The Silver Rail Blog

At the Coalition's Board of Directors meeting in Lakeland this past Saturday, the service of John and Barbara Thomas was honored by the Coalition.

John and Barb have provided many hours of volunteer service to the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers in a myriad number of roles. They have indicated a desire to step down from their official roles with the Coalition at the upcoming Spring Meeting of Members in Tampa in May.

If you don't know them personally, you know their service to the Coalition. A copy of the resolution passed by the Board and Advisory Board honoring John and Barb can be found by clicking here. 

Thank you, John and Barb, for a job well done! We look forward to you benig members for many years to come.

--Jackson McQuigg

From the Orlando Sentinel:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/02/scott-dismisses-high-peed-rail-proposals-as-hypotheticals.html

--Jackson McQuigg

At a Board of Directors meeting in Lakeland, Florida, held on Saturday, February 19, the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers Board of Directors passed a resolution encouraging Florida Governor Rick Scott to reconsider his decision to kill off Florida's high speed rail program.

Scott's decision to return Federal funds allocated for the line to the Federal government sets an ominous tone for passenger rail in our state.

A copy of the resolution by the FCRP Board can be found by clicking here. 

FCRP members are encouraged to contact the Governor's Office and encourage him to reconsider his decision on HSR.

Contact information can be found on the Governor's website: http://www.flgov.com/

--Jackson McQuigg

From WDBO Radio:

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2011/02/gov-scott-sen-nelson-talk-rail.html

--Jackson McQuigg

Representative John Mica is proposing saving a portion of the Tampa-Orlando high speed rail line killed off by Governor Rick Scott earlier this week.

But it is only the segment which runs through his district, from the Orange County Convention Center and Disney to the Orlando International Airport that he proposes saving. The line would no longer go to Tampa.

Other alternatives are afoot, including the creation of an independent, intergovernmental agency which can accept the Federal funds in place of the State of Florida, which bailed out of the project this week because of a unilateral action by the Governor.

Governor Scott continues to put idealogy and politics before the interests of his state and on Friday issued a conservative doctrinaire condemnation of President Obama's spending to justify his decision not to accept Federal grant money for the high speed line.

It is interesting to note that the Federal funds that Scott is "refusing" are actually Florida dollars. Florida citizens and corporations paid over $136 billion in taxes to the Federal government in 2007; approximately 90% of those dollars returned to Florida through Federal spending here.

From the Tampa Tribune:

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/feb/18/182242/scott-sticking-to-guns-on-high-speed-rail-decision/news-highspeedrail/

--Jackson McQuigg

From the Tampa Tribune:

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/feb/18/scott-sticking-to-guns-on-high-speed-rail-decision/news-highspeedrail/

--Jackson McQuigg

From the Tampa Tribune:

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/feb/18/lawmakers-seek-control-of-high-speed-rail-project/news-money/

--Jackson McQuigg

Now things are getting interesting!

From the Miami Herald:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/17/2072075/scott-rebuked-by-26-senators-over.html

And analysis from Tampa alternative weekly Creative Loafing:

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2011/02/17/furious-reaction-in-florida-senate-to-rick-scotts-rejection-of-hsr-funds-1-gop-state-senator-saysthe-bottom-line-is-he-cant-reject-this-money/

--Jackson McQuigg

From Tampa alternative weekly Creative Loafing, more on the fallout from Governor Scott's decision to shut down Florida's high speed rail program:

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2011/02/17/scotts-rail-fail-the-aftermath-the-outcry-the-recall-movement/

--Jackson McQuigg

From the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/17/high-speed-rail-lahood-scott_n_824596.html

--Jackson McQuigg