Tag Archive for 'News'

Three Great Articles

Three Great articles I highly recommend.

An entire generation of Americans has grown up thinking public faucets equal filth, and the only water fit to drink comes in plastic, factory sealed. It’s time to change that perception with public fountains in the city’s busiest quadrants, pristine bubblers that celebrate the virtues of our public water supply, remind us of our connection to upstate watersheds and reinforce our commitment to clean water for all.

Oil fueled our ambitions and dreams. The more we drank, the happier we felt, the bolder we acted. We believed in the eternity of oil, the everlasting cheapness of it; we looked askance at anyone who questioned our faith.

In all of this, we had enablers, politicians who supported our habit, told us not to worry, that there was more cheap oil to be found somewhere — in another country, perhaps, if not our own. They said they would fix whatever needed fixing.

It is one thing to meet with an Amtrak worker for a photo-op. It is another to get on board for the rail service America needs for a green economy, less urban congestion, and a more civilized future. Obama says, ‘‘Detroit won’t find a better partner than me in the White House.’’ In the past, that has also meant making a pariah out of Amtrak. Nothing would symbolize a break from this past more than a whistlestop tour in the presidential campaign, to promote trains themselves.

Mid-Week News and Notes

  • PAB supports the Marine Industry.  So do we.  The unofficial Port along the Miami River is critical economic engine for our community and should be working to unify into an official entity (Say: a Miami-Dade Port Authority?)  in order to maximize the potential of all of our resources.
  • The PTP is a mess and the CITT doesn’t have a real budget.  I’ve got to commend Miles Moss for his work thus far as the Chairman of the Trust, too bad the County Commission stripped the trust of its teeth…Miami SunPost Header
  • This headline is precisely why I stopped reading the Sunpost (plus all the attention they give to Norman Braman): “County Eliminates 600 Bus Routes” Oh really?  600?  So much for that “The Story Matters Slogan” because facts sure as heck don’t…
  • Arthur Teele Park; has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?  Never mind all the corruption and bribery allegations, let alone the most dramatic suicide in Miami’s History…
  • Miami Beach Commissioners are looking to remove the Bike lanes from a reconstruction plan for Alton Road.  Anyone else see a lawsuit coming?

FDOT is obligated by state statue to include bike accommodations where possible. They were recently sued by a Boca Raton bicycling group for refusing to put bike lanes on A1A. They lost - a decision which we hope will scare FDOT into taking bicyclists more seriously.

  • This CGG headline is fitting: “There’s always something to complain about”  That just about sums up their mission, doesn’t it?

News Briefs

  • Farecards are coming and we couldn’t be happier. MDT will spend $72 Million to finally upgrade the transit fare collection system, phasing out the cash only system for a new high-tech card. However, on the downside, MDT is also looking to increase fares to $2 among other things in order to improve the federal ratings of the proposed North and East/West expansions…
  • Man who tried to commit suicide by rail this morning is alive and well, even after he was run over by 3 rail cars…
  • Ana Mendez performs a mini experiment and finds that walking around downtown is easier than driving (duh!) I find it shocking how many Herald reporters don’t use transit regularly…
  • The CITT has reversed its original decision to refuse the funding for new metrorail cars. We can likely kiss one (maybe two) of the original proposed extensions goodbye…
  • Downtown Doral is rising…
  • Rumor has it that the state is working on an incentive program to bring a new Hispanic owned airline to MIA as well as a reincarnation of Eastern Airlines…
  • Here is another no-brainer: Rising Gas Prices Lead to Increase in Public Transportation