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6A Daily News – Saturday, November 19, 2011 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Send 'high cost rail' back to the voters Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Big Game memories Commentary This season the big football game for Stanford football fans was their defeat by Oregon last Saturday, but for both the Blue and Gold of Berkeley and the Red and White from Stanford the Big Game is today at Stan- ford when the Cal Bears and the Stanford Cardinal play the 114th Big Game. Stanford leads in the series with 56 victories to Cal's 46; there have been 11 ties. Three Big Games standout in my memory. The first was the 1959 when Dick Norman threw for 401 yards in a Stanford defeat. He completed 34 of 39 passes that day. Even though he was a "sewing machine runner" according to coach "Cactus" Jack Curtice, the coach asked Norman to run for a touchdown on the last play rather than electing to go for a field goal and a tie. Norman was stopped as the clock ran out. This was the second loss in a row for Cur- tice who chose to go for two points instead of a tie in 1958. In my senior year, 1960, we lost again; that season was one with- out any victories, a drought that kept water out of Lake Laguni- ta, and a no show by the orches- tra at the senior ball-- not a good portend to after college life. In 1975 my wife and I sat through a downpour in the end zone at Memorial Stadium while my in laws sat with their youngest daughter in a Cal dorm to watch the game. With almost no time left Cal went ahead. A combination of clock management and luck allowed Stanford to kick a 50 yard field goal as time ran out and claim victory. On November 20, 1982 we were in Red Bluff for the Big Game, and I was shaving while listening to what I thought would be a routine finish with a Stanford victory; I almost cut my throat as I heard the narrator describe Cal laterals and Stan- ford Band members storming onto the field as Cal scored a winning touchdown in a bizarre combination of events and offi- ciating now known as The Play. Instead of John Elway, the Stan- ford trombone player became the most famous Stanford man that day. For many years after we moved to Red Bluff we attended the Big Game with Cal friends from the area, making playful pranks on each other, such as placing "Beat Kal" or "Beat Stanferd" signs on each others' lawns. We also removed each other's alumni license plate holders for the week of the game. We were in the distinct minority, but we enjoyed the lighthearted rivalry of Big Game Week as we traded friendly jibes with Roy and Doreen Berridge, Gretchen and Scott Sherman, Bonnie and Jim Goodin, and Bill and Jeanie Gaines. Often we would see Joanne Perkins and Mary Lee Grimes at the games, carrying their Cal pennants. We would car pool to the game or go down in Bill Gaines' RV, tailgating before the game and stopping somewhere for dinner on the way back to Red Bluff; for many years we would have to be gracious winners, but then the winning streaks reversed and we had to be graceful losers. Life is like that. We usually purchased our tickets through the Stanford athletic department because according to our Cal friends it was more user-friendly. where understood what was going on or if they thought the banners were subversive politi- cal statements. Today they might be consid- ered an act of terror- ism perhaps. Joe Harrop In my senior year a six-foot coed dressed in long coat and appeared pregnant as she took the elevator to the top of the Campanile, the bell tower on the Berkeley campus; once on top she unrolled several sheets from around her waist, tossed them over the side, and secured them to the bell tower while compa- triots secured the sheets to the ground. The message was very clear in big letters: BEAT CAL. This was followed by similar banners positioned on the Lean- ing Tower of Pizza, the Eiffel Tower, and other prominent locations. We don't know if the locals in France, Italy, and else- One year we stopped in Vacaville at a Standard Oil station where there were Cal and Stanford corduroy baseball caps on sale. We bought four Cal hats for our friends and a Stanford hat for me; I still wear my 25- year-old hat when I do yard work. It still fits, of course, which I can- not claim for my freshman leather sleeved jacket hanging in the closet. The sands of time have definitely shifted. Other things have changed as well. When I was an undergrad- uate about the rudest thing we could yell at Cal fans was, "We pay your tuition." With all the budget problems in the state of California, it seems likely we are not doing as good a job of paying tuition at the University of California as we did a few years back. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. After a series of misleading statements, a California Supreme Court ruling on ille- gal ballot language, and two downright dishonest business plans the citizens of Califor- nia deserve the final say on high-speed rail. To be blunt, the California High Speed Rail Authority could give lessons to third world dicta- tors on the concept of public misinformation. For over three years legis- lators and the public have been assured by the Califor- nia High Speed Rail Authori- ty that a "Public-Private Part- nership" would finance the bulk of the construction. Also, that the project would be in the $33- $40 billion dollar range for an 800 mile high-speed rail sys- tem and any claims to the contrary were absolutely without merit. However, with the recent release of yet another updated business plan, the Authority has proven all earlier statements to be false. In fact, the now proposed 520 mile high-speed rail plan is likely to cost $100 billion. All told when Califor- nians look at the claims made in 2008 versus the reality of the recent business plan we see a significantly shorter track, a 300% escalation in cost, no private investment secured, and ridership num- bers that still reek of fantasy. This project was sold to voters as a model for "Public- Private partnerships." Under the original plan the public was asked to invest nearly $10 billion with the expectation that some federal dollars and private investment would cre- ate a $33 billion rail system. Three years later and millions of taxpayer dollars spent on lobbyists, publicists, and slick PR campaigns have resulted in a few billion in federal funding and zero dol- lars in private investment. You cannot have a "Public- Private Partnership" without private investment. In recent legislative hearings authority spokesmen relayed that they did not plan on any private financing until after the com- pletion of the project. Public- Private is a meaningless term when there is no private. When it comes to ridership estimates, high-speed rail continues to live in a fantasy world. The updated plan calls for more riders than exist in the entire country, including the east coast high- speed rail system where populations are larger and more com- pact. The authority believes 43 million will ride when fully established, more than three times the amount that fly between San Francis- co and Los Angeles annually. Finally, when look- ing at the total cost, $100 billion is a lot more than the $33 bil- lion that was adver- tised. will give billions more bor- rowed from China. Unfortunately, the notion Sen. Doug LaMalfa And don't forget that $100 billion is just the down pay- ment. That sum only builds 520-miles, far short of the promised 800-mile project connecting Sacramento to San Diego. The complete 800- mile system will likely cost in excess of $150 billion. Cali- fornians are being asked to pay a lot more for a lot less and it is unlikely that our debt riddled federal government of an efficient, cost-effective, profitable high- speed rail system was sold to the vot- ers on fanciful assumptions that had little basis in reality. Californians deserve honesty from their govern- ment, and based on this new – and dras- tically different pic- ture – the voters should be given the opportunity to con- firm whether or not they are still on board. When the Legislature returns to Sacra- mento I am introducing a bill to send this project back to the voters. It's their money and they deserve the final say. Sen. Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing the fourth Senate District including Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Siskiyou, Sutter, Del Norte, Placer, Trinity, Nevada counties. Yuba and Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454.