The July/August edition of the local Sierra Club newsletter "The Loma Prietan" has three articles, a glossary and a map about High-speed Rail in it. You can almost feel the tension that must exist in the local chapter as you read the articles. David Simon who is the editor sums up his article titled "What's So Great About High Speed Rail?" with: "The Club is disappointed that the HSR Authority has chosen to run the line over the Pacheco Pass into Gilroy rather than over Altamont Pass into Livermore. From the standpoint of regional transportation planning, the Altamont Pass route makes more sense, since the two interregional connections most in need of additional transit capacity are the Bay Area-to-Central Valley and the Bay Area-to-Sacramento routes. The Altamont alignment would provide the infrastructure for both of these connections, essentially for free. However, the Club believes that getting HSR built earlier is preferable to haggling over the route for years." I never thought of the Sierra Club as a "go-along-to-get-along" organization that would shy away from fighting for the best approach to something. Can any members shed light on what is going on inside the Club's organization?