From the SF Chronicle

Here is an informative article from the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday December 4, 2011 about the advertising money spent to push the CA HSR. This is the article:

They have yet to lay a single track, but the California High-Speed Rail Authority has spent some $12.5 million on public relations in the past two years - with a number of politically connected consultants getting in on the ride.

In one six-month window:

-- Mike Villines, the former Republican assemblyman, billed a Central Valley rail contractor for $108,631.

-- Denise LaPointe, a former chief of staff to ex-San Francisco state senator and former High-Speed Rail Authority board member Quentin Kopp, billed for $53,444. That was just part of the $350,288 paid to her firm since October 2009.

-- Nicole Franklin, a former Oakland city planning commissioner, got $45,138 - including a portion of LaPointe's work.

-- Mike Lynch, the former chief of staff to onetime Assemblyman Gary Condit, billed for $31,748.

-- Plus former Kern County Supervisor Gene Tackett ($70,652), and Sara Katz, a staffer to former Gov. Pete Wilson and onetime San Diego Mayor Susan Golding, whose monthly billings for the first half of the year totaled $43,505.

"Frankly I can't see one benefit of that $12.5 million in spending," said state Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo.

"To me this is indicative of the operations of the High-Speed Rail Authority to this point, which from what we've seen is pretty much a failure."

Statewide, some 20 PR outfits have worked on the project since 2007 as part of nine regional engineering contracts.

In 2009, however, rail authority directors - worried that they needed to sell the project statewide - awarded a five-year contract worth $9 million to Ogilvy Public Relations, a major national firm.

After paying Ogilvy about $3 million, the authority was not happy with its performance and the two sides agreed to a parting of the ways.

In the meantime, as shrinking federal dollars put the future of the train line in doubt, the authority has still budgeted $2.5 million for PR this fiscal year.

Rail authority officials say the spending on public outreach has been reasonable given the size and complexity of the project.