SunRail and the Soviets

[FayeforCure]

Funny comparison........especially because Mica often refers to Amtrak as a soviet-style rail service

For those on this board who feel that rail at any cost is desirable...........who cares that this is a bad deal. And unlike HSR in Florida, the construction of which which was free to FL tax-payers, it's not going to lure more of the biggest money making business to Florida: tourists.

Oh yeah..........Sunrail may spur some construction along the way...........but really, have we all seen the vacancy out there? The construction industry is dead for the forseeable future until all those vacancies have resolved themselves.

The only thing I don't like about this piece is its pity for the poor car drivers!!

SunRail and the Soviets

July 07, 2011|By Beth Dillaha


Remember the first U.S. loss in Olympic basketball? It happened in 1972, during the Cold War. The U.S. led the Soviets 50-49 with three seconds left after Doug Collins sank two free throws.

Then, with a full court facing them, the Soviets inexplicably were given three in-bounds plays. They scored on the third try â€" and won. The U.S. protested, and rightly so. But three of the five-member appeals panel were from Communist bloc countries, which voted together to deny the U.S. appeal and instead certify a "victory" that any objective observer would categorically refuse to affirm.

The appeal decision was wrong, it was politically motivated, and the Communist bloc interests smugly celebrated.

Fast-forward to July 2011. We just change the game â€" yet produce a similar mind-boggling result.

SunRail comes to its first vote in the Florida Legislature. It is defeated. The citizens â€" who would be stuck with a huge, unknown bill for decades to come â€" win. CSX and Florida Hospital lose.

CSX does not get $641 million for 61 miles of dilapidated track and risk-free use of it. Florida Hospital does not get the station required for its massive expansion.

A second vote is called. SunRail is defeated again. The citizens win again. CSX and Florida Hospital lose again.

Finally, a third vote is called in a special session. Legislative minds suddenly change. SunRail passes. This time, the citizens lose and CSX and Florida Hospital win.

Now, when SunRail faces operating shortfalls, the needed money will come from our roads budget.

Get ready to pay for realignments and worse for your cars. The times, they are a-changing, and the potholes, they are a-coming. And so are higher taxes, which some cleverly call "dedicated funding sources." Make no mistake. Your wallet will be tapped, even if you never ride SunRail.

But wait. The citizens have an appeal. It's Gov. Rick Scott. Alas, he listens to the special interest bloc, and SunRail goes forward. The citizens lose.

We can't boycott the new taxes we'll see and we can't boycott the new potholes we'll drive through.

But U.S. Rep. John Mica and State Rep. Dean Cannon have their pet project, their special interest campaign contributors have their prizes, and Gov. Scott has shown those who supported him and his supposed fiscal conservatism that he's just a political hack like the rest of them.

Florida. I've lived here a long time. Some things never change.

Beth Dillaha is a former Winter Park commissioner.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-07-07/news/os-ed-beth-dillaha-070711-20110707_1_sunrail-csx-appeal-decision

Dirty business, out in the open.

[FayeforCure]

A brief history of the Rick Scott histrionics on Sunrail, including John Mica's blackmail to withhold funds for Miami Port dredging:

Orlando Commuter Rail: Scott's SunRail Hypocrisy


Published: Sunday, July 3, 2011 at 1:05 a.m.


So Rick Scott likes trains after all. The governor who killed high-speed rail in Florida in February â€" on the ground that it might cost the state money someday â€" decided Friday that the SunRail commuter-rail project in Orlando, a clear-and-present drain on the public treasuries in Central Florida, is worthy of his support.

Inconsistency, thy name is Rick.

Actually, there is some kind of twisted logic in the two gubernatorial decisions. When Scott killed high-speed rail (which wouldn't have cost Florida taxpayers anything to build and operate), it was widely seen as a grandstanding play for the support of the tea party movement in Florida. Indeed, the tea partiers were just about the only organized group in Florida who supported his decision.

This time, the tea partiers threatened to desert Scott if he approved SunRail. They argued, convincingly, that all the arguments he used against high-speed rail were much more valid when applied to SunRail. So it should have been an easy decision to kill commuter rail. But Scott delayed a decision for months.

POLITICAL INFLUENCE

During that interim, however, Scott began to realize that the tea partiers were his only solid base of support. Never popular, even after his narrow election last November, Scott's poll numbers dropped precipitously during and after the March-to-May legislative session.

So why would Scott go out of his way to offend those in his dwindling base of support? Because they aren't numerous enough to win an election for him, either in Florida or on a national stage. It's a long shot, but he has to broaden his base if he is to be politically influential in the 2012 election and viable in the 2014 election. If that costs him some of his loyalists, well, how much lower could he go?

Other factors were involved, of course. U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, is a strong supporter of SunRail, and he has rather heavy-handedly threatened to withhold $77 million that Scott is seeking to deepen the channel at the port of Miami â€" a Scott priority â€" if SunRail were scuttled. The biggest beneficiary of the deal is the CSX Corp. The railroad company is a big Mica backer. It will sell its rail line through Orlando to the state for SunRail, but retain the right to move freight on it at night.

State Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, was a key legislative supporter of the CSX deal, and he has financial interests that will benefit from the projected freight facility.

POLK PRIORITIES

The deal has serious implications for Polk County. CSX plans to its move freight-to-truck transfer operations from Orlando to a new facility to be built in Winter Haven. City leaders expect to benefit from commerce and jobs, but will have to balance the heavy industry with tourism interests. With the conversion of the former Cypress Gardens into Legoland Florida, the city has to ensure that it remains a "haven."

Because of the Winter Haven facility and rerouting of trains to bypass SunRail, the number of freight trains moving through downtown Lakeland is expected to increase greatly. This busy area is strained by rail traffic already. Legislators such as Sen. Paula Dockery, and Reps. Kelli Stargel and Seth McKeel, all Republicans and all from Lakeland, will need to press the state to resume rerouting efforts to move the rail line out of downtown.

The CSX-SunRail deal has never been a good one for Florida, even though commuter rail ought to be a step forward in dealing with traffic glut. The state is paying too high a price, and low ridership estimates suggest that local taxpayers along the 61-mile route will have to pay dearly to make up operating losses.

As Dockery has pointed out, there is no dedicated revenue source to back up the local obligations. She says the total cost is at least $2.6 billion â€" not the $1.2 billion figure used by supporters â€" and that doesn't cover the cost of buying the trains.

The SunRail deal is a legacy of former Gov. Jeb Bush, who worked it out in secret with CSX late in his second term. Dockery was able to block it in the Legislature for a couple of years, but it was rammed through with the support of former Gov. Charlie Crist when it was packaged with high-speed rail and South Florida's Tri-Rail operation. Had high-speed rail not been part of the package, it probably wouldn't have passed. (bait and switch anyone?)

Is SunRail a good deal for Florida? Maybe for some Floridians, but it's a bad one for everybody else. Rick Scott being Rick Scott, why would anyone have expected anything else?

http://www.theledger.com/article/20110703/EDIT01/110709878/1398/sitemaps04?template=printart