Rick Scott leaves Jaxport off 2014 port funding

[thelakelander]

We can't expect all the state's money to go to Jaxport.  There's 14 other ports that have plans as well.

Gov. Rick Scott plans to push for $35 million in strategic port project allocations in the 2014 Legislative session, but the Jacksonville Port Authority is not in his plans.

Scott's proposal contains money for the Port of Tampa, Port Everglades and Port Canaveral, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports.

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2013/10/16/rick-scott-leaves-jaxport-off-2014.html

[Intuition Ale Works]

Maybe our COJ lobbyists in Tally should reach out to the Governor on this issue.

Wait, we don't have any...

[Tacachale]

This is a huge indictment of our local leadership in failing to get anything going on this.

[Noone]

It's not all negative news. Mile Point is big.

[Jumpinjack]

This is one of the most interesting facts of the port sponsored Martin Associates economic report touted by river deepening advocates. In the period of time from early 2000 to current, the states of Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia began to subsidized their ports heavily.

As a result, the ports of Savannah, Charleston, Norfolk shot ahead of Florida ports in their container growth and port, rail  infrastructure. They set their ports up to not only receive more shipping but to provide manufactured goods going outbound. Jacksonville was left behind (in the dust) with unremarkable achievement.

Now we have three big Florida ports vying for deep water cargo and cruise ship facilities in a race against other states that are decades ahead of Florida. Squabbling over money is just beginning. It's all about money, who's got it, who invests it, who mortgages their future on it.

[thelakelander]

^Well Miami is leading that statewide race. 







They ran short on funding this rail line but at least they're not forgetting about connectivity between their port and public transportation.

[theduvalprogressive]

This is not necessarily a bad thing for the community and the health of the river.

http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/blog/dredging-threatens-rivers-health/

[icarus]

what leadership?

Lori Boyer cant actually do everything.

Well said Sir!

[theduvalprogressive]

http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/blog/dredging-threatens-rivers-health/

The critique of the Corps study of river including possible negative aspects of further dredge imply that they were not being forthright about erosion, including adequate compensation, to property owners along the banks, loss of indigenous species in estuaries due to algae blooms, and further thinning of fresh drinking water for the manatee at top layers of the river's brackish water. Certainly the loss environmentally isn't worth the cost to taxpayers and the possible ten jobs a year, over 20 years, the media has been going on about that the area might get.

[Cheshire Cat]

http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/blog/dredging-threatens-rivers-health/

The critique of the Corps study of river including possible negative aspects of further dredge imply that they were not being forthright about erosion, including adequate compensation, to property owners along the banks, loss of indigenous species in estuaries due to algae blooms, and further thinning of fresh drinking water for the manatee at top layers of the river's brackish water. Certainly the loss environmentally isn't worth the cost to taxpayers and the possible ten jobs a year, over 20 years, the media has been going on about that the area might get.

This is one of my major concerns with the dredging.  It is my understanding that there has yet to be a complete study of the environmental impact if this were to go forward.

[Jumpinjack]

The Corps of Engineers will soon issue the permit saying that the environmental impacts are negligible. The deadline to comment to them is October 24.

[Cheshire Cat]

The Corps of Engineers will soon issue the permit saying that the environmental impacts are negligible. The deadline to comment to them is October 24.

Interesting and I did not know of this deadline.  Would you happen to know if they used any sort of environmental impact study to back up their claim that the impact is indeed negligible?

[Jumpinjack]

COE Jacksonville Harbor Deepening Project page: http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Navigation/NavigationProjects/JacksonvilleHarborChannelDeepeningStudy.aspx

There are many studies which are summarized in the various documents listed as links at the bottom of the page.

[Cheshire Cat]

Thanks much JJ! 

[thelakelander]

Certainly the loss environmentally isn't worth the cost to taxpayers and the possible ten jobs a year, over 20 years, the media has been going on about that the area might get.

I know the 65,000 job number being tossed around is unrealistic but how did you come up with this number?