

Yesterday, Caltrans and Metro released a draft environmental impact report for the High Desert Corridor project, which seeks to connect the Antelope Valley in the northeast part of LA County with the town of Apple Valley in western San Bernardino County (possibly with rail but almost definitely with a freeway). This would ordinarily be mind-numbingly dull, except for the cover of the report, which strongly resembles a Trapper Keeper from roughly 1983. It looks like someone's kid made it with stickers. It has a tortoise named Brad following a chipmunk (??) and some solar panels possibly frying a psychedelic butterly (?????) and a hippie bird riding a bicycle (????????????). Streetsblog LA first posted the cover on its tumblr and LA Times transportation reporter Laura Nelson has also been all over this story on Twitter; hopefully we'll know soon if Brad the tortoise is named for a dreamy boy in third period or just an annoying little brother. Developing…

.@DPAQreport They call it the HIGH Desert Corridor for a reason, I guess. — Laura J. Nelson (@laura_nelson) October 2, 2014

· High Desert Corridor Draft EIR-EIS [Caltrans]

· Everything You Need to Know About the High Desert Freeway [Curbed LA]