San Bernardino County's First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood has been continuing to praise new business projects and the associated short-term construction jobs that they bring.  He refuses to acknowledge the long-term problems that many of the projects bring to his First District residents.

    Brightline's XpressWest proposed high-speed, non-stop rail link between Victorville and the outskirts of Las Vegas is an example of Lovingood's short-sightedness.

    While Lovingood states the Victor Valley rail station will be located in the Town of Apple Valley, the station will be across Interstate-15 in Victorville's sphere of influence.

    Lovingood has accepted the developer's claim that the rail line will create 10,000-plus jobs.  Most of the jobs, however, will be very temporary and appear to be out-of-state, many outside of this country.  Jobs such as planning, engineering, rail manufacturing, rail cars, financing, etc., won't benefit the county's First District.

    Massive amounts of supplies will be foreign imports.  Employment far outside of California.  Brightline is an East Coast operation.

    In earlier posts, Lovingood has praised the jobs and the benefits that the train will bring to Victorville, but his praises only appear to promote his political stature.  There is a far darker side to the rail project that Lovingood doesn't discuss.

    As we have previously blogged, the rail operation between Victorville and Las Vegas fails to make sustainable financial sense.  Financially, it appears as a financial nightmare unless it acquires subsidies.  The Victorville to Las Vegas link makes no sense!  Not until a link is made between Victorville and the metropolitan Southland will there be a possibility of a profit.

    When the rail line is eventually extended into the Southland, tens of thousands of weekly cars will be removed from Interstate-15.  The California station in Victorville will be mostly abandoned and left as little more than a possible quick High Desert stop.  In short, Lovingood's highly promoted train will be removing critical economic income to businesses in Hesperia, Victorville, Barstow, Yermo, and Baker.

    The project is already driving another stake into the heart of Barstow's dream of acquiring a casino.

    While High-Speed rail may look flashy, in the long-run, it will only promote Las Vegas at the expense of the High Desert, so why is Robert Lovingood so strongly backing it.  If it won't benefit his First District long-term, is it to benefit his life after politics?