--john21

"Public Utilities has to prove the nexus between cost of service and rates as per state law ... At some point our 75 year old water lines will need to be replaced as well as meeting all the new and ridiculous State and Federal demands -- but everyone's rates will go up for the same reasons -- infrastructure does break eventually but nobody wants to pay for it."

--AskSmith

A score for lawyers

What happened: Real estate attorneys are seizing a monumental opportunity as California lumbers ahead with its high-speed rail plans in the central San Joaquin Valley.

What it means: With 1,100 or more pieces of property in the path of the proposed route between Merced and Bakersfield, lawyers who specialize in eminent domain cases could see business spike over the coming months as the state's High-Speed Rail Authority starts trying to buy land for rights of way.

What readers said:

"This is a classic city vs. country fight. You city people want to go fast, fast, fast. ... In the process you demand to steal away other people's homes and land so that you can have your way, your eminent domain. Sick. Eminent domain was meant for real big needs, not commerce, not little projects for the city folk, not things like this. You destroy people's lives for your convenience. Shame on you."

--Jaq E. Daniels

"There are 6 million acres of productive farmland in the Valley. HSR will take out 5,000 acres."

--roblamy

"Lots of lawyers who would not know an eminent domain case from a hole in the ground will be advertising as 'eminent domain specialists' when the offers start. If you are an affected owner, take your time, have your own local lawyer, someone you know and trust, find you the right person. It may cost you a little, but when these out of town law firms sweep in to try to pick off the easy money, you will not know which ones to trust."

--FarmerGeorge