Should Fresno pursue a high speed railway system?

I've been reading a little bit about this proposition and a high speed rail system between the bay, central valley, and LA makes tremendous sense and here's how I see it in terms of Practicality. 1. In this months article Randy Baily stated "you can fly from LA to Sacramento and it takes about an hour and 12 minutes".... Mr. Bailey, you may be able to just flip out 2 or 3 hundred bucks every time you need to jump on a plane round trip, but a good vast majority of the population can't. An extra hour or so to save a hundred bucks or so is well worth it in my opinion. Not to mention the amount of time it takes to go through security, check bags, and in most cases a connection flight, you're minimum 4 hours.... NTSB and most airlines recommend being there 2 hours prior. Well that and the uncomfortable twin prop flying vibrators on a bad weather day might as well be like flying a puke machine. 2. Air service from Fresno to anywhere is down right criminal in terms of costs and scheduling... oh, and have you had to pay to park there recently? 3. Environmental impacts are tremendous, that goes with out saying. Getting rid of any pollution in the 99 corridor through the central valley is KEY right now. I'd gladly spend the extra money to help clean up our air for my grand children and their children.... Our planet is our future. Any and all forms of public transportation are welcome in my book. Especially ones that allow clean, relaxing, and inexpensive travel through the three key area's of this state. As a favorite movie of mine said once......"if you build it, they will come"

I'm amazed how so many people have been sucked into this global warming scare. I'm born and raised here in the Central Valley. All I hear is how the air quality is so bad here. Well as a person who works outside every day in this so called bad air. I say get a life and move to that wonderful air that exists somewhere else. I see the haze come and go as it's been doing for the last 50+ years I've lived here. Asthma is from allergies caused from Agriculture. If you have it you should think about moving somewhere else. I perfer to eat. The Air Quality Control Board has a 50,000 Sq. Ft. building with the lights on 24/7 but you and I we must conserve! The bus stop in front of The Air Quality Control Board and bicycle rack isn't needed because they all drive their cars to work and some even drive the vehicals that the Air Quality Control Board owns which looks to be around 50-70 of them around to enforce all these mandates put upon us. When we pass a bill to insure our fuel tax dollars are used to mantain our roads the fine print which I would have line item vetoed, sets advertising money aside to tell us how we should all car pull, but why can't they be the example of what they think we need. Mother Nature has been cleaning up this valley for a long time just as it always will, despite what man does. Sure the air was worse 20 years ago when there was a drought, then the rain came and by doing a few changes with the catalitic converters it cleaned right up. So what happened to the bench marks that were accomplished years ago from these changes. Well if you "fix it" you lose your EPA job. So you make the standards tougher to keep your job. Mr. Harsh if you're so concerned about the air quality and the planet, which by the way is changing every day with or with out you (it's been doing that for billions of years). Then spend your own money from your pocket, not mine, to build that rail system. "If you build it... they will come". Put your money were your mouth is and prove it! You'll make a fortune. After the Enviornmental Impact Report or environmental law suits are done with you. You can give your hard earned wealth to those grand kids (if the death taxes don't take most of it) Or donate it to the maintance of the 7' High Iron Fence, Electric Gates and Servalince cameras around the EPA office on Getteysburg. Wonder what they're afaid of? The hipacarcy is breaking our state. Where is the Enviornmental Impact Report on the lost jobs and business that are effected by these Enviornmentalists. News Flash when the lighting comes the forest will burn the Spoted Owls will die. So much for maintaning our forest! Putting hard working people out of jobs they love and accutally create something of value. But what do I know I used to build fireplaces. If the wood is seasoned just as EPA recommends (Industry testing showed them that) the pm10 just isn't there. Oh.. but I can build that fireplace in your backyard,you can burn in the summer when you don't need to, but don't attach it to the house that will be air pollution in the winter. Well $5,000,000 in lost wages for the 20 master masons we laid off in 1991, $12,000,000 in lost business and a trade knowledge gone! That's just one very small buisness gone. Heck we all became college grads with computer degrees and environmentals locked up inside the EPA office. We don't need to teach the trades to those who don't go to college cause they like to build and work with their hands. Spend, spend , spend, lets take our hard earned tax dollars and give it to the government. They fixed social security, they bailed out their Fannie May and Fredy Mack buddies. But at least they paid their 50% taxes on all that greed they reported to the IRS. Harsh they have plenty of money to spend, just show them how to give it back to you to bail out that new rail system. Or just use your own not mine. Richard (Born and Raised Here)