Tony Sasso responds

Click title for story link. Check out comments to the story on the site. October 30, 2008 A few months ago, the Orlando Sentinel endorsed me in the February special election saying, "Mr. Sasso has the experience and command of the issues facing the district. . . . He's been a champion of managed growth . . ."While I wasn't surprised that the Sentinel endorsed my developer opponent for Florida House District 32, it is my belief that the issue of commuter rail, as now proposed, was the deciding factor in the endorsement. I am a proponent of How Shall We Grow, which includes commuter rail. And while I made this clear, I also said we should consider going back to the table to make sure we get the best deal for everyone, not just for CSX.There are many issues that are as important, or more important, to the citizens of District 32, including education, jobs, taxes, insurance and the environment.In seven months as a representative, I have been an independent voice, often crossing party lines, working for my constituents, not lobbyists. As a freshman, I received awards from the teachers, League of Conservation Voters, Association of Counties and the Marine Resources Council. I have been endorsed by the NRA, police and fire organizations, teachers, nurses, aerospace workers and the Sierra Club. These are citizen groups that know that I listen to and work for the public.

DCA wants Haven to rethink SR 60 growth amendment

Click title for story link. State planning officials at the Florida Department of Community Affairs have finally weighed in on Winter Haven's latest major growth map amendment. I wrote last month that regional planners thought this was probably intense enough to be considered a DRI whenever development is proposed for the property on either side of SR 60 (the idea that Winter Haven extends that far south still seems surreal) as spinoff from the CSX project actually materializes. None of the comments from state planners, to which Winter Haven officials are supposed to respond by the end of the year, was surprising.

Residents contribute suggestions for growth plan

Click title for story link. By Shelly GodefrinNews Chief staff Published: Friday, November 14, 2008 at 4:01 a.m. Last Modified: Friday, November 14, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. WINTER HAVEN - Residents had a chance to help plan the future of Winter Haven at a community meeting Thursday morning. The information received during this and other meetings will be used in preparation for the city's Evaluation and Appraisal Report and a new comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan, which is created about every 10 years, will be used for the city's growth through 2020. Senior Planner Sean Byers said the purpose the meetings is to look at what has worked and what hasn't worked in the past.

FDOT District One Rail Traffic Evaluation

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District One Rail Traffic Evaluation study team will hold a second workshop on Wednesday, December 10, 2008. The purpose of this workshop will be to review the work accomplished to date and receive feedback from the public. Meeting time, place and agenda are as follows: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Presentation at 6:30 p.m.) The Lakeland Center Lake Hollingsworth Room 701 West Lime Street Lakeland, Florida 33815-1509 Park in the red parking lot. The workshop will involve an open house component and a formal presentation. Attend the event any time between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to speak with the study team and view project materials. At 6:30 p.m., the study team will give a formal presentation. The presentation will be given only once during the workshop. Following the presentation there will be an opportunity for public comment. For directions to The Lakeland Center, visit their web site's directions and parking page by clicking the link below or by copying and pasting the link into your internet browser: http://www.thelakelandcenter.com/x_evt_info/directions-n-parking.aspx. You may also contact the center by phone: (863) 834-8144. This workshop is being held in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability or family status. Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or persons who require translation services (free of charge) should contact Ms. Arlene Barnes at 863-519-2349 or Arlene.Barnes@dot.state.fl.us at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting date. Following the workshop, presentation materials will be posted on the District One Rail Traffic Evaluation Study Web Site. You may visit the project web site by clicking this link: http://www.fdotrailtrafficevaluation.com/ The web site has been updated to include a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document as well as the first issue of the project newsletter. For your convenience, a copy of the newsletter is attached to this email. Thank you for your continuing interest and participation in the District One Rail Traffic Evaluation Study.

ALL ABOARD!!!

Click title for story link. Can the insane people of the City of Winter Haven be stopped? This is ridiculous. Meeting in special session, Mayor Nathaniel Birdsong, convened a special meeting of the Winter Haven City Commission for the purpose of holding the final public hearing on the development order for the Evansville Western inter-modal rail terminal to be built on 318 acres of land south of Winter Haven and north of Highway 60. Commissioners held a public hearing taking input from the municipalities of Lakeland and Lake Wales, Polk County Commission, Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce and interested citizens. The meeting began at 9:00 a.m. and just prior to 11 a.m. Commissioners voted unanimous approval for the development order for the project. The Commission then entertained a motion to approve a development agreement with Evansville Western to begin the project. A public hearing was held with no public comment presented regarding the development agreement. The public hearing was then closed and the Commission unanimously approve the motion.

Why Is The State Paying CSX Based on 2005-2006 Land Values?

Click title for story link. Very brief point to ponder, and I’ll come back to it later. No one seems to know exactly how much the state is paying CSX and for what in the rail realignment deal. It all depends on how you define it. But figures I’ve heard range from $491 million to almost $700 million. All of those numbers are bound up in one way or another with the value of the 61 miles of land and track the state plans to buy from CSX. That value was tabulated in 2005 or 2006 as the secret negotiations unfolded. So let me ask you: Is your house worth as much now as it was in late 2005? Maybe our friend Jane Healy, late of the Orlando Sentinel editorial page, can explain to us why state taxpayers, at the bottom of a historically severe recession, should pay CSX based on boomtime 2005-06 land values. Jane?

Critics grow louder about rail cost

Click title for story link Nov. 13, 2008By Isaac Babcock Observer Staff Critics of Winter Park's entry into the commuter rail system argued for a re-examination of the costs of the project at Monday's City Commission meeting, citing that it would be the most expensive system per mile in the country's history. The new angle of attack came as part of a prolonged push from City Commissioner Beth Dillaha and some city residents, who said the city is rushing too quickly into a deal to become part of a proposed commuter rail system before understanding the financial implications. "It is the biggest project we will have ever taken on," Dillaha said. "I think there is always wisdom in re-examining a project." She said the system would cost $10.5 million per mile — a record for U.S. rail systems. "It's the most expensive rail project in the history of the United States," she said.

BNSF Railway looking at new technologies to reduce air pollution

Click title for story link. Winter Haven dismissed cancer concerns, but other parts of the nation do not look the other way when the health and welfare of it's residents is at jeapordy!!! Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer Article Launched: 11/10/2008 01:55:40 AM PST SAN BERNARDINO - Experimental exhaust filters, locomotives with multiple engines, and diesel engines with built-in brains are among the technologies that government officials and BNSF Railway executives are considering to reduce air pollution. BNSF has received serious criticism from Westside residents after environmental regulators announced earlier this year that people living near the 168-acre rail yard face elevated cancer risks. The danger, in the eyes of the California Air Resources Board, is the diesel pollution emitted by trucks and locomotives. The obvious imperative is to reduce diesel pollutions. One method that BNSF executives are already using to cut back on pollution is using engines that automatically shut down when left idling. Tom Ison, a BNSF executive who oversees hub operations from St. Paul, Minn., to Los Angeles said new diesel engines come equipped with an "electronic control module" that monitors how much fuel engines are consuming. "On a low idle, when it's not being used, it senses that," he said.

Amtrak weighs return of direct route to Miami

Click title for story link. It would use Florida East Coast Railway tracks paralleling I-95. By LARRY HANNAN, The Times-Union It's a little early to get nostalgic for 2001, but Amtrak officials have begun talking about turning back the clock and taking a second crack at a passenger train route from Jacksonville to Miami. Amtrak offers passenger service from Jacksonville to Miami on its Silver Star and Silver Meteor trains, but the Silver Meteor takes nine hours and goes to Orlando, while the Silver Star takes almost 11 hours and goes to Tampa on tracks owned by CSX. Using the Florida East Coast tracks would create a quicker route down the east coast of Florida while also allowing stops in cities like St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

Amtrak seeks arbitration over delays on Union Pacific tracks

Click title for story link. More than a year after a breakthrough deal was reached to help Amtrak trains operate on schedule, the passenger railroad is seeking arbitration to resolve disputes with the Union Pacific Railroad, officials said Monday. Freight disruptions and slow zones on track owned by the Union Pacific are severely delaying Amtrak trains, including on routes through Illinois.

Calif. voters approve $10B bond for bullet trains

Click title for story link. Nov 5, 5:44 PM (ET)By DON THOMPSON LOS ANGELES (AP) - California voters are green-lighting the nation's most ambitious high-speed rail system, approving a nearly $10 billion bond to put speeding bullet trains capable of topping 200 mph between the state's major metropolitan areas. The measure, which passed with 52 percent support Tuesday, will fund the first phase of what is projected to be a $45 billion, 800-mile project built with state, federal, local and private money. Backers sold the proposal as an innovative alternative to soaring airfares and gas prices. In the closing weeks of the campaign, they touted estimates that it would create nearly 160,000 construction-related jobs and 450,000 permanent jobs.

Mass. To Acquire Some CSX Rail Assets

Posted Oct 2, 2008> TRANSPORTATION> > Mass. to acquire some CSX rail assets> > > By Susan A. Baird> PBN Web Editor> > BOSTON – A multi-year rail-transportation agreement between the> Commonwealth of Massachusetts and intermodal transportation giant CSX> Corp. “significantly increases options for commuters and lays the> groundwork for improving the flow of product shipments,” state and> company officials said in a statement today.> > The agreement will expand commuter-rail service to Worcester by the> end of the month and help speed completion of the South Coast Rail> project. (READ MORE) Financial details were not disclosed.> > Commuter rail “is an important part of the governor’s statewide> transportation plan to relieve congestion,” Mass. Transportation> Secretary Bernard Cohen said in a statement today. “Reaching> agreement on important terms for four strategic rail assets,> including the CSXT-owned portion of the lines to the South Coast,> moves a top priority – South Coast Rail – one step closer to> reality.”> > The agreement – the product of nearly four years of talks between> CSX and state and federal officials, including the Massachusetts Bay> Transportation Authority (MBTA) – calls for the addition of five> commuter trains to serve Worcester, plus possible additional trains> “as rail capacity is created,” the parties said today. It also> “will facilitate the Patrick-Murray administration’s plan to> extend commuter-rail service to New Bedford and Fall River; provide> the potential for even more commuter service for Worcester; and> create the ability of area companies to ship or receive products on> double-stack rail cars,” helping reduce truck traffic on the> region’s crowded highways.> > “This is an historic day for all of Massachusetts, and most> especially for Worcester and the South Coast,” said Lt. Gov. Timothy> P. Murray, who led the state negotiating team. Joining him for> announcements today at South Station in Boston and Union Station in> Worcester were, among others, U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, U.S. Rep.> James P. McGovern and CSX Chairman, President and CEO Michael J. Ward.> > Kerry described the pact as “a milestone in the public> transportation history of Massachusetts – a history which, for the> people of Central and Southeastern Massachusetts had been marked by> decades of insufficient rail service.” The deal “is the result of> months of intense negotiations between CSXT and federal and state> officials,” he added, “and it has the potential to provide an> economic boost to the entire commonwealth.”> > “Thanks to our partners, Senator Kerry and Congressman McGovern,> we’ve reached an agreement that increases commuter options and> ultimately could make Worcester the new rail hub of New England,”> said Murray, who has been working to expand regional commuter-rail> service in the state since his tenure as Worcester’s mayor. “We> appreciate CSXT staying at the table and making this agreement a> reality.”> > The “main elements” of the deal, as laid out in today’s> announcement, are:> > • By Oct. 27, the MBTA will extend five Framingham-Boston commuter> trains to Worcester, via CSX Transportation Inc.’s Boston Line.> > At a future date, the commonwealth intends to purchase CSXT’s rights> in the line, “increasing the potential for additional commuter> service, while also taking control of dispatching and maintenance.”> > • As soon as possible, the commonwealth and CSXT will “begin> increasing the vertical clearances of bridges along the railroad main> line between I-495 and the New York state line,” to make it possible> to accommodate double-stack freight trains along the full length of> that line. “The commonwealth will assume responsibility for raising> highway bridges, while CSXT will be responsible for lowering tracks.”> > • By June 2009, Massachusetts will buy CSXT’s New Bedford-Fall> River Line, along with the company’s rights in the Boston Terminal> Running Track and West First Street Yard in South Boston, and the> Grand Junction secondary line from Beacon Park Yard to Cambridge, Mass.> > • To expand commuter-rail capacity over time, the state “is> investigating whether it can help CSXT to relocate the company’s> locomotive service facility out of Boston, in the near term.> Ultimately … CSXT also plans to move its operations out of Beacon> Park,” the parties added. (The sites to which those facilities would> move have yet to be determined.)> > “We salute the vision and perseverance of Massachusetts leaders at> every level of government,” said Ward, the CSX chief executive.> > “The entire nation is recognizing the benefits of freight railroads> to the environment, the economy and traffic conditions on our> highways,” he added. “One train can carry the load of 280 trucks,> and is three to four times more fuel efficient.> > “The Massachusetts plan turns existing freight-rail infrastructure> into a 21st-Century solution for both commuters and businesses.”> > Additional information about transit projects in the Bay State is> available from the Mass. Executive Office of Transportation & Public> Works at www.eot.state.ma.us.> > The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority – established by> state legislation in 1964, to replace the former Metropolitan Transit> Authority (MTA) – traces its history back to the establishment of a> public ferry in 1631. Additional information, including schedules for> MBTA bus, trolley, subway, boat and commuter-rail service, is> available at www.mbta.com.> > CSX Corp., based in Jacksonville, Fla., is a leading provider of> rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck trainload services. It is the> parent of CST Transportation Inc. (CSXT), which took over part of the> Conrail system in 1999. Additional information is available at> www.csx.com.