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California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez recently appointed Thomas Umberg to the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) board.

A litigation partner in the Orange County office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips L.L.P., Umberg has served three terms in the California legislature, most recently between 2004 and 2006. He was assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles and Orange County, and served in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Established in 1996, the CHSRA’s nine-member policy board oversees the planning, construction and operation of an 800-mile statewide high-speed rail system that will serve Sacramento, the Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego with trains reaching speeds up to 220 mph. The authority is placing a $9.95 billion bond measure on the November 2008 ballot to help fund the proposed system.