By Eric Bailey
Los Angeles Times
November 5, 2008

* Proposition 1A, the long-delayed effort to finance a bullet train linking Southern California with the Bay Area, was also pproved by voters.

Backers said the $9.95-billion bond measure would prove the fiscal stimulus to attract money from the federal government and private sector to build a $45-billion, 800-mile system featuring trains running up to 220 mph. They billed it as a big-ticket public works project that would be an economic shot in the arm.

Opponents called the proposal a boondoggle and questioned the credibility of its promoters.

They said the construction cost would swell to more than $80 billion, and the trains would operate at a deficit and fail to meet speedy travel time predictions.

* Proposition 7, would have required public and private utilities to obtain at least 20% of the electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and 50% by 2025.

Opposition came not only from big energy providers such as Edison International and PG&E, but also from the Natural Resources Defense Council, with leaders saying the measure had loopholes that could stall development of green power.

* Proposition 10, which proposed $5 billion in rebates for buyers of alternative-fuel vehicles, was also rejected. Among the big backers was Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, a major player in the natural gas and wind energy industries, which could be prime beneficiaries. He and other proponents said the measure would reduce the state's dependence on foreign oil, help clean the air and create thousands of green technology jobs. Opponents called the measure a boondoggle that would mostly benefit natural-gas companies.

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