One week from Florida GOP primary, Mainstream Media & Florida's own MSM continue to coddle Ron Paul, and NOT force him to answer self-evident questions re Florida; Ron Paul is missing-in-action

Flag image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Florida

Both the national Mainstream Media & Florida's own MSM continue to coddle Ron Paul and NOT force him to answer self-evident questions, and thus be held accountable.

Paul has not won any of the first three contests and is NOT running a serious campaign in Florida, the fourth-largest state in the country.

As I've written here a few times previously, I was not only born in Texas, I'm a direct descendant of a pioneer Texas Hill Country family that has lived there continuously for well over over 155 years.

And just as the entire country is NOT a small-scale replica of everyday life in Manhattan or Santa Monica, despite what Hollywood and Madison Avenue marketers and network TV execs may attempt to persuade us in films and in television programs and commercials, the entire country is also NOT the south suburban Houston area that is Ron Paul's own congressional district, TX-14.
Map: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=TX&district=14


Voters in Florida next Tuesday, like voters in Iowa and New Hampshire the past few weeks and the upcoming state primaries, quite reasonably believe that they're entitled to be represented by a person as president who at least ATTEMPTS to understand their unique concerns and issues, and who takes those into account when setting national policies and making important decisions.

Given that, how does Ron Paul's failure to even mount a serious effort in Florida to garner their votes, failure to even pretend to try to understand THEIR unique concerns instead of merely repeating his own, now make him a person Floridians should take seriously, now or in the future?

And isn't Paul's behavior towards Florida voters more accurately described as patronizing?

To answer my own question, yes.

So how come nobody in the traveling national press corps or Florida-based news media, print or electronic, will ask them that simple question on camera?
Sometimes, as we've learned, the absence of evidence is evidence of a sort, too, isn't it?


But you don't have to take my word for Paul's patronizing attitude toward Florida voters. 
Let me directly quote the Tampa Bay Times' Alex Leary in their Buzz politics blog today under the headline, Florida presidential primary tracker for Tuesday
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/florida-presidential-primary-tracker-tuesday

Ron Paul: No events scheduled.

Ron Paul is missing-in-action.
Res ipsa loquitur.


And when, exactly, does Ron Paul actually WIN a state primary election?

WHEN?

Name that state?

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012


That's a question that mouthy and opinionated Paul supporters can't or won't answer, for obvious reasons, so when you run into them in-person on see them on TV news segments on the cablenets or C-SPAN sounding loftier than they have any right to sound based on what's actually happened, ask them that simple question.


And tell them that after Paul has ACTUALLY WON SOMETHING, to get get back in-touch, but otherwise, stop annoying everyone with their nonsensical conspiracies about how someone who can't even win a single state presidential primary can be elected president in the year 2012. 
Sorry, it's not the 19th Century anymore. 


It's preposterous.


The truth of the matter is that Paul won't even be able to win the Texas GOP primary on April 3rd.    

Since we don't have a parliamentary system, an American president, whatever else they need to be or do, MUST be seen by both Americans and people overseas as the president of the entire country, not just the small parts of it that happen to agree with him.
And if it's not too much trouble, NOT appear to be overly-contemptuous and dismissive of other Americans.



Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton responds to Barack Obama's recorded comments at a San Francisco fundraiser about residents of small towns in Pennsylvania being "bitter." "Small towns cling to guns or religion" April 2008. http://youtu.be/xNoJ0q6HrK8
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Obama_on_smalltown_PA_Clinging_religion_guns_xenophobia.html


In my view, that's one of President Obama's chief (and unsolvable) problems -he doesn't.

Repeating that same mistake with someone else is NOT a reasonable solution to our current problems.

Pied Piper Ron Paul, go sell crazy somewhere else.
We've already got more than enough of that here in Florida.

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Central Florida Political Pulse politics blog of the Orlando Sentinel:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/


The Buzz politics blog of the Tampa Bay Times
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/

http://www.c-span.org/Campaign2012/

http://watchdog.net/us/tx-14

http://www.texasgop.org/


http://www.texashillcountry.com/

Cold Reality of the Sunshine State: Romney has won 2 small states whose total # of votes cast were less than # of absentee ballots requested in Florida -for an election in 3 weeks!; Romney's glass jaw

Newt Gingrich 2012 campaign video: On Bain Capital: It's a Question of Character, Not Capitalism. January 11, 2012. http://youtu.be/yV6qUI5-ij4


Above, audio of Newt Gingrich's appearance this afternoon on Sean Hannity's nationally-syndicated radio show, where he discussed Mitt Romney's track record with Bain Capital. He's rightly frustrated and at pains to explain the subtle yet important distinction of his having asked hard questions and demanded answers about what Romney actually did for the company, not Gingrich's questioning of the free enterprise system.


Unfortunately, among others, the Mainstream Media's punditocracy of the Left and the Right seem perfectly willing to ignore the clear distinction. 


Even worse for well-informed voters who want someone who will really take the fight to President Obama and make him the focal point of the campaign, that large group ignoring the distinction also includes the sycophantic Republican Party 'Establishment' based in the Beltway and in the state capitols, who favor political coronations, not hard-fought floor fights on public policy issues.


(To figure out who these particular GOP characters are, just picture John Sununu and his small-minded ilk taking up space in the Bush 41 White House, James Baker's State Dept., and carious agencies. Then, think of their many, many younger Gray Flannel suit-wearing underlings, who since then have either made it to Congress or became prominent in D.C. not by solving problems creatively, but rather by promising to finesse people they already know in exchange for money. Yes, lots and lots of smart but philosophically weak and outside-the-box averse guys. As it happens, to be honest, often the type of guys my then-girlfriends had broken-up with in order to be with me. 
The sort of well-educated but oblivious people who in the early Nineties often seemed more afraid of the fact that their whole worldview had been tossed upside-down by the fall of the Berlin Wall, and who DIDN'T want to recognize the bravery of the people in Eastern Europe and reward it by recognizing their independence, but who preferred instead that it stay in the Soviet sphere because that way they didn't have to think about it. 
Brent Scowcroft-types. 
These are THE people whom I most loathed of any I dealt with in the 15 years I lived and worked in Washington. And there are still lots of them who haven't learned a single lesson in twenty years.)


It's the same reason that the GOP establishment was so deathly afraid of the armies of retired accountants, military vets, college students and Libertarian-oriented school teachers interested in financial solvency in Washington who were the vanguard of the Tea Party movement -there was nothing they could offer to appease them.
They didn't want something in return, they wanted concrete results in Congress.


Romney's hyper-sensitive and completely calculated "How dare you criticize free enterprise..." response to Gingrich's probing questions, when that's NOT what's at issue, is also mentioned as part of the larger problem with Romney.


Not just that he is thin-skinned regarding constructive criticism of his own record, per se, but as many surmise, Romney's chiseled jaw is, in fact, a glass jaw.
One that Obama's minions will start jabbing and punching at long before the GOP convention if Romney wins.
Think Chuck Wepner in the 1975 Ali fight.


In short, Romney is being criticized on the specifics of what HE did in specific situations when he was in charge. 
Period. 


His ability -or inability- to make principled decisions and stick by them is exactly what's being criticized, and his own track record, post-Salt Lake City Olympics, is why that is such a mother lode.   




Newt Gingrich 2012 campaign video: For the dogs. January 11, 2012.
http://youtu.be/x-4bm5NxqPY


Cold Reality of the Sunshine State: Mitt Romney has won two small states whose total # of votes cast were less than the # of absentee ballots already requested by voters in Florida... for an election three weeks from last night.


I had actually heard speculation about the way these numbers would probably sort themselves out last week -ironically, while I was on my way to the Supervisor of Elections office in Broward County HQ's in Ft. Lauderdale- but nothing has changed to make them inaccurate.


If anything, the contrast in numbers will only get exponentially larger, something that national reporters, columnists and anchors will find themselves unable to resist mentioning -over and over again- when Romney supporters crow about what sort of "mandate" they have.
Just saying...


Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Political Pulse blog 
RPOF: Florida absentee ballot requests now more than Iowa, NH vote totals 
2012 Florida presidential primary, 2012 presidential election — posted by scottpowers on January, 10 2012 11:17 AM

Absentee ballot requests in Florida now are double the total sought for the 2008 presidential primary and are more than all the votes cast in

Iowa and expected today in New Hampshire.
That’s the word from the Republican Party of Florida, which argues there is no voter enthusiasm gap this year.

Read the rest of the post at: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2012/01/rpof-florida-absentee-ballot-requests-now-more-than-iowa-nh-vote-totals.html


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http://www.newt.org/


http://www.youtube.com/user/ngingrich

Kathleen Haughney on (semi-remorseful) Gov. Rick Scott and his tweaking of his much-criticized policy on public records requests

Kathleen Haughney on (semi-remorseful) Gov. Rick Scott and his tweaking of his much-criticized policy on public records requests, a topic near and dear to my heart and many of my friends, and what the First Amendment Foundation thinks.

Compare and contrast the amount of time the State of Florida employees will spend on getting your information before charging you -or the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement- and what the City of Hallandale Beach does.

And the rate you pay.

Guess who charges the most money for the least amount of effort spent fulfilling your request?

Just saying...

Orlando Sentinel

Central Florida Political Pulse blog

Scott tweaks public record policy

posted by Kathleen Haughney on July, 21 2011 1:40 PM

TALLAHASSEE – Amid criticism from the media and open government advocates, Gov. Rick Scott has tweaked the open records policy that he put into place shortly after taking office, making it slightly cheaper to obtain public records.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/07/scott-tweaks-public-record-policy.html

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See the Penn State grad's two personal sites: ByKathleenHaughney: Mixing political reporting and new media daily

http://bykathleenhaughney.com/

and

More Than Easy Mac, http://morethaneasymac.wordpress.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/khaughney

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Palm Beach Post

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/charging-maximum-for-public-records-right-thing-to-1576261.html

Charging maximum for public records ‘right thing to do,’ Gov. Scott says

By Dara Kam

Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau

Updated: 11:07 p.m. Friday, July 1, 2011

Posted: 11:00 p.m. Friday, July 1, 2011

Gov. Rick Scott defended his administration’s public records policy to a roomful of media executives Friday at the annual meeting of the Florida Press Association and Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.

Journalists have criticized Scott for charging more for public records than his predecessor, Charlie Crist, who provided most documents for free. Scott is charging the maximum amount allowed under Florida’s broad Sunshine Law, including costs for his legal staff to scrub the documents of private information.

The number of requests “has skyrocketed” since Scott took office in January, he said.

“Part of my job is to make sure we don’t waste taxpayers’ money,” Scott said. “It costs us money to do it. We pass that cost on. It’s the right thing to do.”

Scott said he plans to put more records on the Internet but did not elaborate. His office already has posted records his staff has generated — including databases of state employees’ salaries and state workers with pensions worth at least $100,000.

As Scott spoke, dozens of demonstrators protesting his economic agenda shouted “Pink Slip Rick” across the street from the waterfront Renaissance Vinoy hotel.

After his remarks, the governor fielded a few questions.

On signing his first death warrant Thursday night, Scott said, “I prayed about it.”

Scott ordered Manuel Valle, convicted of the 1978 murder of Coral Gables police officer Luis Pena, put to death on Aug. 2.

“This was the most appropriate case,” Scott said. “He killed a law enforcement officer. He attempted to kill another law enforcement officer. ... It’s a hard decision, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Scott also said he supports allowing private vendors to operate RV campgrounds within some state parks.

The St. Petersburg Times reported this week that state officials want to add new overnight camping sites to 58 state parks — including space for recreational vehicles. Officials say the existing park campgrounds are typically booked solid.

Opposition to the private camps is rising from environmentalists and operators of private campgrounds neighboring the parks.

“The reason we have parks is so people will use them,” Scott said.

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Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/01/2295823/scott-steps-into-lions-den-to.html

Scott steps ’into lion’s den’ to address newspaper editors

By Michael C. Bender, Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

July 1, 2011

Standing in front of many of Florida’s newspaper editors for the first time Friday, Gov. Rick Scott said charging for public records was more important than the chilling effect the policy could have on scrutiny of state government.

“Part of my job is to make sure I don’t waste taxpayer money,” Scott said at the Florida Press Association/Florida Society of News Editors annual meeting.

The appearance was a departure for the governor. Since inserting himself into the state’s political discussion 15 months ago, Scott has declined interview requests from nearly all newspaper editorial boards, a traditional stopping point for all candidates.

But Scott said Friday he’s rethinking his boycott.

“I’d like to sit down with editorial boards,” Scott said in an exclusive interview with Bay News 9, a Tampa Bay TV station.

The change comes as Scott has increased his media exposure since May, when a Quinnipiac University poll showed fewer than one in three Florida voters approved of his job performance. It was among the worst ratings of any governor in the country.

Scott remains controversial: He was greeted by about 100 protesters outside the Vinoy Renaissance Resort.

But while he says the low ratings don’t bother him, Scott has made a conscious effort to reverse his poll numbers. He has used the Republican Party of Florida to phone voters with pre-recorded messages trumpeting his accomplishments and recently asked supporters to send pre-written letters of praise to newspaper opinion pages.

Despite a flurry of news Scott made Thursday and Friday — he gave his blessing to the controversial SunRail project, signed his first death warrant and signed an overhaul of the state’s Medicaid program — half of the six questions Scott fielded from the newspaper group were about new fees for public records and the perception that he is not as transparent as he promised from the campaign trail.

“It costs us money to do it,” Scott said of the charges. “We pass that cost on. It’s the right thing to do.”

Scott said his communications staff was working to put more records online. Asked if he would post records that have already been requested, Scott said that was “a good idea.”

“That’s what we’ll be doing,” he said.

Scott says the number of record requests has “skyrocketed” since he took office and open government advocates agree that no other governor has received as many public record requests as Scott.

Scott has received 743 requests for records in six months, or about four per day. About 90 percent of those requests have been fulfilled, Scott’s office reported.

But there has been wide disagreement over why new fees were created.

While Scott says it’s to cover the costs of duplication and redaction, public records experts say its an attempt to create additional hurdles for the public and the press.

Brian Crowley, a Palm Beach County-based political blogger and a Florida First Amendment Foundation board member, recently noted that Scott charged more ($784.84) for one week of emails to and from his communications director, Brian Burgess, than Alaska charged ($725.27) to produce two years of former Gov. Sarah Palin’s e-mails.

St. Petersburg Times political editor Adam C. Smith contributed to this report.

Florida's 2012 redistricting meetings in South Florida are only two months away, so where are the competing maps? Or the pre-event info meetings?

Do you know any more specifics about the upcoming legislative redistricting meetings in South Florida?

http://www.fairdistrictsnow.org/home/

http://www.floridaredistricting.org/

For instance, whether there will be any sort of PUBLIC informational meetings held in advance of the official meetings run by the Florida Senate -by public interest groups/elected officials/political party/activist groups- to 'educate' voters beforehand?

In other parts of the country, that'd be a no-brainer, but here, during the sweltering summer, well, not so much.

(Of course, in other states I could name, the legislative redistricting process takes place BEFORE summer ever starts in order to make sure that there are no schedule conflicts with work, family vacations and summer camp for children.

This seems like a novel concept to the folks running this show up in Tallahassee, who have set a deadline of June 18, 2012. Garbage in, garbage out!)

In any case, in my opinion, whether it's in Broward or Miami-Dade or even one in each county if one could hope for common sense, there'd be a well-organized meeting at a large facility where competing/prospective maps can be publicly shown so that South Florida residents know what's what and can see what the range of possibilities truly are.

Speaking of maps, seriously, on what map, exactly, is Davie centrally-located for Broward residents to attend their one-and only meeting?

Tuesday, August 16, 2011 10:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

Tuesday, August 16, 2011 6:00- 9:00 p.m., Broward College, Davie campus

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 10:00 a.m-2:00 p.m., Miami Dade College, downtown Miami

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 6:00-9:00 p.m., FIU College of Law building, South Miami

Complete schedule is at http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Redistricting/Hearings

(What's the back-up plan if there's a hurricane warning then?)

If you know of a pre-event informational meeting tied to these redistricting hearings, please let me know and I'll post it on the blog.

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Orlando Sentinel

Central Florida Political Pulse blog

FairDistricts leaders ask for changes in redistricting meetings

posted by khaughney on June, 14 2011 12:11 PM

Fair Districts, a grassroots group that successfully pushed for new constitutional provisions last year that dictate redistricting, is asking the Legislature to revamp the procedures it has set out for 26 redistricting hearings that are set to be held around the state this summer.

Read the rest of the story at

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/06/fairdistricts-leaders-ask-for-changes-in-redistricting-meetings.html

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Orlando Sentinel

Central Florida Political Pulse blog

FairDistricts folks to offer their thoughts on redistricting

posted by bshaw on June, 13 2011 1:55 PM

A week from today — on Monday, June 20 — the Florida Legislature’s redistricting committee will be gin a series of public hearings that will take members all over the state by the time they end Sept. 1 in Clewiston.

Read the rest of the story at

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/06/fairdistricts-folks-to-offer-their-thoughts-on-redistricting.html#more-25335

The Florida Independent

Transparency questions dog upcoming public redistricting hearings

By Cooper Levey-Baker

06.14.11 | 6:00 am

An “unprecedented” part of “the most open, transparent, interactive” redistricting process ever, or a “sham” designed by Florida lawmakers to placate the public while they work to draw new district lines to benefit themselves? That’s the question dogging the set of 26 public redistricting hearings scheduled by the state Legislature to kick off next week.

Read the rest of the story at

http://floridaindependent.com/33768/redistricting-transparency-public-hearings

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Broward Politics blog

New districts affect South Florida clout, voters' ability to influence elections

By Anthony Man

June 12, 2011 09:40 AM

The numbers are proof positive. Broward and Palm Beach counties are about to lose some of their political muscle.

And that’s not all. Residents throughout the region could find themselves represented by far-away politicians they’ve never voted for and may never even have heard of.

Read the rest of the story at

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2011/06/new_districts_affect_south_flo.html

Los Angeles Times

Map: How has your district been redrawn?

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-redistricting-map,0,6145644.htmlstory

Detroit FreePress

Politically speaking: How will the GOP draw new districts?

http://www.freep.com/article/20110612/OPINION05/106120446/Politically-speaking-How-will-GOP-draw-new-districts-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

BP oil spill remediation funds: Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, little towns gotta spend money like crazy like... well, little towns. And South FL?

Entering Miami-Dade County sign on south-bound U.S.-1/Biscayne Blvd., Aventura, coming out of Hallandale Beach. Aventura Hospital on the right. November 16, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier.


Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, little towns gotta spend money like crazy like... well, little towns...
Like many of you out there reading this post today, I'm really looking forward to finding out where the BP remediation funds sent to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties -that saw no oil- actually wind-up being spent.


Given the long and well-chronicled tradition in South Florida of our elected officials and municipal/county leaders' outside-the-box thinking when it comes to ways of treating themselves (and their pals) like kings and queens, with money that's supposed to be spent in very specific ways -for instance, money for environmental code enforcement getting squandered by cocky and patronizing Miami-Dade cops on TVs, see below- I wait with baited breath to see which local print or TV reporters are first to expose how the money was spent down here in ways that only raise more questions about the character and caliber of the people making those decisions.

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St. Petersburg Times
BP buys Gulf Coast millions in gear
By Michael Kunzelman, Mike Schneider and Melinda Deslatte
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Tasers. Brand-new SUVs. A top-of-the-line iPad. A fully loaded laptop. In the year since the Gulf oil spill, officials along the coast have gone on a spending spree with BP money, dropping tens of millions of dollars on gadgets and other gear - much of which had little to do with the cleanup, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The oil giant opened its checkbook while the crisis was still unfolding last spring and poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Gulf Coast communities with few strings attached.

Read the rest of the article at:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GULF_OIL_SPILL_SPENDING_SPREE?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Politcal Pulse blog
BP gives NW Fla $30 M
Posted by khaughney on April, 11 2011 11:54 AM
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/04/bp-gives-nw-fla-30-m.html

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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/13/2015129/miami-dade-police-wont-repay-misspent.html

Miami-Dade police won't repay misspent environmental funds

By Matthew Haggman

January 13, 2011

The Miami-Dade Police Department is acknowledging it misspent funds meant to fight environmental crime on flat-screen TVs, SUVs and firearms.

"Clearly inappropriate,'' Police Director James Loftus says.

But putting the money back into the green funds, as the county's inspector general has requested? Not so fast.

"No, we are not,'' county police spokeswoman Nancy Perez said.

Miami-Dade Inspector General Christopher Mazzella said in a recent memo to Mayor Carlos Alvarez that the police have adopted many of his recommended fixes, following a scathing IG audit that found the police used two environmental trust funds as a kitty for pricey purchases with little connection to environmental crime-fighting.

But the police department is flatly rebuffing two IG recommendations: that it stop using green-fund money to pay expenses such as monthly cellphone and aircard bills, and that it repay the misused public dollars.

"We continue to stand by our original recommendations that the Trust Funds be reimbursed,'' Mazzella said in a Dec. 21 memo to Alvarez.

The police department isn't obligated to follow the IG's recommendations, unless the mayor or the county commission act. And there's little push coming from the county executive's office.

Mayoral spokeswoman Victoria Mallette would only say in a statement that "administrative procedures have been strengthened.'' When pressed whether the mayor thinks county police should pay up, she referred questions to Loftus and hung up.

The standoff is the latest chapter in a scandal that erupted last year over county stewardship of funds that were meant to combat polluters. Instead, amid "overall chaotic administration,'' the funds were steered to "excessive, unreasonable, or unnecessary'' purchases, the IG audit found.

The IG's inquiry, following a Miami Herald series last year that detailed dubious spending, focused on nearly $6 million spent from 2000 to 2009 from two funds: the South Florida Environmental Task Force Trust Fund and Florida Environmental Task Force Trust Fund.

More than $1.1 million was spent on vehicle-related expenses, including the purchase of 23 SUVs and trucks that went to top brass rather than environmental investigators working in remote areas. Another $1.1 million went for cellphones used, in many cases, by officials in non-environmental departments.

Three Sharp 52-inch flat screen TVs were snapped up for about $6,000. Nearly $35,000 was spent on 30 Smith & Wesson M&P-15 rifles and holographic sights. Police justified the firearms on the grounds that an environmental investigator might encounter "a wildlife poacher armed with a high-powered rifle.''

Three Segways were bought for $25,000. One was used periodically to patrol MDPD's suburban headquarters, and two were found "sitting unused in a warehouse,'' auditors found.

The episode served as an embarrassment for embattled Mayor Alvarez, who is facing a recall vote on March 15.

Division Chief Frank Vecin, a close ally and supporter of Mayor Alvarez, was in charge of fund spending. At one point, Alvarez was ferried around in a Chevy Tahoe purchased with green-fund money. The county mayor later returned the automobile, saying he didn't know it was bought with funds meant to fight polluters.

The revelations of fund mismanagement prompted the retirement of Vecin.

"The IG believes the funds were managed improperly,'' said C. Michael Cornely, Vecin's attorney. "It was their opinion. To me, the IG justifies its existence by looking for things and making issues out of things that are not really an issue.''

The two environmental funds, created in 2000 by the county commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, were established to help fight polluters in South Florida, which the county has called a "drum dump capital.'' Funding sources included fines and court judgments.

Police director Loftus -- named to the top job in February, after spending questions were already being raised -- now says new money will not be accepted into the two funds. The remaining balance in the accounts is $1.5 million.

In defending his position that the police department need not repay the misspent dollars, Loftus contends that over the life of the trust funds, the department paid some $27 million out of its general fund for the salaries and benefits of officers and directors working environmental investigations -- that, in sum, the contribution of personnel costs far offset the questioned expenses.

Mazzella responded that the trust fund money was "to augment, not replace'' general funds.

If they police were to repay for misspending, the precise amount isn't clear, though the August audit provides a road map.

"We left it to the police to determine what was justified, and repay what was not,'' said Mazzella.

Miami Herald staff writer Martha Brannigan contributed to this report.

In case you live outside of South Florida and are reading this and wondering if the sort of inappropriate behavior by law enforcement officials -described above in such great detail by Matthew Haggman- is common, and whether the cumulative effect of such moral and intellectual laxness was a factor in the successful recall from office of former M-D mayor Carlos Alvarez last month, the answer to both questions is YES.

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Not that you asked but the BP station in Aventura on Biscayne Blvd. & N.E. 211th Street, across from Aventura Hospital and near the Venezuelan Target, is my favorite service station in the area to use, as I've probably only used a different operator maybe five times in the past year. They are always clean, efficient and extremely well-lit at night, which is more than I can say for many other service stations in SE Broward/NE Miami-Dade.

Plus, they usually have copies of the NY Times available when other places are already out.

Spot-on! Scott Powers on 10 FL statewide candidates given $5.8 million in taxpayer funds "who arguably didn’t need the money but took it anyway"

Sometimes, all your faithful blogger needs to do to bring something important or worthwhile to your attention is to get out of the way ASAP so you can read it yourself, since there's hardly anything I can add to the original story that could make it any clearer.
As is so often true in those cases, it involves Florida or South Florida politics and government, and what a complete fiasco something was, is or is becoming.

This is such a time as Scott Powers of the Orlando Sentinel shows how Florida's public campaign-finance laws, intended to create a more level playing-field, doesn't, if ever, work as planned.
So why keep it?

Do you keep a compass that refuses to actually point in the right direction?
I don't.

I was always against public-financing of statewide political candidates in principle, even before I read this eye-opening piece on Tuesday night.
After reading it and thinking about the financial implications of continuing the system into the future, I'm even more convinced that it's a well-intentioned bad idea.

Especially now that we all have some idea how much taxpayer money went down the drain.

Or, should I say, provided employment for political consultants and advertising revenue for TV station owners.
I see why THEY would like it and want to keep the system intact, I'm not nearly as sure why we as taxpayers should continue something so manifestly broken and unworkable.

Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Political Pulse blog

Campaign finance leftovers: taxpayers contributed $5.8 million
Posted by scottpowers on January, 18 2011 9:22 AM

How much did taxpayers contribute to all those nasty campaign ads heading into last fall’s election?

Try $5.8 million, and counting. The latest available reports from the Division of Elections show Florida taxpayers spent more than $5.8 million to bolster the campaigns of 10 candidates for statewide office last year, giving public dollars to individuals who arguably didn’t need the money but took it anyway.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/01/campaign-finance-leftovers-taxpayers-contributed-5-8-million.html

The parent Orlando Sentinel article was:
Candidates collected $5.8 million in public money
By Scott Powers, Orlando Sentinel
10:54 p.m. EST, January 17, 2011
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-state-public-finance-20110116,0,6550241.story

Reader comments at:
http://discussions.orlandosentinel.com/20/orlnews/os-state-public-finance-20110116/10

Positive news re Central Florida commuter rail getting props from biz community -FINALLY opposing Sen. Dockery publicly; SFTRA in Miami

Excerpt of email I sent out on Friday to some public policy people in the region on Friday.
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Friday November 7th, 2008
4:45 p.m.

The optimist in me hopes that this blog post on the Central Florida Political Pulse is a sign that folks heretofore sitting on the fence on this issue in Polk County, are finally coming to their senses and realizing that they can't let the power and reach of one particularly powerful and popular politician like State Sen. Paula Dockery put them and their area at an economic and competitive disadvantage to others - perhaps forever- simply because of her personal parochial beliefs, since the chance to do the right thing and be part of a larger interconnected transit system may just come once. (Disclaimer: My mother lives in Polk County, specifically, Babson Park.)
http://www.flsenate.gov/Legislators/index.cfm?Members=View+Page&LastName=Dockery&District_Num_Link=015&Title=-%3ESenat

Finally some signs of push back among the business community of the sort we'll need to see much more of in the future so this state doesn't continue to be a laughingstock in so many areas of public policy and common sense, like simply getting the largest number of people from Point A to Point B as quickly and efficiently as possible.

For backgrounder info or to remember who's on what side of this argument, since it's easy to get confused, go to http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/commuter_rail/index.html

As of today I plan on being at next Friday morning's SFRTA Transportation Workshop for Miami-Dade County, below, and the one in Broward on the 19th as well.
I hope to see many of you there, too, offering your positive ideas.

By the way, thanks to Governing.com's 13th Floor blog, http://governing.typepad.com/13thfloor/
recently running a post about the American Planning Associan's (APA) Top Streets in America,
http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/characteristics.htm#1 I recently learned that one of the best streets in an old neighborhood of mine during my 15 years in DC, Clarendon, in Arlington, VA, made the 2008 list. http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2008/clarendonwilson.htm
Clarendon-Wilson Corridor, Arlington, Virginia. Transit Provided Catalyst for Corridor Smart Growth



Not mentioned at the link above is that it's also home to the Little Saigon restaurant area, home of both the THE BEST and THE CHEAPEST Vietnamese restaurants in all DC, which, fortunately, in many cases were one and the same, including my beloved Queen Bee.



There is no place in South Florida even close to offering that kind of consistent quality of Vietnamese food, size of servings and price.
I'd have mentioned it by now if there was.


People from all over DC routinely hop on the Washington Metro to get around on weekends, and one of those places is that little dynamic area of Northern Virginia less than three miles from Georgetown.

Me, I often ate there the day after Thanksgiving, after the afternoon college football games, often with friends who also didn't leave for the holiday to visit their families.


That sort of dynamic template and magnet for people is the one that I always have in my head when I travel around South Florida, and see how things are done here -or aren't.

I suppose that also makes me more critical -hypercritical?- than many about many of the poorly thought-out plans I often see and read about in South Florida.


Frankly, damn few of them ever seem as either meticulously planned or as grounded in human behavior/psychology and common sense as those of Bernard Zyscovich and his team, but it doesn't mean that I don't wish that the positive neighborhood synergy self-evident at places like Clarendon & Wilson couldn't also be done here, with some local flavor.

From my experience down here the past five years, Downtown Hollywood is a perfect example of an area that would similarly boom once there's a commuter train station on Hollywood Blvd., though there are a few other areas down here that I also think would experience a similar positive jolt that could have ripple effects.

That's one of the reasons I'm such a strong proponent of the SFECC.


I know exactly what it will do for quality-of-life because I've already experienced it.

By the way, one of my former housemates when I lived in that area of Arlington in the mid-90's, which included a horrible week-long blizzard we suffered through, is Derek Schmidt, the current Senate Majority Leader in Kansas, and someone whom I'm sure who'll make it even bigger nationally in the coming years.

You heard it here first!
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There were no comments posted to the below as of 3 pm.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/11/polk-economic-d.html
Polk economic development group endorses commuter railposted by Orlando Sentinel on Nov 7, 2008 12:13:11 PM

A group that promotes economic development in Polk County has endorsed the Central Florida Commuter Rail Project, putting them at odds with the project's Lakeland-based critics led by Republican Sen. Paula Dockery.
The board of the Central Florida Development Council, Inc. (CFDC) unanimously endorsed the project, which would buy up 61.5 miles of CSX tracks through Central Florida to run light-rail trains from DeLand through Seminole and Orange Counties to Poinciana. The group expressed hope that ultimately the project would extend to Polk County.
"We believe the commuter rail project will stimulate growth and job opportunities in Central Florida and will greatly improve the quality of life for our citizens and visitors," said David Touchton, CFDC president. "It is more critical than ever to provide an alternative to automobile travel as gas prices escalate and new federal air quality standards for ozone put Central Florida at risk of becoming a non-attainment area which could result in sanctions and could slow much needed development."
The council is a private, non-profit 501 C-6 corporation and has a countywide board of directors interested in promoting the community and economic development of Polk County.Dockery and other Lakeland residents have protested that the commuter-rail project would also re-route CSX freight trains, sending more of them through downtown Lakeland.
She led the opposition in last year's Legislature, where the project died without coming to a vote in the Senate.


http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/


http://www.flsenate.gov/Legislators/index.cfm?Members=View+Page&LastName=Dockery&District_Num_Link=015&Title=-%3ESenat

Obama's Black & White Cookies in Broward Lack Sufficient Salsa

Was going thru the latest campaign dispatches from our friends at the Central Florida Political Pulse blog of the Orlando Sentinel, and came across the following story on Obama's recent visit to the Deli Den on Sterling Road in next door Hollywood, Breaking news: Obama's off the bus again, posted by Jim Stratton on Oct 21, 2008 4:22:59 PM http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/10/breaking-news-o.html which compelled me to write a response on their website concerning both Black & White Cookies, ethnic voting trends and bad journalism as malpracticed in South Florida in the year 2008, topics which have been on my mind since at least the August primary.
Below is a slightly longer version of that post.
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Haven't been up to the Deli Den on Stirling Road in two years, but for my money, nobody- but-nobody ever made Black & White cookies as full of sugar-filled delight like the Wolfie's Deli Bakery connected to the Rascal House at NE 163rd Street & NE 14th Avenue in North Miami Beach, across the street from the old 163rd Street Shopping Center. http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/1998-08-13/restaurants/worth-the-wait/

I used to buy those cookies at least twice a week for myself and my friends while walking to my 7 A.M. class at NMB, when I knew we needed an extra bit of energy, especially after late-running Monday Night Football games, back before the VCR changed sleeping patterns of high school students. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Miami_Beach_Senior_High_School

Their kitchen's early morning cooking was like an olafactory alarm bell set for 6 A.M, that enveloped the whole neighborhood with the sweet smell of delicious goodies that were now fresh and available. Not unlike the way the Kentucky Fried Chicken on NE 15th Avenue did in the afternoon on the way home, making it impossible to walk home without thinking of chicken.

Though I lived four blocks south of there on NE 159th Street, on windy days that smell would come wafting down the street and hit me like a hammer the moment I stepped out of the house, as I made my way to JFK Junior High or North Miami Beach Senior High School, and I know it had the same effect on other neighborhood kids.


Though I and the other kids who lined-up inside Wolfie's to place our order would always say we'd wait 'till we got to school to start munching them, I'd usually give in to tempation and start munching while I was walking thru the empty 163rd Street Shopping Center on my way to school, somewhere just past the front of the Burdine's I worked at, along the side of the two-story J.C. Penney's and then down the steps of the back of Penney's and thru the massive parking lot/bus Dade bus depot on the NW corner of the shopping center, across the street from the two schools I was at from 1973-'79.

I think I could still walk that route with my eyes closed if it were there, so many thousands of times times did I walk that route to school, sporting events, plays and concerts.



Even as the national MSM, Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami-based local TV continue their chronic mis-adventures in political mis-representation and LCD reporting, they NEVER ask pointed questions of well-known Broward political leaders like Dem honcho and lobbyist Mitch Caesar, on why Broward Jewish Dems in their condo strongholds CONSISTENTLY refuse to vote and support well-qualified Hispanic-surnamed candidates, as if it's not completely predictable that this'll result in bad social and political consequences for everyone here in Broward in the future.

I've heard Caesar say that Hispanics were supposed to a "growth target" for Broward Dems, but you sure don't make yourself more attractive when you just wink at this troubling voting trend, as if nobody else around notices it.
We do.


Maybe it's yet another manifestation of how truly sorry the South Florida media is down here in the year 2008, that the reporters, editors and news directors are much more afraid of losing access to him and his pithy comments, than they are to subjecting him to the sort of tough questioning they'd give anyone else, especially a businessman.


Meanwhile, the Central Florida Political Pulse continues "keeping it real" by taking names and calling 'em as they see 'em.



Frankly, I get more honest insight from their daily CFPP blog posts on the myriad ups and downs all over the state, than anything the Herald, Sun-Sentinel or local TV mis-reports, since they continue to treat Central Florida and the rest of the state with the worst kind of know-it-all attitude, witness their positively dreadful reporting on the Second Amendment, guns & Walt Disney World story, or their lack of reporting on the many political problems associated with creating a smart, useful and well-managed Central Florida commuter train, along with the CSX Corp. and Trial Lawyers angle tossed in for good measure.


(To refresh yourself on that issue, see my July 3rd post, Where's the Disney story in the Miami Herald?
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/wheres-disney-story-in-miami-herald.html and the Orlando Sentinel story that got to the heart of the matter, Walt Disney World fires back on guns at work by Scott Powers and Jason Garcia
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disneyguns0308jul03,0,197883.story

The Herald's first story was an AP dispatch on July 3rd, followed by a superficial six-sentence AP follow-up on July 9th about WDW firing an employee. It wasn't until July 11th, eight days after the story broke, that an actual Herald reporter -Marc Caputo- wrote anything about the story. Disney's gun stance draws fire - Walt Disney World said its employees are exempt from a law that lets workers keep guns in their cars.
So that's how the state's largest newspaper covers the largest private employer in the state!)


For all of South Florida's often valid complaints about the parochial, shallow and and simplistic way the national media misreports the positive and negative realities of social and political life in South Florida to the rest of the nation and the world, their two largest newspapers do their own dwindling number of readers no favors by treating the rest of the state as a neverending source of "oddities" to be mocked, forever painting it with the same broad, stereotype-heavy brush full of condescendsion that their own columnists decry when the focus is on us.



Thank goodness for the Central Florida Political Pulse!http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/

Lessons for SoFla? Central Florida's Little Commuter Rail that Could

Tuesday October 14th, 2008 4:00 PM

Just got back from running some errands, checked my email and saw this interesting item in my daily Central Florida Political Pulse email about a subject I was following fairly closely months ago -the proposed commuter rail in Central Florida.


I wrote in this space about some of the issues at play back in the spring, and mentioned some very insightful stories that were being written around the state about the subject, of which Aaron Deslatte's May 20th Special Report in the parent Orlando Sentinel, Cash & Threats: How trial lawyers wielded new power to help block commuter rail, was the most powerful in showing the forces at work to build it or kill it.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/orl-csx2008may20,0,3131646.story


In broad strokes, in my opinion, it's a case of well-meaning transit types and common sense business groups in favor of regionalism vs. smart, articulate and powerfully-placed NIMBYs who are used to getting their way, playing all the angles, hoping to get something of value for their possible acquiescence.
Plus, the human drama that is trial lawyers and lobbyists rattling every one's cages in order to drum up bu$ine$$.

Another point of dispute which makes this so divisive is the very parochial and, in my opinion, ultimately self-defeating effort by Orange County to "Big Foot" everyone else in the area by capping their contribution to the commuter rail effort, but not allowing suburban areas to do the same thing, leaving those particular communities to wonder if they'll get swamped financially in the future, even while most of the system infrastructure is located inside Orange County.


Probably the only way to deal with the suburban concerns is to do everything in stages, so that the core of Orlando doesn't have a viable system years before their neighbors have anything, even though that's usually not a course of action I'd be in favor of.


The parent Orlando Sentinel's archives on this subject are very helpful,
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/commuter_rail/index.html and http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/economy-business-finance/csx-corporation-ORCRP004186.topic?pacode=orlnews and are full of facts, graphs and charts that paint a picture of a scene we know all too well down here: What's in it for me?

I should also mention that some -NOT ALL!- of the older reader comments in their archives contain a great deal of savvy insight from people who clearly know what they're talking about.

In that sense, it's much smarter than the reader comments we usually read down here, full of off-topic tangents, personal knocks against other reader comments, and the predictable, "Well, back in New York, we...."



The woman in the center of things, State Sen. Paula Dockery, is someone with real tangible power, yet the Herald and Sun-Sentinel's reporters in Tallahassee rarely mention her in the paper down here, but she has a real Zelig-like knack for always being where the action is.

Back in 1997, Dockery was one of the six State Reps on the losing end of a 7-6 vote in the House Finance & Tax Committee to give Wayne Huizenga $2 million a year in tax rebates for the next 30 years, $60 million in all, to improve the stadium I'll always think of as JRS, making him the first person in the state to get a second bite at that same tasty tax rebate apple, which he first devoured four years earlier, wearing his Marlins colors.
Yep, $120 million given to a billionaire that could've been used for something better for the region or society as a whole


(That's another dubious Ron Book lobbying success story that I didn't hear about at the time it happened while living up in Washington. That's Mr. Ronald L. Book PA to you!
His client list takes up a full two pages of the current list of Legislative lobbyists in Tallahassee. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/data/lobbyist/Reports/Lobbyist_LEG_2008.pdf )


A couple of recent editorials and endorsements in the Orlando Sentinel makes clear that their Editorial Board is making support for commuter rail in Central Florida a predicate for the paper's support in the future, much more forcefully than local South Florida newspapers are.
The Sentinel's editorial on the commuter rail issue from three weeks ago, below, is, in a word, delicious!


Today, they followed-up by making this argument in one of their endorsements for the FL State Legislature: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-ed30208sep30,0,1517562.story


House District 32
Democrat Tony Sasso won a special election in this district earlier this year. Now he's running for a full, two-year term.

Mr. Sasso, a former Cocoa Beach commissioner, works for a union as a ship inspector. He lists better growth management among his priorities. But on one of the best ways to discourage sprawl in Central Florida -- commuter rail -- he is reluctant to make a commitment.

He expresses some of the same misgivings about lawsuits and union participation that opponents in the Legislature cited when they killed the deal.

His Republican opponent, Steve Crisafulli of Merritt Island, is a farmer and businessman with deep roots in his community. He understands the urgency of utilizing Brevard County's skilled workforce after the shuttle retires, and of developing the economic potential of the medical city now sprouting in east Orange County.

Mr. Crisafulli's also a staunch advocate for commuter rail, touting its environmental benefits. He gets the nod over Mr. Sasso in District 32.
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www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-ed24108sep24,0,2828287.story
Orlando Sentinel
EDITORIAL
We think: Saboteurs shouldn't determine commuter rail's future
September 24, 2008

When selfish interests try to block what a community wants and is poised to get -- like commuter rail -- they resort to deception and intimidation.


That's what Lakeland state Sen. Paula Dockery did in April, falsely telling those who'd listen that they could intercept more than $300 million earmarked for commuter rail; falsely telling them the trains would run so slowly few would want to ride them; and joining with trial lawyers who threatened to unseat lawmakers supporting commuter rail.


Those tactics are unlikely to work a second time for the senator, when better-informed legislators next consider the issue.


Winter Park Commissioner Beth Dillaha looked this month like a disciple of Ms. Dockery as she tried to derail the project in her city, which is slated to host one of 17 stations along the 61-mile rail line. Fortunately, Winter Park wasn't duped.


Ms. Dillaha opposed commuter rail before joining the commission in January. This time, she argued the necessity of Winter Park renegotiating its agreement with Orange County to host a station.


She said costs were out of control, even though the city doesn't have to pay a dime to operate the trains until 2017. And even though the city may never have to -- should officials find a new revenue stream to pay for rail.


The bulk of Winter Park's commuter-rail station also is getting funded by Washington.


No matter to Ms. Dillaha. She claimed residents also didn't know what they were getting into even though they and the commission had voted to help fund commuter rail and site the station.


Unfortunately for Ms. Dillaha, the law also got in her way. Winter Park's attorney said the city probably can't renegotiate its agreement with Orange County.


Fortunately for Central Floridians, officials representing their interests -- the community's real leaders -- are working to get commuter rail rolling. Station designs should be finished by May.

Housing, retail and commercial space are being negotiated around stations in DeLand and DeBary, near Florida Hospital and Orlando Regional Medical Center, and by Osceola Parkway.


And bus routes connecting the stations to the airport, International Drive and other locations are being planned.


Fortunately for Central Floridians, most officials appreciate how environmentally friendly commuter trains can boost the economy and relieve its traffic headaches -- and they're willing or already working to make them happen. That should help keep any selfish interests from sabotaging them, no matter how many times they might try.


Reader comments on this editorial are at: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/orlando-sentinel/TALLS004U6TDDE60C
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Central Florida Political Pulse
The Little Commuter Rail that Could?
Aaron Deslatte on Oct 14, 2008 6:46:03 AM

The train that would carry commuters to and from work in Central Florida has a CEO who makes $176.96 an hour and an almost $300,000 marketing plan.
But it still lacks final approval -- and that can only come from the state Legislature, which said no earlier this year.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer hopes to rectify that potentially fatal shortcoming by leading lobbying efforts of lawmakers as they prepare for next year's session.


To read the rest of the post, see http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/10/the-little-comm.html
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/orl-commuter1408oct14,0,1521323.story
Orlando Sentinel
On Dyer's to-do list: Win over rail resisters
Dan Tracy
Sentinel Staff Writer
October 14, 2008

The train that would carry commuters to and from work in Central Florida has a CEO who makes $176.96 an hour and an almost $300,000 marketing plan.


But it still lacks final approval -- and that can only come from the state Legislature, which said no earlier this year.Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer hopes to rectify that potentially fatal shortcoming by leading lobbying efforts of lawmakers as they prepare for next year's session.


He has even launched his own brand of personal diplomacy. Twice in recent weeks Dyer has sipped cocktails at University of Florida football games with Lakeland Sen. Paula Dockery, who helped derail the train plan last year.


Dyer concedes Dockery has not dropped her opposition to the $1.2 billion project, but said, "there's cordial communication." Dockery was out of state and could not be reached, an aide said.


"This is one of those things where you can't not be successful. So you can't stop," Dyer said.


Another key opponent is Julie Townsend, executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Partnership in Polk County. Like Dockery, Townsend wants to stop commuter rail because of the extra freight trains that will be rerouted into her city.


CSX, which owns the rail lines, estimates four more trains will be headed to Lakeland to avoid conflicts with the planned commuter rail. That would jump the daily traffic from about 16 to 20 trains, including Amtrak runs.


Townsend said Lakeland could handle 20 trains a day, but she is worried even more of them -- possibly an additional 30 or more -- could be headed the city's way because companies looking to avoid high fuel costs may switch from shipping products by trucks to rail.


"We are required to accept this fate and take a hit for the team," Townsend said.


Even with those misgivings, she said Lakeland could support commuter rail if CSX would promise to limit the future number of trains in the city to 20. CSX will not make that deal, said spokesman Gary Sease, because it does not want to stifle possible growth.


But Dyer is hoping to change more minds than those of Dockery and people living in Lakeland.


He has instructed city-hired lobbyists, including the powerful Tallahassee firm Southern Strategies, to persuade the Legislature to sign off on insurance for the train that was denied when the session ended in May. Without insurance, the train cannot operate.


Though Dyer declined to specifically outline any lobbying strategies, there is little doubt he will be targeting trial lawyers.


They are against commuter rail because the state wants to limit awards to people who might be injured or killed if the planned train were involved in an accident. The state already has a similar insurance deal in place with a commuter-rail system it operates in South Florida.


Paul Jess, general counsel for the Florida Justice Association in Tallahassee, said he has had little contact with proponents of commuter rail about what might happen during next year's session.


"I've not heard of any movement . . . [but] there's always opportunities for reasonable people to get together to talk about these issues," Jess said.


Business leaders also are writing letters to commuter-rail supporter Gov. Charlie Crist to encourage him to help win votes in the Legislature, which convenes again in March.


Fortunately for Dyer and commuter rail, they have time to work on their opponents in the state House and Senate. In the meantime, the planning for the system has moved ahead.


The board overseeing commuter rail signed a contract with consulting firm PB Americas to hire Pete Turrell as chief executive officer of what would be a 61-mile system.


Turrell of Tampa, is a former Amtrak executive who also has run rail companies overseas.

PB will be paid $179.09 an hour for his services, and the company is slated for annual raises of about $5 an hour through 2016. His hours likely will start out low and grow if the train is approved.


The commuter board, made up of elected and transportation officials from Central Florida, also has hired myregion.org, an arm of the Central Florida Partnership, a business group spun off from the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce.


Myregion.org will be paid nearly $300,000 to commission public surveys and conduct focus-group studies on how to promote the train and come up with a logo and color scheme.


The train would run from DeLand in Volusia County through Orlando to Poinciana in Osceola County. The first leg, including a stop in Orlando, could be complete by 2011.


Officials already have spent more than $41 million on the undertaking. They expect to spend another $52 million this year, largely for property around stations and to design rail cars, signals and stations. Half would come from federal funds, and the other 50 percent would be split evenly between state and local sources.


"This [commuter rail] hits just about every positive thing you can think of," Dyer said.

"Every piece of it is the right thing to do for Florida."


Dan Tracy can be reached at dtracy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5444.


Reader coments are at: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/orlando-sentinel/TH27F589OSSV65DJ0