The murder trial of Anthony John Sanchez--who is accused of stabbing a Leland High School senior to death last March--has been delayed for a third time, with the rail date pushed back until May 2.

Originally attorneys involved in the case thought the trial would finally start in March. However, Deputy District Attorney Cameron Bowman, who will prosecute the Sanchez case, is currently trying another homicide case.

"I am currently in jury trial on the case of People v. Johnny Martinez," Bowman said. "Therefore the Sanchez case was continued past when that other trial would be completed."

Sanchez was arrested March 21, 2004, on charges of killing Troy Pollett, 18, with a knife and also of stabbing Kris Johnson, 19.

Public defender Ken Mandel, who represents Sanchez, has said that his client acted in self-defense.

Caltrain: Expect cuts
in service, fare hikes

Caltrain announced last week that the service was facing a fiscal emergency for 2006 and that drastic cuts and higher fares could be in order, with the Baby Bullet Express, service to Gilroy and weekend service among the programs that could go on the chopping block.

"We've essentially exhausted all of our options," Caltrain spokeswoman Jayme Maltbie Kunz said on March 10, explaining that Caltrain has been hit hard recently by rising costs for fuel and insurance, along with a four-year budget deficit. The agency has used reserve and one-time-only funds in the past to bail itself out, but now the reserve has dwindled to $1.4 million and the deficit has grown to $11 million, officials said.

Caltrain receives funding from several Bay Area public transportation organizations, including the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency, the San Francisco Municipal Railway and the San Mateo County Transit District. Each of these agencies experienced economic downturns of their own recently, Kunz reported, and have not been able to bail the agency out.

One proposal being discussed is a potential 35 percent fare increase.

"We hope to pull back from the more extreme proposals," Kunz explained. "In reality, it's more than likely that we will do a little bit of everything. We may have a fare increase and some service changes."

A public hearing on the proposed cuts will be held on March 23 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of Santa Clara City Hall, 1500 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara, and the Caltrain board will address the issue in an April 7 meeting. Final decisions on possible cuts are expected to be made on April 22, with implementation scheduled for 2006.

Anyone who wants to make a comment but cannot attend the hearing can call 800.660.4287, email changes@caltrain.com or write to Board Secretary, Caltrain, 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos, 94070. The deadline for comments is April 7.