Meanwhile, back in Orlando, transit also stammers and stu-t-t-ers...

Meanwhile, back in Orlando, just as is the case in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, transit also stammers and stu-t-t-ers...

Received some very interesting info earlier yesterday afternoon in my daily email from the Central Florida Political Pulse blog, the Politics blog of the Orlando Sentinel, one of my daily must-reads, in the form of a post by the Sentinel's David Damron titled Orange Mayor Crotty Reveals Lynx Funding Plan.

But after reading it and absorbing the central points, I surprised myself and got to thinking about something else, or rather, some one else -Alex Sink.


Though it's been little commented on so far, don't think that people around the state, esp. those of us with an interest in transportation policy, aren't paying attention to CFO Alex Sink's role in the continuing transit mess in Central Florida -esp. commuter rail- even as she tries to morph her official role into that of a numbers-crunching, truth-telling combination of Agent Dana Scully and Agent Clarice Starling, saving the day right before it's too late.


Since I returned to South Florida from D.C. a few years ago, to the extent that I thought of Alex Sink at all -which I didn't- due largely to some positive words from friends back in D.C. and in Florida who were longtime Lawton Chiles supporters, I gave Sink the benefit of the doubt, even as I wondered why in the world she got so much attention.


(For instance, Florida Trend's May 2008 story, Sink Sees a Silver Lining in Florida's Slowdown
by Amy Keller http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=48843 )


But given that other than Gov. Charlie Crist, Sink has been the subject of more laudatory media coverage than anyone else in the state, where has she made a real difference in the lives of Florida citizens yet?


I've yet to hear Sink say anything either counter-intuitive or politically brave that would really cost her politically in the future, much less, take a principled stand that goes against the personal interests of her usual political/financial supporters. Where's the bold thinking?



Who knows, maybe something will happen in the not-too-distant future that'll give her the opportunity to show her true stripes and abilities, but thus far, given all the ink that's been used on her, color me unimpressed.


Can I really be the only person in South Florida who thinks this?


By the way, you may or may not be aware of the fact that in stark contrast to the popular approach that Gov. Sarah Palin took in Alaska with regard to getting rid of state aircraft, FL pols are much more averse to saying sayonara to their beloved "Wings of Man.'



Just over a year ago in a great Aug. 28th, 2007 post at the aforementioned CFPP, http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2007/08/just-plane-comm.html#more labeled, Just plane common sense, Aaron Deslatte wrote about the efforts to pare just one of the planes from the state's control.


Among the more interesting facts to emerge from that post was this one: Since June 1, state officials have racked up $258,962.50 in air fare on Florida's fleet, according to manifests for the three planes. Records show Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink flew the most in that period, with over $31,000 in air travel used through the summer.Crist came in second, with almost $24,000 in airfare around the state.

(Speaking of that, how funny would it be if somebody in a position to know, floated a rumor that the state airplanes had contained listening devices!? The sheer amount of lies and B.S. told on those planes would stupefy the electorate! And make great columns and newscasts!)

Based on what I've read and heard from across the state, and in myriad conversations/emails with folks much closer to the scene than me, including elected officials, for my money, Sink is THE most over-rated pol in the state, edging out Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, long a bête noire of mine, in case you've forgotten some past blog posts of mine where I've zeroed-in on her.

I really loathe DWS.

I've already written a pretty informative blog post about DWS that'll be coming out within the next week regarding her inclusion in the John Harwood and Jerry Seib book, Pennsylvania Avenue, which I think paints a very unflattering portrait of her personal scruples.

That's not my opinion alone, but rather one that's also shared by many folks around the country who've read the book, and commented to the authors.
In fact I even wrote someone recently and said that I wouldn't bring her up again in future emails because she's too much of a downer!


(The book was the NY Times Book Review's featured review three months ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/books/review/Widmer-t.html?partner=rssnyt )


By the way, per some of my earlier blog posts at HBB, and the August 1st post by Gabriel Lopez-Bernal at Transit Miami, http://www.transitmiami.com/2008/08/01/mary-peters-in-miami-today/
my formal request for info and docs about FDOT Sec. Kopelousos and her co-called "public" appearances in South Florida will be sent within the next few days, hopefully by next Monday.

I can hardly wait to read the predictable lame excuses, alibis and PR-spit-shined obfuscation that awaits me.

I will, of course, share it with you once it's in my hands.
______________________________
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Political Pulse
Orange Mayor Crotty Reveals Lynx Funding Plan
posted by David Damron on Sep 9, 2008


Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty released a Lynx funding plan Tuesday that would create a long-sought dedicated funding source for the bus system, but would likely do little to head off an immediate budget crunch that could gut some routes and trim service.


Crotty's plan calls for the leaders of Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties to each pledge a certain level of property taxes to fund the system, and lock it into place by establishing a regional transit system between the three governments.
The effort would require voter approval.


It would also put more of the future funding burden on Oseola and Seminole counties, who now contribute roughly $5 million.
Under Crotty's plan, that number would rise significantly to almost double that amount.


"If this is truly a regional asset, like a university or an airport," Crotty said, "then we need to think regionally and pay for it regionally."


To see the rest of the post:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/09/orange-mayor-cr.html

Gov. Crist wisely vetoes SB 1706; Go Shayla!

Just before 10 pm Wednesday night, Aaron Deslatte of the Orlando Sentinel posted to their Central Florida Political Pulse blog the good news that Gov. Charlie Crist had wisely vetoed SB 1706, an ill-conceived bill that had previously passed both houses in Tallahassee unanimously.

It was the Gwen Margolis bill -gift on a silver platter to developers- that would have resulted in an unfair burden on taxpayers while the "build out" dates for large-scale development projects were
extended to three years.

My previous comment on this topic was on June 15th, Crist urged to veto developer-friendly Margolis bill/SB 1706 that'd weaken growth mgmt. reforms
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/crist-urged-to-veto-developer-friendly.html

Deslatte's post also includes the governor's rationale for his veto.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/files/1706.pdf

______________
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Political Pulse blog
Crist vetoes development-friendly bio-tech bill
posted by Aaron Deslatte on Jun 25, 2008 9:56:18 PM

Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a bill Wednesday that critics claimed would have set the clock back on Florida's recent growth management reforms.
The bill, SB 1706, would have broadened a 2007 law that delayed the "build out" deadlines for large-scale development projects like airports, shopping centers and planned communities for three years. The aim of the bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Gwen Margolis, was to give developers who've already got state and local approval for their projects more time before they have to complete them -- and help pay for the extra traffic they put on surrounding roads.
But the governor said he was blocking the bill because...

To read the rest of the article, see:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/06/crist-vetoes-de.html#comments

After checking the URL to see if there were any more reader comments before I went to sleep, I went to their front page and saw something the likes of which the Herald wouldn't do in a million years, since it involves well-displayed color photos on their website, one of their most glaring weak spots compared to Tribune newspapers like the Sentinel, the Sun-Sentinel or the Baltimore Sun, the latter of which I still read online every day to keep up on all things Mid-Atlantic and Orioles-related.

Since there were so many awful stories overnight there:
a.) the very suspicious death of prominent Orlando-area developer Steve Walsh,
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-steve-walsh-dead-062508,0,1308559.story and
b.) the news that the 17-year old son of Orange County mayor Rich Crotty was involved in a serious car accident yesterday afternoon that's left a nine-year old girl seriously injured,
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-tyler-crotty-accident-062508,0,7980670.story

I was happy to see something of a positive nature, and that was a great photo gallery the Sentinel
assembled of U.S. gymnast Shayla Worley, late of Orlando Boone High School, who was on last year's world championship team.
She seems to have a good shot at making the Olympic team if she continues her weekend Trials performances at Camp Karolyi -my new favorite phrase. (Except her fall from the uneven bars, of course.)
See her website at: http://www.shaylaworley.com/index2.html

If Shayla and Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek both made the Olympic squad, it'd be great to have Florida so well-represented in Beijing in such a high-profile TV sport, though that'll likely come at the expense of seeing more about some other American athletes in less popular spectator sports, like archery, since Gena Davis won't be on the team.

But why do I have a feeling that Shayla might wind up in Athens as a GymDog?
http://www.georgiadogs.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&SPID=4004
Because genuine talent always seeks out the best competition, which is one of the reasons why the GymDogs have won four NCAA titles in a row, including last month's in Athens.

Wish the Dolphins had their attitude and hustle and weren't so soft.

Meanwhile, Tuesday over at The White House:
http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=44931&SPID=4004&DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=1482549

Shayla Worley photo gallery from the Orlando Sentinel, all 55 photos worth, is at:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/olympics/orl-shaylaworley-pg,0,3578503.photogallery

Crist urged to veto developer-friendly Margolis bill/SB 1706 that'd weaken growth mgmt. reforms

This interesting item was up on the Orlando Sentinel's Central Florida Political Pulse website on Saturday, yet surprisingly, considering how much traffic there usually is to the site once the Sunday morning TV chat shows start up, there were still no comments on it by 11:45 a.m. today, Sunday.

Upon reading the bill, I also better undertood the transit component as well.

In case the link below for Comm. Teresa Jacobs' letter on behalf of the Florida
Association of Counties within the post doesn't work, try
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/files/veto_letter_to_gov_crist_re_1706.pdf

Bill history and votes of SB 1706: Relating to Developments of Regional
Impact [RPCC] at:
http://www.flsenate.gov/session/index.cfm?Mode=Bills&SubMenu=1&BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&BillNum=1706

The bill passed House 115-0 on April 30th, passed Senate 37-0 on April 25th.
__________________________________________________________________
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Political Pulse blog
Commissioner Jacobs asks Crist to veto developer-friendly bill
posted by Aaron Deslatte on Jun 13, 2008 4:33:47 PM

Orange County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs, in her capacity as president of the Florida Association of Counties, asked Gov. Charlie Crist Friday to veto a developer-friendly bill she argues would weaken past growth management reforms.

The bill, SB 1706, extends the "build out" dates for large-scale development projects like airports, shopping centers and planned communities for three years. The aim of the bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Gwen Margolis, was to give developers who've already got state and local approval for their projects more time before they have to complete them -- and help pay for the extra traffic they put on surrounding roads.

But granting a blanket, three-year pass to developers means locals could have to find other ways to pay for the traffic growth that occurs around those projects.

To see the rest of the post, please see:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/06/commissioner-ja.html

Rep. John Mica fires back at commuter rail critics; Lebowitz reveals all

Monday June 9th, 2008
1:45 p.m.


Received my Central Florida Political Pulse earlier this afternoon and finally noticed the interesting story below that should be of interest to all of you.


For both good and bad sometimes, the one thing that Rep. John Mica of Winter Park -and brother of former Rep. Dan Mica- has always been known for is his dogged persistence.


Based on my experience of seeing him in person at congressional hearings, as well as his comments and persona at Florida-oriented functions in D.C., my sense of things is that Mica won't be giving up the fight for a commuter rail in Central Florida ant time soon.


I also expect that he realizes that the most recent approach, whatever its intentions, simply failed to take into account that the popular sentiment of Central Florida residents alone would not guide elected officials behavior.


He also probably figures it's time for someone like him to use his influence while he has it to force some other third parties, with power, influence and smart upper-management, who've been sitting on the public policy sidelines of this fight, and to FINALLY get suited up and into the game.


To become more fully engaged supporting the common sense transit approach, before Central Florida becomes more paralyzed than South Florida.


You can't win with just diplomats, and it's always good to have someone on your team who's willing to push and cajole others and make crystal clear the reality of their situation.


Make clear that his memory's working fine, thank you, and that his future actions and behavior will be, in some fashion, directly related to their willingness to participate, work hard and share the financial burden of getting things done, rather than simply talking things to death.


That approach clearly has about as much efficacy up in Central Florida as it does down here.


John Mica's just sick-and-tired of Paralysis thru Analysis.


I wish that more local and state elected officials were taking that approach on transit down here, but...


In my opinion, in this particular case, Mica's unwillingness to simply give up on this issue is very helpful, since his spirited marshaling of the facts will, if nothing else, help prevent mis-information from being the coin of the realm down here in the future, where it might be recycled to fight commuter rail locally, along what should be a natural transit-oriented corridor along the FEC tracks.


You know, the place that the City of Hollywood is actively engaged in, however imperfectly, even to the point where Bernard Zyscovich specifically mentioned the positive tangible effect of a commuter rail line, with a station on Hollywood Blvd., on its downtown area last Thursday at the public forum I attended at Hollywood City Hall.


Meanwhile, as with so many things, the City of Hallandale Beach snoozes at their peril.


That point was underscored by the fact that last Monday, at the most recent public presentation by EDAW's Donald Shockey of the city's Master Plan, I was the only person to ask questions about the so-called transit corridor, and whether or not EDAW drew up any projections in their plan that contemplated the tangible effects on the city of a future commuter rail.


One that connected Hallandale Beach residents to their jobs and diversions in both downtown Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.


One that would encourage development away from the beach and Hallandale Beach Blvd. and get it focused on points west, maybe even to the Northwest!



As it happens, I was the last member of the public to ask questions that night.



While they used certain generic transit phrases in their presentation and the documents that were printed, for all practical purposes, from my p.o.v., the answer to my question was Nope!


In late February at the Hallandale Beach Cultural Center, when the much-anticipated and overdue Hallandale Beach Transportation Study was presented by Kenneth J. Kelgard of HDR Engineering, I was concerned by some of the thing I was hearing, like traffic measures conducted during the slowest part of the calendar year.


But I was more concerned by what I wasn't hearing.



Finally, when given a chance, I took the microphone and asked, among other things, why as a HB resident, I needed to go to Hollywood or Aventura in order to attend a SFECC public forum.



Why were none ever scheduled in Hallandale Beach to get the input and thoughts of HB's own residents, when that might've been possible?



Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good said that he would have his staff find out if there'd ever been a possibility of that happening, but I've yet to hear anyone at Hallandale Beach City Hall publicly speak about this matter at any meeting I've attended in the intervening three months.



Both locations were easy enough for me to get to, it's just that the folks at Hallandale Beach City Hall were asleep at the switch when it counted, and weren't pro-active about getting a formal presention scheduled at the Hallandale Beach Cultural Center when it might've benefited everyone concerned.


Frankly, to actually have some FEC commuter rail facts interjected into that debate locally would've only been an improvement, since I've met so many people over the past two years around here who have no tangible sense of what it's all about.


What they do recall is usually some hazy remembrance of something they heard in a two-minute local TV news report from early 2007, and is usually incorrect.


I checked the website of the group mentioned below which is sponsoring today's John Mica Regional Rally for Rail, he Central Florida Partnership, but didn't see many specifics.
http://www.centralfloridapartnership.org/index.php?src=events&submenu=about&srctype=detail&category=Meeting&refno=4


Hopefully, there'll be more specifics available by tomorrow morning, and I might even be able to catch some local Orlando TV 11 p.m. news segements from tonight, via my computer.


Closer to home, if you haven't already started reading Larry Lebowitz's insightful Miami Herald series on the broken promises and consequences of Miami-Dade's vote for the half-penny tax increase six years ago, get with the program and get on the bandwagon.


Sunday June 8, 2008
Dade transit watchdog finds its power limited
A special panel was meant to be a watchdog over the transit tax, but government attorneys and politicians took away most of its bite.
http://www.miamiherald.com/428/story/561866.html


Monday June 9, 2008
Some Metrobus routes motivated by politics not need
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/563276.html


Congrats on the great series, Larry!!!


Your head must ache from all the negativity and incompetency you encountered and wrote about, knowing you couldn't possibly include everything you found out about.


I commiserate.

I know the feeling.
___________________________________
Central Florida Political Pulse

Mica fires back at commuter rail critics
posted by Mark Skoneki on Jun 9, 2008 11:10:57 AM


Jay Hamburg just filed this report


In an effort to rebuff critics of commuter rail, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, released a national study today that shows the proposed liability agreement is in line with about 20 other similar freight-and-commuter arrangements around the nation. "It will debunk some of the myths relating to commuter rail liability," Mica said of the study done by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Highways and Transit and Railroads Subcommittees. Some opponents of the $1.2 billion Central Florida commuter rail project have attacked the proposed no-fault liability arrangement between the state and CSX.

Both sides were to carry $200 million liability insurance for the 61-mile system to run from DeLand to Orlando to Poinciana.


To read the rest of the story, go to: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/06/mica-fires-back.html

For more information on the issue of liabilty agreements, see
CSX Safety Issues Cloud Liability Deal
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/22/na-csx-safety-issues-cloud-liability-deal/
and the Central Florida Political Pulse archive stories on commuter rail
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/commuter_rail/index.html

Is Obama's idea of party unity in FL, purging -without binging?; Miami-Dade Dems

As is so often the case in South Florida the year 2008, in order to get some interesting Florida political news (rumors?) about what's going on, I had to avoid today's Herald and Sun-Sentinel and go Back to the Future.
Or, as in this case, failing to have a flux capacitor of my own, going back to the Hallandale Beach Blog email inbox from Friday.

Friday morning, shortly before Noon, John Kennedy of the Orlando Sentinel's always informative Central Florida Political Pulse wrote, per a warning from Florida superdelegate Jon Ausman about a possible portent of things to come in the Sunshine State, now that Senator Obama is the party's nominee.

In case you've forgotten, Ausman was the first Florida non-politician to speak at last Saturday's DNC Rules & Bylaws kangaroo court of an inquisition.
In my opinion, watching the proceedings on C-SPAN rather than Obama-leaning MSNBC, Ausman spoke FAR TOO MUCH about the princely entitlements of the superdelegates, and how the rules of the party's charter prevent anyone -well, not then currently living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue- from preventing that crew of self-serving super heroes from having a vote on the convention floor, even if their own state is shut-out from participating.

Well, that is unless an individual superdelegate has been convicted of something serious like, you know, sedition or assassination or something other-worldly. (Then he only has a half-vote.)
It seemed a wee bit too precious and self-indulgent for a guy who should've taken the offensive by talking from the p.o.v. of the Florida vox populi that turned out in record numbers just five months ago.
Remember them and their intentions?

On the other hand, unlike most Florida Dem party leaders and pols, like House Minority Leader Dan Gelber and Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller, Ausman was publicly encouraging a public discussion among Florida Democrats of what the logical consequences would be of moving the FL Primary, so that there'd be no room for excuses or recriminations in the future.
You know, our reality the past few months?

Here's the true proof of that: personal attacks against Ausman by the get-along gang across the state that brooks no disagreement, in a September 14th post in The Buzz, the excellent politics blog of the St. Pete Times: http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2007/09/ausman-stikes-b.html

A different approach was that of FlaPolitics http://www.flapolitics.com/ supporting Ausman's call for double-dipping: from August 31, 2007
http://www.flapolitics.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2066
"What’s important here is the concept of the possibility of Florida getting a double dip at selecting the next Democratic nominee. I don’t know about you, but I like it."

If Ausman's current allegation is true, it's about what I expected from Team Obama, frankly, which just makes it the latest in a series of reasons why I couldn't possibly vote for him when I had the chance to in January.
And why, five months hence, I won't vote for him in the general election, despite my particular disagreements with Senator McCain on aspects of his public policy.
No Kool-Aid for me, thanks, I'm a Coke Classic guy.

Future posts here as well as over at South Beach Hoosier will not only discuss McCain and Obama's relative merits on policy issues, but observations from my own extensive political campaign background -which I've hinted at here and there in the past, but otherwise kept under wraps-and how political lessons learned then, might just apply here as well.

I suspect that many of you who read this post fairly regularly will be quite surprised in the future by my observations on local Dade County Democratic Party politics and local media circa 1976 and 1984.

Ruminations and observations on prominent Dems like Dade Dem chair Mike Abrams, George DePontis, Seth Gordon, Alfredo Duran, State Senator Jack Gordon -the anti-Geller from my own p.o.v.- as well as the old Dade County Democratic Party HQ at the McAllister Hotel (built in 1913) in downtown Miami on Biscayne Boulevard, between N.E. 1st Street and N.E. 2nd Street.

For photos of the once grand hotel, including back before Bayfront Park existed, see http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/77141162 and http://scholar.library.miami.edu/miamidigital/search/allGalleryPages.php?IDtitle=1171&objNo=000028&seqNo=0001&IDmainrecord=338

Before we made the move in 1976 from The McAllister to the Dade County Carter-Mondale campaign HQ in my hometown of North Miami Beach, on NE 167th Street and NE 6th Avenue, behind the inviting smells of the Krispy Kreme, for a number of months, due to a serious lack of storage space, most of the party's files, docs, and ephemera were stored in my bedroom closet for safekeeping.

This included the party's institutional memory, including lots of archival letters and photos from Dem VIPs from the deep and recent past, including George McGovern letters to longtime friend and fellow South Dakotan and Dolphins owner Joe Robbie, back when he was the Dade party chair.

When Robbie, the man now known to most South Floridians for being the JR in JRS, ran for governor of South Dakota in 1956, whom do you suppose was his campaign manager but a young and earnest George McGovern!

Trust me, I'll be a lot more honest and self-effacing in those posts and observations at South Beach Hoosier and here, than the semi-rants I occasionally read over at the Miami-Dade Dems site, http://miami-dade-dems.blogspot.com/
I'll admit to feeling a case of envy for the technology they have now, which folks at party HQ back then would've killed for.

On the other hand, I also think that Mike Abram's wonderful British-born sister-in-law, Teresa Abrams -wife of David Abrams and Mom of Ian- our enthusiastic office manager and head honcho at Dem HQ and then campaign office, could have, along with the help of my then-high school self, written circles around the dismal output I see these days at M-DD, since they seem to mistake anger for prose and passion, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'll also endeavor to write a bit about what I witnessed first-hand in early 2000 while living in Arlington of the media's great love affair with McCain.
I'll spotlight a huge McCain "Straight Talk Express" event in Old Town Alexandria, where I also spent quite some time sitting and talking to a very charming woman, who turned out to be John McCain's sister-in-law, the wife of his brother.

Some pundit on TV recently said -I forget whom- that the three greatest love affairs ever were between:
1.) Abelard and Heloise
2.) Romeo and Juliet, and
3.) the American press corps and John McCain in 2000.

The latter's more accurate than you think, especially when nationally known print and TV reporters are bringing their kids with them to cover McCain rallies.
Not their teenage kids, their little kids!
_________________________________
Florida Democrats Fret About Fate Of Obama Delegates
Think the Florida Democratic primary fight is over?
Think again. There's apparently only been a pause while state party activists look for a new battlefield.
They may have found one Friday.Tallahassee activist Jon Ausman is sending out e-mail warnings that the Barack Obama campaign is considering replacing some or all of the 67 Florida delegates already selected to represent the campaign at the party's national convention in Denver.

To read the rest of the post, go to http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/06/florida-democra.html

Be sure to read the comments below it, as Brenna James throws cold water on the notion that the trip and associated costs to Denver for the National Convention are "free" as stated by the Obama Corps of Keystone Kops.


The Miami Herald's Naked Politics blog has this take on Ausman's warning: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2008/06/activist-warns.html

Also see Democratic Convention Watch at http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/ for convention news and and the Palm Beach Post's Michael C. Bender on the role of $$$ in potential FL unity. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/06/07/m1a_obama_0608.html


As for national polls which show Senator Obama defeating Senator McCain, and which many Obama supporters place great stock in, consider this:
"President Johnson could win more than 65 per cent of the votes at his party's National Convention, easily turning back the combined forces of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene J. McCarthy, a survey by The New York Times indicated today..."

The date? March 24, 1968.

Real life always gets in the way of destiny.
Especially political destiny.
Just ask former Virginia Senator George Allen.

He was THE man whom many of the sharpest and most experienced political folks I ever met and trusted in Washington thought would be standing exactly where John McCain is right now.

Aaron Deslatte adroitly zeroes in on CSX and trial lawyers

There's not much that I can add to this excellent Central Florida Political Pulse blog post and Orlando Sentinel post mortem from Aaron Deslatte on the political aftermath of the Central Florida commuter rail imbroglio, other than that based on what I've read in the Orlando and Tampa Bay newspapers and blogs, there were a lot of supporters of the Central FL commuter train who wondered why there was, apparently, so little discussion among Florida Democratic legislators of pursuing the Amtrak angle months ago.

You know, a credible Plan B?
__________________________________
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/
Central Florida Political Pulse
Trial lawyers and the CSX saga revisited
posted by Aaron Deslatte on May 20, 2008

When Sen. Paula Dockery needed friends to help derail Central Florida's commuter-rail deal, she did something once unthinkable for a Republican legislator: She appealed to the state's trial lawyers.
Dockery was up against a political dream team. Central Florida supporters of commuter rail and Jacksonville-based CSX Corp. had public-relations firms in Tallahassee, Orlando and Tampa. The city of Orlando employed uber-lobbyists Southern Strategy Group.And two powerful legislators -- Senate Majority Leader Daniel Webster of Winter Garden and Rep. Dean Cannon of Winter Park, in line to be speaker in 2010 -- were leading the charge.
"I couldn't fight them all off. They were attacking from every single angle," said Dockery, who opposed the deal because it meant more freight trains running through her home city of Lakeland.
So Dockery seized on a little-noticed element of the $650 million deal...

For the rest of this story go to:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/05/trial-lawyers-a.html
_______________________________________
More from Deslatte on the above story along with some great graphics -and reporting of the sort that you never saw on this issue on local South Florida TV:

SPECIAL REPORT
Cash & Threats: How trial lawyers wielded new power to help block commuter rail at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-csx2008may20,0,1130274.story

Prior Orlando Sentinel stories on the Central Florida commuter rail plan are at: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-commuterrail-sg,0,3785419.storygallery and well worth checking out if you're at all interested in mass transit in Florida. _______________________________________
Also see this story on the SFECC:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/apr/19/30gttreasure-coast-planners-hoping-to-draw-rail/?feedback=1#comments

Treasure Coast planners all aboard plan to draw passenger train service
By Derek Simmonsen
April 19, 2008

Good news re signature petitions, Florida Hometown Democracy

Just received some good news this morning from the Central Florida Political Pulse blog of the Orlando Sentinel about a subject I wrote about a while back: petition gathering and the effort by some in Tallahassee to make that even harder.

I later found similar stories in the Herald and Sun-Sentinel, but as usual, Aaron Deslatte had more context.

In the next few days, I'll be posting some thoughts and observations on that Broward County Charter Review Commission meeting I attended two weeks ago, especially on the MTA proposal, which I spoke in favor of, recounting some anecdotes about Broward transportation you really need to know about.

I'll also connect-the-dots on the City of Hallandale Beach's effort to prevent the proposal's adoption by the 19-member panel.

Trust me, it's more of the same classic "Only in Hallandale Beach" moments you've come to expect from the crowd at 400 S. Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach 33009. _____________________________________________
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/04/hometown-democr.html
Hometown Democracy wins a court victory
posted by Aaron Deslatte on Apr 23, 2008 10:56:29 AM

In the lingering legal fight between Hometown Democracy and the business lobby, the anti-sprawl Hometown crew finally notched a win Wednesday when the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that a signature-petition revocation law the Legislature passed last year was unconstitutional.

After the law passed, Associated Industries of Florida formed a group called Save Our Constitution that targeted thousands of voters who signed Hometown's slow-growth amendment with mailers, asking them to revoke their support with claims that it would destroy the state's "scenic beauty."...

Go to the URL above to see the entire story and the court ruling in a pdf. format.

Reader comments are at:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/04/hometown-democr.html#comments
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http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/506679.html
Miami Herald
State appeals court rules in favor of citizens group
April 23, 2008

An appeals court says it is unconstitutional to revoke signatures on petitions to get citizen initiatives on the ballot. The 1st District Court of Appeal decision Wednesday in Tallahassee reversed a lower court ruling. The higher court supported so-called Hometown Democracy proponents.

They seek voter approval for changes to plans laying out where new roads, homes, businesses and other development can be built. The decision rejects efforts by the Legislature and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, who have backed several new laws in recent years making it more difficult to pass initiatives. They contend such moves could limit growth and the state's economy.
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A week earlier, the Sun-Sentinel was reporting:
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flfxgr0416sbapr16,0,6475734.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Legislation limiting citizen initiatives advances in House
The Associated Press
April 16, 2008

TALLAHASSEE
A bill that could make it harder for citizens to change the Florida Constitution using petitions has won approval from a House panel.

The bill does that in part by reducing the time signatures are valid for — two years instead of four. Also, cards with the signatures would have to be turned in within 60 days after they are signed. Right now, there is no time limit.
Gov. Charlie Crist last year vetoed a bill that would have required signatures to be turned in 30 days.

Another provision would require criminal background checks for people who get paid to collect signatures.

The bill's opponents, including Common Cause, labor unions and the League of Women Voters, argue that background checks, which can cost up to $85, and other provisions are designed to prevent average citizens from having a voice in government.

Only the wealthy and powerful would be able to afford to sponsor a petition drive, they contended.

Chamber of Commerce lobbyist Adam Babbington said background checks would enhance public safety because "this is an industry that operates in the shadows by and large."

The Chamber supports making it harder to amend the constitution.

Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, was hoping for a rare sweet moment Tuesday in the largely bleak legislative session when she served Key lime pie at the Capitol.

"I hope it helps sweeten up the bitter session," said Bullard, who tasted one of the scores of pies available. "Let people feel good about something."

Across Capitol meeting rooms, firefighters, corrections officers and social workers were tracking down lawmakers in efforts to save jobs and health care for thousands of children.

Lawmakers are poring over budgets passed by the House and Senate and trying to come to agreements over cuts.

"We see all these people leave here feeling so out of sorts, hopeless, like nothing's going to happen," Bullard said.

"The Key lime, I thought, would be perfect to take their minds away from that for the moment."

Reader comments are at:
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/TL9MA357DKHND42EC
__________________________________________________________________ Below are some excerpts from some older germane links about this subject.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/04/senate-election.html
Senate elections panel tries to undo petition-gathering ruling
posted by Aaron Deslatte on Apr 1, 2008 2:02:54 PM

A Florida Senate panel advanced a package of election-law changes Tuesday that critics said was an attempt to undermine a recent court ruling against the state regarding the way signature-petitions are gathered.

An administrative law judge in late February ruled the state Division of Elections had overstepped its authority when it tried to ban signature groups from "bundling" multiple signature-petitions together when they're presented to voters to sign.

A group called FairDistrictsFlorida.org, which is trying to make it harder for Florida lawmakers to gerrymander their legislative districts, had been circulating several petitions related to its drive to place the re-districting issue on the 2010 ballot...
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http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/04/booker-and-dorw.html
Bucher and Dorworth get a timeout
posted by Aaron Deslatte on Apr 1, 2008 4:46:36 PM

In the middle of a hearing over his bill restricting the rights of felons to work as paid signature-gatherers, freshman Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, was getting a grilling by veteran Democratic Rep. Susan Bucher.

The bill, a priority for business groups this year, would also require paid signature-gathers be Florida residents and cleared a Senate panel earlier in the day. But Bucher, D-West Palm Beach, wanted to know how the Department of State was supposed to police thousands of signature-gatherers across the state, who would be required to register with the state under the bill.

Dorworth said he didn't know, then told the panel he was sick, had been curled up in a ball just before the House Economic Development and Infrastructure Council meeting had started, and had been heavily medicated.

"Forgive me if I pass out," he said...

This is the one from one of my other daily must-read's, the St. Petersburg Times' political blog, The Buzz.
Go to the URL to see the reader comments, as they're 100% spot-on!

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2008/04/targeting-paid.html
April 01, 2008
Targeting paid petition-gatherers
Mindful of Florida Hometown Democracy's near-miss in its slow-growth ballot initiative, business groups and their legislative allies have a new idea.

They want to require all paid initiative petition signature gatherers to pay a fee, register with the state and be assigned a registration number to appear on petition forms (volunteers would not be affected)....

"Show me the money!!!" Geller's 527 fund got $30k from Mardi Gras in Nov.

South Beach Hoosier thanks the alert Central Florida reader who thoughtfully wrote in to say that despite the fact that many campaign finance websites are saying that there have been no contributions or expenditures by State Senator Steve Geller's 527 fund, Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow, Aaron Deslatte of the Orlando Sentinel's Central Florida Political Pulse reported a much different story in November, complete with a Hallandale Beach connection.

I checked the story out and the reader from the 407 was 100% correct.

To the best of my knowledge, this particular bit of news about the Mardi Gras contribution has still yet to be reported by either the Miami Herald or the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, or, mentioned on their respective political blogs.

You really can't be too surprised by that, either, since both papers have never delved into Geller's complicity in the primary date change debacle, largely ceding that territory to the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Tribune and St. Pete Times.

If there was a permanent public ombudsman at the Herald, as there should've been years ago, maybe the reason why that chronic lack of curiosity continues to exist might get fully explored.

Read Aaron Deslatte's whole story from November at http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2007/11/casino-pays-out.html
Casino pays out for Geller posted by Aaron Deslatte on Nov 6, 2007 4:13:24 PM

"Last month, Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller couldn’t help taking some shots at the casinos and gaming interests in South Florida giving far more money to Republicans than Democrats..."