Six California counties have entered into a one-year option agreement with Southern Pacific Lines to purchase a 424-mile coastal freight rail line linking San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Southern Pacific has said it might sell the line to the counties for possible use as a high-speed passenger rail corridor.
The counties - Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Ventura, Monterey, and Santa Cruz - will analyze the feasibility of the plan.
"All we've done is left the door open so we can appraise the line with the six counties," said Michael Bustamonte, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. "If it's not what we want to spend, we can walk away."
Southern California's major water wholesaler said it welcomed last week's decision by Congress to pass Western water legislation, saying it could help urban agencies procure more of the limited resource.
In a news release, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said that H.R. 429 "is California's first major water policy advancement in decades and provides benefits for farmers, cities, and the environment."
The district supported a provision that for the first time would permit urban agencies to purchase water from farmers who hold contracts with the federal Central Valley Project. This option could help alleviate urban water shortages, according to the district.
The federal legislation also would alter the project's contract renewal provisions and divert more water to benefit environmental restoration.
But many agricultural interests oppose the bill, arguing that it would seriously harm farmers. Gov. Pete Wilson has asked President Bush to veto the bill.
California's population will grow by 6 million in the 1990s, the same amount as in the 1980s, according to a demographic outlook report published by the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.
The state's high birth rates, which are currently 20% above the national average, will help push the population higher, the report says. But migration will remain an important factor in pushing the population to 36 million by 2000.
Both the Sacramento and San Diego regions will experience the highest growth rate in the 1990s, with their populations increasing by one-third, the report says. But measured by actual numbers, more than 60% of the state's population growth will occur in the Los Angeles Basin and San Francisco Bay Area, the report predicts.
The center, which provides population research for private businesses and public agencies, said there is a need "to take a careful look at the state's unique demographic profile," adding that the age and ethnic mix is "becoming less, not more, like the nation."
