SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday said it will give more than $6 billion to a pair of high-speed electric rail routes in the U.S. West, injecting new life into long-stalled projects hailed by supporters as the future of public transportation but bemoaned by critics for their high price tags and lengthy construction times. U.S. senators from California and Nevada said the federal government will give $3 billion for a planned privately-owned route between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area plus another $3.1 billion for an initial segment of California’s publicly-funded effort to eventually connect Los Angeles and San Francisco.

PALMDALE — Antelope Valley Metrolink riders will have more options for trips starting next month after the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors on Thursday approved $1.6 million for increased weekday and weekend service and armed security services for late night trains.

LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission recommended the City Council approve the East Side Overlay zone text amendment and certification of the environmental impact report for an approximately 5,841-acre area.

California High-Speed Rail Authority Bakersfield to Palmdale Project Section.

Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement.

Appendix 3.13-B: Station Planning, Land Use, and Development Figures

State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, voted in support of several bills to reform the California Environmental Quality Act to make building key infrastructure projects in the state easier, Wilk’s office announced Wednesday.

PALMDALE – A new commercial center will be constructed on the corner of Avenue S and 40th St East, and it will include a Chick-fil-A, a Mister Car Wash and other popular retailers, Palmdale city officials announced.

PALMDALE — A Trader Joe’s food assembly and distribution facility is set for development in Palmdale, city officials announced.

PALMDALE — Permits for a trio of drive-thru businesses, including Palmdale’s second Chick-fil-A restaurant, on the northeast corner of 40th Street East and Avenue S were approved by the Planning Commission on Thursday.

Virgin Galactic successfully returned to suborbital space on Thursday morning with its first flight in nearly two years, setting the stage for its first commercial mission, planned for next month. The Mojave-built spacecraft Unity, carrying four Virgin Galactic employees as crew members in addition to two pilots, rocketed to 54.2 miles in altitude during the brief flight.

PALMDALE — The Palmdale Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday on a proposed major modification to a previously approved tentative tract map to subdivide a 4.5-acre parcel into two lots for the purpose of constructing 18 condominium units within two industrial buildings south of Grand Cypress Avenue at the intersection of Delta Lane.

PALMDALE — The California State Transportation Agency has awarded an $8 million grant toward a regional push for a high-speed rail route between Palmdale and the Victor Valley. The grant to the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency, announced last week, matches $8.5 million in Measure M sales tax funds through Los Angeles County for preliminary engineering and other project development activities for the

LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission approved a tentative tract map for a development of 103 single-family eastside homes during Monday’s meeting. The map by applicant Rodeo Credit Enterprises LLC would subdivide approximately 26 acres at the southeast corner of 30th Street East and Nugent Street.

EDWARDS AFB — NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base is one of three agency centers in California, contributing to the $15.2 billion in economic output in the state from the space agency, according to NASA figures.

PALMDALE — The Palmdale Water District’s proposed advanced water treatment plant that would turn recycled water into groundwater will be notable not only as the first of its kind in the Antelope Valley, but also for partnering with a firm to use brine discarded in the treatment process for its carbon-capture technology.

PALMDALE — NASA’s latest X-plane is now a complete structure, as the full tail assembly has been attached to the X-59 at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, where the aircraft has been under development.

ROSAMOND — The Kern County Board of Supervisors approved a nearly 4,000-acre wind farm west of Rosamond at its March 28 meeting. The Keyhole Wind Energy Project, from EDF Renewables, would place up to 45 turbines, producing up to 100 megawatts of electricity, on 3,920 acres a half-mile north of Rosamond Boulevard and west of 170th Street West.

EDWARDS AFB — The NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base will see stable funding to continue existing projects in the Biden Administration’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1.