CTNS SCRIPTS
CAPITOL TELEVISION NEWS SERVICE
SACRAMENTO, CA
(916) 446-7890
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23RD , 2008
• TO REQUEST 16 BY 9 FILES OF THE CTNS NEWSFEED ONLINE PLEASE CONTACT ROB GRIFFITH. THE PRELIM, MIDDAY AND SCRIPTS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT WWW.CTNSNEWS.COM .•
1. HIGH SPEED RAIL VO/SOT
2. SOME TEACHERS LIKE PROP 8 VO/SOT
3. PENSION GAP VO/SOT
4. BOND OVERSIGHT VO/SOT
5. LAWMAKERS' PER DIEM HIKE VO
1. HIGH SPEED RAIL VO/SOT
LIVE:
DESPITE STATE LAW DIRECTING THE HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY TO COMPLETE ITS BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE RAIL SYSTEM BY SEPTEMBER 1ST, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY TOLD A SENATE COMMITTEE THIS MORNING THAT THE BUSINESS PLAN WILL NOT BE READY UNTIL NEXT MONTH. THE PLAN WILL NOT BE COMPLETED IN TIME FOR VOTERS TO REVIEW IT BEFORE THEY'LL VOTE ON WHETHER TO APPROVE PROPOSITION 1A, A TEN BILLION DOLLAR BOND MEASURE INTENDED TO PARTLY FINANCE THE RAIL SYSTEM'S CONSTRUCTION.
SUPER: TODAY/STATE CAPITOL
VO: (:30)
THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY WAS CREATED IN 1996,
SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLANNING, CONSTRUCTING, AND OPERATING A HIGH SPEED RAIL SYSTEM TO LINK THE STATE'S MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS. THE SENATE TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING COMMITTEE TODAY REVIEWED THE PARTIALLY COMPLETED PLAN. THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY IS JUDGE QUENTIN KOPP, WHO WROTE THE BILL CREATING THE AUTHORITY WHEN HE WAS A STATE SENATOR. KOPP SAYS ABOUT A THIRD OF THE MONEY NEEDED TO BUILD AND START OPERATING THE SYSTEM WILL COME FROM THE 10-BILLION DOLLAR BOND, AND THE OTHER TWO THIRDS FROM A COMBINATION OF FEDERAL AND PRIVATE SOURCES.
SUPER: QUENTIN KOPP/HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY
SOT: (:45)
SAYS: "WE HAVE SIX FUNDS DEDICATED TO INVESTING IN GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURES THAT HAVE PROVIDED US WITH S WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF A DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE AND WHEN IT COMES TIME, IN ABOUT YEAR AND A HALF, AFTER OUR DESIGN ENGINEERING IS COMPLETED IN 2009, AND THE BEGINNING OF 2010, UNDER OUR LAW WE WILL THEN PROCEED TO CERTIFY AND OBTAIN AS PART OF THAT CERTIFICATION THE AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE MONEY. AMD I FULLY EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE PRIVATE INVESTMENT CONSISTENT WITH THE INTERESTS WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN DISPLAYED."
SUPER: JOE VRANICH/OPPOSES PROP. 1A
SOT: (:40)
SAYS: "THE PROBLEM WITH THE HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY IS ITS ARROGANCE. THE LAW REQUIRES A BUSINESS PLAN TO BE ISSUED PRIOR TO THE ELECTION, AND THEY DON'T HAVE ONE, AND THEY SAY THERE WON'T BE ONE. AND YET THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF THINGS WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE FINANCIAL RISKS INVOLVED WITH THIS PLAN. MOREOVER, BECAUSE I'VE READ THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF THEIR DOCUMENTATION, MANY HIGH SPEED RAIL DOCUMENTS HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM THE WEBSITE IN 2007, DURING T VERY YEAR WHEN THERE SHOULD BE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM BECAUSE OF THE UPCOMING. SO NOT ONLY DO WE NOT HAVE A BUSINESS PAN, WE HAVE UH, LESS INFORMATIONAL AVAILABLE PUBLICLY ON THEIR WEBSITE."
VO TAG:
JOE VRANICH, A FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE HIGH SPEED RAIL ASSOCIATION ALSO TESTIFIED AT TODAY'S HEARING. HE HAS WRITTEN HIS OWN REPORT THAT'S HIGHLY CRITICAL OF THE HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY'S WORK TO DATE. VRANICH SAYS THE SYSTEM WILL COST AT LEAST TWICE AS MUCH TO BUILD AS THE AUTHORITY SAYS, AND
DOUBTS THERE WILL BE ANY PRIVATE MONEY AVAILABLE TO BUILD THE SYSTEM.
EDITOR'S NOTE: KOPP TODAY SAID HE BELIEVES FEDERAL SUBSIDIES FOR THE SYSTEM WILL BE INCLUDED IN A SECOND ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL, BUT THAT BILL HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN. HE SAYS ABOUT A THIRD OF THE MONEY FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL WILL COME FROM THE STATE BOND, A THIRD FROM THE FEDS, AND A THIRD FROM PRIVATE SOURCES. BUT THE AUTHORITY'S LATEST ESTIMATE FOR BUILDING THE SYSTEM IS ABOUT $40 BILLION DOLLARS, WHICH WOULD LEAVE ABOUT A $10 BILLION DOLLAR SHORTFALL.
EXTRA BITES:
SUPER: QUENTIN KOPP/HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY
SOT: (:16)
SAYS: "COMMENCEMENT BEGAN WITH THE APPROPRIATED MONEY AFTER SEPTEMBER 23RD, SO IT WILL BE IN COMPLETED FORM ABOUT NOVEMBER 7TH, NOVEMBER 8TH."
SOT: (:034)
SAYS: "SO ALL OF THIS WILL BE CONTRACTED PRIMARILY UNDER DESIGN AND BUILD CONDITIONS, AND SECONDLY, OUR FOUNDATIONAL LAW, ASSEMBLY 3034, PREVENTS US FROM STARTING ANY CONSTRUCTION OF A SEGMENT, MUCH LESS THE FIRST PHASE FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO ANAHEIM THROUGH THE CENTRAL VALLEY AND LOS ANGELES UNTIL ALL AVAILABLE FUNDS NECESSARY ARE CERTIFIED AS AVAILABLE AND IDENTIFIED."
SUPER:JOE VRANICH/OPPOSES PROP. 1A
SOT: (:25)
SAYS: "IN NEARLY 40 YEARS OF WORK, THE WORK I'VE SEEN IS SUPERIOR TO THIS TERRIBLE WORK I'VE SEEN DONE BY THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL COMMISSION. THE PLANNING IS DEFICIENT, THE RIDERSHIP ESTIMATES A R BLOATED, THE COST ESTIMATES ARE WAY BELOW, WE ARE HEADED FOR A VERY BADLY PLANNED HIGH SPEED RAIL SYSTEM AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE THAT I FOUND A HIGH SPEED RAIL SYSTEM THAT I CANNOT ENDORSE."
SOT: (:47)
SAYS: "THEY AREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE TRAINS TRAVELING AT AN AVERAGE SPEED OF 200 MILES PER HOUR. THAT IS NOT HAPPENING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. THEN I STARTED LOOKING AT THEIR RIDERSHIP PROJECTIONS. THEIR TOP ONE; THEY'RE CLAIMING THAT THE SYSTEM WILL CARRY 117 MILLION PEOPLE A YEAR? HOLD ON. EVEN BETWEEN BOSTON AND WASHINGTON, AMTRAK'S HIGH SPEED ACELA TRAINS ONLY CARRY THREE MILLION A YEAR. THE FRENCH SYSTEM CARRIES 17 MILLION A YEAR, NOT 117 MILLION. THESE ESTIMATES ARE NOT ONLY BAD, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY ABSURD. AND IF THIS PROJECT PROCEEDS, IT'S GOING TO HELP KILL HIGH SPEED THROUGH THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE OF THE TAINT THAT WILL COME FROM THIS PROJECT.
