Sampler: Californians May Ride Chinese Rails, and Time Limits on Wine Tasting
By FELICITY BARRINGERLooking to China for High-Speed Rail Technology | The Chinese government has signed preliminary cooperation agreements with California and General Electric to help build rail lines. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has closely followed progress in the discussions with China and hopes to travel to China later this year for talks with rail ministry officials, said David Crane, the governor’s special adviser for jobs and economic growth, and a board member of the California High Speed Rail Authority. China is offering not only to build a railroad in California but also to help finance construction. Chinese officials have already been shuttling between Beijing and Sacramento to make presentations, Mr. Crane said. Meanwhile,discussions are set in San Jose on details of routes and station locations for the planned high-speed rail line connecting San Francisco and Anaheim. [The New York Times, The San Francisco Examiner]
Man Arrested in Case of Threats to Pelosi | Federal agents arrested a San Francisco man on Wednesday in connection with threats against the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, over her role in winning adoption of landmark health care legislation, officials said. The man, Gregory Guisti, 48, was arrested at about 12:15 p.m., said Patti Hansen, an F.B.I. spokeswoman in San Francisco. Charges were not disclosed, and Mr. Guisti was scheduled to appear on Thursday morning before Magistrate Bernard Zimmerman of United States District Court. Officials said that Ms. Pelosi had received threatening phone calls at her homes in California and in Washington. The man has a history of making threats against the Hamilton Square Baptist Church on Geary Boulevard, a church he was asked to leave five years ago “after his menacing behavior scared others,” The San Francisco Chroniclereported. The Bay Guardian reported that a man using the same name recently sent the newspaper a hate-filled e-mail message. [The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Francisco Bay Guardian]
Palin’s Cal State Speaking Fee Examined | A state lawmaker said on Wednesday that officials at the Stanislaus campus of California State University are hiding public documents showing how much they agreed to