Just when it looks like the long-discussed magnetic-levitation train from Anaheim to Las Vegas (circumventing the parking lot that is I-15) is finally picking up steam — there’s an obstacle. Seems that bothersome local influence peddler Sig Rogich is throwing his weight behind a rival project, a diesel train that would run from Vegas to Victorville.
Woo-hoo! Can’t you feel the excitement? Las Vegans can hop aboard and make tracks for … outlet malls and car dealerships (two things which Vegas has in abundance). Californians, for their part, can eagerly look forward to driving in from L.A. or San Diego and then leaving their cars at what had better be the world’s largest Park-and-Ride.
On the other hand, a train to/from Anaheim would bring us that much closer to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and more thrill rides than you can shake a dipstick at. It would also enable my masochistic relationship with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who continue to raise my hopes every September, only to dash them in October, when their pitchers turn into quivery heaps of Jell-O or human piñatas.
As for Rogich, when he’s not providing rhetorical cover for LVCVA screw-ups, he’s carrying water for the vagabond Voyager Wheel. I hope he has better luck with the train than he’s had with the Ferris wheel.
