When Rod Diridon resurrected the alternative of trenching the
220 mph high-speed rail line through Gilroy, he was not doing the
city any favors. He was trying to retain Gilroy’s political support
despite increasing realization by residents that a line running
those speeds will irrevocably harm the entire community.
Rod Diridon just hoodwinking South County – covered trench? No way
Dear Editor,
When Rod Diridon resurrected the alternative of trenching the 220 mph high-speed rail line through Gilroy, he was not doing the city any favors. He was trying to retain Gilroy’s political support despite increasing realization by residents that a line running those speeds will irrevocably harm the entire community.
Trenching may be the only palatable alternative presented by the Rail Authority, but it is not one that is taken seriously by HSRA staff because it would raise the cost of the line by at least $1 billion. Staff politely did not state this figure in the “Summary Tables” attached to Agenda Item 13, instead mentioning a 20 percent cost increment and not stating the base.
Trenching is obviously an empty promise. What the city is being offered is an elevated railroad plus a whiff of fairy dust, courtesy of Rod. To really obtain a trench or tunnel from HSRA, the region would need to have a Rail Authority Board member residing in town, as does San Francisco (Quentin Kopp), Santa Clara (Rod Diridon) or Anaheim (Curt Pringle).
As things stand, Gilroy has little chance of getting a trench as Madera, Fresno, Corcoran, Shafter, Bakersfield, Lancaster or Palmdale, all of which also face 220 mph trains. If all those cities were trenched, the project cost would top $60 billion. The $8 billion remaining in HSR bond measure receipts will not cover even a basic system, so any discussion of trenching is pure magical thinking.
Gilroy’s best hope of avoiding negative environmental impacts is for citizens to ask that the I-580 alternative through Altamont Pass be studied, when they have a chance to comment at the Authority’s meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gilroy.
Richard Tomlach, California Rail Authority
Prayer, comfort and peace for the family and entire community
Dear Editor,
I wrote this prayer in response to Sarah Botill’s death. In times like these, everyone suffers. I wrote it with the intention of offering a little help.
A therapist’s prayer for parents who have lost a child and the community surrounding them.
Dear Lord,
Please help parents realize that ultimately, some things are out of their control. I know parents don’t like to think about this because it is too scary. They want more than anything to believe that if they do things “just so,” that everything will be OK.
Please comfort them when they learn in devastating loss, that in spite of one’s best efforts to love and protect their children, injury and harm can come to them. Please remind them that all they can do is their best, and the rest is up to you. I know they don’t like this either, because it takes away the illusion of control. Help guide them to peace with the dawn of this understanding.
Help them receive the love and support of family and friends, who suffer with them. And help them to open to healing, which can come in surprising ways; a kind note, an offer to take care of some task of daily living, a meal of comfort food.
Let them know that when one member of our community suffers loss, everyone grieves. Remind the community that we are all connected and called to support and strengthen each other.
Please guide those who don’t know what to say to the bereft. Help them realize that sometimes there are no words that will take away pain. Help them understand that presence, an ability to hold the space for one’s suffering, and deep compassion, are a comfort beyond measure. A reassuring touch, an offer to walk without saying anything, listening without trying to solve anything, receiving any expressed feelings without judgment, allows a moment of reprieve for the sufferer as they realize they are not alone.
Please remind friends and family that grieving the loss of a child is a long, hard and often lonely road. Help these loved ones know that at first, there is a well-spring of love and support that diminishes over time. Later, when all have gone home, is when support is needed the most.
Please bless these families and hold them close as their shattered lives begin mending with the love of family, friends and community, which is your expression through them.
Amen.
Donna Aceves, Gilroy
‘Are we mad?’ Taxpayer subsidies for bullet train will be enormous
Dear Editor,
How much money will every small business owner in downtown Gilroy and Morgan Hill have to pay to subsidize the bullet train? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Annually more than they would get from tourist dollars? And the construction costs bond debts heaped on their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who get not a penny in return?
Did Karl Marx’s philosophy succeed? Why do our leaders think that they can make it work here?
How much are Amtrak taxpayers subsidizing for every person who rides the train? Multiply that by factors of 10 to get the bullet train subsidies to pay for annual billion dollar losses. Where will that money come from? Gas taxes? Airline passenger fees?
Have we gone mad?
Joe Thompson, Hollister
