Sorry, discerning news consumers in FL aren't buying the self-pity being sold by Tallahassee-based media re Gov. Rick Scott, the anti (Charlie) Crist

I've been waiting a bit to drop this post of mine just to see if there was any more secondary coverage of this story about new Florida governor Rick Scott and the expectations, assumptions and presumptions of the Tallahassee-based media that covers the Florida legislature, the governor's office and what passes for Junior Varsity political intrigue and machinations.

I figured I'd give it about a week and a week has come and gone, so here we are.

Excerpt from my email of January 31st titled SunshineStateNews.com: Gov. Rick Scott, Hero; Press Corps, Zero

Below, a variation of the story that received prominent coverage last week in the Miami Herald and the St. Pete Times and several other places around the state, all to little practical effect

You remember, the story about the last-minute dinner at the Governor's Mansion, where the person chosen to be the 'pool reporter' had other plans and said nyet, throwing 'journalism' into a tailspin?

Meanwhile, no matter how many facts and photos I use to persuade South Florida print or TV reporters to express any curiosity at all about a public building in Hallandale Beach -just steps from the beach- that has only been open three times to the public in what will be 42 months on Thursday, and for which hundreds of thousands of Hallandale Beach taxpayer dollars has been spent, and no doubt, wasted, reporters just yawn.

With one exception, Stefan Kamph Hallandale Beach's North Beach Facility Might Finally Open, After Four Years
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2011/01/hallandale_beach_north_beach_opening.php

That, after all this incompetency, the the city manger here has pledged to keep it closed to the taxpayers of this city is the ultimate insult, but to local reporters, they just roll their eyes at this news, one more fact they could care less about.

It's a story which if it happened in Coral Gables or Miami Beach would've been on the front page of the Herald's very loosely-edited State & Local section, perhaps with some critical comments later in the editorial page asking with mock dismay, who elected the unelected City Manger, Mark Antonio, to keep a public building closed to the public?

But because it's not located in those cities, it wasn't the predicate to a zinging editorial that lowered-the-boom on Antonio and HB City Hall.

It's the news story that never happened, the one that so perfectly illustrates the dilemma for Hallandale Beach citizen taxpayers -caught between the longstanding incompetency and anti-democratic nature of HB City Hall officials, pols and their cronies, and a press corps that doesn't even pretend to be curious.

But now, I'm supposed to care about a meal at the governor's mansion, featuring some people I've never heard of?
No sale.

-------

Miami Herald
Scott's media limits upset journalists
By Michelle Morgante Associated Press
January 20, 2011

TALLAHASSEE- Journalists who cover Florida's capital complained to industry leaders Tuesday that the new administration of Gov. Rick Scott is skirting free-press traditions and attempting to control their work by limiting access to events and being slow to provide public records.

Speaking to the board of the Florida Society of News Editors, nine Tallahassee correspondents said Scott's team is imposing an unprecedented level of control over access to Scott and to events that previously would have been considered open. The governor's office also has tried to "cherry-pick'' reporters to provide pooled reports to the rest of the press corps, instead of allowing the journalists to choose.

Bob Rathgeber, senior staff writer for The News-Press of Fort Myers, said Scott, a former healthcare executive, apparently wants to continue operating as if he were still in the private sector, not public office.

"He doesn't care whether we have complaints or not,'' Rathgeber said. "He's from the private sector and he's a private guy.''

The journalists pointed to several examples, including a post-inauguration reception held on the scenic 22nd floor of the state Capitol, where Scott's staff restricted access to a select few.

The event was in a public building and the entire state Legislature had been invited, noted Mary Ellen Klas of The Miami Herald. "That, on its surface, struck me as a public meeting. . . . There's no reason they should be shutting the public out.''

But Klas and others, including an AP reporter, were booted out. The reporters said Scott's staff said a pooled report would be provided and argued that the journalists had accepted the arrangement. She and the other reporters speaking Tuesday said they'd never accepted such a deal. Pool reports typically are only agreed to when space is unavoidably limited, such as aboard an airplane, and the selection of the journalist is made by the participating media groups.

A voice message and an e-mail seeking reaction Tuesday from Scott's communications director, Brian Burgess, were not immediately answered.

The reporters also pointed to an incident last week, when Scott and several lawmakers gathered at the governor's mansion for a dinner. Scott's staff made no announcement about the dinner but, upon deciding the press should be alerted, quickly sought a reporter to provide a pooled report.

Dave Royse, executive editor of the News Service of Florida, said he was invited to be the pool reporter although the dinner was nearly over. He could not accept, but offered a reporter from his staff in his place. When that reporter was rejected, Royse said he declined to participate for ethical reasons.

The party being covered "can't pick and choose the reporter,'' he said. The correspondents said they would consider creating terms for pooled reports, such as an ordered list of reporters to be called on. But Paul Flemming, state editor for Gannett's Florida bureau, cautioned against encouraging greater use of pools: "I think it's dangerous to go down a pool path at all.''

Jim Baltzelle, FSNE president and Florida chief of bureau for The Associated Press, said the incidents raised concern about the freedom of the press. He said FSNE would consider how to formally respond.

Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee bureau chief for the Orlando Sentinel, said he's been given very little access to the governor because during Scott's campaign, his staff considered the newspaper "hostile.'' He said his only recourse has been to make several requests for public records. But the administration, he said, has been slow to respond and, in one case, said it would charge him $400 for printing by an outsourced provider even though Deslatte said the information is available electronically.

There are currently 51 reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/19/2022456/scotts-media-limits-upset-journalists.html

A more realistic view of what transpired -or didn't- with some well-chosen sarcasm, was expressed elsewhere.

SunshineStateNews.com
Gov. Rick Scott, Hero; Press Corps, Zero

By Nancy Smith
Posted: January 31, 2011 3:55 AM

Thank God we found out Thursday night that the governor and his guests "dined on mesquite grilled swordfish, corn macque choux, and Florida strawberry shortcake."

Or did they?

Can the people of Florida be absolutely sure? What if diners were really inside that mansion chowing down on roast beef, spinach casserole and English trifle?

How might that have torpedoed the ship of state?

Read the rest of this spot-on post at:
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/governor-rick-scott-hero-press-corps-zero


See also:
http://www.flgov.com/
http://www.flgov.com/news-releases/
http://www.myflorida.com/

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

Two spot-on columns by Orlando Sentinel's Darryl E. Owens and Miami Herald's Jackie Bueno Sousa demand your attention

August 25, 1982 Ralph Renick editorial on WTVJ-4, Miami,
on the filming of Scarface in South Florida
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyuJGHrjbRY

It's neither here nor there, per se, but per this excellent column by the Orlando Sentinel's Darryl E. Owens that I spied on Saturday -the same day the Miami Hurricanes played like disinterested turkeys two days after Thanksgiving Day- I can distinctly recall as a kid growing-up in North Miami Beach in the 1970's that when a story like this would bubble up to the surface in South Florida, i.e. with lots of context, it would quickly become the main topic of discussion of AM Talk Radio, back before it was almost all nationally-syndicated fare.

Of course, back then, when the Dolphins were consistently good, the area also had an All-News Radio Station, something it now sadly lacks, with South Florida being much worse off for that, as I've often lamented here and at various websites.

Some subject would get under the skin of a columnist at the Miami Herald far enough in advance of some planned public event that a rather pointed column would soon appear, and either cooler heads would prevail, the best option, or, local politicians and govt. officials would be publicly embarrassed and hung out to dry.

If the issue reached a certain threshold of seriousness, local broadcasting powerhouse Ralph Renick at Channel 4, back when it was WTVJ, on N. Miami Avenue in downtown Miami, would make one of his devastating editorials on the six o'clock newscast and simply mop the floor with whomever was responsible for the problem by pointing out the simple facts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Renick

Après toi, le déluge!

That was a measure of the power and influence throughout all aspects of life in South Florida that Ralph Renick had to wield.

Renick was THE most-respected man in South Florida other than perhaps Dolphins head coach Don Shula.

But now, in my opinion, other than the rare Herald column that takes us all completely by surprise, or Jackie Bueno Sousa's common sense columns that demand accountability and integrity from local elected officials or govt. agencies, there's just lots of dopey paint-by-numbers news stories about inconsequential fluff or shopping or diets.

See http://www.miamiherald.com/columnists/jacqueline-bueno-sousa/ and my post from July 12, 2009
May the good news be yours: Ralph Renick's South Florida TV scene 18 years later; Where's the news in Broward? Or local investigative news anywhere? http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/may-good-news-be-yours-ralph-renicks.html

-------
Orlando Sentinel
City funded Amway party — but not a Parramore tradition
Darryl E. Owens COMMENTARY
12:46 a.m. EST, November 27, 2010

Good thing Charlie Brown doesn't call Orlando home.

In his world, his only worry is Lucy snatching away the football as he prepares to make the kick.
The City Beautiful might send cops to snatch the pigskin.

This isn't an anti-cop screed.

After all, the would-be footballers — all three of them — who were confronted by police on Thanksgiving Day at the John H. Jackson Community Center lacked a permit.

Instead, consider this a reflection on an embarrassing — and obvious — missed opportunity for Orlando.

Read the rest of the post at: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/os-ed-darryl-owens-parramore-football20101126,0,5199263.column

-----

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/23/1940706/real-leaders-in-short-supply-in.html
Miami Herald
Real leaders in short supply in Miami
By Jackie Bueno Sousa
November 23, 2010

It's not that Miami lacks leadership. Rather, it lacks bold, transformational leaders.

You know, the kind of people who use their power and influence to bring about fundamental change in a community, even though doing so will make enemies of other people of power and influence.

And so it is that so many Miamians now are fascinated with Norman Braman. Beyond his battle to recall Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, he's filling a civic leadership vacuum long felt in this community.

Bold, transformational leaders aren't easy to find. That may be a good thing; too many of them could be more problematic than too few of them. But when they become scarce, as they are now, we flock to them and their causes, knowing that they represent a rare opportunity.

Such leadership requires a unique combination of attributes not found in ordinary, run-of-the-mill leaders. Nothing wrong with ordinary leaders; their generosity, in terms of both time and money, has brought many good and worthwhile programs for our community.

It's just that every once in a while we need something more. We need, for example, leaders who are passionately focused on a cause.

MAS CANOSA

The late Jorge Mas Canosa had that passion and focus. The Cuban exile leader was vilified and chastised for his sometimes close-minded stance on Cuba policy. Yet no other person could so effectively spur large numbers of followers to take action, to show up at a rally, to lobby congressional representatives, to write letters to the editor. Who has filled that void in the Cuban exile community?

Such leadership also requires community-wide status and power. It helps to be the chairman of this or the president of that, but such titles aren't always necessary.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a simple journalist and writer, and yet she helped preserve the Everglades for future generations. She once wrote a pamphlet on behalf of creating a botanical garden that resulted in countless speaking invitations at local garden clubs and ultimately helped create Fairchild Gardens. Who is today's Marjory Stoneman Douglas?

Such leaders must back up their words and actions with money. The money can be their own -- as in the case of Braman's recall battle. Or it can come from the ability to access money, as was Alvah Chapman's gift. In the 1970s, Chapman led the creation of The Non-Group, an elite body of business and civic leaders who set an agenda for resolving the area's most pressing problems. Who in the business community is filling Alvah Chapman's void today?

We see contemporary glimpses of extraordinary civic leadership every so often. Former TotalBank chairman Adrienne Arsht gave $30 million to save the performing arts center. Banker Adolfo Henriques has the power to rally important business leaders. Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón is passionately focused on improving education in our region.

CHARTER REVIEW

And we even see glimpses of bold leadership. Attorney Victor Diaz Jr., as the head of the Miami-Dade County Charter Review Task Force, a couple years ago proposed a series of fundamental changes that could have brought about important improvements in local government.

When the County Commission slapped down most of the suggestions, which civic and business leaders came forward to fight for the proposed changes?

And, so, the void remains.

-----

Personally, I would have chosen different people, but her central premise is sound and echoes a sentiment that nearly everyone I know and respect in South Florida agrees with completely.

Which is why all the unethical behavior by elected officials in South Florida, from small-fry to County Commissioners, grates on people here in a way that is different than other parts of the country.

For those of you who don't live down here, there's a real brazenness and entitlement that's neither funny or amusing but simply venal and creepy.

Yoo Hoo! Nanny State Run Amok? Orlando Sentinel reports, "Red Eye" investigates: Florida may ban chocolate milk in schools

Nanny State Run Amok?
The Orlando Sentinel reports while "Red Eye" investigates in their usual way, you decide: Florida may ban chocolate milk in schools, not as punishment, but as policy.

Orlando Sentinel
State may ban sugary drinks from public schools The Board of Education seeks expert advice, will take up issue in December
September 21, 2010
By Denise-Marie Balona, Orlando Sentinel

The Board of Education has agreed to move forward on a plan to eliminate sugary beverages and make Florida the first state in the nation to ban chocolate milk in public schools.

Board member John Padget, a former schools superintendent from South Florida, has been pressing his colleagues for a year to cut out most beverages besides water, pure juice and white, low-fat milk to help fight childhood obesity.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-09-21/news/os-soda-in-florida-schools-092210-20100921_1_board-member-public-schools-board-meeting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bYogXBmoQM



http://www.foxnews.com/redeye/

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

RedEyeRecap: part of your daily recommended dose of low-fat culture and entertainment information.

Ex-Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer's corruption trial looks to be the hurricane that Charlie Crist didn't anticipate -and Greer's going to sing!

Let the games begin!

Based on what I've read this afternoon in this post from the always-reliable Central Florida Political Pulse politics blog, ex-Florida GOP (RPOF) chairman Jim Greer's trial looks to be the hurricane that Charlie Crist didn't anticipate and the one that will cause him the most damage this summer.

What did the Governor and when did he know it?

When it comes out that Governor Crist was not only NOT the paragon of ethics and rectitude he styles himself as publicly, and was, in fact, as oblivious to the nefarious machinations of Greer & Co. at the RPOF -or did he just look the other way?- as he was with so many matters of state and public policy that he SHOULD'VE been paying attention to, the simple question will be, was Governor Crist oblivious or careless?
It's one of the other, but can't be neither.

For those of you who have been coming to this blog for a while or who have spoken to me over the past few years at one public policy gathering or another, you know that I'm not saying anything new here when I observe that I and many other Floridians are still greatly troubled by the fact that someone who has done such a remarkably crummy job as governor, someone whom I voted for 4 years ago, to my regret, would have the gall to want a promotion, rather than try to actually get some badly needed things done before it's too late.

Based on what I have observed in terms of how vast the differences are between what Crist ran on doing four years ago and what he's done -or in many cases, HASN'T DONE- for the future opf this state, the best place for Charlie Crist after his term ends is his wife's mansion in New York, the same place he'd be spending so much time at if he got elected to the U.S. Senate anyway.

After all, isn't that what he promised his wife when he convinced her to let him run for Senate? More time in NY with her and her family and not stuck in hot and humid Florida?

------

Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Political Pulse politics blog
Greer lawyer: We’ll make people talk
Uncategorized — posted by Aaron Deslatte on July, 6 2010 4:54 AM
By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel

A criminal defense attorney for former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer on Monday promised to make defense witnesses of some of the most powerful people in Florida politics – Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and state Republican chief John Thrasher.

That’s one long-time ally – Crist – and two enemies.

J. Cheney Mason also said he’ll depose two other GOP power brokers who have become Greer adversaries – prospective Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, of Winter Park, and soon-to-be Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, of Merritt Island.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2010/07/greer-lawyer-well-make-people-talk.html

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

Sayfie Review's Power Play of May 14, 2010: Will there be a special session on oil drilling? Will Charlie Crist's lead in U.S. Senate race last?

Sayfie Review's Power Play of May 14, 2010 with Alia Faraj-Johnson.
Guests: Orlando Sentinel's Aaron Deslatte and Gannett's Political Editor Paul Flemming.
Will there be a special session on oil drilling? Will Crist's lead in U.S. Senate race last?

Flemming notes that for Crist to lead the three-way race for U.S. Senate with Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek, Crist must hold 40% of all Democrats currently supporting him, something that's unlikely in the Fall once Meek starts advertising and Obama starts coming down regularly for campaign and fundraising events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjkVAICoeAU



See also: http://www.sayfiereview.com/

re John Mica's contention that SunRail is still on track; this issue barely exists in the Miami Herald's world

June 30th, 2009

The Miami Herald has not mentioned

this important story or what John Mica

has been up to the past few weeks in

his attempts to keep SunRail alive.

In fact, the Herald hasn't mentioned the

admittedly not-perfect SunRail by name

since June 13th.

But then as we've all borne witness to

over the past few years, their spotty

news coverage of non-political issues

around the state is hardly Breaking

News, itself, is it?

I'll be doing a blog post in the near-future,

long in the making, on the Herald's

very odd and mystifying coverage of

mass transit in general, and this issue

in particular, since Larry Lebowitz

no longer covers regional planning

and transportation-related issues

for the newspaper, and Alfonso

Chardy does.

The signs were clear for all to see

when the paper didn't even bother

to send anyone to cover the

Tri-county Regional Transportation

Summit that I -and many of you-

attended at the Broward County

Convention Center in FTL, many

Saturday mornings ago.

(Perhaps they were staking-out

Father Cutie, instead?)

Yet because of the nature of the

debate, that would have been the

perfect venue for the Herald to

actually incorporate some of that

multimedia element they keep

talking about, but when they had

the chance to do it, and truly help

illuminate an important issue,

they just blew it.

The Herald's almost complete

indifference to SunRail's future,

and what that might mean in

Central Florida for common sense

TOD, and locally for Tri-Rail,

coupled with what I perceived to

be their very moralizing editorial

against it on May 9th, is, to me,

just another sign of its swift decline

from quality newspaper into

near-irrelevance, just when South

Florida needs the paper to actually

be much better than its been in

quite some time.

But then what would you expect

from the Miami Herald,

whose Editorial Board foolishly

backed the taxpayer-funded

Marlins Stadium, and seemed

to be okay with the City of

Miami and Miami-Dade County

NOT submitting the issue to a

public referendum, but which

not only raps SunRail, but

seems inclined to nail the

coffin shut on SunRail on

account of taxpayer costs?

Wow!

When exactly did the Herald's

Editorial Board start worrying

about costs like they were

Ohio Republicans?

Costs and basic physics didn't

and haven't prevented them from

championing a proposd cargo

tunnel to the Port of Miami,

even though, to me at least,

that's clearly going to be a

financial and natural disaster

waiting to happen.

Just in case you forgot how

things are really done down

here in South Florida, here's

a reminder:

Fired Miami Bureaucrat

Continued To Get Full Pay

http://cbs4.com/iteam/CIP.City.Miami.2.1059931.html

I-Team: Fired, Retired, But

Still Working

http://cbs4.com/iteam/Fired.CIP.Director.2.1064666.html

CBS4's Gary Nelson shoots

-and he scores!

-------------

Daytona Beach News-Journal

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD02063009.htm

June 30, 2009

Mica: SunRail is still on track despite political setbacks

By JAMES MILLER
Staff Writer

ORLANDO -- The proposed commuter-rail line connecting DeLand and metropolitan Orlando is not dead, despite two consecutive years of dramatic setbacks in the Florida Legislature, supporters said Monday.

In fact, SunRail is very much alive.

Negotiations to carve out a commuter-rail agreement palatable to wary lawmakers will be extended for six months.

The project could have been shut down today, according to an opt-out clause in an agreement between CSX Transportation, which owns the rail corridor, and the state Department of Transportation, which wants to buy it.

"We are on target to keep moving the project forward," U.S. Rep. John Mica, a Winter Park Republican and SunRail proponent, told an audience of SunRail supporters and media Monday at Metroplan Orlando headquarters.

Mica said the 61.5-mile system was necessary "for the sake of the environment, for the sake of energy, for the sake of moving people around our community."

Envisioned by boosters as a key transportation alternative in the growing Interstate 4 corridor, SunRail has been estimated to cost the federal and state governments and five local partners -- Volusia, Orange, Osecola and Seminole counties and Orlando -- $2.7 billion over 30 years, including operations.

But the project appeared to reach a dead end this spring when, for the second year running, the state Senate rejected legislation needed to make it a reality.

Controversial language addressing liability for accidents, budget woes and union opposition helped lead to the defeat.

On Monday, Mica said proponents were working to address each of those issues.

Perhaps most important, he said CSX had agreed to revisit the liability language.

As proposed this spring, it would have shielded the rail company from up to $200 million in damages to commuters or other people in the corridor, even if CSX caused the damages through its negligence.

The FDOT was slated to pay CSX $432 million in a purchase deal, but CSX would have leased the corridor for freight traffic so its trains also would be in use there.

"The long and the short of it is CSX has agreed to look at new terms of liability in which there will be certain limits, I believe, and responsibility for CSX in case of negligence," Mica said. "I don't want to get into specifics."

In a statement, CSX said it planned to continue discussions for six months at the request of elected officials.

"Those discussions will center on whether options exist to bring the transaction to a successful conclusion," according to the statement.

Company spokesman Gary Sease declined to elaborate.

If SunRail proponents are able to hammer out a revised proposal, it could go before the Legislature in a special session this fall, said Sen. Lee Constantine, an Altamonte Springs Republican who's been shepherding SunRail in the Senate.

Constantine said lawmakers likely will have to go back in the fall for at least one other issue, anyway.

"Having it in the light of day by itself with very few other issues I think would be a real positive for us," he said.

Other changes discussed Monday include a potential state application for transportation stimulus money for the project.

Using additional federal money could free state transportation dollars for projects in other parts of the state and potentially soften some lawmakers' budget-based opposition.

Although much of the recent wrangling over SunRail has been happening at the state and federal levels, local officials almost certainly haven't had their last look.

Significant changes to already negotiated agreements would put SunRail back before the Volusia County Council, said County Chairman Frank Bruno.

Only one council member -- Jack Hayman -- has voted against SunRail so far, citing uncertainties about long-term costs and ridership.

james.miller@news-jrnl.com

-------------

This story includes multimedia on the URL

Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-commuter-rail-csx-062609,0,43843.story

Orlando Sentinel Exclusive

SunRail commuter train might be back from brink

By Dan Tracy, Sentinel Staff Writer

June 26, 2009

Just days before facing a potentially crushing deadline, the SunRail commuter train proposed for Central Florida might be chugging along again.

Backers of the $1.2 billion project have won a crucial negotiating extension and likely will be heading back to the state Legislature, which has scuttled the plan twice before, most recently two months ago.

"It's far from a done deal. But what we have is one more chance," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who chairs the local SunRail committee.

Added state Sen. Lee Constantine, R- Altamonte Springs, and a prime SunRail supporter: "I think we are off life support. We're still not healthy, but the prognosis is improving."

A key development was the waiving of next week's deadline to buy tracks from CSX, the Jacksonville train company that owns the line SunRail intends to use.

CSX officially agreed this week to back off the June 30 cutoff date to give lawmakers another chance to consider the plan, company spokesman Gary Sease said.

"We are talking to the Florida Department of Transportation and local officials about options to continue the transaction," Sease said, declining further comment.

Without CSX, it would have been impossible for the train that would link DeLand in Volusia County with downtown Orlando and Poinciana in Osceola County to ever materialize.

Insurance still issue

But SunRail still remains far from becoming a reality.

Most vexing remains the problem that stopped SunRail in the Legislature the past two sessions: getting an insurance policy.

The state Senate has twice balked at approving a $200 million pact that assigns liability in case there is an accident. Opponents contend the plan placed too much risk on the state and not enough on CSX.

Dyer said SunRail hopes to blunt that criticism by having CSX assume more risk, particularly when its employees are at fault.

Critics also have decried the high cost of SunRail, saying it amounts to corporate welfare. It was an especially effective argument during the past legislative session when lawmakers were forced to raise some taxes and fees, raid trust funds and rely on federal dollars to plug a $4 billion hole in the budget.

But U.S. Rep. John Mica, R- Winter Park, said he hopes to win even more money from the federal government — close to $250 million — from the nearly $800 billion stimulus package approved earlier this year by the Congress.

"More federal money, less state money," Mica said. "We'll get as much as we can get there."

Some of the money saved by the state could, in theory, be diverted to the struggling Tri-Rail commuter train in South Florida. Constantine tried to win votes in that region last session by offering to back a $2 surcharge on rental cars, but South Florida lawmakers turned him down.

Now that Tri-Rail is facing layoffs, service reductions and a related loss of federal funding, Constantine said, they might be more willing to work with SunRail supporters.

Mica previously has applied for $300 million in federal funding. About $40 million was aside for SunRail in the current budget, he said.

Special session?

Constantine and Dyer said they could bring SunRail back to the Legislature when it meets early next year or during a special session.

The most probable scenario, Constantine said, is a special session called during September or October, when regular committee meetings are held.

"Let's tee it up," he said.

Likely standing in the way will be Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, who successfully led the two previous fights against SunRail.

Dockery, whose hometown would be forced to accept extra freight rerouted by SunRail, has argued the commuter train is too expensive and the insurance policy is loaded against the state.

She was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

The attempt to resurrect SunRail largely came together Wednesday, when Dyer flew to Washington to meet with Mica, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, and representatives from CSX, the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak.

Dyer and Mica both characterized the talks as "very positive."

The federal representatives, Dyer and Mica said, stressed that SunRail is critical to state hopes of building a high-speed train because they want it to connect to anther form of mass transit, not just a large parking garage.

Florida is seeking $2 billion in federal money to pay for a 90-mile link between Orlando International Airport and Tampa with a train capable of going at least 110 mph.

Ten areas have been declared eligible by the government. Besides Florida, other likely applicants include California, North Carolina, the Pacific Northwest and Pennsylvania.

As much as $8 billion is up for grabs. The Obama administration might start awarding grants by the end of the year.

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

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