High-speed rail detour around Chavez memorial could cost California taxpayers $1B
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Taxpayers in California may face a nearly $1 billion convoluted project to prevent deterioration of a monument to disgraced labor leader Cesar Chavez as part of construction of a new high-speed rail in the state.
Despite the demolition and evacuation of monuments to Chavez, top California lawmakers did not immediately respond when asked whether taxpayers in their state should still be on guard for a roughly billion-dollar convoluted project aimed at preventing the state’s new high-speed rail from coming near the monument in the mountains. This detour will cost taxpayers close to $1 billion when accounting for inflation, according to 2020 estimates from the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
Leaders, universities and others in California immediately began rescinding honors they had bestowed on the late labor leader following reports that he sexually abused minors and adults and groomed adults, including a girl who was 13 at the time of the abuse and another who became pregnant twice following their encounters.
CALIFORNIA TO CHANGE CESAR CHAVEZ DAY TO FARMERS DAY AFTER SEXUAL ABUSE SCANDAL
Cesar Chavez, president of the United Farm Workers, makes a point at a news conference in Sacramento. (Getty Images)
The United Farm Workers, the labor union founded by Chavez, called the allegations “extremely shocking” and decided earlier this year to cancel annual celebrations honoring Chavez. Meanwhile, the César Chávez Foundation chose to do the same, calling the allegations “disturbing” and stating that they were “deeply shocked and saddened.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chávez Foundation successfully lobbied for a nearly $1 billion detour known as the “Refined César E. Chávez National Memorial Design Option,” which moved the high-speed rail line roughly three-quarters of a mile from the border of the Chávez monument. The monument, part of the National Park Service, spans a vast 187 acres and includes the burial sites of Chavez and his wife. It is also reportedly where Chavez founded the labor movement.
The monument currently sits on a major transportation corridor with a single rail looping around the site, carrying dozens of freight trains a day. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the train creates constant noise for those traveling in the area.
WHEN ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE ARE EMERGED, DEMS WILL BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THE LATE LABOR LEADER AFTER PLACING THEM IN THE GLOBE
U.S. President Barack Obama and the late wife of Cesar Chavez walk past Chavez’s grave during a tour of the memorial garden at Chavez National Monument in Keene, California, on October 8, 2012. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
“I went to the monument,” Adriana Rizzo, a member of Californians for Electric Rail, told the San Francisco Chronicle. He noted that it was “right next to a freight corridor”, leading him to question “why this quieter, less polluting train should be invisible”.
“This is a billion dollars we don’t have. There are a lot of things we need. If there’s a better route, we’re always open to it,” said Ernest Camacho, board director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Another board member, Martha Escutia, reportedly said she was “always willing to reopen existing commitments to ensure we get the best savings for taxpayers.”
Estimates for the high-speed rail project were over $200 billion, but the rail authority disputed those estimates, telling CBS47 and KSEE24 that the estimate was closer to $125 billion.
An image shows a high-speed rail train entering the station during an informational open house hosted by the California High-Speed Rail Authority at the Hilton DoubleTree in downtown Fresno, Calif., on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Craig Kohlruss/The Fresno Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to top California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, to ask if a discussion was needed about whether to get rid of the convoluted plans; especially as many have moved to remove the honor and monument to the disgraced labor leader. However, none responded by publication time.
