Saturday, January 31, 2009

Get Serious About Infrastructure

In this blog we won't just look at what doesn't work, but also highlight ideas on what does work:
A couple of weeks ago, Ed Rendell, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania,
came to Washington to talk up infrastructure. He is a member of a tripartisan threesome — along with Michael Bloomberg, New York’s independent mayor, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s Republican governor — trying to persuade the
country to get serious about infrastructure.
In his talk, Mr. Rendell said he understood that the stimulus bill couldn’t come close to solving all these problems. But it could make some progress, and Mr. Obama’s
sky-high approval ratings gave him a wonderful chance to do so. “This is the
time to put down some markers — this is the time,” Mr. Rendell said.

And the (stimulus) bill does include a couple of markers. It will list on the Web the projects that the federal government is financing — an idea that, amazingly enough, is considered radical — and will require that mayors and governors sign off on projects. That will make it harder for them to lobby for projects now and criticize those same projects later, as Gov. Sarah Palin did with the Bridge to Nowhere. At least one version of the bill also sets aside $5.5 billion to be awarded by the transportation secretary, supposedly on the merits of a project.

But it’s not clear how that will work, and there is so much more that could be done. The bill could create a small-scale version of an “infrastructure bank,” a free-standing entity that could make more merit-based decisions than Congress does (an idea that Mr. Obama supports). The bill could also finance the creation of new state offices to conduct cost-benefit analyses. It could also help cover the budget shortfalls of public transit systems, instead of simply allocating another $30 billion for the construction of new highways.

Fifty-one transit systems have recently proposed service cuts or fare increases, including those in Atlanta, Denver, New York, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Diego and Washington. If these cuts go through, they will make it harder for people to get to work (or look for work), and they will undermine one of the long-term goals of the stimulus package: laying the groundwork for a greener economy.

John Mica Did Nothing After 2004 Flooding to Prevent New Disaster

Mica has a habit of "announcing" funding for our district. Easy to do when as a DC insider you are the first to be notified about the funding. Fortunately people are catching on as a telling comment to another John Mica praise story in the local Traditional Media shows:
BOOOOO! on John Mica pulling a Corrine Brown trick, i.e., being the messenger which he wants us to feel he is responsible for the whole blessing on Debary. The only real good news he could bring is that he is going to campaign against the rail road to no-where and save lots of money that could be spent on many better community-Florida efforts.

One thing that has always bothered me is that John Mica got nothing done to prevent the 2004 flooding from occurring again in 2008. See below where someone in the article points that out. In fact funding for the Army Corp of Engineer projects falls under infrastructure and so does federal funding for water management projects in general. It appears that Debary was left out of the Clean Water Act even though John Mica always brags about putting together the one and only Bush veto override. I guessing saving the Everglades makes for better headlines than saving Debary from future flooding catastrophy. And the override would have happened anyway, with or without John Mica's help. As always John Mica goes with the tide, and claims credit for the work of others. Lets praise the local officials for putting in their request to FEMA, and for FEMA to have responded faster which they now know how to do, given the Katrina Disaster.

As for the city's ongoing stormwater drainage problems, Garcia said
officials are working on it and "I'm hopeful."
Consultant David Hamstra
said the money will help but it doesn't solve a bigger problem: how to pay for $8.5 million in stormwater drainage improvements that include funding a
much-anticipated westside emergency flood-management system.
Locations near the DeBary Golf and Country Club were among the hardest-hit areas during Fay and improvements to the west side drainage system would help lessen that area's flooding problems, according to city officials.
The city has a $5 million shortfall to pay for the west side system and needs $3.5 million to fund 29 new projects, Hamstra said.
"(The reimbursement) is not new money to pay for any
of these situations," he said. "My goal at the moment is to find money for the
west side."

Well don't count on John Mica for looking for federal funding for that,...... even in the stimulus bill. All he is interested in is his Central Florida Rail pet project where we see the usual greed, excess and arrogance that we've become so accustomed to in the Bush years.

On the other hand another commenter makes a good point too:

I still don't like Tax payer money going to cover bad engineering though. The
developers should foot the bill in Glenn Abby, DeBary Golf Club, and Saxon
Woods. Those developers were the major culprits here anyways, with their ponds
not being "as Built" according to design, and failed miserably.

But that's what we do. Taxpayers bail out banks and other large corporations, so why not bail out the developers for their pursuit of a quick profit?

John Mica The Great Pretender Says No to Jobs

Mica says: “We need to get this money out as soon as possible so people who want to work have a choice of work, have that opportunity”, but then he votes against the stimulus bill!

So lets see,....John Mica was for the stimulus bill before he was against it.

You can bet nobody in the Traditional Media will call him on this, because he is the media darling. And to be sure sometimes his theatrics, and outlandish quotes do make for the type of "drama" that readers love.

All over the media John Mica goes around complaining about "miniscule" infrastructure funding in the stimulus. If he really were interested in more infrastructure funding, he could get his Republican buddies to cut out their continuous calls for even more tax cuts than the 33% of total stimulus already going to tax cuts.

As Matt Iglesias says about Republican's inconsistency: "we can’t afford large new temporary deficit spending but can afford large new permanent tax cuts?"

It turns out some infrastructure projects were dropped to make room for more tax cuts in the stimulus bill, and even so not one Republican voted for it.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Traditional Media's Usual Mica "grab the mic" Fluff Story

Here we have the usual Mica "grab the mic" fluff story where Mica showers special attention on ONE Crescent city young man.

The usual "feel good" fluff that distracts from his ultra poor record on supporting the more than 100,000 veterans in his district. For three years he held the absolute worst record on disabled American veterans issues, scoring a ZERO percent.

Only recently did John Mica start noticing the men and women who have sacrificed so much in service to our country. These men and women who will forever live with the horrible reminders of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but who according to John Mica do not deserve our support at 100%. Finally, John Mica after 16 years of "public service" decided to support these courageous men and women by just 60%.

But do you think Traditional Media will call John Mica on this? No, they'd rather continue to distract us from our real every day problems and the lack of solutions John Mica has offered.

All show and no action is just fine with Traditional Media. That's what they call a "need to know" basis, a society where traditional media will filter out the reality of poor performing officials and offer just the "feel-good" fluff.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Calls Economic Stimulus Package a Spending Free-for-All

John Mica voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

I guess he didn't feel enough "private enterprise" would benefit from tax payer dollars: "My efforts in the coming months will be aimed at putting people back to work concurrent with the economic recovery package and further stimulating private sector job creation." said Mica in his newsletter.

Meantime John Mica's Paris Hilton-like need for the camera's lens is evident again when he attends Kosmas' swearing in ceremony.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Banking Committee, Major Influence on Rebuilding Rail Routes

Dodd, whose Banking Committee has major influence over federal transportation policy, described 2009 as a pivotal year for rebuilding half-abandoned rail routes and extending new ones.
That will create good-paying construction jobs in the short term, and will
transform the region in the long run, he said. Dodd cited the long-overdue
Springfield-to-Hartford-to-New Haven commuter rail project as an example of what New England needs to be economically competitive in the 21st century. Sponsored by the Sierra Club and the National Corridors Initiative, the "Need for Speed" forum focused on ways to create better high-speed rail through the region, and substantially expand commuter rail, light rail and freight service. Rail advocates have run similar sessions for years, but are getting more attention because of the nation's economic crisis and the dizzying summertime spike in fuel prices.

Too bad we haven't seen much from Florida Senator Mel Martinez who also sits on the all important Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Senate Subcommittee. Well, like John Mica's role in the House Transportation Committee, Sen. Mel Martinez is in the minority party which will the protect business interests at the expense of passenger rail.
Republicans have gone as far as wanting to cut off funding for Amtrak all together, claiming it needed to be self-sufficient.
But when it comes to the banking industry they are all too ready to bail them out. Go figure.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

John Mica Wastes Tax Payer Monies with Cronyism

This comes from the Tampa Tribune titled Commuter Rail Falters Again As Supplier Fails


When Florida Department of Transportation officials chose a Colorado company early last year to build 10 railcars for its new Orlando commuter system, they knew the company was in financial trouble.Nevertheless, the department moved forward with the $45 million contract, and is having to scramble now that Colorado Railcar went out of business at the end of the year. The state had to rewrite the railcar proposal to get new companies to bid.The last-minute change is one more stumble in the state's controversial efforts to bring commuter rail to Orlando. Last May, state lawmakers rejected an agreement with CSX Transportation, the company planning to sell tracks to the state for the $1.2 billion, 61-mile system. The agreement would have freed CSX from responsibility if one of its (freight)trains caused a commuter accident while using the tracks.
Hmmm, now they want old-fashioned locomotive-hauled trains instead of CA Marin county's choice for light rail cars below? So much for John Mica's rhetoric of getting Florida into the 21st Century! Bulgaria and other so-called lesser advanced countries are light years ahead of us, but then again they don't have to worry about pleasing CSX.

The state originally advertised the railcar bid invitation in February. It was so narrowly written that Colorado Railcar was the only company that qualified. In a Tampa Tribune story about the purchase, state officials said the company produced precisely the kind of railcar it wanted for the Orlando system. It's a fuel-efficient vehicle that combines the engine and seating in one unit but is also sturdy enough to withstand a collision with a freight train. The revised bid is for the more traditional locomotive-hauled train.
Meanwhile Marin county in CA found a better solution, which is far more energy efficient and environmentally clean:

The closure ( of Colorado Railcar) may have little effect on SMART, which can choose to run lighter, European-built, diesel-powered rail cars instead. If the rail agency chooses to stay with the heavier cars, however, Siemens Transportation of Germany is planning to develop and build such cars at its Sacramento plant, filling the void left by Colorado Railcar."It is part of our growth strategy and product development plan," said Frank Guzzo, business development director in Sacramento. "we clearly see a niche market."Voters in Sonoma and Marin counties approved a quarter-cent sales tax increase in November, and SMART is now looking to start Cloverdale-to-Larkspur service in 2014.

SMART is planning to request proposals for its rail cars within the next two months and award a purchase contract next year.The transit district has budgeted $88 million for 14 self-propelled, diesel-powered rail cars. The cars will take two to three years to build.SMART initially had specified the Colorado Railcar vehicles, which are classed as heavy rail, diesel-powered vehicles, in its 2006 environmental impact report.However, in a 2008 supplemental report, SMART indicated that it could also use lightweight European-style rail cars by running freight train service in off hours."The major difference between the two is how they operate in conjunction with freight on the same corridor," Coursey said. "To use the light cars, you need to have time separation, they cannot be operating at the same time as freight."

The most popular lightweight cars available are made by Siemens in Germany.There are 12 of them in use by the North Coast Transit District in San Diego on its 22-mile Sprinter service from Oceanside to Escondido.District spokesman Tom Kelleher said the freight service runs at night on the Southern California tracks to meet the federal rules against running lightweight cars and freight together. The lightweight cars are
not as crash resistant as heavy-rail cars.

While Mica's Pet Project is dragging on, bending over backwards for CSX's freight needs is clearly not in our best interest.Here is what the President of the Passenger Rail Asociation said when Colorado Railcar had been selected by Florida DOT:

Since Colorado Railcar announced production of its new vehicle in 2002, only
three transit agencies - in Florida, Oregon and Alaska - have purchased any.They're expensive, said Paul Dyson, president of the Passenger Rail Association of California and Nevada. They cost about twice as much as the locomotive-passenger car combination. And although they use less fuel than thelocomotive train, they use more fuel than other DMUs. That's because ColoradoRailcar had to beef up its vehicles to meet the federal crash standards."If Iwere a Florida taxpayer, I'd be asking the state if they've looked at every alternative," Dyson said.
And Siemens' Frank Guzzo typified the selection process as a done deal favoring Colorado Rail:

One of the potential bidders was a Korean company, Rotem, that designs crash-worthy DMUs and has a U.S. plant. It was planning to build cars for theRaleigh, N.C., commuter system until federal funding for that project fellthrough. Its cars, however, have only one level, and Florida officials said theyneed bilevel cars for the Orlando system.
Another company, Siemens, was also interested and proposed scheduling freight and commuter trains at different times so the state could use the company's lighter DMU. But the state said no, said Siemens' Frank Guzzo."There could have been other ways to approach the project. We had offered an alternative," Guzzo said. But the state "was fixatedon this one approach."
Lobbying Connections:

By 2002, Mica was pushing a new plan to use existing CSX freight tracks - and
Colorado Railcar vehicles.The railcars weren't in service, but Mica had met
Rader and was intrigued by his efforts to build a new kind of railcar. He can't
recall where he met Rader.
A September 2002 news release on Mica's Web site announced that he "had secured $8 million for ... a national demonstration of a new commuter rail technology." It said he planned to show off an example of that technology, a Colorado Railcar DMU, in Orlando the next month. ( ***Does everyone see the lie in Mica's announcement)
The amount was down to $4 million by the time the transportation bill with the earmark passed in early 2003.
In August 2003, after Congress approved the railcar earmark, the law firm Greenberg, Traurig registered to lobby for Colorado Railcar.
One of the Colorado Railcar lobbyists was Duane Gibson, former chief aid toU.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who was chairman of the House TransportationCommittee from 2001 to 2007. Gibson continued to represent the company after heleft the law
firm.
"I spoke to Duane about Colorado Railcar," Mica said. "I can't remember if they were looking for someone to represent them or what." He also can't remember precisely when it was, but he said he is sure Gibson was not at Greenberg, Traurig at the time.Tom Rader founded Colorado Railcar and was removed as its president thisyear. Since 2003, Rader and his company have reported spending nearly $300,000on lobbyists and federal campaign contributions. Rader gave Mica's politicalcampaigns a total of $3,000 for 2004 and 2005.Mica angrily denied that lobbying or campaign contributions had anything todo with his position. "My relationship with the company has been nothing butabove the board," he said.

The company spent its own money developing a new kindof fuel-efficient railcar and deserves government help, Mica said.

Pretty fishy if you ask me! I wish we had some investigative reporters dig up some more on this. Could turn out to be a really big national scandal.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jul/20/200015/na-railcar-deal-missing-key-component-the-tracks/c_2/#comments
And here is a final revealing comment made in the comment section of the TBO to the above story:

Why is FDOT and Congressman Mica's CSX mainline trackage in Orlando is worth $420 million for 61 miles while the EJ&E Railroad in Chicago isselling 200 miles
of their mainline for only $300 million to the CanadianNational RR. Could this
be more of those educational "improvements" in fuzzymath that Jeb was able to
accomplish with his educational system "reforms"?
And please explain why Illinois' and Indiana' Senators and Representatives havecalled in the "key Federal railroad regulatory agency" to review their ChicagoCN-EJ&E rail transaction but the Surface Transportation Board is conspicuously absent in Florida to deal with the Orlando CSX-EVWN transaction?Sounds like the Tampa Tribune is doing some outstanding investigative reportingon your choo choo friends! Keep up the great work. The rest of Florida's media outlets may be missing the next Watergate in progress, all he"King's" men may fall.

And oh by the way, I want to be able to ride trains inFlorida just like
they do in California, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, NewYork, Virginia and a
host of other states, but we won't get them here untilsomeone cleans up this CSX
mess. Thanks Trib for bringing out the mop.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Colorado Railcar Sinks: John Mica is 16 Railcars Short

This comes from the Tampa Tributes titled Commuter Rail Falters Again As Supplier Fails

When Florida Department of Transportation officials chose a Colorado company early last year to build 10 railcars for its new Orlando commuter system, they knew the company was in financial trouble.

Nevertheless, the department moved forward with the $45 million contract, and is having to scramble now that Colorado Railcar went out of business at the end of the year. The state had to rewrite the railcar proposal to get new companies to bid.

The last-minute change is one more stumble in the state's controversial efforts to bring commuter rail to Orlando. Last May, state lawmakers rejected an agreement with CSX Transportation, the company planning to sell tracks to the state for the $1.2 billion, 61-mile system. The agreement would have freed CSX from responsibility if one of its (freight)trains caused a commuter accident while using the tracks.

Hmmm, now they want old-fashioned locomotive-hauled trains instead of CA Marin county's choice for light rail cars below? So much for John Mica's rhetoric of getting Florida into the 21st Century! Bulgaria and other so-called lesser advanced countries are light years ahead of us, but then again they don't have to worry about pleasing CSX.

The state originally advertised the railcar bid invitation in February. It was so narrowly written that Colorado Railcar was the only company that qualified. In a Tampa Tribune story about the purchase, state officials said the company produced precisely the kind of railcar it wanted for the Orlando system. It's a fuel-efficient vehicle that combines the engine and seating in one unit but is also sturdy enough to withstand a collision with a freight train. The revised bid is for the more traditional locomotive-hauled train.


Meanwhile Marin county in CA found a better solution, which is far more energy efficient and environmentally clean:

The closure ( of Colorado Railcar) may have little effect on SMART, which can choose to run lighter, European-built, diesel-powered rail cars instead.

If the rail agency chooses to stay with the heavier cars, however, Siemens Transportation of Germany is planning to develop and build such cars at its Sacramento plant, filling the void left by Colorado Railcar.

"It is part of our growth strategy and product development plan," said Frank Guzzo, business development director in Sacramento. "we clearly see a niche market."

Voters in Sonoma and Marin counties approved a quarter-cent sales tax increase in November, and SMART is now looking to start Cloverdale-to-Larkspur service in 2014.

SMART is planning to request proposals for its rail cars within the next two months and award a purchase contract next year.

The transit district has budgeted $88 million for 14 self-propelled, diesel-powered rail cars. The cars will take two to three years to build.

SMART initially had specified the Colorado Railcar vehicles, which are classed as heavy rail, diesel-powered vehicles, in its 2006 environmental impact report.

However, in a 2008 supplemental report, SMART indicated that it could also use lightweight European-style rail cars by running freight train service in off hours.

"The major difference between the two is how they operate in conjunction with freight on the same corridor," Coursey said. "To use the light cars, you need to have time separation, they cannot be operating at the same time as freight."

The most popular lightweight cars available are made by Siemens in Germany.

There are 12 of them in use by the North Coast Transit District in San Diego on its 22-mile Sprinter service from Oceanside to Escondido.

District spokesman Tom Kelleher said the freight service runs at night on the Southern California tracks to meet the federal rules against running lightweight cars and freight together. The lightweight cars are not as crash resistant as heavy-rail cars.


While Mica's Pet Project is dragging on, bending over backwards for CSX's freight needs is clearly not in our best interest.

Here is what the President of the Passenger Rail Asociation said when Colorado Railcar had been selected by Florida DOT:

Since Colorado Railcar announced production of its new vehicle in 2002,
only three transit agencies - in Florida, Oregon and Alaska - have purchased
any.They're expensive, said Paul Dyson, president of the Passenger Rail
Association of California and Nevada. They cost about twice as much as the
locomotive-passenger car combination.And although they use less fuel than the
locomotive train, they use more fuel than other DMUs. That's because Colorado
Railcar had to beef up its vehicles to meet the federal crash standards."If I
were a Florida taxpayer, I'd be asking the state if they've looked at every
alternative," Dyson said.

And Siemens' Frank Guzzo typified the selection process as a done deal favoring Colorado Rail:

One of the potential bidders was a Korean company, Rotem, that designs
crash-worthy DMUs and has a U.S. plant. It was planning to build cars for the
Raleigh, N.C., commuter system until federal funding for that project fell
through. Its cars, however, have only one level, and Florida officials said they
need bilevel cars for the Orlando system.


Another company, Siemens, was also interested and proposed scheduling freight and commuter trains at different times so the state could use the company's lighter DMU. But the state said no, said Siemens' Frank Guzzo.
"There could have been other ways to approach the project. We had offered an alternative," Guzzo said. But the state "was fixated
on this one approach."


Lobbying Connections:

By 2002, Mica was pushing a new plan to use existing CSX freight tracks - and Colorado Railcar vehicles.The railcars weren't in service, but Mica had met Rader and was intrigued by his efforts to build a new kind of railcar. He can't recall where he met Rader.

A September 2002 news release on Mica's Web site announced that he "had secured $8 million for ... a national demonstration of a new commuter rail technology." It said he planned to show off an example of that technology, a Colorado Railcar DMU, in Orlando the next month. ( ***Does everyone see the lie in Mica's announcement)

The amount was down to $4 million by the time the transportation bill with the earmark passed in early 2003.

In August 2003, after Congress approved the railcar earmark, the law firm Greenberg, Traurig registered to lobby for Colorado Railcar.

One of the Colorado Railcar lobbyists was Duane Gibson, former chief aid to
U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who was chairman of the House Transportation
Committee from 2001 to 2007. Gibson continued to represent the company after he
left the law firm.

"I spoke to Duane about Colorado Railcar," Mica said. "I can't remember if they were looking for someone to represent them or what." He also can't remember precisely when it was, but he said he is sure Gibson was not at Greenberg, Traurig at the time.

Tom Rader founded Colorado Railcar and was removed as its president this
year. Since 2003, Rader and his company have reported spending nearly $300,000
on lobbyists and federal campaign contributions. Rader gave Mica's political
campaigns a total of $3,000 for 2004 and 2005.

Mica angrily denied that lobbying or campaign contributions had anything to
do with his position. "My relationship with the company has been nothing but
above the board," he said. The company spent its own money developing a new kind
of fuel-efficient railcar and deserves government help, Mica said.


Pretty fishy if you ask me! I wish we had some investigative reporters dig up some more on this. Could turn out to be a really big national scandal.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jul/20/200015/na-railcar-deal-missing-key-component-the-tracks/c_2/#comments

And here is a final revealing comment made in the comment section of the TBO to the above story:

Why is FDOT and Congressman Mica's CSX mainline trackage in Orlando is
worth $420 million for 61 miles while the EJ&E Railroad in Chicago is
selling 200 miles of their mainline for only $300 million to the Canadian
National RR. Could this be more of those educational "improvements" in fuzzy
math that Jeb was able to accomplish with his educational system "reforms"?

And please explain why Illinois' and Indiana' Senators and Representatives have
called in the "key Federal railroad regulatory agency" to review their Chicago
CN-EJ&E rail transaction but the Surface Transportation Board is
conspicuously absent in Florida to deal with the Orlando CSX-EVWN transaction
?
Sounds like the Tampa Tribune is doing some outstanding investigative reporting
on your choo choo friends! Keep up the great work Media General. The rest of
Florida's media outlets may be missing the next Watergate in progress, all the
"King's" men may fall. And oh by the way, I want to be able to ride trains in
Florida just like they do in California, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New
York, Virginia and a host of other states, but we won't get them here until
someone cleans up this CSX mess. Thanks Trib for bringing out the mop.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Calls to Move Train Traffic Out of Downtown Orlando

Ahhh, some much needed perspective on the CSX Boondoggle named Central Florida Commuter Rail, now packaged as Sunrail ( a $300,000 marketing effort):
For 20 years, there have been sporadic calls to move (freight)train traffic out of downtown Orlando, but the effort has never picked up steam. It’s a great idea, offcials say, but no one has been willing to take on the tab, which could top $400 million.

“…The best chance for moving freight may come if local leaders decide to run commuter rail through Orlando. Already, John Mica, R-CSX [OK, that's mine] has secured about $8 million in federal money…

“…”It’ll have to be tied to a mass transit project,” Mica said. “That’s the only way.” [That, and finding a state Department of Transportation willing to dump one city's problem onto another with no warning, discussion, or mitigation.]

Again, not a passenger rail deal, folks. It begins and ends with freight rail, as Mica himself so elegantly puts it. None of this is new. I reported these basic facts back when I worked for The Trib.

http://www.lakelandlocal.com/2008/12/the-almost-charmingly-relentless-bad-faith-of-the-orlando-sentinels-editorial-page/

Orlando wanted freight rail out of Orlando and had to sweeten the deal for CSX to agree. It wasn't initially about commuter rail at all.