California's High-Speed Rail Plan Is in Jeopardy, But It's Hiring Workers Anyway

Late last week, California's emerging high-speed rail line received the latest challenge to its existence, and perhaps the most severe. A state superior court judge ruled that the rail authority failed to identify the funds it needs to complete the first phase of construction, and to receive full environmental clearance — oversights that violate the 2008 voter referendum approving the project. The judge stopped short of invalidating the line, but the problems must be addressed.

If project opponents thought the ruling would halt progress on the line, however, they were quite mistaken. Tutor Perini Corporation, which won the bid to construct the initial segment in the Central Valley, is opening an office in the Fresno area as early as next week, says Blake Konczal, executive director of the Fresno Workforce Investment Board. Meanwhile, the board is collecting applications for a new high-speed rail worker training program that's scheduled to begin mid-October.