Rail Now!

Good news for California high-speed rail in the latest Field Poll. Though very few people know about Prop. 1 at this stage, it gets the support of 56% of the voters, with only 30% opposed. The thing is that I doubt it will EVER get a lot of coverage, between the more high-profile initiatives (gay marriage, redistricting) and the Presidential race. So between the favorable response to the ballot language and Governor Schwarzenegger's support, I can see a path to getting this bond passed. And while I'm not always partial to bonds, getting high-speed rail up and running would improve the environment, quality of life, traffic congestion, air quality, and business productivity, so I'm right there. My colleague Robert Cruickshank runs a great High Speed Rail blog, so check there for the latest updates.

...Just to put all California initiative information in the same place, this is great news for Prop. 8, the gay marriage ban. 42% yes/51% no at this stage is deadly. I'm very excited by this.