Wrapped in a skin of metal panels, glass and ETFE, ARTIC suggests a cross between a small regional airport and a semi-pro arena. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Construction will begin next month on the first stretch of California's high-speed rail network. It will run from Fresno to Madera.Earlier this month, a sleek, glass-wrapped $189-million building that officials are promoting as the state's first high-speed station opened to the public. It's in Anaheim, next to the 57 Freeway, very close to both the Honda Center and Angel Stadium.

The distance between those two parts of California, between the Central Valley and the heart of Orange County, gives you a pretty good sense of how dramatically the state has mismanaged the bullet-train project.We're putting the high-speed train where there are no people, relatively speaking. And we're putting the new station where there are no high-speed trains......Continue Reading

> via LA Times