsay William-Ross in News on April 6, 2009 9:00 AM

More Metro Meetings Coming Up: Gold Line Eastside Extension Phase II

Streetsblog » More Metro Meetings Coming Up: Gold Line Eastside Extension Phase II

More Metro Meetings Coming Up: Gold Line Eastside Extension Phase II

by Damien Newton on April 6, 2009
1_5_09_metro.jpg

With meetings already announced to advance the Subway to the Sea and the Regional Connector, Metro could be forgiven if they held off on any other major announcements; but that's not the way things work. Late last week, Metro announced another set of meetings to gather information on the four possible routes for the second Eastside Extension for the Metro Gold Line.

Everyday, 50,000 commuting trips to Downtown Los Angeles from the cities of Bell, Commerce, Downey, El Monte, Industry, Los Angeles' Eastside, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte, Whittier, and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County; and with both jobs and residency expected to balloon in the coming years, an increase of transit options is needed. Thus, Metro as designed four possible routes to extend the Gold Line into this area to better meet the current and future demand.

During the current round of public outreach, Metro is seeking comments on these four routes, one would utilize SR-60, another would run glide along Beverly, another would split time on Beverly and Whittier and the last would run on Washington. Each route would service different cities, and each is sure to draw different supporters and detractors as people clamor for better transit in their community. As a matter of fact, one of the first posts I ever wrote back at Street Heat was about the Latino Urban Forum's public support of the alternative along Route 60.

For a full list of the upcoming meetings, check out our calendar section, Metro's press release, or just read on after the jump.

he meetings and open houses will be at:

* City of Montebello, Wednesday, April 8, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 1600 W. Beverly Blvd., Montebello, CA 90640
* City of South El Monte, Tuesday, April 14, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 1415 S Santa Anita Av, South El Monte, CA 91733
* City of Pico Rivera, Tuesday, April 14, 6 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 6615 Passons Blvd. , Pico Rivera CA, 90660
* City of Monterey Park, Wednesday, April 15, 7 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 320 W Newmark Av, Monterey Park, CA 91754
* City of Commerce, Tuesday, April 21, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 2535 Commerce Wy, Commerce, CA 90040
* City of Rosemead, Tuesday, April 28, 7 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 8838 E Valley Bl, Rosemead, CA 91770
* City of Whittier, Tuesday, May 12, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, Council Chambers, 13230 Penn St, 1st Floor, Whittier, CA 90602

First leg of the so-called Subway to the Sea could begin around 2012

Next Train Arrives: Maybe Year 2020 | NBC Los Angeles

Next Train Arrives: Maybe Year 2020

Updated 4:45 PM PDT, Mon, Apr 6, 2009

A Red Line train arrives at the Pershing Square Station.


Construction on the first leg of the so-called Subway to the Sea could begin around 2012, with the segment open to passengers
by the end of that decade, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said Monday.

Starting next week, Metro staffers will hold a series of public meetings to discuss options for extending the Purple Line, the Jimi Hendrix line, subway to Santa Monica -- one of four major transit projects that received the green light from the agency's board of directors in January.

"Public input is going to be really critical," said Metro spokeswoman Jody Litvack.

Attendees at the meetings will be presented with plans to extend the subway along Wilshire Boulevard, with a possible second leg that would connect to the Red Line Hollywood/Highland Station via Santa Monica Boulevard. Metro officials also will discuss the possibility of not extending the subway line at all.

Currently, the Purple Line runs from downtown Los Angeles to Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue.

Metro will use public input to help develop a locally preferred plan that will then be presented to the agency's board of directors for approval.

Funding for the proposed extension would come in part from the half-cent sales tax increase under Measure R, which was approved by voters last November.

Initial estimates put the cost of the Wilshire-only subway at $6.1 billion, with the cost rising to $9 billion if the second leg to the Red Line is added.

About $4.1 million is allocated to the Subway to the Sea from the expected $40 billion that Measure R is expected to rake in. The remainder of the funding will be sought from the federal government and possibly private sources, said project director David Mieger.

One of the keys to garnering federal money will be proving the cost-effectiveness of the project -- that is, comparing the cost to build and operate the rail line to its expected ridership and the level of congestion in the region it will run through.

"We know that the Wilshire project appears to be a cost-effective project," Mieger said.

The alternative that includes the second track through West Hollywood doesn't yet make the grade, however, and will need some adjusting to be competitive for federal funds, he said.

The shot in the arm provided by Measure R funds should rapidly expand the entire transit network and boost ridership throughout the system, he said.

Given the cost and scale of the Westside subway, it will likely be built in three-mile segments, Mieger said.

"We can't build all of this at once," he said. "The initial Red Line that we built back in the '80s and early '90s was actually four segments that we built over a 17-year period."

The first segment would likely extend west along Wilshire Boulevard to Fairfax; with the second reaching to Century City; the third to the San Diego (405) Freeway in West Los Angeles; and then on to Santa Monica, according to Metro officials.

This month's public scoping meetings will be held at 6 p.m. at the following locations:

* April 13, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., West Terrace Room, fifth floor
* April 14, Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood
* April 16, Beverly Hills Public Library, 444 N. Rexford Drive, second floor auditorium
* April 20, Westwood Presbyterian Church, 10822 Wilshire Blvd.
* April 23, Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

Copyright City News Service

Rail corridor could connect downtown Los Angeles with Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach via a C-shaped curve through the county

MTA schedules meetings on South Bay transit corridor - The Daily Breeze

MTA schedules meetings on South Bay transit corridor
From news services
Posted: 04/06/2009 05:42:55 PM PDT

Transit-ZZPT-ZZTO

Eds: Rick Jager, Metro spokesman, can be reached at (213) 922-2707.

LOS ANGELES - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will hold five community meetings over the next four weeks to gather public input about a planned public transit service through southwest Los Angeles County.

Metro officials are evaluating the possibility of expanding the county's transit network along a 26-mile-long freight rail corridor that the agency purchased in the early 1990s.

The corridor stretches from Vernon and Huntington Park west through South Los Angeles to Inglewood, then south through El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Lawndale, Torrance and Carson.

Transit through the corridor could connect downtown Los Angeles with Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach via a C-shaped curve through the county, according to a Metro map of the proposal.

Metro will gather public input on various transit options for the corridor, including a Bus Rapid Transit system, a light rail line and dedicated bus lanes.

Public meetings to gather suggestions and comments about the proposal will be held at the following times and locations:

-- April 21 at 6 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club of the Los Angeles Harbor in San Pedro, 100 W. Fifth St.;

-- April 22 at 6 p.m. at the Redondo Beach Main Library, 303 Pacific Coast Highway;

-- April 27 at 6 p.m. at Inglewood City Hall, 1 Manchester Blvd.,
Advertisement
in the community room;

-- April 30 at 11:30 a.m. at the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles, 700 N. Alameda St., Room 2145;

-- and May 2 at 10 a.m. at Augustus Hawkins Nature Park in Los Angeles, 5790 Compton Ave. CNS-04-06-2009 17:23

A lovely situation in Santa Monica: they both want the expo line and don't want it.

The dark side of Expo Light Rail

The dark side of Expo Light Rail
By Bill Bauer


April 06, 2009
As expected, the Exposition Construction Authority on Thursday approved a staff recommendation for Colorado Avenue as the preferred route for Expo Light Rail, Phase 2 through Santa Monica. No decisions were made on the location of a maintenance yard or grade crossings, according to the authority's press liaison.

An April 2, Expo Authority staff report recommended Expo travel "on Exposition railroad right-of-way from the Culver City terminal to its intersection with Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica. From that point the alignment would continue along the Exposition right-of-way to west of 19th Street then diverge from the right-of-way and enter Colorado Avenue east of 17th Street and follow Colorado in the center of the street to the (4th Street) terminus."

Councilwoman Pam O'Connor, also a MTA board member, confirmed what I wrote last month about why City Hall was campaigning hard for a problematic street level line on Colorado with all its negative safety and traffic impacts. After exaggerating community support for Colorado by telling her fellow board members "There is nearly unanimous support for the Colorado alignment," she really let the cow out of the barn by saying "We think at-grade is better for development." Growth is more important than safety and traffic problems? Unbelievable.

A recommendation for a light rail maintenance and train storage yard on property owned by Verizon off Exposition Boulevard east of Stewart Street is still under study. The authority's staff report noted community concerns but still concluded the Verizon property is the best site for the needs of the project -- and that's after looking at 20 other alternative locations.

It's almost certain a light rail maintenance/storage yard will be located on the Verizon, industrially-zoned property. The best that can happen now is for Exposition neighbors and other stakeholders to retain attorneys while working closely with Expo and the City of Santa Monica to minimize undesirable impacts.

Some folks are suggesting placing the yard at Bergamot Station, a 9.5 acre parcel purchased for $17.3-million two decades ago by the city from the Southern Pacific Railway specifically for a light rail storage and maintenance yard. City Council also borrowed $6.9 million from Metro's predecessor, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, to help purchase the property according to August 28, 1989 meeting minutes. That acreage is now temporary home to the Bergamot Station arts community.

A letter writing campaign promoted by Bergamot gallery owner Wayne Blank asking the Expo Authority to not take over Bergamot is in full swing. Blank's letter claims "Bergamot Station is in danger of being turned into a maintenance facility by decision of the Exposition Construction Authority (MTA)." (sic). Problem is, the Authority has already discounted using Bergamot as a maintenance/storage yard.

Even through Bergamot has contributed substantially to the community in terms of art and culture over the last 20 years, its purchase was intended for light rail use or related redevelopment. Any non-light rail activity at Bergamot May be on borrowed time until Expo comes to town.

With Expo trains on the horizon, maybe it's time for the galleries to move on. I wrote last week that City Hall should create a location for artists and art galleries at the Civic Center — instead of an early childhood learning laboratory for Santa Monica College. Blank, gallery owners and community art supporters need to refocus and start a movement for a new art and culture center adjacent to the Civic Auditorium.

Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights is taking up the cudgel for Exposition Boulevard neighbors who oppose a light rail storage/maintenance yard across the street. "NIMBYs," one reader e-mailed me noting that SMRR leaders Denny Zane (as mayor in 1989 voted to purchase Bergamot), Michael Tarbet, Linda Sullivan and Maria Loya all live in the area.

In letters dated March 27 to the authority and Metro citing "environmental injustice," SMRR Chair Patricia Hoffman claims the yard would have "many intolerable impacts" such as noise and release of toxic materials on the poor, "ethnically and racially" diverse neighborhood. She also mentioned SMRR leadership's concerns that the facility would snarl traffic.

Snarl traffic? Whaaaa? Since when has SMRR been concerned about snarled traffic? They and their traffic-jamming politicians have been making decisions for decades that have made Santa Monica traffic some of the worst in the state.

NIMBY? Yes, but more disingenuous and naive. Issues about neighborhood impacts, maintenance yards and evicting art galleries from Bergamot aren't new. They arose after SMRR social engineers and friends of mass transit requested light rail service years ago. Now that the dark side is nearing reality, some folks act surprised.

I've got news. There'll be a lot more problems ahead. Many of them related to street level trains, cross-town gridlock and the accidents they'll cause for up to 16 city blocks and redevelopment. Maybe SMRR leaders will write letters about this, too.

Bill Bauer can be contacted at mr.bilbau@gmail.com.

Good overview of why the route for phase 2 of the Expo line was chosen

Expo Board Picks Colorado


By Lookout Staff

April 6 – The extension of the Expo light rail line from Culver City will follow the old red car route into Santa Monica, reaching the end of the line Downtown on tracks running down Colorado Avenue, County transit officials decided last week.

Despite stiff opposition from homeowners in upscale Cheviot Hills, the Exposition Construction Authority Board on Thursday heeded the call of environmentalists and the Santa Monica City Council and voted to follow the route that ran from USC to Santa Monica until the early 1950s.

“That was our preference,” said City Council member Pam O’Connor, a member of the construction board. “It will result in a better urban environment.”

The “preferred alignment” – which would continue along Colorado Avenue after making a stop at Bergamot Station -- is the least expensive and most direct route, causing the fewest environmental impacts, officials decided.

The route would save the iconic Coral trees along Olympic Boulevard, the other route into Santa Monica originally proposed for the line. The Colorado route will be studied in the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) before final consideration by the board.

The draft EIR also will study where to locate a maintenance facility initially proposed for the Verizon site that lies just east of Stewart, between the railroad right of way and Exposition Boulevard, before the line diverges onto Colorado east of 17th Street.

Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, the city’s powerful tenants group, has “strenuously” opposed the site across the street from apartments in the Pico Neighborhood, calling it “an “environmental injustice.” (“SMRR Opposes Proposed Site for Expo Facility,” March 31, 2009)

At Thursday’s board meeting LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who sits on the construction board, made it clear that the maintenance yard should be located in Santa Monica.

The board’s preferred route eliminates the need to elevate as high as 50 feet the proposed terminal at the current Sears Automotive site on Fourth Street and Colorado. Aside from bridging a key intersection or two, the line would run at grade down Colorado Avenue.

“It’s better than having a station just hanging up there,” O’Connor said. “In earthquake country it’s a different kind of construction” than that exemplified by the famed El tracks in Chicago, O’Connor’s hometown.

The train, O’Connor noted, would abide by the existing traffic signals. “It won’t run at 55 miles per hour in Santa Monica,” she said.

The board’s decision came two months after Expo officials released a report showing that following the existing Expo right of way through West Los Angeles to Santa Monica -- rather than diverting the line to Venice Boulevard -- posed the fewest hurdles.

The study found that the Colorado alternative offered the greatest opportunity after the Olympic route “to reduce regional vehicle miles traveled, serve to expand the existing transit system and increase regional connectivity.”

Of the four options studied, the route chosen by the board requires the fewest property acquisitions, with a total of 62, and only would displace five residents.

The board also weighed the options of the two routes into Santa Monica. Traveling down Olympic Boulevard would require chopping down the iconic Coral trees within the median, while taking Colorado “would result in traffic disruption on Colorado Avenue during construction,” officials wrote.

The board’s decision came after holding three public hearings where 174 people testified. More than 3,000 communications also were received.

“Of the over 50 members of the public who commented at the April 2nd Board meeting, many spoke of the benefits of utilizing the existing ROW, preserving trees in Santa Monica and the urgency of moving forward in the face of worsening Westside traffic congestion,” board officials wrote in a statement issued Friday.

Phase 1 of the Expo line that runs from Downtown LA to Culver City is under construction, although it has spurred concerns about its impact on traffic intersections and its proximity to schools.

Acknowledging similar community concerns along Phase 2 of the Expo project, Yaroslavsky directed staff and the project team to continue to analyze several key issues.

They include traffic concerns at key intersections, grade crossing safety issues and proposed parking restrictions along Westwood and Overland Boulevards, as well as identifying the most feasible and appropriate site of a required maintenance facility.

The final EIR is expected to come to the board for evaluation and certification in the fall.

Great article on high-speed rail in California

Plans for state high-speed rail gain steam : State : Ventura County Star

Plans for state high-speed rail gain steam
Federal stimulus funds may aid $40 billion, 800-mile project

By Timm Herdt (Contact)
Monday, March 23, 2009

California’s high-speed rail would take travelers from Los Angeles to San Francisco at speeds of more than 200 mph.


California’s high-speed rail would take travelers from Los Angeles to San Francisco at speeds of more than 200 mph.


SACRAMENTO — The concept of a high-speed train that would zip travelers from Los Angeles to San Francisco at speeds greater than 200 mph — a big idea that a year ago seemed to be on a slow boat to nowhere — has been catapulted into the realm of the possible by the inclusion of $8 billion in funding for high-speed rail in the federal stimulus package.

That one-time boost in federal funding, coupled with President Barack Obama’s budget request for $1 billion annually for the next five years for high-speed rail, puts California on the brink of a potential new era in rail travel.

“The role of both high-speed and conventional rail as part of the state’s transportation system is about to be changed dramatically,” Caltrans Director Will Kempton told a Senate committee last week.

Because California voters approved a $10 billion rail bond measure in the fall, Kempton said the state is poised to take maximum advantage of the sudden and unexpected windfall of federal funding.

“We’re clearly ahead of many states when it comes to high-speed rail,” Kempton said. “We believe California will be a major recipient.”

Rail advocates across the country share that view.

Paul Weinstein of the Washington, D.C.-based Progressive Policy Institute has long advocated for federal investment in the kinds of high-speed rail systems that have been in place in Europe and Japan for more than a generation. He believes that the decision to include $8 billion for high-speed rail as part of stimulus package, put in at the insistence of the Obama administration, creates a near-term opportunity for whatever system in the country is poised to act first — and that the advantage will go to California.

“The window is in the next five years,” Weinstein said. “That’s when the money is there. The time is now. California’s already out front.”

Weinstein says the administration sees high-speed rail as “a legacy project” — something that historians will be able to point to as tangible evidence that the recession-inspired burst in federal spending created lasting benefits to society, much as have the dams built under the New Deal.

While the effort to launch the sleek trains that would operate on dedicated steel tracks has been infused with a sudden sense of possibility, there are ample obstacles ahead to realizing this California dream. Among them: intense competition from both other states and existing intercity rail systems within California, and lingering criticism over the legitimacy of the state’s plans.

Because the stimulus plan defines “high-speed” as trains capable of traveling at least 110 mph, more traditional rail systems in the Northeast and Midwest might be able to qualify for some of the funding — as might commuter systems in California.

“Some trains in Southern California corridors are pushing 110 mph,” said Darren Kettle, executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission. “Some of my peers in Southern California are looking at that stimulus money to improve the Los Angeles-to-San Diego line and get that up to 110 mph.”

In addition to having to fight off competition, high-speed rail advocates in California will have to deal with critics who say the California High-Speed Rail Authority, an agency with just 5.5 full-time employees, isn’t ready for prime time — let alone handling billions in state and federal funds.

Joseph Vranich of Irvine, a rail expert and high-speed train advocate who wrote the 1991 book “Supertrain,” is a vocal critic of the authority.

He says its projections of ridership are way too high and its projections of costs are way too low.

“We run the risk of spending billions of dollars and never seeing it completed,” he said.

Vranich also says that the California plan is not nearly as advanced as state officials assert. He notes that Union Pacific has told state officials it has no intent of selling parts of its right-of-way to accommodate the high-speed tracks and that some of the rights of way originally planned along freeway corridors have by now been lost to highway expansion projects.

In addition, he notes that the authority is just beginning to encounter local opposition as communities discover how disruptive the tracks through their cities will be. Just last week, Palo Alto officials complained about the authority’s “Berlin Wall” approach that would erect a 20-foot high concrete platform through their city on which the rails would be mounted. Because of the high speeds, the trains cannot run at street level through urban areas.

Officials with the Rail Authority acknowledge their plans are not as refined as they’d like, but say those deficiencies will be addressed once they receive bond funding to contract for additional engineering and consulting services from other experts.

That high-speed rail in California could become such a national focal point is a dizzying development for the High-Speed Rail Authority, an agency that was created in 1996 and has struggled ever since just to maintain its existence.

Former Gov. Gray Davis once dismissed the idea as a “Buck Rogers scheme” and the agency has had to beg the Legislature for funding year after year. On top of that, the bond act that was originally scheduled for the 2004 ballot was postponed twice, to 2006 and again to 2008 — and barely withstood an effort by some lawmakers last summer to put it off once more until 2010.

Once it finally made it to the ballot, however, voters embraced the idea, agreeing to take on $10 billion in debt to begin financing the estimated $40 billion-plus cost of building the 800-mile project. The measure was approved 53 percent to 47 percent.

The bond measure dedicated $9 billion for high-speed rail and an additional $1 billion for intercity rail systems.

The authority’s financial plan calls for financing the first $33 billion phase of the project (from Anaheim to San Francisco) with the $9 billion in state funding, coupled with up to $16 billion in federal funds, up to $3 billion from regional transportation agencies and up to $7.5 billion in private financing.

If carried out, it would become the largest single construction project in U.S. history.

Decisions on how to parcel out the federal funding will be made rather quickly.

Federal authorities must complete a strategic plan for use of the rail money by April 18 and issue guidelines for bids from states by June, Kempton said. Projects awarded federal funds must obligate the funds by Sept. 30, 2012, and spend the money by Sept. 30, 2015.

Kempton said he hopes California officials can present federal officials with a unified statewide plan that includes requests for funding for both high-speed rail and intercity rail service.

Officials with the High-Speed Rail Authority say the state must not waste its opportunity.

“The eyes of the nation are upon us,” Vice Chairwoman Fran Florez told a Senate committee last week. “We cannot afford for California high-speed rail to stall.”

California hight-speed system would cost about $50 billion to complete. So, how does this make sense or cents?

$8 billion could help revive travel by train - USATODAY.com

$8 billion could help revive travel by train
By Marilyn Adams, USA TODAY
Americans started falling out of love with trains 50 years ago, when thrilling silver airliners left locomotives far behind.

Now, President Obama and leaders in more than 30 states say it's time to embrace trains again — but newer, faster ones that can transport passengers past gridlocked airports and highways on electrified railroads at up to 200 mph.

They're betting billions of federal and state dollars that high-speed railroads can someday move travelers between major U.S. cities within two or three hours just as they do in Western Europe and Japan. And along the way, they argue, such systems can ease travel congestion, reduce the nation's dependence on oil, cut pollution and create jobs.

"For so long, Americans have viewed the automobile and the airplane as our transportation vehicles," says Anne Canby, a former transportation secretary for Delaware and train advocate. "Until now, rail hasn't been a major player in the discussion."

Driving the new-found interest in trains is $8 billion that was tucked into the president's economic stimulus legislation signed last month.

The Department of Transportation is to distribute the money to embryonic high-speed rail projects around the country and to Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, to develop high-speed technology.

The government isn't wasting time. By next month, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is required to issue a strategic plan detailing how DOT will use the $8 billion. By June, his department is required to tell states how to apply for grants.

Eleven proposed high-speed rail corridors on the West Coast, Texas, the Great Lakes states, the Southeast, Florida and the Northeast will be vying for a piece of the stimulus money.

Competition "is going to be pretty severe," Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle says.

Doyle just returned from Spain, where he rode that country's high-speed Talgo system linking its capital, Madrid, to other major Spanish cities.

Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio are pitching a high-speed rail network linking Chicago to big cities in those states, including Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Detroit — trips that could be made within a couple of hours.

"People in this country don't appreciate what modern rail travel is," says Doyle, referring to the 180 mph Talgo system. "It is as smooth as riding in an airplane without any turbulence."

He says the Midwestern states don't envision a true high-speed system immediately. The first priority is making upgrades that would allow trains between Chicago and Milwaukee, for example, to travel at least 80 mph.

Designing, engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of new rail systems could create many U.S. jobs, rail advocates say.

"This would create a completely new industry here," says Rod Diridon, a member of California's High-Speed Rail Authority.

Diridon says his system is a leading candidate for funding because it would be a true high-speed train, and the state already has won environmental approvals. California voters approved issuing $10 billion in bonds to help pay for the system.

California's proposed express from San Francisco to Los Angeles would take about 2½ hours at 220 mph. "It would be faster downtown to downtown than flying," Diridon says.

As large as it sounds, $8 billion wouldn't begin to design and construct a true high-speed system in which rails are dedicated to high-speed trains. The California system alone would cost about $50 billion to complete.

"I see this as us making a down payment," says Mark Yachmetz, a top official at the Federal Railroad Administration. "It's the beginning of the renaissance of rail in this country."

Ultimately, so-called trip time — the travel time door-to-door vs. an auto or plane — will be the standard by which rail proposals will be judged.

Amtrak's recent track record gives hope to high-speed rail enthusiasts. The railroad carried a record 10.9 million passengers along the densely populated Northeast corridor last year. It has become a serious competitor of airlines there because the major cities — including Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington — are relatively close together.

Last year, Amtrak data show it accounted for 63% of the combined air and rail passenger traffic between Washington, D.C., and New York City compared with 50% four years earlier. Between New York and Boston, Amtrak's share of the traffic was 49% last year vs. 39% in 2004.

Many riders in the Northeast chose Amtrak's electrified Acela — the closest thing to a high-speed train in the USA. It makes few stops and runs at speeds up to about 135 mph.

Acela has shown, "We can do high-speed rail and reduce the trip time enough to make rail competitive with air," Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman says.

Palo Alto wants a study on high speed rail to avoid having it make noise in their backyard (NIMBY). Their solution: a tunnel.

Palo Alto officials want study of high-speed train tunnel - San Jose Mercury News

Palo Alto officials want study of high-speed train tunnel

By Will Oremus

Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 03/19/2009 12:31:11 AM PDT

State high-speed rail officials should give just as much study to running their tracks underground as above-ground, Palo Alto officials said Wednesday. But they noted that both alignments come with problems.

The city's planning and transportation commission signed off on a letter to the California High Speed Rail Authority that urges a close look at the planned Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line's impact on the residential neighborhoods it might divide. If approved by the city council, it will stand as the city's official input as the authority prepares a required environmental report that will set the stage for final decisions about the tracks' design.

The letter makes it clear the city will not be satisfied with a report that justifies elevated tracks along the Caltrain corridor while glossing over the pros and cons of alternatives. Among those alternatives are not only a rail tunnel but a plan that would cut off high-speed service in San Jose, forcing riders to transfer to Caltrain to reach San Francisco.

Though the majority of Palo Alto voters backed the rail plan on the November ballot, it came as news to many that the trains might need to run atop a 20-foot-high concrete platform to avoid dangerous conflicts with cross streets. Word of a "Berlin Wall" dividing the city and of people losing their yards and homes to eminent domain have sparked a local backlash against the project in recent months.

Many in the city still support the train in concept but are grasping for ways to fit it into a narrow rail corridor that bisects quiet neighborhoods. The first paragraph of the city's draft letter asks that the study "provide a complete analysis of all linear rail corridor elevation options, including at-grade, elevated or depressed including open trench and tunneling."

It goes on, "All options, particularly the tunneling option, should be evaluated to the same level of detail as the elevated track proposal."

That doesn't mean the city considers a tunnel a miracle solution, however. Planning Commissioner Samir Tuma asked that city staff remove the clause "particularly the tunneling option," saying that it's not yet clear that would be the best alternative to raised tracks.

Most opposition to a tunnel so far has focused on the cost, which is presumed to be astronomical. But Commissioner Karen Holman agreed it may not be the answer even if the city can afford it. She said she often tells members of the public, "Don't fall in love with the below-grade scenario. There are all manner of potential impacts to that, and many are the same as above-grade."

Specifically, Holman said, construction of a tunnel or trench could disrupt the lives of those who live nearby and require the state to take people's property. Beyond that, it could pose problems related to underground water, including a toxic plume and an aquifer that serves as an emergency drinking-water supply.

Given that, Commissioner Daniel Garber wondered if the city should ask for more study of keeping the tracks at ground level. That would likely require closure of several cross streets, however, a possibility other commissioners were not interested in considering.

The overriding sentiment was captured by Commissioner Arthur Keller near the end of the four-hour-long session. "There is no completely satisfactory solution to this," he said. "All of the alternatives will have drawbacks. The question is which of the drawbacks are better than others, which of the drawbacks we can live with. And the ones can we live with, the ones Caltrain can live with and the ones high-speed rail can live with might not all be the same."

The Palo Alto City Council is scheduled to discuss and finalize the letter at a meeting on March 30. The high-speed rail authority's environmental study is legally required to address all official comments received before April 6.

E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.

Stimulus money for California high-speed trains capable of 220 mph and expected to link San Francisco and Los Angeles

Siemens onboard for high-speed trains in China | Cutting Edge - CNET News

March 20, 2009 2:45 PM PDT
Siemens onboard for high-speed trains in China
by Erik Palm


The Obama administration isn't the only one looking to high-speed rail lines.

German train producer Siemens has inked a $1 billion contract to build 100 new high-speed trains for China, the company announced Friday.

The company's Velaro train has a top speed of 218 mph. A typical train will have 16 cars and carry more than 1,000 passengers. With a total length of more than 1,300 feet, the new trains will be the world's longest single high-speed units in use, according to Siemens.


Japan and European countries such as France have had high-speed train systems for decades. But now the race to build such trains seems to have taken off in two of the leading world economies, the China and the U.S.

In the U.S., the Obama administration wants to invest $1 billion dollars a year over the next five years in high-speed rail. In addition, the stimulus bill (PDF) contained $8 billion in capital assistance for high-speed rail corridors and intercity passenger rail service.

Among the projects angling for a slice of the stimulus money are California high-speed trains capable of 220 mph and expected to link San Francisco and Los Angeles in as little as two and a half hours. California voters authorized $9.95 billion for the project last year.

At the same time, China plans to create the world's largest high-speed rail network. The Chinese Ministry of Railways is planning to buy around 1,000 high-speed trains within the next few years. The current order from Siemens includes the first trains to serve the new high-speed line between Bejing and Shanghai.

The train will complete the 825-mile run between Bejing and Shanghai in a mere four hours. The Chinese Ministry of Railways already has 60 trains in the Velaro style in use--among other things for transportation between Tianjin-Beijing during the Olympic games last year.

With a consumption of only 0.33 liters per seat for every 100 kilometers traveled (712 mpg), the Velaro is the most environmentally friendly high-speed train on the market, Siemens claims.
Erik Palm, a business reporter for Swedish national television, is joining CNET News as a spring 2009 fellow with Stanford University's Innovation Journalism program. When he's not working, he enjoys kayaking and exploring California's hiking trails. E-mail Erik.

Barstow City Council voted unanimously at a special meeting Tuesday to authorize a letter of support for the California-Nevada Interstate Maglev Project, a federally funded proposal that would run a high-speed train using magnetic levitation technology from Anaheim to Las Vegas

City Council votes to support Anaheim to Las Vegas train | train, anaheim, vegas - News - Desert Dispatch

City Council votes to support Anaheim to Las Vegas train
Comments 1 | Recommend 0
City to write in opposition to competing proposal
April 1, 2009 - 3:34 PM
By ABBY SEWELL, staff writer

BARSTOW • The Barstow City Council voted unanimously at a special meeting Tuesday to throw the city’s support behind one of two competing high-speed rail proposals and to oppose the other.

The Council authorized a letter of support for the California-Nevada Interstate Maglev Project, a federally funded proposal that would run a high-speed train using magnetic levitation technology from Anaheim to Las Vegas, with stops in Ontario, Victorville, Barstow and Primm, as well as a central maintenance yard in Barstow.

The project has been in the works for more than 20 years but has stalled over funding and other issues. The proponents tout it as a commuter route and means of relieving airport congestion in Los Angeles by carrying travelers to the Ontario International Airport, as well as a route from Southern California to Las Vegas.

At Tuesday’s meeting, City Manager Richard Rowe and Council members talked about the jobs that would be created in Barstow by the siting of the maintenance yard. Councilman Tim Silva also noted that the train would serve local commuters as well as tourists headed to Las Vegas.

Neil Cummings, president of American Magline Group, a private partner of the California/Nevada Super Speed Train Commission, planned to present Barstow’s letter along with letters of support from the mayors of Anaheim and Ontario to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Wednesday, as part of a bid for a share of the $8 billion in federal stimulus funds designated for high-speed rail projects.

Along with the letter of support for the maglev project, the Council agreed to write detailed comments in opposition to the competing proposal, the privately funded DesertXpress. As currently proposed, the DesertXpress would run electric or diesel/electric trains on steel to steel rails between Victorville and Las Vegas without stopping in Barstow.

City staff expressed concerns that the train would represent a significant hit to sales tax revenues due to travelers bypassing Barstow. Rowe also noted that one of the rail line’s proposed route alternatives would cut directly through the Barstow Industrial Park and the site of a planned Wal-Mart distribution center.

City staff met with representatives from DesertXpress to ask that the train be rerouted to run along Interstate 15 through Barstow, with a stop in the Lenwood area; or, failing that, that it skirt around the industrial park, Rowe said. A draft environmental impact report released in late March stated did not include analysis of the city’s proposals but noted that they might be included as alternative in the final environmental impact statement.

The DesertXpress project, because it is privately funded, is not eligible for stimulus funds, and whether the maglev project would qualify for funds is in dispute. Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Rob Kulat said previously that the maglev project would qualify for high speed rail stimulus funds — which are not earmarked for specific projects — but he said Wednesday the it is the FRA’s position that the Maglev project is not eligible for funds under the wording of the stimulus act because the project does not lie within one of the ten designated high-speed rail corridors identified by the FRA.

Cummings stated via e-mail that being in a designated as a high-speed rail corridor is just one of 14 criteria that the Secretary of Transportation may consider when deciding what projects to fund.

Aside from the uncertainty of stimulus funds, the maglev proponents must find 20 percent matching funds before they can use $45 million in federal funds were freed up for the project by a 2008 transportation bill.

The FRA’s analysis in the DesertXpress draft environmental statement noted that the California/Nevada Super Speed Train Commission currently exists only in Nevada and has no authority to implement the project in California.

Rose Melgoza, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Transportation, said that the state does not consider the maglev project to be a realistic candidate for stimulus funding because it is in such an early stage of development and does not currently plan to get more involved with the project.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or asewell@desertdispatch.com

How to think about skills....

JobHuntersBible.com: Newsletter Archive

What Do You Have to Offer to the World?
December 9 - December 15, 2004

Parachute Newsletter
by Richard N. Bolles

I was reading the papers the other day, and came across someone talking about "unskilled American workers." Oh my, oh my, I thought to myself, as a paraphrase of Pete Seeger's song began to run through my mind (well, strolled, actually): "When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?"

Skills. Was ever there a more misunderstood subject, or a more misunderstood word?

It has been so, for ages: people "putting down" other people by saying, "They have no skills."

Let us stand in front of the mirror, and say it loud and clear: "Everyone has skills. Everyone has skills." Dozens. Hundreds.

I teach a two week workshop every summer, attended by people from around the world, poor, rich, young, old, schooled and unschooled, and no one – no one – has ever failed to have at least 500 skills. The only question is: which kind, and what are they?

We are all born gifted, we are all born 'skilled.' Even the most (so-called) handicapped among us. Watch a baby learn, digest information, and put it to use. The skills every child has are astounding!

What, then, are these skills? What do we have, to offer to the world?

Basically there are three kinds of skills that you have, and I have, to offer to the world. It is useful to think of them in three categories: verbs, nouns, and adjectives.

Your Skills as Verbs
Some of your skills are verbs, or can be made into verbs, ending in "-ing"
Like: healing, sewing, constructing, driving, communicating, persuading, motivating, negotiating, calculating, organizing, planning, memorizing, researching, synthesizing, etc. These are your Transferable (Functional) Skills. They are also called talents, gifts, and 'natural skills.'

They are the strengths you have, often from birth. Some people, for example, are born knowing how to negotiate; but if you weren't, you often can learn how to do it as you grow. So, some of these skills are 'acquired.' You rarely ever lose these skills.
They are called your Transferable Skills because they can be transferred from one occupation to another, and used in a variety of fields, no matter how often you change careers.

These skills are things you are good at doing with one of three universes: either people, or things or data/information/ ideas. Most of us lean toward preferring work that is primarily with either people, or data, or things. And why? Because that's where our best skills lie, that is, the skills we most love to use.

You were born gifted: you are good with either data, or things, or people. That's the first thing you have, to offer to the world.

Your Skills as Nouns
And then, some of your skills are nouns. Like: computers, English, antiques, flowers, colors, fashion, Microsoft Word, music, farm equipment, data, graphics, Asia, Japanese, the stock market, etc.

These are called your Subject Skills, or Knowledge Skills. They are subjects that you know something about, and love to use in your work.

They are knowledges stored in your brain – which you may think of as a vast filing cabinet, at your command. They are often called 'your expertises.'

You have learned these, over the years. Through apprenticeships (formal or informal), school, life experience, books, or from a mentor. It doesn't matter how you learned them; you did. Question is: which ones do you absolutely love to use?

These expertises are the second thing you have, to offer to the world.

Your Skills as Adjectives
And then there are the third kind of skills, those that are adjectives or adverbs.
Like: accurate, adaptable, creative, dependable, flexible, methodical, persistent, punctual, responsible, self-reliant, tactful, courteous, kind, etc.

You know, of course, these are your Personal Trait Skills. Traits are the ways you manage yourself, the way you discipline yourself. Hence, they become the style in which go about doing your transferable skills. Often these are hammered out, in the crucible of experience.

We speak of our traits, in everyday conversation, as though they floated freely in the air: "I am dependable, I am creative, I am woman, I am man." But in actuality traits are always attached to your transferable skills, as adjectives or adverbs.

For example, if your favorite transferable skill is "researching," then your traits describe or modify how you do your "researching." Maybe: methodically. Maybe: creatively. Maybe: dependably. And so forth.

These styles, these self-disciplines, are the third thing you have, to offer to the world.
How you combine these three kinds of skills, is what makes you unique.

It is important then, that you figure out what kinds of jobs need the transferable skills, and the expertises, and the traits that you most like to use. After all, you were born because the world needs what you uniquely have to offer.
Copyright©1996-2009 by Richard N. Bolles
All rights reserved. No part of this site may be quoted or reproduced without written permission.
For any suggested additions, updating or corrections to this site, please e-mail the Webmaster.

HK to restore Bruce Lee's HK home

GMANews.TV - HK to hold competition to restore Bruce Lee's old home - Lifestyle - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News - BETA

HK to hold competition to restore Bruce Lee's old home
03/28/2009 | 11:56 AM


HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government has planned to hold a design competition to restore a former home of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee.

The house where Lee lived from 1972 to 1973 is currently used as a "love motel," where rooms are rented by the hour and people often carry on affairs. The owner has lobbied to covert it into a museum.

Hong Kong's commerce and economic development bureau says in statement late Friday that the design should incorporate maximum use of space while restoring the two-story house to its original appearance.

The authority did not elaborate on the timeframe and how the competition would be funded.

Lee, who died in Hong Kong in 1973 at age 32 from swelling of the brain, was born in San Francisco but grew up in Hong Kong. - AP

Palmdale legislator proposes change to balance on MTA board to give more weight to north county.

Legislation Aimed At Boosting Representation On MTA Board - Hometown Station KHTS AM-1220

Legislation Aimed At Boosting Representation On MTA Board Print E-mail
Written by Carol Rock
Thursday, 19 March 2009

Palmdale legislator proposes change to balance on MTA board to give more weight to north county.


A legislative attempt to get more representation for the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is working its way through Sacramento, despite opposition from Los Angeles City that is gaining momentum.



Newly-elected Assemblyman Steve Knight of Palmdale has proposed AB251, which would ensure that one seat be rotated specifically between Palmdale, Lancaster and Santa Clarita.



Currently, the board includes four representatives from Los Angeles; the mayor, one councilperson and two appointees; all of the County Supervisors, who represent the unincorporated areas, four members appointed from other cities in the county (there are 88 incorporated cities), and one non-voting member appointed by the Governor.



The 88 cities are divided into four different regions, with Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster included in the north county region along with 10 other cities. Former Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts served on the group until he left office two years ago, when he was replaced by Ara Najarian from the city of Glendale. Najarian was just re-elected by the 13-city coalition to a four-year term.



Santa Clarita’s Government Relations spokesperson Mike Murphy said that the city has not taken an official stand yet, but are planning to meet with Knight’s office to learn more about the bill.



“We need to research the dynamics,” Murphy said.



If approved as presented, the bill would take the three north county cities out of the larger four-sector mix and create a new sector. Murphy says that might not sit well with the other cities left behind. He also had questions about the voting mechanism for the new sector.



One thing that didn’t surprise him was the anticipated opposition to the bill from the City of Los Angeles. That city’s Council is expected to vote to oppose the legislation in today’s meeting. As written, the extra seat created for north county would be taken from the three allocated to the city of Los Angeles.



“If I were in their shoes, I’d be taking a dim view of the proposal,” he said.



Santa Clarita Councilwoman Marsha McLean was excited about the proposal. An unabashed public transportation advocate, she has attended many MTA meetings to learn more about plans and provide input.



“Our representatives do a good job representing us, but they have a difficult time helping the north county achieve the same amount of dollars and projects warranted by our rapidly growing population,” she said. “The time has come to add another voice to represent us.”

May 14 is Bike to Work Day

South Bay Environmentalism - The Daily Breeze

South Bay Environmentalism
Staff Writer
Posted: 04/03/2009 10:34:40 PM PDT

Try pedaling to work

Los Angeles County. If you've been thinking about attempting a bike commute to work, here's an incentive: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that May 14 is Bike to Work Day.

If your bike commute includes a route served by MTA bus or rail lines, you and your bike can ride free that day. See www.metro.net or call 213-922-2660 for more details.

Earth Day by the sea

Redondo Beach. If you're looking for an Earth Day event to attend, you might want to consider a visit to the SEA Lab in Redondo Beach on April 25 from

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The lab and Redondo's Department of Public Works are presenting a free event at 1021 N. Harbor Drive that offers a number of eco-friendly activities.

Visitors can turn in plastic bags for reusable tote bags, get freebies such as energy-efficient light bulbs, and see natural gas vehicles and a composting demonstration. There also will be free aquarium tours and a native plant sale for those who want to make their gardens more water-efficient.

In addition to the composting demonstration at

1 p.m., visitors will get a chance to dispose of sensitive documents or records through a shredding service.

For information, call 310-318-0686, Ext. 4153.