Nice to see something actually being built. That the Crosstown seems to be a sucking singularity for money was predictable: tunneling in an downtown area will do that, plus the need to pay off more politicians among others. Crenshaw should have been better, though.

Haven't heard much about the Union Station run-through recently. Anything new? Any signs of progress? Or has it descended into political and legal hell too?

FWIW, the costs have gone crazy everywhere in CA too. In Sacramento, there was (and I think still is) a proposal to extend double track and add a siding on the remaining single track on the Gold Line (to Folsom) so service beyond Sunrise can be expanded to every 15 minutes. Unfortunately, 1) Covid happened, which cratered the ridership (still is less than 1/2 of pre-Covid); and 2) price shot up to where extending double track a mile or so and adding 1/2 mile of siding (with, of course, a few signaling and station changes), mostly in existing r/w, will cost as much as the original 10-mile extension from Sunrise to Folsom did in the early 2000s. With lackamunny and lackariders, I don't think I'll see those upgrades happening in my lifetime.