California Wine Country Rattled by Magnitude 6.0 Quake

"Nooo! Not the wine! Anything but the wine"

California's Napa Valley was struck by a magnitude 6.0 earthquake over the weekend, causing injuries, buckling streets, sending casks of wine tumbling and damaging historic buildings.

The magnitude 6.0 quake, centered about four miles northwest of American Canyon, knocked out power to more than 60,000 people in Napa and Sonoma counties early Sunday and broke dozens of water mains that could leave 600 Napa homes without water for days, according to the city.

Across the region, the quake jolted residents out of bed, forcing some to flee through dark rooms littered with broken glass and displaced furniture. Others evacuated in the face of flames, with only seconds to grab pets, cellphones and other belongings.

Two people were critically injured, including 14-year-old Nicholas Dillon who was stabilized at the hospital’s triage center before he was flown to UC Davis Medical Center, spokeswoman Vanessa deGier said. The boy, who was in serious condition Sunday night, was injured when a brick fireplace collapsed on him, Napa city spokesman Barry Martin said.

The other seriously injured patient was an adult who suffered multiple fractures, deGier said.

The worst damage to buildings appeared to be in downtown Napa and surrounding areas. The quake dealt a significant blow to the city’s efforts to revive its core by renovating historic buildings, many dating to the late 1800s. Among those historic structures, the county’s old courthouse on Brown Street lost a large chunk of exterior masonry and was left with large cracks on the east side of the building.

Main Street’s Pfeiffer Building also suffered heavy damage with bricks falling off the facade, leaving a large pile of debris at its base that spilled onto the sidewalk.

To the south, in Solano County, buildings in downtown Vallejo and Mare Island also sustained some structural damage, leaving several with shattered storefront windows and toppled masonry.

The predawn quake came on a key day for summer tourism and events, including the IndyCar Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway and the Santa Rosa Marathon, both of which continued as planned. It also hit in the middle of the region’s grape harvest, when wine tasting draws hundreds of visitors to area wineries and restaurants. The timing of Sunday’s quake, in the predawn hours, likely limited injuries to people who would otherwise have been going about their planned activities.

Amtrak suspended their San Jose-Sacramento Capitol Corridor service as tracks in the affected area. Early estimates say the quake has caused nearly $1 billion in damage to the area's wine industry and resulted in the Napa Valley Wine Train cancelling Sunday service.

The California Highway Patrol reported that a number of highways in the Napa Valley were cracked and buckled, resulting in damage and flat tires to some of the vehicles travelling over the damaged roads.

This was reportedly them most powerful earthquake in northern California in more than 25 years- the fault thought to be responsible is the fairly obscure West Napa Fault, which didn't even show up in a 2008 State of California earthquake risk assessment.

What Do Cattle, Porn Starlets, Toyota and Hot Sauce Have in Common?

They're all getting out of Dodge California and heading for greener pastures- in some cases, literally.

Beset by higher taxes, above-average unemployment and among the highest cost of living in the USA, it's no secret that Californians have been moving out of state annually by the hundreds of thousands in recent years. This should come as no surprise with recent scandals and corruption involving California's political class coupled with onerous, intrusive and often absurd regulations for businesses passed on the state, county and municipal level.

Sensing discontent among Californians and business owners, Texas governor Rick Perry rolled out the welcome mat for Golden Staters with a PR blitz, offering lower taxes and a lower cost of living than California as well as business incentives for those companies who set up shop in the Lone Star state.

Although incumbent California governor Jerry Brown crassly dismissed Perry's efforts as 'barely a fart', it appears as though the Lone Star State's lobbying has been producing results. At the end of April, Japanese automaker Toyota announced that they would be moving their North American headquarters from the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance to Plano, TX starting in 2016. The move by Toyota [NYSE: TM] is expected to consolidate 4,000 employees from marketing, manufacturing and corporate operations to the suburban Dallas facility. In 2003, Toyota broke ground on a plant near San Antonio that produces the Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks.

On a smaller scale, Irwindale, CA-based Huy Fong foods- maker of the Sriracha hot sauce- has been locked in a legal battle with the city council after the council threatened to declare Huy Fong a nuisance and threatening them with fines or closure after receiving complaints from four households regarding the fumes resulting from processing chili peppers. Although Huy Fong CEO David Tran stated publicly that he has no immediate plans to relocate the Irwindale facility, the company welcomed a delegation of Texas lawmakers in May. A company spokesman said that relocation wouldn't be as straightforward for Huy Fong because local producers of Sriracha ingredients such as chilis and vinegar couldn't pull up and move to Texas with them. However, botanists working on behalf of Tran have begun examining the soil in parts Texas to see if it's conducive to growing the variety of chilis used in Sriracha sauce. There's also concern over variables in the Texas weather such as flooding, hurricanes, drought and hail as well as competing bids from within California and other states.

However, not all the businesses exiting California have decided to head to the Lone Star state. Once considered the hub of the adult entertainment industry, California's San Fernando Valley has been hit hard by the advent of online pornography. The number of permits to film in the San Fernando Valley plummeted after a law requiring adult film stars to wear a condom while performing went into effect late last year. The measure was a Los Angeles county ballot initiative that was approved by voters in 2012. In response to the measure, studios and actors shipped themselves a few hours up Interstate 15 to Las Vegas where the cost of doing business was lower than in California and there were no regulations to mandate the wearing of condoms. Industry insiders say that its much cheaper to rent out warehouses for filming or mansions or hotel suites to accommodate talent for the duration of a shoot.

Nor are all the Californians leaving the state two-legged. Thanks to an ongoing drought and the closure of a massive slaughterhouse in the Imperial Valley town of Brawley, ranchers in California have been selling off cattle to Texas, Nevada and Nebraska. According to Reuters research, at least 100,000 head of cattle have left California in 2014- including breeding stock that's going to slaughter. Higher feed and transportation costs have also put pressure on California ranchers, although ranchers elsewhere are facing similar problems.

Although defenders of the current business climate in California often cite the entertainment industry and Silicon Valley as being the state's economic backbone as well as the primary source of fundraising for the state's democrat party, Hollywood has been shipping jobs out of state due to increased production and filming costs within the state. Special effects firm Sony Pictures Imageworks announced at the end of May that their headquarters will be moved from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada for post production work. Over the last 20 years, the area around Vancouver, BC has been dubbed 'Hollywood North' as British Columbia offered studios tax credits for filming on location. Although the exchange between the US and Canadian dollar isn't as favorable as it was in the 1990s, a number of studios are still drawn there for post-production work and location filming [the area around Vancouver can pass for a number of other settings depending on the type of film or scene- NANESB!].

The state's Democrat-controlled legislature also recently passed a bill that would raise the state's minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2017 and is expected to be signed into law by governor Brown. While the bill raises entry-level wages, many employers will likely end up cutting their workforce and retailers or restaurants will close down locations or increase prices to make up for any increased operating costs.

More damning, none of these jobs or businesses will be coming back or are unlikely to be replaced by new enterprise. Although California sits on considerable oil reserves in the Monterrey Shale, wealthy environmentalists with considerable backing from the entertainment industry are seeking to ban the hydraulic facture drilling process that has been so effective in recovering shale oil and gas in Texas, North Dakota and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, state and local lawmakers continue to busy themselves with legislation concerning transgender bathrooms for schoolchildren or banning plastic bags and simply assume that they can get whatever revenue they need from the next Silicon valley startup such as Facebook.

Six Murdered in Santa Barbara, CA Killing Spree

At least six people were killed after the 22 year old son of a Hollywood assistant director fatally stabbed his roommates before getting in his BMW and shooting at pedestrians and into storefronts in the early morning hours on Saturday. Santa Barbra Police responded and exchanged gunfire- during the pursuit, the gunman's Beemer reportedly hit a bicyclist before crashing into a parked car. The killer- who was identified later that day as Elliot Rodgers- then turned the gun on himself shortly after crashing the car.

Officials in Santa Barbara say that the death toll on Friday was six- three stabbed by Rodgers and three shot during his rampage- with 13 injured by gunfire or getting mowed down by Rodger's speeding car.

Elliot Rodgers, the son of The Hunger Games assistant director Peter Rodgers, left behind an online video and lengthy manifesto in which he railed against women- particularly blondes which he claimed he was entitled to date. Two of the victims were identified as women who attended University of California Santa Barbara- 22 year old Katherine Cooper and 19 year old Veronika Weiss. Even before the online videos and manifestos were known, angry loner Rodgers engaged in belligerent and erratic behavior at off-campus parties, including trying to shove partygoers off a ledge and throwing a cup of coffee on a couple outside a coffee shop. The spoiled, misogynist loner was reportedly rewarded with a broken ankle for his trouble and lost his Gucci sunglasses after one altercation at an off-campus party. According to his own writings, spoiled misogynist loner then stumbled around banging on the door of another house demanding they give him back his sunglasses- only to start a fight with the occupants of that house.

Despite California having some of the strictest gun laws in the USA, Rodgers legally obtained his firearms after passing a background check. At the urging of some of his relatives, police in Santa Barbara conducted a welfare check on Rodgers at the end of April but found nothing out of the ordinary. In one of his videos, the killer claimed he nearly panicked that authorities would discover his planned rampage and convinced the deputies on his doorstep that it was all a misunderstanding. Elliot then reportedly mailed his manifesto to his family and therapists just hours before he started his rampage.

Other victims from Saturday's killing spree include Weihan Wang, Chen Yuang Hong, George Chen and Chris Michael Martinez.

Multiple Wildfires Force Thousands to Evacuate in San Diego County

At least nine separate wildfires throughout northern San Diego county have forced thousands of residents in the cities of Carlsbad, Escondido, San Marcos and Fallbrook, CA as well as the 4S Ranch section of San Diego and the nearby Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base to flee their homes as firefighters battled the approaching blaze.

Most of the fires were sparked on Thursday and spread quickly due to dry vegetation, unseasonably warm weather and 50 MPH Santa Ana winds blowing in from the desert. Although firefighters have been going after the wildfires with a sustained air and ground attack, the Poinsettia fire in Carlsbad has destroyed at least 30 homes while the San Marcos fire was large enough to spawn its own weather system as it moved southeast to the neighboring city of Escondido.



Authorities have not ruled out arson and arrests have been made in Escondido and Oceanside, CA of individuals who were seen staring small brushfires in a dry riverbed and city parks. A 57 year old man in Oceanside was arrested after witnesses saw him fanning flames of a fire in the San Luis Rey riverbed while two teenagers were arrested in Escondido on Thursday after multiple witnesses saw them trying to start brush fires in a city park and by a street adjacent to a shopping mall. In Escondido, the fires were quickly doused by nearby homeowners and investigators believe the two teenagers- identified as 19 year old Isiah Silva and a 17 year old accomplice- were copycats who played no role in the larger fires in San Marcos, Carlsbad and Camp Pendleton.

The Poinsettia fire in Carlsbad has already caused one fatality- on Thursday night, firefighters checking an already-burned area for hot spots discovered the charred remains of a man in what was believed to be a transient camp in Carlsbad. A local TV station also broadcast amateur video of what they believe to be the ignition point for the Carlsbad blaze- a golf course along Poinsettia Lane.

Authorities were able to get the San Marcos fire 10% contained on Thursday night and evacuation orders were lifted for parts of San Marcos and Fallbrook overnight- although police set up a checkpoint and would only allow local residents with ID into some of the affected areas.

Meanwhile, military and civilian crews were battling to contain a 14,500 acre wildfire on USMC Camp Pendleton on Friday- although the Marine Corps base is generally wide open, evacuation orders were given to for some housing areas and the town of Fallbrook at the eastern end of Camp Pendleton.

Today's Train of Thought- The Nut Job, April 13, 2014

Todays' Train of Thought takes us all the way out to the Golden State and California's breadbasket in the Central Valley. Besides the area's once-considerable agricultural yield, the area around Bakersfield sits on top of the Lower Monterey Oil Shale- reportedly the second largest known deposit outside of the Bakken.

While not Hollywood, there has been plenty of drama unfolding in the Central Valley in recent years. Despite the considerable opposition to fracking by Democrats and the state's influential environmentalist groups, production is still taking place in the Bakersfield area among others and Governor Brown stopped short of an outright ban in 2013.

But even before oil was discovered in Kern County, the Central Valley was known for its agricultural production with a favorable year-round climate for growing nuts, berries, produce and citrus. However, since 2009 an unholy alliance of state and federal bureaucrats and environmental groups obtained a court order shutting irrigation in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley Deltas in order to provide a safe habitat for the Delta Smelt, crippling some of California's most productive agricultural land. The shortfall in yields for nuts like the almond has led to an increase in their value and has become a sought after commodity for organized crime, with frequent reports of entire truckloads of almonds or pistachios disappearing after being picked up by truckers with legitimate-looking paperwork.

Even with the recent decline, there's still plenty to keep the two class 1 railways that serve the Central Valley busy. Here, railpictures.net contributor Matthew Griffin caught BNSF GP39-2 #2947 still lettered for Santa Fe parked in an almond grove in Shafter, CA on the Lone Star industrial lead on March 10, 2013. Capable of being operated by remote control [that's what the red sticker on the front hood indicates- NANESB!], the Santa Fe geep- along with a cascade green Burlington Northern unit- is actually awaiting a fresh crew among the falling blossoms.

At Least 10 Killed in Horrific Bus-Truck Collision on California Freeway

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A chartered bus taking high school students on a campus tour of Humboldt State University crashed into a tractor-trailer on Interstate 5 in California, killing at least 10 passengers and leaving 36 injured. The crash took place outside the town of Orland, north of Sacramento.

Eyewitnesses claim a Fed Ex tractor trailer crossed the median when it swerved to avoid a traffic accident in its lane and crossed over into oncoming traffic. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and California Highway Patrol were also looking into reports that the tractor trailer was on fire when it swerved into the opposite lane.

According to Fed Ex, the truck was hauling dual trailers. Fed Ex wasn't immediately aware of anything the truck was carrying that could be considered hazardous or volatile, although the company is double-checking records.

The passengers on the bus were mostly high school seniors from southern California and their chaperones who were invited up to Humboldt State University in far north California for a campus tour for prospective low-income or first generation college students. The bus belonged to San Luis Obispo, CA-based Silverado Stages, Inc and investigators were told that the driver of the motorcoach had recently relieved another driver after a stop in Sacramento. Silverado Stages reportedly has a good safety record as well.

Blue State Graft Watch- California State Senator Who Authored Gun Control Laws Arrested on Charges of Weapons Trafficking, Ties to Organized Crime

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GOP Makes Gains in Florida, California Special Elections

In a race that was touted as the first electoral challenge to President Obama's signature healthcare law since it's been implemented, Democrat and former Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink lost to Republican attorney David Jolly in a special election to fill the congressional seat in Florida's 13th Congressional district that was left vacant by the death of longtime GOP incumbent Bill Young.

Although 0bamacare wasn't the core issue in the Tampa, FL-area district, both Sink and Jolly made clear their respective stances on 0bamacare during their campaign. While acknowledging the flawed 0bamacare rollout and trouble-plagued healthcare.gov website, Sink stated that the Affordable Care Act was flawed and that she was favor of 'fixing' the law. Jolly, however, said he was in favor of a full repeal of the law if elected.

The race to replace the late Rep. Bill Young was considered a tossup, and was cast as a political bellwether, and a testing ground for each party's messaging strategy -- which revolves in part around the Affordable Care Act.

Jolly's election night headquarters in Clearwater Beach erupted into loud cheers as it became clear he was the winner. In his victory speech, Jolly simultaneously struck a conciliatory tone and expressed gratitude for his mentor, Young, and Young's family. Jolly was introduced by former "Price is Right" game show host Bob Barker, via video. Young's two adult sons were also onstage with Jolly, and he embraced them at the end of his speech.

Meanwhile, national Republican groups swiftly got to work casting Jolly's victory as a blow to ObamaCare and those who support it.

“Tonight, one of Nancy Pelosi’s most prized candidates was ultimately brought down because of her unwavering support for ObamaCare, and that should be a loud warning for other Democrats running coast to coast," said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore. "Pinellas County voters have made the right choice; David will be a dedicated and thoughtful representative for them in Congress.”

The electoral victory comes despite Jolly trailing in early voting to Sink and Libertarian candidate Lucas Overbay getting nearly 5% of the vote. Although the Pinellas County congressional district was home to the longest-serving Republican in the House of Representatives, the district narrowly went to Obama in the 2012 Presidential election. With nearly 100% of the vote counted on Tuesday's special election, Jolly had 48.5% of the vote while Sink had 46.7%. Both parties had sent out

While pundits are cautioning against using the FL13 race as a bellweather for the 2014 midterms, this is the first chance either the Democrats or Republicans had to use Obamacare as an election issue in a competitive district since key provisions of the law went into effect.

Meanwhile in California, Republican Kevin Faulconer was sworn in as the mayor of San Diego. Faulconer, a former city councilman, garnered 43% of the vote in a special election in November 2013 to replace disgraced Democrat mayor Bob Filner. This set up a runoff between Faulconer and fellow city councilman, Democrat David Alvarez last month. Despite money coming in from big name donors, gains by Democrats in 2012 an endorsement from President Obama and campaigning across the border in Tijuana, Mexico by Alvarez, Alvarez lost to Faulconer by nearly 10 points in the runoff.

Borderline Psychosis Update- Dutch Cops Nab Top Sinaloa Enforcer; Cartels, Law Enforcement Take Wait and See Approach to Colorado's Legalized Pot Sales;

THE NETHERLANDS- A Sinaloa Cartel enforcer by the name of El Chino Antrax was arrested by Dutch authorities on drug trafficking charges on Jan 3rd. Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa is believed to be the leader of a group of Sinaloa cartel hitmen known as 'Anthrax' and is wanted on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana by US Officials.

The suspect, Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, was captured Monday in Amsterdam's Airport Schiphol. He is accused of trafficking methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana.

Arechiga is presumably a top enforcer for Ismael Zambada, who co-heads the Sinaloa drug organization along with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Dutch police arrested the Mexican man at the request of U.S. authorities after he landed under a different name on a flight from Mexico City. The U.S. government had asked Interpol for help with his arrest.

The man is being held in a Dutch jail, while the U.S. Attorney is seeking his extradition to face charges in a federal court in San Diego.

The Mexican Embassy in the Netherlands said it was aware of the detention of a Mexican citizen and that it was willing to offer consular assistance if he requested help. It did not specifically say it was referring to Arechiga's arrest.

According to local media, Arechiga is also known as "El Chino Antrax," one of the two leaders of a group of hit men who call themselves the Anthrax, like the deadly disease.

Authorities have blamed the cell for a series of murders, including the killings of three men who were hung off a bridge in 2011, which were seen as revenge attacks after one of their leaders was murdered. The Anthrax helped the Sinaloa organization as it engaged in a bloody war with the Beltran Leyva cartel, when the latter decided to splinter in 2008.

El Chino Antrax has been reportedly celebrated and mentioned by name in narcocorridos- popular folk corrido ballads whose lyrics romanticize outlaws and drug traffickers.



CALIFORNIA- A Mexican national is in custody in central California's Madera County after allegedly shooting two men while posing as a police officer. The victims were reportedly carrying a sizable quantity of crystal meth.

The case is "highly unusual" for Madera County because of the amount of "crank" and police regalia found in connection with the crime, Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said Tuesday.

One suspect was arrested for attempted murder -- Elias Lopez-Martinez, 25, of Mexico. A second suspect has not yet been found.

During a news conference, Anderson summed up the Dec. 30 incident by pointing to two vehicles on display for reporters.

"Semi-bad guys," Anderson said, pointing to a car driven by alleged drug-runners. Then, pointing to the suspects' truck: "Really bad guys."

"These guys are dopers -- these guys are shooters," he said, continuing the comparison, "... coming out to the dope exchange, they didn't bring money, they brought guns. That simple."

Those allegedly transporting the meth initially told authorities they were on back roads near Chowchilla because they were going to "buy a horse," Anderson said, but later admitted "we were kind of out there to do a drug deal."

Anderson gave the following account :

The victims said they pulled over near Avenue 18 1/2 and Road 10 because they thought the truck behind them was police, seeing its blue lights. Once pulled over, two men reportedly ordered the three young men inside to lay on the ground, and then shots were fired.

A 17-year-old from Madera was shot in the liver and remained in critical condition at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno as of Tuesday. A 22-year-old from Chowchilla was shot in the face, breaking his jaw and most of his teeth. A third passenger, also 17 and from Madera, was unharmed. Names of the victims were not released.

The 22-year-old drove away from the scene and was found about eight miles away after he called 9-1-1.

Detectives followed a blood trail from the scene, to a bloodied dog food bag containing nine pounds of crystal meth worth $45,000. It was hidden beneath a bridge.

"The way this (meth) is wrapped we know it came from Mexico," Anderson said, "which involved Mexican drug cartels."

Anderson said the driver told detectives he picked up the illegal drug in Los Angeles and "my job was to get it up here and get it sold."

The day after the shooting, detectives found the suspects' truck at a gas station on Highway 145 and Avenue 13 in Madera and arrested Lopez-Martinez.

Based on evidence gathered by investigators, a multiagency SWAT team later searched an apartment near Madera South High School, believed to be used by the suspects as a storing place. One pound of crystal meth was found with weapons, ammunition, more than two pounds of marijuana, $2,500, and law enforcement equipment, including tactical gear and body armor, along with fake badges and clothing donning words like "police" and "U.S. Marshals."

Posing as police officers is a common tactic for 'rip crews'- armed robbers who actively seek out and rob drug couriers and storehouses- along the Mexican border in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, but as Sheriff Anderson stated, is quite unusual for California's Central Valley.


COLORADO- Although Mexican drug cartels had a presence in Colorado before this year's legalization of marijuana, officials believe it's only a matter of time before organized crime adapts and take advantage of the situation.

Taking over a trade once ruled by drug cartels and turning it into an all-cash business could make pot shops prime targets for extortion, black-market competition and robbery. One veteran border narcotics agent told FoxNews.com Colorado's legal pot industry will find it hard to keep the criminals from horning in on a lucrative business they once controlled.

"Mexico is already in Colorado without the risks," the agent, who requested anonymity, said of the state's heavy pre-existing cartel presence. "Legal businesses will likely see a rise in extortion attempts while law enforcement will see a lot of backdoor deals being made."

Violent cartels could force their way in as black market wholesalers or simply rob pot dispensaries, which take only cash and have not been able to establish accounts with banks because of lenders' fears of violating federal laws. But the general consensus is that the Mexican cartels will not quietly relinquish the Denver market.

A 2012 report from the Mexican Competitive Institute estimated that Mexican drug trafficking organizations could lose as much as $1.4 billion dollars with legalized pot in the Denver market. Law enforcement believes that the cartels could extort owners of the newly legal pot dispensaries or set up legal shops of their own using straw buyers with clean backgrounds.

TAMAULIPAS- A former governor for the border state of Tamaulipas has been indicted by the US on charges of corruption and drug trafficking. According to the unsealed indictment last month, Tomas Yarrington served as governor of the Mexican state across the Rio Grande from the southern tip of Texas between 1999 and 2004 and took bribes from the Gulf Cartel and laundered drug money into campaign coffers in exchange for turning a blind eye to cartel activity.

In the indictment unsealed Monday, Yarrington is portrayed as an old-style PRI politician, for whom being cozy with drug traffickers was the way to do business.

Starting in 1998, “Yarrington received large bribes from major drug traffickers” in Tamaulipas, including the then-dominant Gulf Cartel, the U.S. attorney’s office of southern Texas said in a statement. The bribes began as he campaigned for governor, continued through his six-year term and afterward, the statement says.

In return, prosecutors allege, Yarrington “allowed them to operate their large-scale, multi-ton enterprises freely, which included the smuggling of large quantities of drugs to the United States for distribution.”

The indictment also alleges that Yarrington, 56, took bribes from local businesses and skimmed public money as well to pad his private accounts.

With suspected accomplice Fernando Cano, a builder, Yarrington then acquired numerous “valuable assets,” mostly across Texas, including homes, airplanes, bank accounts, vehicles and other real estate, worth around $7 million, the indictment states.

The 11-count indictment was returned in May, but for reasons not explained, was not opened until this week. It says Yarrington eventually became involved in the smuggling of drugs.

Like many politicians in Tamaulipas, Yarrington “abetted, enabled and profited from a symbiotic relationship with the Gulf Cartel,” said George Grayson, a Mexico expert at Virginia’s College of William & Mary.

Yarrington’s whereabouts are unknown, although his attorneys insisted this week that he is not a fugitive. The U.S. government has not yet formally sought his extradition. Mexican Atty. Gen. Jesus Murillo Karam said: “Whoever they ask us to look for, we will. They have had and will continue to have our cooperation.”

Yarrington’s Houston-based attorney, Joel Androphy, said in a news conference this week in Mexico City that the allegations against Yarrington were bogus and based on “false witnesses and testimony” by people attempting to make deals with the prosecution.

He refused to disclose Yarrington’s current location, except to repeat that he was in the United States a year ago when asked to leave because his visa had expired.

Accusations that Yarrington was receiving drug money first surfaced early last year, in connection with a U.S. case involving an associate, and then in a Mexican investigation. The PRI, in the middle of an election campaign, suspended him. Then-Atty. Gen. Marisela Morales ordered him arrested. But he managed to secure an injunction that left him free, and he threatened to take on the attorney general.

Yarrington was elected as a member of the PRI- the same political party that recently elected Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto. During the 2012 election, the PRI party sought to distance itself from Yarrington and other corrupt politicians in Tamaulipas. Since 2006, the situation has become much more dire in Tamaulipas, with mass graves and the remnants of the Gulf Cartel fighting with their former allies, Los Zetas.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to Resign As Part of Settlement

How odd- I mean the mayor went to a counselor and even finished his therapy a week ahead of time and everything.

After weeks of steadfastly resisting calls to step down (including from some within his own party) reports are circulating in southern California that the embattled first-term Democrat mayor of San Diego will resign as part of a settlement with the city and at least 18 women accusing Filner of harassing them.

Filner's decision to resign comes after three days of closed-door mediation and after six weeks of scandal in the city. At least 18 women have publicly accused Filner of sexual harassment, including one former aide who filed the lawsuit.

In exchange for his resignation, the city will pay some, if not all, of Filner’s share of any damages awarded in the lawsuit, said the sources, who spoke on the condition anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The City Council is set to vote on the settlement in a closed session Friday.

Filner, a Democrat, was seen Wednesday night loading boxes into an SUV parked outside City Hall -- and driven by a San Diego police officer, part of the mayor's security detail -- after saying farewell to his staff and cleaning out his office.

All nine council members and numerous other officials had called for Filner's resignation.

City Atty. Jan Goldsmith had said last week that he was working on “exit plans” for Filner. His office was preparing, “as a last resort,” to seek a restraining order against Filner to bar him from City Hall on grounds that he created a hostile working environment for women.

With Filner's resignation, San Diego's City Council President- Democrat Todd Gloria- will become acting mayor. According to the city's municipal code, a special election will take place within 90 days of Filner's resignation.

After serving in Congress for more than 20 years, Filner announced that he wouldn't run for re-election to the House of Representatives after California lost a seat due to redistricting in 2012 and instead run for mayor of San Diego. After securing endorsements from prominent Democrats such as former president Bill Clinton, Filner narrowly defeated former City Councilman Carl DeMaio in the 2012 mayoral race. While Filner is a Democrat and DeMaio is a Republican, county and municipal elections in California are theoretically non-partisan.

At least 18 women- some of them military veterans and survivors of sexual assault- came forward to accuse Filner of groping or fondling them as mayor or promising to help constituents as congressman, but only if they'd agree to go on a date with him.

The sheer number of accusers and relative silence of the media and local politicians raise the question of how long the local and state Democrat party had known about Filner's misconduct and what was done about it aside from sweeping it under the rug come election time.

Iron Horse Roundup For July/August 2013

AFP Photo

MONTREAL, MAINE & ATLANTIC- In the wake of last month's deadly runaway train wreck that devastated the southern Quebec town of Lac Megantic, Hermon, ME-based Montreal, Maine & Atlantic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal bankruptcy court in Bangor, ME.

The MM&A has also petitioned Canadian civil courts for relief under that country's Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The company appears to have set aside nearly $786,000 as “indemnification and/or contribution in connection with wrongful death litigation and other claims,” according to a listing of the company’s 20 largest creditors.

MMA still owes $27.5 million of a $35 million loan it received from the Federal Rail Administration in 2005, according to Gardner’s affidavit. The railroad also has a $6 million line of credit with the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co. issued in June 2009. That company has sought to protect its security interest, the affidavit said.

Other creditors include JD Irving subsidiary New Brunswick Southern, a subsidiary of San Antonio, TX-based Valero energy [NYSE- VLO], Minneapolis, MN-based Flex Leasing LLC and the Canadian Pacific railroad [NYSE- CP; TSX- CP].

Although a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that the MM&A could continue to operate under Chapter 11 reorganization, the line through Lac Megantic is still closed, effectively severing the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic in two. At the end of July, Maine state officials had entered into talks with four other unnamed railways to continue service in anticipation of the MM&A shutting down.

The MM&A laid off 79 workers in the wake of the Lac Megantic disaster. Meanwhile, Canadian officials have raised the death toll in Lac Megantic to 47 during the July 6th derailment.

Xoan Soler- La Voz de Galicia

SPAIN- The driver of a train that derailed and killed 78 passengers in northwestern Spain has been provisionally charged with multiple counts of negligent homicide, although he wasn't required to post bond or sent to jail because he wasn't considered a flight risk.

Garzon was questioned for almost two hours at the court in Santiago de Compostela, the northwestern town near where the accident occurred.

Garzon was driving the train carrying 218 passenger in eight cars that hurtled far over the 80-kph (50-mph) speed limit into a high-risk curve on Wednesday evening, tumbling off the tracks and slamming into a concrete wall, with some of the cars catching fire.

The Spanish rail agency has said the brakes should have been applied four kilometers (2.5 miles) before the train hit the curve

However, a local resident who rushed to the scene of the accident said in an interview broadcast Sunday that minutes after the crash Garzon had told him he had been going fast and couldn’t brake.

The resident, Evaristo Iglesias, said he and another person accompanied the blood-soaked Garzon to flat ground where other injured people were being laid out, waiting for emergency services to arrive.

“He told us that he wanted to die,” Iglesias told Antena 3 television. “He said he had needed to brake but couldn’t,” Iglesias said. He added that Garzon said “he had been going fast.”

In its report about the accident, Antena 3 television showed a photograph of Iglesias in a pink shirt and cap helping to carry the driver after the train accident. The station also aired television footage of Iglesias working beside the wrecked train to help other survivors.

Garzon was reportedly on the phone with an agent at the next station to determine which track his train was to come in on. While in the USA, train crews are now prohibited from talking on the phone while operating the train, Spain's state-run RENFE uses what's referred to as 'tren-tierra' or train to land lines to communicate between stations and crew. Shortly before the accident, the train passed from an area where computers control most of the train's functions to one where the driver has to brake and accelerate accordingly. It's believed that Garzon may have missed this transition point while he was on the phone.

ARGENTINA- Transportation officials in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires have released in-cab CCTV footage of engineers reading, napping or playing on their phones while the train is in motion.

In one clip, the driver is seen stepping up to the camera in his train cabin, attempting to obscure the lens so his activities cannot be seen. Other drivers are more overtly distracted, with some taking a nap, reading a book or playing on their mobile phone.

Argentina's Interior and Transport Minister Florencio Randazzo has since vowed to lead a crackdown on dangerous train drivers.

He plans to ban phone calls and unauthorised people in the cab

Mr Randazzo has introduced daily medical checks on all drivers to gauge their fitness to drive and to reduce the risk of them falling asleep at the controls.

Under the new system, all those caught distracted on camera will either be disciplined or fired.

The release of the footage comes more than a year after a commuter train plowed into a terminal in Buenos Aires, killing 49 and injuring hundreds.

FRANCE- Investigators in France believe a faulty switch system was to blame in a deadly derailment that killed six passengers at a station south of Paris last month.

After leaving the tracks, the train crashed into the station at Bretigny-sur-Orge.

A passenger speaking on France's BFM television said the train was going at a normal speed and was not meant to stop at Bretigny-sur-Orge.

He described children unattended in the chaotic aftermath, and swarms of emergency workers at the scene.

Two train cars, numbers 3 and 4, initially derailed, then knocked the other cars off the track, SNCF chief Guillaume Pepy said.

"Some cars simply derailed, others are leaning, others fell over," he said

A spokesman for the French state-run railway- SNCF- said the train was carrying an estimated 350 passengers when it derailed at 5:15 PM local time at Gare Bretigny sur Orge. The official death toll from the accident was 7 with more than 20 injured.


CALIFORNIA- Governor Jerry Brown has ordered a 60-day 'cooling down' period between San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit and workers threatening to strike over an expired contract with the transit agency.

Last month, a 4-day strike had left Bay Area commuters scrambling for alternate transportation. It was the first strike for BART since 1997.

Prior to Brown's announcement, both the Service Employees International Union and Amalgamated Transit Union were hoping the looming deadline of Sunday, Aug 11th would be sufficient to pressure BART management to agree to a renewed contract on the union's terms. Prior to Brown's intervention, the unions had threatened to resume their strike after this weekend.

The two month delay would take away some leverage from unions representing BART employees as it would allow the agency time to recruit replacement workers from out of retirement. An odd clause in the contract originally signed in 1979 would have prevented BART from hiring replacement drivers until the workers actually went on strike, and even then the replacement workers would only after completing a 15 week training course.

Reuters/Denis Balibouse

SWITZERLAND- Transportation officials in Switzerland are investigating the cause of a head-on collision between two passenger trains in the western part of the country. The crash killed the driver of one of the trains and injured at least 35 passengers.

The two Swiss Federal Railways regional passenger trains collided with one another head-on at Granges-Marnand in the Vaud Canton outside of Lucerne on July 29th. Although some press outlets have speculated that one of the trains left the Granges-Marnand station too early and collided with an incoming train, officials have yet to determine the exact cause of the crash and are moving both wrecked train sets to another location to closer examine the wreckage.

SOO Line SD60 #6053 leads an SD60M over county highway G38 outside of Washington, IA with a northbound Kansas City-St Paul manifest freight train on June 2012. Eric Rasmussen photo.

CANADIAN PACIFIC- In a surprise move, the Canadian Pacific Railroad announced that they are seeking bids for more than 40 former Soo Line SD60s and SD60Ms. The solicitation comes as the CPR is more than halfway through an extensive rebuild of their SD60 fleet. Some of the units are being stored at CP's St Luc yard in Montreal. All of the overhauled units have been rebuilt to Tier 0+ EPA compliance and feature AESS Locomotive Automatic Engine Start/Stop and Positive Traction Control in compliance with an upcoming PTC mandate expected to take effect starting in 2015- several more are supposed to undergo rebuilding at Montreal's CADRAIL facility.

The Soo Line ordered the SD60s from EMD in 1987 and with CP Rail's takeover, the burly 3800 HP six axle EMDs could be found anywhere from the Canadian Rockies to upstate New York although they were (and still are) outnumbered by CP Rail's far more prolific fleet of SD40-2s.

Canadian Pacific has also started putting up their fleet of former Milwaukee Road GP40s for sale- Respondek Rail Corp and United States Sugar Corp have already purchased a pair.

With the arrival of rebuilt GP20C-ECO and SD32C-ECO from Caterpillar [NYSE- CAT] subsidiary Progress Rail, Canadian Pacific returned their only two Gensets to National Railway Equipment in Illinois in July. The two Gensets- #2100 and #2101- were largely paid for by a province of Ontario 'green energy' intiative.

More Accusers Come Forward As San Diego Mayor Filner Goes Into 'Therapy'

As San Diego's Mayor Bob Filner entered counseling on Monday, more women went public with accusations that the recently-elected Democrat had groped, harassed or propositioned them. The most recent accuser was a nurse who had sought Filner's help in dealing with the VA for a Marine wounded in Iraq.

Vocational nurse Michelle Tyler and U.S. Marine Katherine Ragazzino spoke Tuesday about a meeting with Filner in which the mayor implied that he would help solve Ragazzino’s issue with the VA only if Tyler agreed to attend a public event with him or have dinner with him.

Ragazzino suffered a traumatic brain injury and PTSD while serving in Iraq.

The two women were meeting with Filner as a follow up to a previous meeting with then-Congressman Bob Filner two years ago.

In the mayor’s office, Filner allegedly asked Ragazzino to leave the meeting and then began giving compliments to Tyler.

Tyler described a conversation with Filner where he asked if she were single and then asked her to meet with him on a personal basis.

“It was extremely disturbing to me that he made it very clear that his expectation was that his help for Katherine depended on my willingness to go to dinner with him, spend personal time with him and be seen in public with him, “ Tyler said.

“I felt that his rubbing my arm and telling me help for Katherine was contingent on my going out with him was extremely inappropriate and unacceptable,” Tyler said.

“I was not there looking for a date.”

Filner had previously served as the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veteran's Affairs between 2007 and 2011. Tyler is the eleventh woman to accuse Filner of harassing or groping and the third in as many days.

A Marilyn Monroe impersonator said that Filner grabbed her backside while she was at fundraiser late last year.

The incident allegedly occurred in December at a fundraiser to retire the 70-year-old Democrat's debt from the mayoral campaign.

"He grabbed me a little too tight, then proceeded to slide his hand down my arm and then did a little grab on my derriere,” Emily Gilbert told Fox5 San Diego. "I didn’t want to make a scene. There were kids around.”

She tried to laugh it off but was embarrassed by the crude behavior, she told Fox5.

Gilbert's husband, a Marine officer, was furious when he heard of the incident.

Filner "needs to resign," he told Fox5.

Not long after Gilbert and her husband went public, a tenth woman claimed to have had an unnerving encounter with the mayor at a La Jolla, CA church in June where he grabbed her hands and said "I just can't take my eyes off of you" before asking her out. Later that day, she told a co-worker about the encounter before finding out that the mayor was already engaged.

Olga Diaz, a fellow Democrat and deputy mayor of the nearby city of Escondido, CA said that she also had a strange encounter with the mayor at an event where she was asked whether or not she had a husband.

Filner is being sued by former communications director Irene McCormack-Jackson for sexual harassment and at the end of July, the San Diego city council announced that they were suing Filner to recover any costs from a lawsuit or settlement against the mayor.

California Democrat Party Told Assemblywoman to Keep Quiet About Filner's Conduct As Four More Women Accuse San Diego Mayor of Sexual Harassment

Former California Assemblywoman and congressional candidate Lori Saldaña said that she told the state's Democrat Party's leadership about then-congressman Bob Filner's conduct in 2011 after talking to six San Diego women had been physically or verbally harassed by Filner. Instead of taking any action against Filner, party officials made it clear that any candidate who didn't support Filner's mayoral bid wouldn't get any backing from the Golden state's Democrat party.

Saldaña said that in summer 2011 six prominent women in local politics, business and education told her that Filner had physically or verbally harassed them. Saldaña had been exploring what turned out to be an unsuccessful bid for Congress and the conversations came in the context of the 2012 elections.

Saldaña said she contacted former party Chairman Jess Durfee with the allegations and Durfee was among a group of Democratic leaders who met with Filner to discuss them that summer. She said nothing happened.

Saldaña said she contacted former party Chairman Jess Durfee with the allegations and Durfee was among a group of Democratic leaders who met with Filner to discuss them that summer. She said nothing happened.

“As disgraceful as Bob’s behavior has been, it’s been tolerated by our Democratic Party leadership,” she said.

Saldaña said Filner never personally harassed her and declined to say who alleged to have had run-ins with the mayor. She said former City Councilwoman Donna Frye, who is calling for Filner’s resignation over unspecified sexual harassment allegations, inspired her to talk.

Party leaders, she said, made it clear that if people didn’t support Filner they wouldn’t receive their support again.

Despite being in the same party, Filner and Saldaña are said to have had a contentious professional relationship over a proposed border sewage treatment project that would've been in Filner's district which never came to fruition. Despite the accusations that she thought were credible, she endorsed Filner for mayor last year. In 2012, Saldaña ran as a Democrat in California's newly-redistricted 52nd Congressional District but lost in the primary.

Saldaña's version of events was confirmed by former San Diego County Democrat Party chair Jesse Durfee in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this month.

Meanwhile, four more women have come forward to accuse the San Diego Mayor of making unwanted sexual advances as Filner announced that he would be taking a leave of absence for two weeks to undergo behavioral therapy (in lieu of resigning).

As pressure mounted on Filner to step down over a hail of sexual harassment allegations leveled at him this week by several women, the 70-year-old Democrat and former congressman said he would enter a counseling clinic on August 5 to undergo "intensive therapy."

During his two-week leave, Filner said he would be in counseling at the clinic on a full-time basis and would be briefed on city activities every morning and evening.

Filner's accusers include a former college dean, a retired US Navy Admiral and his former press secretary. So far, Filner has resisted calls to step down, including demands from the San Diego County branch of his own party to resign this week.

Homeland Security Chief Napolitano To Step Down

Too little too late.

Head of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced on Friday that she would be stepping down later on this year. Napolitano- a former Arizona governor- was Obama's first-term appointment for the DHS position and will reportedly be leaving to seek the president of the University of California system.

Napolitano's tenure at DHS has been marked with scandals and policies geared towards keeping an increasing number of Americans under suspicion. In 2009, the DHS released an assessment that deemed returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan as potential terrorist threats- an assessment that Napolitano stood by.

As the DHS was putting additional scrutiny towards veterans, Christians, gun owners and pro lifers, the agency ignored red flags leading up to two terrorist attacks on US soil- a June 1st, 2009 shooting at a Little Rock, AR Army recruiting station committed by a convert to Islam who trained in Yemen that killed Pvt William Andrew Long and wounded Pvt Quentin E Ezegwula. In November 2009, a muslim US Army major who had openly proclaimed support for the Taliban and communicated online with Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki opened fire on fellow troops at a processing center in Fort Hood, TX- killing 13 and wounding 32 before being stopped by police gunfire. The shooter survived and is still awaiting trial while the Department of Defense and Homeland Security refuse to acknowledge that it was a terrorist attack, instead referring to it as 'workplace violence'.

A little over a month later, 23 year old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight as it approached Detroit International Airport with plastic explosives sewn into his underwear on Christmas Day. Abdulmutallab was overwhelmed by a quick-thinking Dutch passenger before the bomb could detonate and the pilot was able to land the plane safely. Immediately after the thwarted attack, Napolitano issued a statement proclaiming 'the system worked', despite a number of security lapses, the fact that Abdulmutallab had a valid visa for entering the United States and the fact that it the Dutch passenger who thwarted the Nigerian jihadi's bombing attempt.

While Napolitano's DHS continued warning the public about veterans, on May 1st, 2010 vendors in New York's Times Square alerted nearby policemen to a suspicious vehicle that was parked nearby with smoke coming out of it. The NYPD bomb squad was called in and the area was quickly cordoned off after patrolmen discovered what appeared to be a homemade IED in the back of a Nissan Pathfinder with Connecticut plates. After reviewing surveillance footage of the area, authorities identified Faisal Shahzad as the prime suspect. Shahzad- a naturalized US citizen from Pakistan- was on a Dubai-bound Emirates Air flight at JFK that was moments away from departing the gate.

This time, Napolitano didn't attempt to reassure the public with a message of 'the system worked'- instead, Mayor Bloomberg blamed the attempted bombing on an individual unhappy with President Obama's recently-passed healthcare law.

Another infamous Napolitano moment came when she was questioned by Arizona Sen John McCain in 2010 before a Senate committee. Both Napolitano and attorney general Eric Holder were critical of a recent law passed by state lawmakers in Arizona that would allow local police to check the residency status of anyone they came into contact with and turn them over to federal immigration officials if they're in the country illegally. When the senior Republican senator from Arizona asked Napolitano whether or not she had actually read the law, the DHS head answered "No" [as did Holder, but Napolitano's ignorance of the law seemed even more egregious considering she was governor of that state until recently- NANESB!].

More recently, however, Napolitano's DHS reportedly missed a number of red flags leading up to the Patriot's Day 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon by two Chechen brothers that killed three and injured more than 170 runners and spectators. Despite being on welfare, the two brothers- Dzhokar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev- had travelled to the Chechnya and Dagestan region of Russia where muslim fighters have been clashing with Russian troops and militia loyal to the Kremlin since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. Russian intelligence officials also reportedly warned their American counterparts about the suspicious activities of the brothers, but those warnings went unheeded by the DHS and other agencies- even as whistleblowers came forward with revelations about unprecedented surveillance of Americans by agencies such as the NSA and DHS.

That's to say nothing of the dysfunction along the US-Mexico border. Towards the end of Napolitano's tenure as governor of Arizona, rampant human trafficking from Mexico had given the capital city of Phoenix the dubious distinction as 'America's Kidnapping capital'. The 2010 ambush and murder of a US Border Patrol agent in Arizona by narcos armed with guns from the ATF's ill-advised Operation Fast and Furious was met with- at best- a collective shrug from DHS, despite Homeland Security being the parent agency for the Border Patrol.

Granted the Department of Homeland is a fairly new agency, but I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say that Napolitano has been the worst DHS head the agency has seen. It's also worth pointing out that the new agency also had a number of existing government agencies incorporated into it during its formation a decade ago- including Customs, Immigration, the Border Patrol and the US Coast Guard.

Ordinarily, I would be happy to see Napolitano leave, but if she managed to stay on after her 'the system worked' gaffe in 2009 it was pretty clear that she was only going to leave whenever she felt like it. Apparently the University of California system presidency is Napolitano's golden parachute, overseeing a University system that will continue cranking out sanctimonious progressive dullards with 17th century LGBTQ Literature studies degrees and six-figure student loan debt.

There's also the stark likelihood that President Obama- unencumbered by worrying about re-election- could manage to select somebody who's even worse than Napolitano for DHS, making it yet another government agency at his beck and call to be used on critics and opponents of his administration [if he hadn't already as some claim- NANESB!].

South Korean Airliner Crashes on Approach to San Francisco International Airport

At least two people were killed Saturday afternoon when an Asiana 777 crashed on a runway at San Francisco International Airport. Eyewitnesses report that Seoul-San Francisco flight 214 was swaying back and forth and kicking up dust while attempting to land. The Boeing's tail also broke off during the crash landing before coming to a stop. Most of the flight's passengers were able to evacuate by way of the emergency chutes before the fuselage was consumed by fire.

I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal... (at @flySFO) [pic] — https://t.co/E6Ur1XEfa4
— David Eun (@Eunner) July 6, 2013

Samsung executive David Eun was one of the surviving passengers and tweeted pictures of the wreckage from up close as first responders were closing in. The two fatalities were found outside of the plane and identified as Chinese nationals. It isn't known right away whether or not they were killed on the plane and somebody carried the bodies out or if they evacuated on their own but succumbed to their injuries outside the aircraft.

Boeing's 777 is considered fairly safe, although there have been a number of other lesser incidents involving the model that was introduced in 1994. In January 2008, a British Airways flight crash-landed just short of the runway at Heathrow International airport, injuring 47 of the 136 passengers. There were also two known incidents of fires while the planes were on the ground- a 2001 fire at Denver international airport when the plane was being refueled by a ground crew and a 2011 cabin fire at Cairo international airport.

Today's Train of Thought- Pins and Needles, June 21st, 2013

Today's train of though takes us to the California high desert just west of the Colorado River town of Needles.

Between the Los Angeles Basin and Albuquerque, NM, the fabled Route 66 paralleled the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe's transcontinental mainline, which to this day covers a lot of rugged and sparsely populated territory. From there, both the Santa Fe and Route 66 took dramatically different routes between New Mexico and Chicago- with the Santa Fe going through Colorado and western Kansas and the 66 swinging northeast past Oklahoma City and through the Ozarks on its way to St Louis and Chicago.

With a number of songs and even a TV show written in its honor, Route 66- sometimes known as the Mother Road or Main Street of America- began falling into decline with the completion of the parallel Interstate 40. While decommissioned as a US Highway in 1985, several states mark the former Main Street of America with 'Historic Route 66' markers along the way. Other stretches of the former Route 66 being re-branded state highway 66 in places like Kansas, California,  Missouri, Arizona or Oklahoma.

But as Route 66 fell into decline, the Santa Fe mainline remained an important gateway into and out of the state of California- even after the BNSF merger. The remote nature of the Mojave Desert in California also meant that the Santa Fe had to bring in water to remote towns such as Amboy or Cadiz by tank car- a practice that reportedly continues to this day under BNSF.

The concentration of military facilities around Barstow, CA (the US Army's Fort Irwin, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow and Edwards Air Force Base) also means that both the BNSF and Union Pacific [via their Salt Lake City- Barstow line- NANESB!] frequently run trains consisting of nothing but military equipment from bases all across the nation destined for the military facilities in the California desert.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Drew Mitchem caught BNSF C44-9W #4955 as it leads a westbound extra consisting of Humvees, trailers, generators, trucks, earthmovers and MRAPs on flatcars as it climbs its way out the Colorado River Valley on Feb 25th, 2012.

MEMORIAL DAY

National Medal of Honor Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, CA

Democrats Behaving Badly Update- Expelled Nevada Assemblyman Arrested After Police Chase in California Desert

The actions of Nevada State Assemblyman Steven Brooks first drew attention back in January when he reportedly threatened a colleague with a gun. Since then, the situation involving the North Las Vegas Democrat has only gotten more disturbing and bizarre- so bizarre that his colleagues had taken the unprecedented step of voting to expel him from the state assembly after a February domestic disturbance arrest in which Brooks reportedly lunged for a responding policeman's sidearm.

But things really got weird after Brooks' expulsion- within hours of being ousted, the former lawmaker was arrested by police in California after leading them on a high speed chase through the Mojave desert on Thursday.

At approximately 6:11 p.m., two Barstow police patrol cars responded to a report of a disturbance between a motorist and tow truck driver near Lenwood Road and the southbound I-15 offramp.

The tow truck driver told police that the motorist’s vehicle had a flat tire but refused to provide payment or any form of identification.

While one officer spoke with the tow truck driver, another spoke with the man, who turned away from the officer and began quickly walking to his vehicle, according to police.

The man ignored an officer’s orders to stop, the officer went to the passenger-side window of the burgundy SUV in an attempt to obtain ID.

The man refused to provide any, started the SUV and began accelerating at a high rate of speed onto the southbound I-15, police said.

Two squad cars, including a K-9 unit, began a pursuit with sirens on, Barstow police Chief Albert Ramirez confirmed.

During the chase, the man drove in and out of multiple lanes at high speeds in an attempt to evade officers while his vehicle emitted sparks due to the flat tire, according to police.

Barstow Police contacted California Highway Patrol and San Bernardino County sheriff’s for assistance. A sheriff’s helicopter arrived as well.

The motorist threw a number of metal objects out of the window of his vehicle during the pursuit. It was reported Thursday that one of the objects was a handgun. Ramirez said on Friday that CHP initially believed this to be true, but that a handgun had not been found.

CHP deployed a spike strip and stopped the man’s vehicle on southbound I-15, just north of Stoddard Wells Road.

Officers told the man to exit the SUV and initially he refused. Eventually, the man exited but was “acting irrational,” according to a police news release.

With Brooks not responding to officer’s orders, the Barstow Police K-9 Unit deployed canine “Buck.” The man went back inside the SUV, according to police and witnesses.

The canine entered the SUV and the man began choking the dog and hitting him with a metal socket wrench, police said. CHP and Barstow police officers attempted to place the motorist in handcuffs, but he continued to resist officers and would not comply with orders, police said.

Brooks was booked into a San Bernardino County jain on charges of resisting a peace officer with force, felony evading, willful harm to a police service dog and throwing objects from a vehicle with the intent to cause great bodily injury and will be arraigned at the Superior Court in Barstow, CA this week.

For the time being, Assembly District 17- Brooks' former district in North Las Vegas- remains vacant while neither a special election nor appointed Assemblyman has been announced.

Especially Steamy Iron Horse Roundup for March 2013

TVRM's Southern 2-8-0 Consolidation is seen chugging eastbound with a Norfolk Southern 21st Century Steam special at Chucky, TN on March 10, 2013.Ron Flanary

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NORFOLK SOUTHERN- Thanks in no small part to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Musuem, the Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program is off to a pretty early start this season, with a number of excursions having already run between Chattanooga, TN and Roanoake, VA earlier this month.

The TVRM has posted a schedule on their homepage for the remaining excursions over the Norfolk Southern this spring including trains to Norfolk, VA as well as Spencer and Asheville, NC with more excursions to be announced.

Meanwhile, the Ft Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Nickel Plate Berkshire #765 will once again be traversing Norfolk Southern's former Pennsy mainline through the Alleghenies at least as far east as Altoona, PA with excursions over Horsehoe Curve that are available to the public on Memorial Day weekend. The big Lima was the first steam locomotive to move through central Pennsylvania's Horseshoe Curve under its own power in more than 30 years when it made a ferry move from Pittsburgh to Harrisburgh, PA and return in August 2012 for a series of Employee Appreciation Specials to mark the 30th anniversary of the Norfolk Southern.

Norfolk & Western J Class steam locomotive #611 is seen is seen heading northbound over the Trace Fork Branch trestle with an excursion at Amonate, VA in June 1994. Made famous by the night photography of O Winston Link in the late 1950s, the 611 was built in the N&W's Roanoke Shops in 1950 and was retired in 1959 before becoming part of an earlier incarnation of the Norfolk Southern's steam program. The 611 was pulled from excursion service in 1994 and has been on display in the Virginia Musuem of Transportation in Roanoke ever since.Bob Lyndall

VIRGINIA- The Virginia Museum of Transportation has announced that they're undertaking a feasability study on restoring former Norfolk & Western J class 4-8-4 #611 to service, which has been on display at the Roanoke, VA museum since 1994- when the Norfolk Southern decided to cancel their first incarnation of their steam program.

Called "Fire Up 611!," the study isn’t a guarantee the engine will actually be fired up. The committee will look not just at what repairs and upgrades the 611 might need, but what sort of financial strain a restoration would put on the museum’s day-to-day operations.

If bringing the beloved streamlined 611, which was built in the Norfolk and Western Railway’s Roanoke shops, back to life turns out to be feasible, the transportation museum will have to put out a call to the international rail community to raise the funds, Museum Executive Director Bev Fitzpatrick said. The engine is considered the most modern steam locomotive in existence.

A volunteer team of steam engine enthusiasts has stepped forward to conduct the study. They include Atlanta, Ga. software consultant Cheri George, Birmingham, Ala., historic rail equipment restorer Scott Lindsay and Roanoke rail safety consultant Preston Claytor all of whom volunteered on the 611’s crew during the interval when Norfolk Southern used it for passenger excursions, 1981 to 1994.

The museum is launching a fund raising campaign today to pay for the study’s expenses, said museum public relations director Peg McGuire. Should the task of getting the 611 operational prove to be out of the museum’s reach, the funds will go into an endowment to pay for the locomotive’s upkeep as an exhibit.

The Museum has set up a website called Fire Up 611! where visitors can find out more information about plans to reactivate the #611, donate or take a survey on which cities they'd like to see the #611 visit should it be restored to service.

Santa Fe 4-8-4 Northern #3751 seen scaling Cajon Pass with Amtrak diesels north of San Bernardino, CA en route to the Grand Canyon in May 2012

CALIFORNIA- While the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society plans for Sante Fe 4-8-4 #3751 aren't quite as ambitous as last year's trip to the Grand Canyon, the 1927-built Northern is scheduled to hit the high iron nonetheless.

The SBRHS announced that the #3751 will be running under her own power from Redondo Jct near LA's Union Station to San Bernardino for San Bernardino Railroad Days on April 27th and returning to Los Angeles on April 28th. The passenger cars will consist of meticulously restored vintage coaches and Amfleet passenger cars and tickets are available to the general public at the San Bernardino Railroad & History Museum website.

Milwaukee Road #261 is seen with a cut of gondola cars on the Twin Cities & Western's former Milwaukee line west of Minneapolis in May 2010. Mitch Goldman photo

MINNESOTA- For the first time since 2008, Milwaukee Road's 4-8-4 #261 will be hauling excursion trains. This will also mark the first time that the Friends of the 261 will operate the 1944-built ALCo as outright owners of the locomotive. When the #261 was taken out of service, the organization had the unexpected opportunity to buy the locomotive from the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI in 2010 [previously, they Friends had been leasing the #261 from the museum long-term- NANESB!].

The #261 was successfully test-fired late last year and will power a passenger train from the Twin Cities to Duluth, MN and return on the weekend of May 11th and 12th. The excursion is part of a larger celebration of National Train Day held by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum that will also feature the a dinner train over the North Shore Scenic Railroad with the LSRM's 1923-built 4-6-2 Pacific- Soo Line #2719.