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On Our Blogs: Abandoned lots, high-speed rail, transportation jobs

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HALT ON HOUSING: Approximately 250 residential housing projects in various stages of development throughout California have been put on hold due to the economic crisis, leaving empty lots filled with trash and dirt. Not only are these abandoned properties susceptible to thievery and vandalism, they are also on their way to becoming barren wastelands.

HIGH-SPEED RAIL A PIPE DREAM?: While Californians approved the $9.95-billion bond for a high-speed rail last November, beginning construction on the line is far from sight. Environmental studies and design work still need to be done, and funding lacks at least another $23 billion. According to Kris Deutschman, a spokeswoman for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the target date to begin testing the rail is 2015, and passenger service from San Francisco to Los Angeles might be available more than 10 years from now, between 2018 to 2020. Times writer Steve Hymon has more details here.

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MEMO AND OUTDOOR MEMORIES: A visit to the Interior Department today left President Obama reminiscing about his own trips to national parks as a child. Obama’s memo announced key changes in implementing the endangered species law, and undoing last-minute alterations by the Bush administration. The full text of President Obama’s memo can be found here.

OBAMA’S RECOVERY EMBLEM: With the house market sinking and unemployment rates rising, President Obama attempted to boost morale yesterday by unveiling a new ‘recovery emblem’ at the Transportation Department. The emblem marks the new transportation projects that will be initiated by the $787-billion stimulus plan, such as improving highways, bridges, high-speed train service. Obama reminded the U.S. that the recovery plan would create 200 new infrastructure construction projects, and create approximately 150,000 jobs by the end of 2010. The White House fact sheet on transportation jobs can be found on our Top of the Ticket blog.

PSYCHEDELIC FISH SPECIES: The Histiophryne psychedelica, a fish discovered by scuba divers last year in Indonesia, was declared as a new species last week by a professor at the University of Washington. The fish has traits similar to those of frogfish, and maneuvers itself in a bouncing motion by pushing off the ocean floor with its leg-like fins. This exciting find leads to hope for more discoveries of yet unknown organisms in Indonesia and the Coral Triangle.

-- Stephanie Chang

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