ENLIGHTENMENT: Can California's High-Speed Train Ever Get on Track?

Hi, this is Vanessa, your ENLIGHTENMENT salon host.

I was reading the New York Times last month and came across this article, “A Scenic Tour of Red Tape: Tracking the Slowest High-Speed Train in the Country.” The reporter took a 500-mile road trip with Mark Wasser, an eminent-domain lawyer here in Sacramento who makes that trip regularly, to tour dozens of California’s high-speed rail construction projects scattered across the Central Valley.

With 70 clients involved, no one has handled more eminent domain cases involving the rail project than. Wasser. He voted for it in 2008, like most Californians. Now, with the plan reduced to having trains run between Bakersfield and Merced by 2033, what happened to connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco in just a couple of hours? Someday, Wasser says, but probably not while he’s alive.

As someone who loves traveling Europe by high-speed rail, I long for something similar here so I can ditch my car and read a good book while traveling the state, Will it ever happen? What went wrong? Can the problems be corrected and if so, what’s the fix?

Join me for a talk with Mark Wasser and others on California’s High-Speed Rail Project, how it went off the tracks, and can it get going again.

Ruhstaller BSMT has a variety of beers on tap, as well as wine, kombucha and nonalcoholic drinks — feel free to BYO food.

Bring your questions — nothing’s too small or too dumb to ask.

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Ruhstaller BSMT has a variety of beers on tap, as well as wine, kombucha and N/A beverages. Please feel free to BYO food.

Transportation Options include:
* Hourly street parking meters along L Street
* Covered/outdoor parking garages on L Street/Kayak Alley between 7th and 8th Street ($12)
* City garages: Capitol Garage at 1129 10th St. and City Hall Garage at 917 10th St. ($7)
* Light rail transit: Ruhstaller is close to stops on the Blue, Green and Gold lines

Also check out other Trips & Adventurous Activities in Sacramento.