Showing posts with label SFECC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SFECC. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Long-overdue reality check for FDOT re Tri-Rail Coastal on FEC tracks: When is the Tri-Rail Coastal Station Refinement Report FINALLY going to be released?

Wednesday March 2nd, 2016
What follows below is a predicate for better understanding my tweets this afternoon to the Florida Dept. of Transportation, District 4, which covers Broward County, Florida, which are at bottom of this post.
 



Well, the facts speak for themselves.
Facts that I as a longtime public transit advocate and supporter of the SFECC Study and a Tri-Rail Coastal commuter train system between downtown Miami and Palm Beach, via the FEC tracks, find extremely frustrating and exasperating.
To say the least.

But then I've always been consistent about the fact that just because I've been a strong pro-transit advocate wherever I have lived -because I actually used it myself almost everyday in Chicago, Evanston
and Washington, D.C./Arlington- didn't mean that I would sit back quietly and accept a lack of public candor, transparency and level of public accountability from transportation officials and consultants
regarding proposed public transit projects.

Especially if they clearly have some flaws worth pointing out or exhibit a lack of common sense, logic and utility. Or, are clearly projects engaging in fanciful thinking about the public's expected behavior and future usage of a prospective system, link or improvement, because some special interest group stands to benefit
inordinately from its construction and prefers the public pay instead of an appropriate fee paid for only by actual users.
To quote myself, "Just because you're pro-transit doesn't mean you have to ignore displays of transit incompetency or mismanagement when you see it!"

The latter, sadly, are things that have been FAR too plentiful in South Florida since I returned to the area from DC in 2003, and I've continually used my blog as a forum to communicate the facts with the public and
interested parties about the problems in detail since 2007, including most recently, the lack of public engagement in Broward of officials associated with the All Aboard Florida project, who backtracked
from their initial plans to NOT having a public meeting in Broward County after I got the attention of the public, the news media and angry local public officials who were surprised to discover they were
being ignored -until I pointed it out to them.

 A refresher on that issue if you need one:

May 6, 2013 - More Transit Policy Woes in South Florida: With stealthy and self-sabotaging friends like All Aboard Florida and SFRTA/Tri-Rail, pro-transit advocates in South Florida don't need any more enemies; 'All Aboard Florida' fails to schedule a single public scoping meeting in Broward County this Spring despite Fort Lauderdale being a proposed station, while SFRTA chief refuses to answer a simple question -Will Hallandale Beach have a station under the proposed Coastal line plan?; Just because you're pro-transit doesn't mean you have to ignore displays of transit incompetency or mismanagement when you see it! 

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/more-transit-policy-woes-in-south.html

May 16, 2013 -Reverse engines! Reluctantly but prudently, All Aboard Florida wises-up and agrees to have a Fort Laudedale scoping meeting after all, on May 29th; 5 weeks later, still no response from SFRTA Executive Director Joseph Giulietti about whether or not Hallandale Beach will have a station as part of their proposed Tri-Rail Coastal plan

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/reverse-engines-reluctantly-but.html

March 26, 2015 -South Florida has once again redefined the meaning of "Free Ride." But shouldn't we all realize by now that when it comes to #TransportationPolicy in #SoFL, there's no such thing as a free ride? But #Miami pols, @Tri_Rail & @AllAboardFla can't help themslves when it comes to taking taxpayer dollars and taking credit for something BEFORE the facts are ALL in

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/south-florida-has-once-again-redefined.html

August 5, 2015 - Common sense questions about public policy, process and public engagement -to say nothing of financial risk- continue to dog @AllAboardFla and the Fortress Investment Group as they seek $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds from the Florida Development Finance Corporation for their planned Miami-to-Orlando express train, via Fort lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Some observations on what we know and what reporters should have been asking all along, but were NOT.

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/common-sense-questions-about-public.html

August 22, 2015 -Thoughts re role of Tri-Rail Coastal commuter rail on HB/Hollywood redevelopment, per City of Hollywood's community meeting on Monday Aug. 24 for its Regional Activity Center re-zoning, which includes U.S.-1 & Pembroke Road

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/thoughts-re-role-of-tri-rail-coastal.html

So, that said, I could have written the tweets below I sent today to FDOT over a year ago, 9 months ago, 6 months ago or at Christmas, and whenever I did so, it would be 100% true.
Just as it is today.

There's been nothing useful to the general public at the Tri-Rail Coastal website for over a year about the most important and most-anticipated information -the location of stations for the
initial stage of the project.
Instead, they have been content to do ZERO updates and leave it marked "Coming Soon."
No, a year is not soon!

And it's NOT how you properly engage and inform the citizenry about a project that completely depends upon public funds for its creation and maintenance.

Station Refinement Report
This report provides a summary of the planning analysis conducted to identify recommended initial station area locations on the FEC corridor. It also outlines a recommended phasing strategy for subsequent station development to assist project stakeholders with future planning efforts. The report recommendations will form the basis for the alternatives to be analyzed during the next phase (Project Development.) Coming Soon
 
And though I could have said something particularly critical about it, I chose NOT to comment in my tweets about how the information on their website labeled Station Area Opportunities reads more like like
fiction, esp. the material about Hallandale Beach.
Frankly, it's as if they swallowed whole the city's PR Kool-Aid without blinking, instead of posting objective information because they understood implicitly that area residents and business owners would both rely upon
the information to be accurate.

Station Area Opportunities

The Tri-Rail Coastal Link Station Area Opportunities publication is intended to summarize the station area visions created by many communities for their station areas, as well as provide information about the development potential for the area surrounding each station.

Download PDF (32MB)
http://tri-railcoastallink.com/downloads/Station_Area_Opportunities.pdf

So tell me, how can it be that after all this time that FDOT STILL hasn't released the initial locations of Tri-Rail Coastal stations in South Florida, and as it directly affects me and so many of you receiving this email, the location of those sites in NE Miami-Dade and SE Broward?
I know from MANY phone conversations and emails to and from many of you that station locations have been guaranteed by local city officials and Electeds to be part of the initial operation of the commuter line, when, in fact, they WON'T be?

And just as I state below in my tweets from this afternoon, I DO know the names of people who has been misleading the public and Small Business owners, trying to sell them a bogus bill of goods.
People who deserve honesty are instead receiving duplicity from public officials who are supposed to be working for them, not against them.
Another question that comes to mind is WHY is the local South Florida news media, print and electronic, has largely been snoozing on this important storythat directly affects important issues like South Florida's transportation gridlock and the local economy -and parts of local cities near the FEC
tracks that remain in a funk and economically depressed- instead of properly demanding honest answers and a thorough justification from public officials (and consultants) in charge at FDOT for their lack of candor, public engagement and snail-like pace?

Project Manager 
Amie Goddeau
FDOT Project Manager, FDOT District 4
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309-3421
Read the tweets below from the bottom up.






































Dave 
Twitter: @hbbtruth, https://twitter.com/hbbtruth
http://www.youtube.com/user/HallandaleBeachBlog
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Sunday, November 27, 2011

While High Speed Rail advocates met in NYC re Northeast Corridor, more troubling financial data re proposed LA-SF Bullet Train emerged -boondoggle?

USHSR's 2011 Conference in New York City

Even while High Speed Rail advocates met in New York recently to discuss their hopes and dreams for the service in the Northeast Corridor, Adam Nagourney of the N.Y. Times has just revealed even more troubling financial details about the possible coming boondoggle with California's San Francisco-to-Anaheim Bullet Train, which I suspect most of the country outside of Cali is still largely ignorant of, despite its eventual ripple effects across the country, good and bad.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the California High Speed Rail Authority still plans to begin construction in September!

Train Wars Teaser - High Speed Rail in California


California High Speed Rail video

I've been reading about all its myriad controversies for months in the L.A. Times, and all things considered, their coverage has been pretty spot-on, and NOT nearly as sycophantic as certain Florida newspapers and pols I could name who were supportive of a supposed Bullet Train between Orlando and the Tampa Bay area, which Gov. Rick Scott was rightly opposed to.

Though I'm a strong pro-transit advocate, given my dozen of blog posts here on the subject of transportation over the years, especially the desirability of a commuter line on the F.E.C. tracks near U.S.-1, from downtown Miami to Palm Beach County, thru the most-densely populated parts of South Florida, I was always against that particular line in Central Florida.
It made no sense and couldn't possibly be successful because the distance was too short given the driving alternative.

See Jacksonville Transit blog's well-reasoned post of June 12th about why HSR failed the smell test in Florida: GOOD REASONS TO KILL FLORIDA HIGH SPEED RAIL

I've always suspected -and said on other transit blogs- that the line that would likely get the Obama money to proceed would likely be one between Chicago and St. Louis.

How's this for the beginning of a very expensive trip?
"The pro-train constituency has not been derailed by a state report this month that found the cost of the bullet train tripling to $98 billion for a project that would not be finished until 2033..."
New York Times
California Bullet Train Project Advances Amid Cries of Boondoggle
By Adam Nagourney
November 26, 201
SACRAMENTO — Across the country, the era of ambitious public works projects seems to be over. Governments are shelving or rejecting plans for highways, railroads and big buildings under the weight of collapsing revenues and voters’ resistance.

Read the rest of the article at:

The Nagourney article follows by a few days an excellent, eye-opening story by Ralph
Vartabedian in the LAT that delves into the social and cultural problems associated with constructing the line thru several parts of Cali that are firmly opposed to it and have the financial means and the will to push back hard, namely, the Central Valley agriculture belt.
The folks who grew and cultivated many of the items in your kitchen right now.

Los Angeles Times
California bullet train: The high price of speed
Its proposed route would destroy churches, schools, homes, warehouses, banks, medical offices, stores and much more.
By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times
October 22, 2011, 6:03 p.m.

Reporting from Bakersfield— Since it opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School has been the pride of this city and its academic cornerstone, the place where the late Chief Justice Earl Warren graduated and students call themselves the Drillers in homage to the region's oil patch.

It has withstood earthquakes and depressions, but perhaps it will not survive the California bullet train.
Read the rest of the article at:


Los Angeles Times
LA NOW blog
Cost projection for California bullet train jumps to nearly $100 billion
By Ralph Vartabedian
October 31, 2011 10:06 pm
California's bullet train will cost an estimated $98.5 billion to build over the next 20 years, an amount far higher than any previous projection, according to a business plan scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday.


Los Angeles Times
Opinion LA blog
California's bullet train: Boondoggle or boon?
By Dan Turner
November 3, 2011 3:35 pm
Californians seem to fall into two camps when it comes to the state's multibillion-dollar high-speed rail project, with those on one side (typically fiscal conservatives) seeing it as a massive waste of taxpayer money while those on the other (typically liberals) think it's a visionary, environmentally responsible solution to our state's transportation problems.
Read the rest of the post at:

Read the readers response to that post at:


The most recent financial news predicate for much of this debate can be read here:
Congress About to Kill High-Speed Train Program
By JOAN LOWY Associated Press
WASHINGTON November 17, 2011 (AP)

-----

California High Speed Rail Authority: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/

California High Speed Rail's YouTube Channel:

USHSR's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/USHSR


HighSpeedRailDoc's YouTube Channel:


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Sunday, April 18, 2010

In case you'd forgotten what sort of person Joe Gibbons was, here's a quick reminder: Y-O-U are at the bottom of his pyramid

My comments about State Rep. Joe Gibbons follow
this excellent article by Julie Patel.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-psc-college-laws-20100416,0,2688175.story

Legislation to reform PSC would rule out consumer-oriented regulator
By Julie Patel, Sun Sentinel
April 16, 2010

If you dropped out of college, you're still qualified to be a Florida governor, leading the nation's fourth largest state.

Or a state senator, deciding how to spend billions in tax dollars.

Or the state's chief financial officer, responsible for the accounting and auditing of the state's books.

But without a college degree, some legislators say you're not qualified to help set utility rates paid by millions of Floridians.

These regulators "have serious responsibilities to understand complicated rate cases," said Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach. "Someone with a college degree has the ability to learn and the discipline required to receive it."

He is one of 34 lawmakers who has voted for a bill that would require those appointed to the state Public Services Commission to have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college. The provision, one of many to reorganize the agency that regulates the state's utilities, is in a bill that could be put to a full House vote this week.

Some observers see another reason for the college-degree provision: oust commission Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano.

"She is fighting for consumers, and the utilities don't like it," said Bill Newton, executive director of the Florida Consumer Action Network. "Utilities are among the largest contributors to the Legislature, so it is no surprise that they are doing the utilities' bidding."

The five-member Public Service Commission has been at the center of a political firestorm over the past year after the state's largest utility, Florida Power & Light, proposed its largest rate increase ever. Contentious hearings erupted over allegations of cozy relationships between regulators and utility staffers.

Some commission officials resigned or were put on temporary leave. Gov. Charlie Crist appointed two regulatory newcomers to the commission, and the new commission rejected all but 6 percent of FPL's rate increase.

All of which put the Public Service Commission in the public eye.

Three House committees have approved the bill to reorganize the commission. Gibbons said the bill "has nothing to do with any one individual."

Five legislators who voted for it don't have bachelor's degrees, including Matt Hudson, a Republican who represents parts of Broward and Collier counties.

Hudson said he supports the requirement for commissioners because they're paid more than $130,000 a year and deal with "extraordinarily technical matters." Legislators are paid about $30,000 for their part-time work.

"Certainly these are people that are expected to know a great deal, and I think it's appropriate that we put criterion, just like you would put criterion for any executive position," he said.

Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul supports the requirement.

A college requirement is important because "PSC members are not elected," Jill Chamberlin, the speaker's spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail. "They are supposed to make decisions as judges do."

In the FPL rate case, Chamberlin said the PSC considered 176 complex issues ranging from accounting to the cost of capital. The commission has a staff of engineers, economists, accountants, finance experts and lawyers to review these issues, "but the staff does not make the decisions," she wrote.

As for comparisons to elected officials, "The Governor, the Legislature are elected," she said. "It's up to the voters to determine standards for knowledge and background."

Argenziano, a vocal critic of utilities' influence on policy and regulation, dropped out of pre-veterinary college to raise her son. She worked on weekends washing cars and painting apartments and has worked as a veterinary technician specialist, a real estate agent and part owner of an emergency animal hospital. She spent 10 years as a Republican legislator from Crystal River before being named to the commission by Crist.

"I could not get what many people my age had the good fortune to get, a formal education. But I can tell you I learned through the school of hard knocks, hard work and experience," she said.

"While I never claim to be a genius, I do know I was born with intelligence."

Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, the state's utility customer advocate, said all the commissioners he's dealt with the past few years have been "learned."

"I might not like their decisions but I could not sit there and tell you they weren't competent," he said.

College degrees aren't required for many top governments posts, but some require advanced degrees. For example, the Attorney General must be a member of the Florida Bar, which means he or she must have a law degree. Only licensed physicians can be appointed to the state Board of Medicine.

Jan Beecher is director of the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University, a utility regulation research center. She has looked at the demographics and qualifications of utility commissioners nationwide.

She knows of no state that requires utility commissioners have a college degree but a study she completed last month found that most do. Only 32 of 233 commissioners nationwide said they had completed "associate, some college, or not specified."

A few states require specific experience, Beecher said. For example, Nebraska's municipal utility regulation board has designated spots for an attorney, an engineer, an accountant and two laypeople.

"You want to be very careful not to exclude someone because your hands are tied by statutory requirements," she said. "But I certainly think education is important in our field."

She recommends that states give commissioners the opportunity to learn more about utility regulation. In most states, agency staff provides technical expertise, she pointed out.

Floridians have elected seven governors who didn't have college degrees, according to Gary Mormino, a history professor at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg.

"I am leery to suggest that a college degree makes one smart or better suited to govern," he said. "Character matters more than brains or a college pedigree."

See also: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-psc-college-laws-box-20100416,0,6549111.story

Reader comments at:
http://discussions.sun-sentinel.com/20/soflanews/fl-psc-college-laws-20100416/10
-----------

So, State Rep. Joe Gibbons, who stands by and pretends
he doesn't know anything about the self-evident corruption
and anti-democratic sentiments that have been emanating
from the bunker at Hallandale Beach City Hall for YEARS,
much of which took place with him squarely in the center
of it all -the same guy who had said and did what,
exactly, about the Village at Gulfstream Park
project completely exporting their Section 8
Housing, as the Diplomat is now trying to do
under their incompatible LAC proposal?-
the guy who won't say word one about what side he
favors on the Diplomat LAC issue affecting his District,
is very concerned about making sure that... someone
who is pro-consumer at the Florida Public Service
Commission has to go buh-bye?
Huh?

The Gibbons that was the ranking Democrat on the
House Transportation and Economic
Development Appropriations Committee,
but who has never ever attended any of the many
regional Transportation summits and workshops
that I've attended since he was elected, which have
drawn people from all over the state and from U.S.
DOT regional HQ in Atlanta, and even from Canada?
Yes, that Joe Gibbons!

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4400&SessionId=64

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx?CommitteeId=2450&sessionId=64

Gibbons is such a nothing representative, it's distressing
that in the year 2010, his great luck is to represent one
of the most apathetic FL House Districts in the entire state.
Mine.

If this Julie Patel article is an accurate indication of
how he's going to put his representation for his corporate
clients at Akerman Senterfitt -where Gibbons is a
"consultant"- ahead of our interests, things are definitely
going to get a whole lot bumpier for him over the next few
months.
On that you can depend.
See http://www.akerman.com/public/attorneys/aBiography.asp?id=1186&name=Gibbons-Joseph-A.

Did you notice that the office they show him
attached to is NOT in Fort lauderdale or Miami,
but the one in Tallahassee

You might be interested in knowing that just this year,
I have been approached about five times at myriad events
throughout Broward, all by different but clearly
well-informed people, each specifically asking me
variations of the same question:
Did I know that Gibbons and his family really
live in/near Jacksonville, and NO LONGER live
in his FL House District?

I didn't.
Who does he think he is, Steve Geller?

 --------------
Just in case you never saw it, last June I wrote an email
and subsequent blog post on June 4th that gets to the
heart of the problem as it involves the state's transportation
issues and Joe Gibbons' somnolence here in his own
district.

It concerns an important Transportation meeting held
up at the Broward Convention Center when the
Legislature was NOT meeting, while Gibbons was,
perhaps, with his family near Duval County.

I include this series of excerpts here, along with
some pertinent facts to better connect-the-dots.
They are from:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/tomas-boiton-is-on-case-south-florida.html


Nothing quite says lip service like folks acting all concerned

with transportation policy and Quality of Life issues when

being interviewed by reporters, but then skipping the chance

to appear at an informative Saturday morning event where

actual concerned South Florida citizens are present and

accounted for.


Plus there was a great speaker like Gordon Price of

Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, the noted

Smart Growth expert, who made a truly fantastic

presentation that had most attendees wistful as they

watched it, and even more angry than they expected

at seeing once again how much worse this area is than

it ought to be compared to other places.

(See http://www.sfu.ca/city/bioGordon.htm and

http://www.pricetags.ca/presentations.html )


Mr. Price flew across North America from beautiful

Vancouver to deliver a powerful message in Fort

Lauderdale, and I made time to make the relatively

short trip up to the Broward County Convention

Center to hear him - and was very glad I did,

as many other attendees told me as well.


Based on her pathetic track record and apparent fear

of actually interacting with knowledgeable taxpayer

citizens, instead of the govt. officials and trade groups

she clearly prefers to interact with, which I've written

about here before, I completely expected FDOT

Sec. Stephanie Kopelousos to be a no-show.

She didn't disappoint, so her non-appearance was

NOT exactly Breaking News.


But where was my own State Rep., Joe Gibbons?

Or my State Senator, Eleanor Sobel?


Gibbons, the former Hallandale Beach City Commissioner

who now acts oblivious to all the self-evident unethical and

incompetent activity taking place here in HB, happens to be

the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation

and Economic Development Appropriations

Committee, and yet was a no-show that morning, as were

South Florida Senators Alex Diaz de la Portilla and

Chris Smith, both of the Senate Committee on

Transportation and Economic Development

Appropriations.


Nice going!

Way to represent!


----------
Because of my longtime interest in transportation issues,
I have been to every SFECC meeting held in Gibbons'
district since he was elected, in Hallandale Beach as well
as in next door Hollywood and Aventura.

I've also been to every major public transportation meeting
held in South Florida, whether the Regional meeting I
reference above, the one held in Dania last Fall on funding
sources for Tri-Rail and commuter rail in the state or the
one thrown by Broward County three years ago at the
Broward County Convention Center, which had hundreds
of people.

I was even at the impromptou meeting held over a year
ago at Hollywood City Hall hosted by Rep. Elaine
Schwartz and Sen. Eleanor Sobel on dedicated
Tri-Rail funding.
That doesn't make me an expert, just concerned.

So why is it that Joe Gibbons is never seen, not even at
the ones not held during the regular legislative session?

At some point, it's fair to say that he's a no-show on this
issue in his own area.
How come Gibbons and his Committee have never held
a field hearing down here since he was elected?
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Nothing quite proves the lip service of FL transportation policy like Joe Gibbons being MIA on those issues in his own district

Sent this out as an email a few minutes ago to the
folks in my network of concerned South Florida
citizens and to some of the reporters who've written
about this subject over the past week.

----------------
December 2nd, 2009
1:30 p.m.

Regarding some of the recent articles and blog posts
-at bottom- on State Rep. Joe Gibbons and lots of
'huffing and puffing' about changing the dates of the
special FL legislative session on public transportation
issues because of some conflicting logistics over the
National Black Caucus annual meeting to be held
in FTL, that Rep. Gibbons is speaking at tomorrow
-a little local perspective goes a long way.

I think I sent it to many of you originally as a bcc,
but just in case I didn't, back in June, I wrote an
email and subsequent blog post on June 4th that
gets to the heart of the problem as it involves the
state's many transportation issues and what
seems to be a clear fact pattern of Joe Gibbons'
somnolence here in his own district on those
very issues.

I include it below for your perusal, along with
some other pertinent facts that seem worth
mentioning now that he is expecting the entire
legislature to change their plans because of his
self-interests.
That is, in case facts actually still matter.
---------------
 http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/tomas-boiton-is-on-case-south-florida.html


A few paragraphs into my post I write:

Nothing quite says lip service like folks

acting all concerned with transportation

policy and Quality of Life issues when being

interviewed by reporters, but then skipping the

chance to appear at an informative Saturday

morning event where actual concerned South

Florida citizens are present and accounted

for.


Plus there was a great speaker like Gordon Price

of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver,

the noted Smart Growth expert, who made a truly

fantastic presentation that had most attendees

wistful as they watched it, and even more angry

than they expected at seeing, once again,

how much worse this area is than it ought to be

compared to other places.

(See http://www.sfu.ca/city/bioGordon.htm and

http://www.pricetags.ca/presentations.html )


Mr. Price flew across North America from

beautiful Vancouver to deliver a powerful message

in Fort Lauderdale, and I made time to make the

relatively short trip up to the Broward County

Convention Center to hear him - and was very

glad I did, as many other attendees told me

as well.


Based on her pathetic track record and apparent

fear of actually interacting with knowledgeable

taxpayer citizens, instead of the govt. officials

and trade groups she clearly prefers to interact

with, which I've written about here before,

I completely expected FDOT Sec. Stephanie

Kopelousos to be a no-show.


She didn't disappoint, so her non-appearance

was NOT exactly Breaking News.


But where was my own State Rep., Joe Gibbons?

Or my State Senator, Eleanor Sobel?


Gibbons, the former Hallandale Beach City

Commissioner who now acts oblivious to

all the self-evident unethical and incompetent

activity taking place here in HB, happens to be

the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation

and Economic Development Appropriations

Committee, and yet was a no-show that morning,

as were South Florida Senators Alex Diaz de la

Portilla and Chris Smith, both of the Senate

Committee on Transportation and Economic

Development Appropriations.


Nice going!

Way to represent!


The folks who actually attended the Summit won't

soon forget who the no-shows were.


See also:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/tri-rails-need-for-dedicated-funding.html

----------

Because of my longtime interest in transportation
and public policy issues, I have been to every
SFECC meeting held in Gibbons' own district
since he was elected, both here in Hallandale Beach,
as well as meetings in next door Hollywood and
Aventura.
And I've been to ones in Miami and in Fort
Lauderdale.

I've seen engaged county and city commissioners
from South Florida like Sue Gunzburger,
Beam Furr, Keith London, Zev Auerbach,
Linda Sherwood...
But no Joe Gibbons.

I think it's fair to say that I've been to every major
public transportation meeting held in South Florida
over the past 3-4 years, whether the Regional meeting
I reference above, the one held in Dania last Fall
on funding sources for Tri-Rail and commuter rail
in the state, or the one hosted by Broward County
three years ago at the Broward County Convention
Center, all of which had hundreds of people
attending.

I was even at the somewhat impromptu meeting
held over a year ago at Hollywood City Hall hosted
by Rep, Elaine Schwartz and Sen. Eleanor Sobel
on Tri-Rail funding and related transportation problems,
that drew a few dozen concerned citizens from this
part of Broward County and Northeast Miami-Dade
County.

That doesn't make me an expert, of course, just
a concerned citizen who pays attention to what
is and isn't happening.

Given his position, a State Representative and
the Chair of a Committee that deals directly with
transportation, why is it that at these meetings,
ALL held within minutes of Joe Gibbons' district,
he's NEVER seen?

Not even at the ones NOT held during the
regular legislative session?

That seems like a reasonable question a real
reporter might want to ask him one of these days.

At some point, it's perfectly fair to say that he's
a no-show on this issue in his own area of the
state.
That time is now.

And please, if you can, explain to me why House
Minority Leader Sands and Gibbons won't
answer the basic question of what would happen
to the special session if the legislature actually
waited until Monday to start and run head into
Hanukkah?

We know the answer to that, don't we?
The predictable hue and cry that we would arise.
And yet for their own purposes, Sands and Gibbons
feign ignorance and act like they don't know that
holiday is on calendars in everyone's house and
office.
That attitude certainly explains a lot of why things
are the way they are in this state.
Second-rate, backwards and half-assed.

So what, exactly, is their clever alternative to the
dilemma?
To start on Monday and then stop on Wednesday
for a few days for the holidays and have everyone
leave town, then come back the following Monday?
And to what, use Christmas as a cudgel and
deadline?

That not only doesn't make sense but means the
public will once again be forced to listen to
Members complain about how difficult it is to get
to far-off Tallahassee from South Florida,
a tiresome complaint that doesn't elicit any
sympathy from anyone not related to them,
esp. since taxpayers are stuck paying the
ridiculous sum of $600 for Members' round trip
flights to Tallahassee because of the Legislature's
inability to run logically even during the Regular
session.
Zero sympathy!

If Joe Gibbons is genuinely concerned about
transportation issues in South Florida, why,
to the best of my knowledge, has no-show Gibbons
and his State House Committee never held a single
field-hearing in South Florida, the scene of the
crime, if you will?

In his representation of me and other constituents
in this district on these important economic and
Quality-of-Life issues, at a certain point, it's fair
to say that it's exactly what it looks like: somnolence.
He's now morphed into Rip Van Gibbons.

----------

Black lawmakers: Delay session

MiamiHerald.com - Steve Bousquet, Marc Caputo -
A special legislative session scheduled for this week on Florida rail projects has raised the ire of black lawmakers because it conflicts with their plans ...

Fla. speaker refuses to delay special session

MiamiHerald.com - ‎
AP TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- House Speaker Larry Cretul has refused to delay a special legislative session that will conflict with the annual meeting of the ...

Black lawmaker flap: House Dem leader asks for excused absence from special ...

Palm Beach Post - Michael C. Bender - ‎
Designated House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders, R-Key West, requested an excused absence from the first two days ...

Count Saunders out of special this week: He's with black caucus

Tampabay.com - Ron Saunders - ‎
And so the game of chicken/who flinches first continues between House leadership and black legislators and House Dems... Rep. ...

Black legislators seek to delay special session

Sarasota Herald-Tribune - John Kennedy - ‎
TALLAHASSEE - Republican legislative leaders Tuesday struggled to tamp down rising anger among House Democrats ...

House leaders won't delay special session for black legislators conference

Tampa Tribune - Catherine Dolinski - ‎
TALLAHASSEE - House leaders stuck today to their schedule for a special legislative session starting on Thursday, ...

Session timing at odds with national meet of black legislators; GOP leaders ...

Palm Beach Post - Dara Kam - ‎
TALLAHASSEE — Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul on Tuesday refused to delay the onset of the special session slated to begin Thursday despite ...

Speaker Larry Cretul: no dice on special session delay

Juice - Josh Hafenbrack - ‎
House Speaker Larry Cretul is sticking to his guns: The special session will start on Thursday, as planned, despite protests from Democrats that the ...

Saunders says he'll skip first two days of session

Juice - Josh Hafenbrack - ‎
How many days can the flap over the scheduling of Thursday's special session – which coincides with a national black legislative conference in Fort ...

South Florida meeting won't delay special session on transportation

Sun-Sentinel.com - ‎
AP TALLAHASSEE - (AP) -- House Speaker Larry Cretul has refused to delay a special legislative session that will conflict with the annual meeting of the ...

Black legislators' caucus meeting in Lauderdale

Broward Politics - Brittany Wallman - ‎Dec 1, 2009‎
Leaders from across the nation are expected to gather in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday for the 33rd annual National Black Caucus of State Legislators ...

Rail special session conflicts with black legislator conference in South Florida

Orlando Sentinel - Aaron Deslatte - ‎Nov 30, 2009‎
By Josh Hafenbrack, Tallahassee Bureau TALLAHASSEE -- The Legislature will be in special session starting Thursday at 9 am, it looks like. ...

House GOP "racially insensitive," Sands charges

Sun-Sentinel.com - Josh Hafenbrack - ‎Dec 1, 2009‎
House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands, D-Weston, warned that the Legislature's Republican leadership is verging on being “racially insensitive” for ...

Black legislators up in arms about special session date

Juice - Josh Hafenbrack - ‎Nov 30, 2009‎
Just one problem: That's a big day for the state's black caucus, which is hosting a national conference for black legislators in Fort Lauderdale from ...

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