(february 18) Maglev train funds being sought again.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/gibbons-to-push-again-for-federal-maglev-train-funding-84746777.html
WASHINGTON -- Attending a national governors meeting this weekend, Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to press anew for the Obama administration to release $45 million in federal funds to advance the proposed magnetic levitation train line between Las Vegas and Southern California, an aide said Thursday.
Gibbons is scheduled to meet on Sunday with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood after the Cabinet member's presentation at the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington.
"He is going to ask for the status of why the funds have not been released," said Ryan McGinness, director of the Nevada state office in Washington.
"All the conditions were met as of May," McGinness said. "The (Federal Railroad Administration) agreed in October all the conditions were met. It is at least nine months."
A spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration said Thursday the agency "is still reviewing the status of the maglev project in Nevada."
In a letter to Gibbons in September, LaHood said he could not commit to when final action would be taken.
(february 19) Letter backing Maglev line to Anaheim could further derail Reid
http://www.lvrj.com/news/letter-backing-maglev-line-to-anaheim-could-further-derail-reid-84765442.html
Credit American Magline Group officials for not giving up easily.
After appearing to lose the race to create a high-speed train line linking Las Vegas and Southern California, AMG has responded by obtaining a labor commitment letter with the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council.
Signed Tuesday by Steve Ross, the building trades council secretary-treasurer and a Las Vegas councilman; Neil Cummings, AMG president; and Ken Kevorkian, California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission vice chairman, the agreement plays up the potential economic boon that could result from building a maglev line from Las Vegas to Anaheim, Calif. DesertXpress, a Vegas-to-Victorville route, has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The letter's call for political intervention includes a comparison between the maglev construction and the building of Hoover Dam during the Depression. It touts the potential for "over 90,000 new construction jobs."
What the letter means for AMG isn't clear. DesertXpress has the inside track, and the lack of a long maglev line anywhere in the world makes AMG's critics more skeptical.
Could the letter make Reid's political life more complicated as he courts labor and fights for re-election?
Seems that the Maglev project still has legs behind it!
Keep flying on the Ground!
Maglev~News
