NEWPORT BACKS HIGH-SPEED TRAIN
Newport Beach is backing a plan that would create a high-speed maglev train route between Las Vegas and Anaheim.
The city added its formal endorsement to the plan this week. Mayor Ed Selich has written letters of support of the train project to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the California congressional delegation.
The so-called California-Nevada Interstate Maglev Project has been touted as a way to divert traffic from John Wayne Airport. The plan’s proponents believe the train would siphon more passengers to Ontario International Airport if they could take a 15-minute maglev train ride from Anaheim to Ontario. Operating at speeds more than 300 mph, a maglev trip to Las Vegas would take only 81 minutes.
WATER BOARD MEMBER RESIGNS
Ergun Bakall, one of the seven members of the board of the Municipal Water District of Orange County, resigned this week after serving on the board for seven years.
The Municipal Water District is a water wholesaler, which imports water and distributes it to various cities and local agencies like Mesa Consolidated Water District.
The district board has the ability to make decisions about water infrastructure and allocation among its member agencies.
In his letter of resignation Tuesday, Bakall did not give a reason for leaving. District spokeswoman Darcy Burke said it was due to “personal reasons.”
The district has not yet decided how it plans to fill the spot left vacant by Bakall, but will likely make that decision within the coming weeks, Burke said.
IS IT TIME FOR ENDORSEMENTS ALREADY?
Thought you got election fatigue from last year’s never-ending political cycle? Well, as most political observers know there is no off-season for elections.
