Ah, California. How I don’t miss thee.

Anybody who’s ever lived in California

Anybody who’s ever had dealings with California

Hell, anybody who’s ever heard of California knew this wasn’t going to end well. Or ever end at all, most likely. Maybe it won’t ever really even start. But it’s guaranteed to cost a metric buttload of money, which the contented taxpayers will fork over with loud hosannas.

Via Firehand, by way of a long chain of links the harried TUAK staff followed so you wouldn’t have to, comes a tale of success in public-spirited government’s tireless efforts to make Diane Feinstein’s family even richer than it already is.

See, what California really needs, in these latter days of no money, no electricity, no water, no…well, what California really needs is a hyper-expensive high-speed rail line between Madera and Fresno. Where the hell are Madera and Fresno, you ask? Sheesh, everybody knows that…

The point – to the extent that there is a point – is an eventual high-speed rail line between LA and San Francisco. That’s never going to happen, of course. Nobody, including the political creatures in favor of the project, ever believed it was going to happen. Years and years ago, when I still lived in California, it was announced that the first phase of the line would run between Madera and Fresno and at the time even Californians rose up and with one voice cried, “Where the hell is Madera?”

Of course the answer is “Nowhere.” But there’s money to be spent, by god, and the far-seeing masters of California are by god going to spend it.

Tutor Perini Joint Venture Selected for $985 Million California High-Speed Rail Design-Build Contract

SYLMAR, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Tutor Perini Corporation (NYSE: TPC), a leading civil and building construction company, today announced that its joint venture’s bid, valued at approximately $985 million, was recently identified by the California High-Speed Rail Authorityas the “apparent best value” for the design and construction of the initial Madera to Fresno segment of the California high-speed rail system. The Authority’s Board of Directors is expected to approve the design-build contract for this project in the coming weeks.

So guess who owns Tutor Perini?

Richard Blum, the husband of California senator Diane Feinstein.

This phase of the contract is worth almost a billion dollars, or roughly $35 million dollars per mile. From, it just can’t be repeated often enough, Madera (which you’ve never heard of) to Fresno (where you’d never want to go.)

And what does a billion dollars buy taxpayers these days? At least they’ll get a nice shiny train for it, right? Not exactly.

And that doesn’t include the cost of rolling stock (that’s engines and cars to the normal among us). Nor does it include the cost of electrifying the route. Does it at least include the cost of land acquisition? No, it does not.

Yes, I’m sure everything will turn out just fine.