Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the library’s blog.

LaHood defends high-speed rail investments (Welcome to the Fast Lane blog)

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood takes exception with last week’s editorial in the Washington Post that criticized spending on high-speed rail as wasteful and unlikely to reap much in the way of benefits. LaHood says that now is the time to begin investing in a high-speed network that will be needed in coming decades and, in particular, says that it’s appropriate to launch construction of a segment of California’s bullet train project in the San Joaquin Valley.

Could Japan fund California’s bullet train? (California High-Speed Rail blog)

The Japanese ambassador to the U.S. recently said that he believes that Japan could fund up to half the cost of California’s high-speed rail project, although the list of loan terms would be a long one. The Japanese, of course, have some know-how when it comes to building and operating bullet trains — as well as companies who build the systems.

< A road diet for Main Street in Venice? (L.A. Streetsblog)

In Vancouver, transit riders familiar with bulky items (TransLink Buzzer Blog)

A poll on the transit agency’s blog reveals that 83 percent of riders in the Vancouver area had at some time or another had to carry a big bulky item on board a train or bus. Among the more interesting items were furniture, large paintings and a coffin.