Free Republic

We will devote quite a bit of space in the FlashReport in the coming weeks to articulating why the five "big bonds" measures on the November ballot -- Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 84 -- should all be rejected by California voters. You've heard me make the case over and over if you are a regular reader, but if you are new to this site, I can sum up the main over-arching reasons to reject all of this borrowing in just a few paragraphs: For decades, the liberals who control the state legislature, along with a string of Governors...

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California motorists are footing the bill as five of the state’s metropolitan regions rank in the Top Ten urban areas with the roughest pavements in the nation. In a report released today, TRIP, a national transportation research group, found that among large urban regions (500,000+ population), the areas with the greatest share of major roads and highways with pavements in poor condition are: San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, Kansas City, New Orleans (pre-Katrina), San Diego, Sacramento, St. Louis, Omaha and New York City. TRIP found that a quarter of the nation’s major metropolitan roads – interstates, freeways...

CBS) SHERMAN OAKS Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged Tuesday voters to support a $37.3 billion plan on the November ballot to improve California's roads, schools and levees. The governor appeared at the Sherman Oaks Galleria to build support for Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, which together represent a multibillion-dollar plan to overhaul the state's infrastructure. "California has always been an economic, environmental and technological leader, and this November we have the historic opportunity to make sure we continue this trend by building the roads, schools, levees and housing of the future," Schwarzenegger said. Proposition 1A would protect Proposition 42...

-Proposition 1B: The biggest chunk, $19.9 billion, is for transportation projects that will cost $38.9 billion to repay. Most of the money, $11.3 billion, would be spent to improve highways and local roads... YES Proposition 1C allots $2.85 billion for housing and shelter...But this is a sector of our economy in which public and private funds compete. NO Proposition 1D would upgrade and build more schools at every level...NO Proposition 1E is a $4.1 billion bond to improve disaster preparedness and flood prevention...YES We cant afford everything we need right now. But voting no on every measure is not in...

Those in support of Proposition 1B would have us believe that bonding is the only way our state can raise the money we need to achieve our desired transportation goals. They would say this because lawmakers don't have the spine for hiking taxes to pay for these projects. Let's set the record straight. The majority party in Sacramento rarely meets a tax increase it can't support. The fiscally responsible members of the Legislature understand that higher taxes and bonding are not the only way to fund transportation projects. The belief that bonding is needed completely ignores the fact that during...

Californians' wariness of new debt is just one problem facing backers SACRAMENTO – After years of criticism about failing to invest in infrastructure, lawmakers now face questions about whether they are trying to do too much. The Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger placed a record $37.3 billion package of public-works bonds on the Nov. 7 ballot for roads, schools, housing and flood control. BIG BONDS The governor and legislative leaders have placed a record bond package on the Nov. 7 ballot: Proposition 1B – $19.9 billion for transportation Proposition 1C – $2.85 billion for housing Proposition 1D – $10.4 billion...

Public works bonds flounder Big spenders, other woes threaten support for infrastructure SACRAMENTO — Public-works bond supporters fear they won't have the cash to sell voters on costly infrastructure improvements because monied oil and tobacco firms fighting propositions are inflating the political television ad market. At the same time, other problems are piling up — uneven support based on regional concerns, awkward politics, the sheer size of the multibillion-dollar bond total, and disclosures that much of the money for transportation would not go directly to easing traffic congestion. "It's going to be difficult to have a voice to be heard...

Environmental groups, lured by the prospect of more than $4 billion for public-transit projects, are backing away from opposing the massive transportation bond on the November ballot. The environmentalists also are daunted by the nearly $7 million in campaign funds amassed by the bond's supporters. Over the weekend, the 75-delegate board of the Sierra Club of California decided against opposing the $19.95 billion bond package, which includes the money for public transit and $14 billion for road construction, plus other projects. Bill Allayaud, the group's legislative director, said Northern California members pushed to fight the bond, while many Southern California...

SACRAMENTO - When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced an ambitious transportation bond in January, he touted the plan as way to improve more than 1,000 miles of state roads and build hundreds of miles of carpool lanes on California's busiest freeways. Democrats later shrank that pavement-laying proposal and substituted billions for bus, rail and other urban transit projects, but supporters have stuck to their public message since the latest version was placed on the November ballot. The bond, they say, would largely build roads and ease the lives of California's legions of freeway commuters. On Web sites and in fliers soon...

Stretching from mountain to ocean, threading through shipping ports that connect us to the world, our two dozen interstates form the spine and sinew of the California Dream. They helped make us who we are, fueled our love of freedom and passion for thinking big, then told our story to the world through cop shows and chase films. They've spawned a monster economy linking America to China, India and beyond. More changes are coming. . . . Planners are scrambling to steer the aging system around a crisis that threatens the economy and the lifestyle it spawned. Just as California...

General Election - November 7, 2006 Prop. 1A Transportation Funding Protection: YES! For years, the Legislature has raided our highway taxes for general fund spending. Though it’s more window dressing than relief, this measure makes it marginally harder to do so. Prop. 1B Transportation Bond: NO! Although some of this money is for long overdue road construction, most goes for equipment, maintenance and social programs that will be obsolete decades before our children have finished paying off the debt. Californians pay the third highest tax per gallon of gasoline in the country – and yet we rank 43rd in per...

California is on the verge of sharply expanding its 117 miles of toll roads to accommodate trucks, expedite freight and ease the pain of the daily commute in the state's most traffic-clogged areas. The game plan, which is fraught with controversy because private companies will build the roads and collect the tolls, is the result of an agreement reached earlier this year by the governor and the Legislature. Few in California doubt that traffic congestion needs to be eased. Using toll roads to do it is not so popular, however, and bringing in private vendors to run the roads is...

More good news for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the wake of Friday’s early morning passage of the $37.3 billion infrastructure bonds package, now set for California’s November ballot. He is getting major credit from Democrats for his role in making the deal happen. And major Democrats will be campaigning with him Monday on a flyaround tour of the state for the measure. Joining the former action superstar, according to multiple sources in both parties, on his jet will be Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, along with the Republican legislative leaders, Senator Dick Ackerman and...