POLITICS/TRANSPORTATION: California high-speed rail project, new cost estimate, $98.5 billion, more than double previous estimate, various reports....

***Perhaps not a surprise here, that the cost estimate for the California High-Speed Rail Project has now doubled, from CHSRA's previous estimate of $43 billion to a new figure of $98.5 billion?

* Sacramento Bee:  "Cost estimate doubles for California high-speed rail project"

* Los Angeles Times:  "Bullet train cost estimates rise to $98.5 billion" - "In a key change, the state has decided to stretch the construction scheduled to 13 years, completing the Southern California-to-Bay Area high speed in 2033 rather than 2020."

* San Francisco Chronicle (AP):  "Calif. rail project to cost $98B"

POLITICS/BUSINESS: Analysis, chart, graph, top 1% earners vs. 99%; two reports, New York Times, Sacramento Bee....

* New York Times:  "Where the One Percent Fit in ihe Hierarchy of Income" - From the NYT:

   The Occupy Wall Street protests have set off an enduring conversation in the city concerning what has come to be known as the 99 percent. There has also been a collateral conversation about the richer and remaining 1 percent. Here is the hierarchy of income that underlies the conversation. The volume of each section represents the number of American families in each category, based on a study of 2006 tax returns by Emmanuel Saez of Berkeley. Selected individual salaries are from publicly available sources.

[See interactive graphic.....]

* Sacramento Bee:  "Who are the region's top 1% of earners" - From the Bee:

   

   For weeks, protestors have gathered at Cesar Chavez Park in downtown Sacramento to rail against the excesses of “the 1%” – the top earners they say are thriving while the other "99 percent" struggle to get by.

   In many ways, the top 1% of earners in the Sacramento region look exactly like what the protestors at Cesar Chavez Park would expect: mostly old; mostly white; mostly native-born; mostly men. But they also tend to be highly-educated; put in more hours at work than others; and served their country in the military at a high rate. They are more likely to be doctors than bankers.

   Using census data from 2005 through 2009, here’s a breakdown showing characteristics of Sacramento residents who make more than $217,000 a year in personal income – enough to place them in the top 1% of the region’s earners. For comparison, facts about the rest of us are also shown.

[See chart.....]

LOCAL GOVERNMENT (Washington, D.C.): Congressional committee report, Sulaimon Brown investigation, 2010 mayoral campaign....

* Washington Post:  "Committee finds no direct evidence Sulaimon Brown was promised city job" - From the WP:

   A congressional committee has concluded that Sulaimon Brown appeared to receive money from people with ties to a campaign aide of Mayor Vincent C. Gray but that there is no direct evidence that he was promised a city job in return for disparaging then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in last year’s election.

   An investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform did not find “independent facts to corroborate” Brown’s claim that “he was promised a job” but said there is “circumstantial evidence that may support Brown’s” claim of such a promise, according to its report of the former mayoral candidate’s claims. A copy of the report, which is scheduled to be released Monday, was obtained by The Washington Post.

   ****

   “While there is some circumstantial evidence that may support Brown’s allegations, including cell phone records, internal city e-mails, and copies of text messages between Brown [and the mayor and campaign staff], overall the evidence is insufficient to support Brown’s allegations” that he was promised a job, the report said. Although the committee did not find conclusive evidence of such a promise, the report does not conclude that Brown’s claim was untrue.

   Gray has denied the campaign made payments to Brown or asked him to attack Fenty. The mayor has said that Brown was told that he would get a job interview, not that he was promised a job.

   The congressional report cited a D.C. Council contention that Brown effectively committed perjury by violating the District’s false-statements law on a job application. Brown, the report said, signed the application under oath saying he was not “given, transferred, promised, or paid any consideration for or in expectation or in hope of receiving assistance in securing” a position with D.C. government. The D.C. Council investigation recommended that Brown be prosecuted for what the council thought to be false statements in his job application............................

POLITICS (State, Local): Comentary, solar subsidies in California, going mostly to the wealthy; Jerry Brown, governor has "two reasons to push pension reform" (George Skelton); school districts, impact of state revenue shortfall; editorial, Occupy L.A. protestors, City Hall lawn, etc.....

***Several items from the political world....

* Sacramento Bee (Dan Morain op-ed):  "Rich soak up solar subsidies"

* Daily News (editorial):  "Protestors to the fescue?"

* Los Angeles Times (George Skelton):  "Brown has two reasons to push pension reform" - "It's necessary for state and local governments, and it's vital to the rest of his agenda."

* Sacramento Bee:  "School districts wait to see if state revenue shortfalls trigger more cuts"

POLITICS (Bay Area): San Francisco mayor's race, "ranked-choice voting era", only way for a challenger to move up is to pull the front-runner down = Ed Lee has "a target on his back"....

* San Francisco Chronicle:  "Ed Lee's opponents seek leg up in ranked voting" - From the Chronicle:

   Ed Lee is a liar, a lousy administrator and a crooked politician who hates the poor, loves Republicans and is little more than a puppet for his corrupt, well-connected buddies.

   And he seemed like such a nice guy a few months ago.

   Welcome to San Francisco politics in the ranked-choice voting era, where virtually the only way for a challenger to move up is to pull the front-runner down. And in this year's race for mayor, that means Lee has had a target on his back ever since early August, when he went back on his pledge to serve only as interim mayor and announced he would seek a full term this November.

   Actually, Lee was in the crosshairs even before he was in the race, with five of his rivals ganging up in July in a joint news conference to demand an investigation into a group urging him to run.

   Lee's opponents don't have much of a choice, said Corey Cook, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco. With every poll showing the current mayor with a commanding lead, something has to be done to tighten the race. "It's ranked-choice strategy to bring (Lee) down" and give his rivals a chance to gather enough second- and third-choice votes to flip the results, Cook said. "But it quickly becomes apparent that everyone is slamming the front-runner."

   The tactic isn't a shock to Lee's team. Lee "is the leader in the early polls, so it's no surprise to see other candidates putting out attack mailers," said Tony Winnicker, a campaign spokesman. "He could hug a puppy and be attacked for not adopting a cat."

   The bulk of the anti-Lee effort is coming from City Attorney Dennis Herrera and state Sen. Leland Yee, who most polls show as Lee's main rivals..........................