Monday, October 25, 2010

California to get another $900M from feds.

Federal lawmakers say the state of California is getting another $902 million in federal funding to advance the design and construction of a high-speed rail system initially running from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The funding announcement is being made in the days leading up to a high-stakes election featuring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican Carly Fiorina. One of the key battlegrounds in that race is the Central Valley, where the vast majority of the new funding is going.Link

The Strikes are about Debt.

France's massive strikes are costing the national economy up to euro400 million ($562 million) each day, the French finance minister said Monday, as workers continued to block ports, oil refineries and trash incineration plants to protest a plan to raise the retirement age to 62. France's 12 refineries remained shut down Monday after nearly two weeks of protests despite raids last week by riot police that forced some to open access to fuel stocks. At ports in Marseille and Le Havre, dozens of tankers are still anchored offshore, waiting to unload.Link

Friday, October 22, 2010

Does John Dennis Have a Chance?

John Dennis may live in Pacific Heights, but his similarities to fellow posh neighborhood resident Nancy Pelosi end there. The Republican challenger to most-powerful San Franciscan Pelosi supports Proposition 19, wants a repeal of the Defense of Marriage act, and is even OK with gays serving in the military. That puts him more in step with most San Franciscans (who admittedly haven't seen much of Nancy Pelosi lately). But does that mean he stands a chance in hell of unseating the Speaker of the House of Representatives from her Eighth District perch? According to a poll, mathematically... no.Link

Costly virtual border fence in tatters.

Reporting from Washington — The Department of Homeland Security, positioning itself to cut its losses on a so-called invisible fence along the U.S.- Mexico border, has decided not to exercise a one-year option for Boeing to continue work on the troubled multibillion-dollar project involving high-tech cameras, radar and vibration sensors.Link