Central Valley

Days after the CA HSR Authority was dealt a serious setback over its environmental analysis for the San Jose to SF segment, a new suit has been filed by Kings County. Construction must begin in the Central Valley next year to retain fed' funding.

Wounded but far from dead, the WSJ examines the many problems plaguing California's formidable HSR project. With federal funding likely to be pulled by House Republicans, the Journal reports on the courses the project could take.

Bowing to increased opposition in the Central Valley, the struggling rail authority asked for an additional 2 weeks before releasing its business plan, a key document the legislature has requested. Deadlines loom.

The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a request by the National Association of Home Builders to hear their lawsuit against the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's use of the 'indirect source rule', better known as a 'smog fee'.

One out of every two Latino's live in the nation's top 25 most ozone-polluted cities according to a new report. KQED's California Report interviews one of the co-authors, the Director of Latino Outreach for NRDC, in this radio report.

California's high speed rail project has been criticized for starting its first section in the state's central valley and connecting to small towns. But this piece argues that's exactly the right way to do it.

A compromise high speed rail approach for the Peninsula to have the train use the existing Caltrain corridor without elevating or widening it may have mollified some Peninsula HSR opponents but stirred opposition by Central Valley HSR advocates.

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood responds to a Washington Post editorial that condemned not only the California High Speed Rail project, but President Obama's vision for a national high-speed rail network.

When CA High Speed Rail Authority officials chose the initial Central Valley, 65-mile stretch to begin construction (extended to 123 miles thanks to OH and WI), they were not expecting to encounter the opposition they've seen elsewhere - wrong!

Awards for high speed rail projects will be announced Oct. 26. CA will receive $902 million for 18 projects from SF to San Diego, the largest in the Central Valley. Florida will get $800 million for the Orlando to Tampa line

In a unanimous vote on Oct. 21, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District approved another 'first' air quality measure not done elsewhere: They supported charging Valley motorists for paying the $29 million ozone penalty set by the E.P.A.

Cities in California's Central Valley are looking at the economic downturn as an opportunity for planners to focus on long-range work. But layoffs in planning departments are making that hard to do.

A plan to divert water from Northern California to the state's agricultural heart in the drought-stricken Central Valley has residents and officials on the offensive.

NASA satellite imagery reveals that two of California's main groundwater sources are being rapidly depleted by agriculture and exurban development.

At its Dec. 3 meeting, the CA HSR Authority board members unanimously voted to 'decertify' the program EIR to comply with a judge's order in a suit brought by Peninsula cities and rail and environmental nonprofits over the corridor to the Bay Area.

Water restrictions on farms in the state have atrophied jobs in the fertile Central Valley, giving communities some of the highest rates of unemployment in the state. As jobs dry up, the need for aid is surpassing what's there to give.

Water shortages and environmentally-based restrictions are leaving Central California's agricultural lands dry. As a result, farmers are increasingly tapping into groundwater sources. Many are calling on the state to monitor the use of its aquifers.

High Country News reports on Fresno's infamous Taco Flat in this 4-pager. Seattle's Nickelsville and Portland's Dignity Village are held up as better examples of squatter settlements. Architecture and 'informal urbanism' of tent cities is examined.

California's Central Valley is one of the top agricultural sites in the world, but with low rainfall and cut-off irrigation supplies, farming towns and their citizens may face at least one tough year ahead.