Arizona Transportation

An ambitious, long-term plan to develop high-speed train routes linking major Southwest cities--including Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas--will be considered by a special two-state commission next week. "We envision an eventual network of trains operating up to 300 (m.p.h.) among the major centers of the Pacific Southwest region," California Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Tuesday.

An ambitious, long-term plan to develop high-speed train routes linking major Southwest cities--including Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas--will be considered by a special two-state commission next week. "We envision an eventual network of trains operating up to 300 (m.p.h.) among the major centers of the Pacific Southwest region," California Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Tuesday.

The Transportation Department levied a $510,000 fine Friday against Arizona because too many of its motorists exceeded the 55 m.p.h. speed limit. It marked the first time the federal government has taken sanctions against a state for failing to enforce the speed limit. The department informed Arizona officials that 1% of the state's non-interstate federal highway money was being withheld after it failed for a third straight year to meet federal highway speed enforcement standards.

An ambitious long-term plan to develop high-speed train routes linking major Southwest cities--including Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas--will be considered by a special two-state commission next week. "We envision an eventual network of trains operating up to 300 (miles per hour) among the major centers of the Pacific Southwest region," California Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Tuesday.

An ambitious long-term plan to develop high-speed train routes linking major Southwest cities--including Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas--will be considered by a special two-state commission next week. "We envision an eventual network of trains operating up to 300 (miles per hour) among the major centers of the Pacific Southwest region," California Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Tuesday.

Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole, concluding that Arizona and Vermont have failed to adequately enforce the 55 m.p.h. speed limit, served notice that she intends to withhold up to 10% of the states' federal highway money. Arizona and Vermont would become the first states to lose money because of speeding drivers, although officials said that Maryland also is in danger of being found in non-compliance.

A new trail will be blazed through the Grand Canyon, making it easier for bicyclists and hikers to see the natural wonder in northern Arizona. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater announced the park will receive nearly $900,000 for construction of a five-mile trail. The grant was among several that will go to national parks for new trails.

The Fort McDowell Indian Community has made its best offer to the Dodgers, and tribal officials are prepared to negotiate with other teams if the Dodgers do not soon accept the proposal for a new spring training complex on the Phoenix-area reservation, the tribal attorney said Thursday. Fort McDowell officials said Thursday that the tribe would spend $40 million to build a 12,000-seat stadium, six practice fields and offices on a 76-acre site, with the Dodgers signing a 25-year lease.

A privately funded Colorado River bridge linking Bullhead City, Ariz., and the gaming community of Laughlin, Nev., will open to traffic next month, a spokesman for the casino owner who paid for it said Friday. Ribbon-cutting ceremonies are scheduled for Monday, although various required inspections probably will delay the actual opening of the bridge until early June, said Ozzie Osborn, a spokesman for Don Laughlin.

The City Council gave final the go-ahead this week to a transportation system featuring buses that resemble old-fashioned trolleys. The buses are scheduled to begin running in June under an agreement with an Arizona-based transportation firm. American Trolley Lines will operate two buses along a route that includes stops at the Riviera Village, the Harbor/Pier area, the Aviation Boulevard shopping district and the South Bay Galleria.

The Transportation Department levied a $510,000 fine Friday against Arizona because too many of its motorists exceeded the 55 m.p.h. speed limit. It marked the first time the federal government has taken sanctions against a state for failing to enforce the speed limit. The department informed Arizona officials that 1% of the state's non-interstate federal highway money was being withheld after it failed for a third straight year to meet federal highway speed enforcement standards.

If you're headed to see the Dodgers in Glendale, Ariz., this spring, know that there's plenty to do besides baseball. About a two-hour drive south from Glendale, a Phoenix suburb, is Tucson, one of the Cactus League's two original towns. The Cleveland Indians and the then-New York (and now San Francisco) Giants moved their spring training camps to Tucson and Phoenix, respectively, in 1947. More recently, the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks have called Tucson home during spring training.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vows to make reform of congressional earmarks a priority of his tenure, arguing that members need to be more transparent when they load pet projects for their districts into federal spending bills. But last year's huge $286-billion federal transportation bill included a little-noticed slice of pork pushed by Reid that provided benefits not only for the casino town of Laughlin, Nev., but also, possibly, for the senator himself.