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Sacramento County Superior Court judge Michael Kenny issued a tentative ruling Thursday that would allow work to proceed on the California high-speed rail project, in spite of flaws the court found in the rail agency’s environmental review process.
Menlo Park and Atherton had joined in the lawsuit that brought the issue before the court.
Though Mr. Kenny had previously deemed flawed parts of the High-Speed Rail Authority’s environmental review process, the deficiencies were not significant enough to force the agency to halt work on the project, he said.
The ruling is tentative — Mr. Kenny will still hear oral arguments in the case Friday before issuing a final ruling.
“A lot of times it’s not a done deal, but it’s hard to reverse,” said Stuart Flashman, the attorney representing the plaintiffs.
“We certainly are happy with the direction it seems to be going, but we look forward to the hearing tomorrow and the final ruling,” rail authority spokeswoman Kris Deutschman said.
The lawsuit challenged the selection of the Caltrain corridor as the route for trains to access the Bay Area from the Central Valley. The group that filed it contended that the rail authority made the decision to run trains up the Peninsula, rather than in the East Bay through the Altamont Pass, without adequately reviewing the implications of that decision.
The route currently proposed runs through Menlo Park and Atherton, and would use the existing Caltrain right of way.
After reviewing environmental impact reports for the project, Mr. Kenny ruled in August that more information is needed for the section between San Jose and Gilroy.
Check The Almanac’s Web site for updates on the court’s final ruling.
— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
A wise choice from the Sacramento Court Judge Kenny, which, as I can see, has left everyone really thrilled.
No matter how much those of you caught up in the past protest, this will be a done deal in the not too distant future.
It may not affect you today, but it will serve the future generations and start taking hold in the rest of the state and country.
This country is caught up in a time warp and the results show in the areas which get moving into the proper time concept.
The court is going to have a lot of scattered opposition by those who think only in the past and those who scream the loudest are fools to ignore the fact that change is inevitable.
It WILL happen. It HAS to happen.
Great – We’ll have a fancy train that nobody really “needs”.
And all the money to build “The Train That Nobody Needs” will get sucked right out of the CA State education funds to pay for it.
Schools will suffer accordingly, and then we’ll have an entire generation of under-educated kids.
It will be those same kids who will be paying taxes and funding our Social Security when we’re old. Without a great education they’ll be too dumb for any decent jobs, and will therefore pay less taxes, and use more government services.
But hey, all those under-educated kids can stand around and watch “The Train That Nobody Needs” whoosh by.
We spend our public funds in some really stupid ways – and the HSR project is one of them.
I’m taking off comments that are just comments on other posters, rather than on the topic.
It is sad to have to remind the poster who is worried about the educational system when America already is filled with embarrassingly vast numbers of uneducated kids.
I doubt he has ever traveled and seen how ignorant most American youngsters come off. They are politely dismissed as part of a “has been” group who are now just not as rich as before.
One doesn’t have to travel the world to see that. Just go into the next counties, then major cities and entire states.
While he worries about who pays for their education, how does he intend to handle the costs of getting our roads to be driveable in the still gas guzzling American products that we are still hawking as being more efficient? Bridges anyone? Ours are the worst anywhere in the globe.Ever seen the wide cracks on the runways which need repairs? The airline industry has tried to pull every rabbit out in order to extend the life of our once most prized industry.
Trips are now being pitched to get passengers by offering them almost free rides anywhere for a hundred dollars since that form of travel will be gone.
Why do you kid yourselves?
You want a charming city with bright children who will leave this place as soon as they get a diploma……and not know where to go.
Most of you will be too old to want to leave home, or maybe already are; so it would be nice to see America as most highway ads once used to proclaim.
We do almost NOTHING for our kids and schools are closing faster than ever and those of you who have kids who may be fighting or going to fight in the near future, should be pushing to make progress and instead, keep holding back the jobs, the progress, the growth, and the excitement of a country like ours which was always the one to lead. Arguing for the same and worse is just pathetic.