All Aboard Florida got another break from an indulgent federal government last week when the U.S. Department of Transportation granted the company more time to issue $1.15 billion of Private Activity Bonds to finance the second phase of its high-speed passenger rail service.
“This propels our project as we extend Brightline to Orlando, developing a transportation network that will benefit the entire state,” said Brightline President Patrick Goddard. The tax-exempt bonds were allocated in December and set to expire May 31. So far, investors have not rushed to buy the bonds. The seven-month extension through the end of the year was granted on the condition that the company continue to seek alternative financing. Read more here.
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Opponents of Brightline’s high-speed rail line hope an upcoming study of planned and existing railroad operations in Florida will give state officials second thoughts about allowing passenger trains to run north and south through St. Lucie County at 110 miles an hour.
The state currently has no laws or regulations addressing the safety of high-speed trains like All Aboard Florida’s Brightline, which now runs between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale and is slated to extend north to Cocoa and west to Orlando in the next couple of years. Included in the $88.7 billion General Appropriations Act, passed by the legislature and approved March 16 by Gov. Rick Scott, is a directive for the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct an overview study of the Florida rail system. Read more here. Even as All Aboard Florida chugs ahead with its plan to run high-speed passenger trains through Vero Beach and the rest of the Treasure Coast, local officials continue to fight the plan, which they believe would bring serious safety problems and economic harm to the area.
The latest move came earlier this month when Indian River County joined Martin County and advocacy group CARE-Florida filing a complaint in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, which names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration as defendants. The lawsuit alleges the DOT ignored safety, maritime and environmental problems and improperly subsidized the Brightline trains with tax exempt bonds, while violating the National Environmental Policy Act. Read more here. A couple from Indiana is suing Disney Vacation Club Management alleging mold in their room during a 2013 stay in Vero Beach caused serious health concerns. The complaint filed in Indian River County claims negligence at the island resort located a block south of the Wabasso Causeway.
Disney denied wrongdoing in court filings. An Orlando-based spokeswoman for the company told 32963 the lawsuit was unfounded. “We disagree with the allegations in the complaint and will respond to them, as appropriate, in court,” said Kim Prunty. Neither Disney nor its attorney offered any further comment. Thelma K. Walls, of Nashville, Indiana, stayed at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort in 2013 from Nov. 29 through Dec. 2. It was during that visit, she claims, she was exposed to mold. Read more here. Indian River County joined Martin County and advocacy group CARE-Florida Tuesday filing a complaint in federal court in attempt to prevent All Aboard Florida’s planned high speed rail expansion along the Treasure Coast.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration as defendants. It alleges the DOT ignored safety, maritime and environmental problems and improperly subsidized the Brightline trains with tax exempt bonds, while violating the National Environmental Policy Act. “Throughout the NEPA process, Indian River County submitted comments to the [Federal Railroad Administration] demanding that the agency take a hard look at the environmental impacts of the All Aboard Florida project,” Indian River County Attorney Dylan Reingold said in a statement. “Unfortunately, after improperly waiting 28 months, the [Federal Railroad Administration] issued a flawed and legally inadequate Record of Decision.” Read more here. In the wake of multiple fatalities, officials in Martin and Indian River counties are gearing up for a second expensive legal battle against All Aboard Florida in an attempt to derail plans for the high-speed passenger train before it hits the Treasure Coast.
Hundreds gathered last week in downtown Stuart at a meeting of the Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida to discuss legal, political and advocacy efforts against Brightline’s planned expansion north from West Palm Beach to Orlando. Among those in attendance at the Lyric Theater were Indian River County Commissioner Bob Solari and County Attorney Dylan Reingold. Concerns over safety have increased following Brightline’s introduction of service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, starting with VIP runs Jan. 12. Read more here. BBC Research & Consulting to study race and gender disparity in Asheville contractsASHEVILLE - The city has turned to a Denver firm for a $320,000 yearlong business disparity study. BBC Research and Consulting should begin work in June to assess the state of city contracting with minority- and white women-owned businesses, said Brenda Mills, an economic development specialist for the city of Asheville.
The firm will analyze five years of data and organize surveys, focus groups and community meetings to understand the city's contracting and purchasing patterns. Municipalities wanting to legally justify a race-based minority business program must undertake an independent study, she said. The city last did this research in the 1990s, shortly after its program was formed. Read more here. Women wanting hospital birth will have to drive miles to Sylva or Asheville.FRANKLIN - Mission Health’s chief executive offered a somber apology to the people of Macon County on Friday as he announced plans to build a new $43 million replacement community hospital with no labor and delivery services.
Dr. Ronald Paulus, president and CEO of Mission Health, speaking at a news conference in Asheville, said the nonprofit regional health care system was faced with two bad alternatives in an increasingly regulated and expensive health care environment. “We are very sorry that we cannot keep this program open," he said. "We looked at every possibility that we could conceive of ... We just couldn't find a way." Read more here. For the first time, each graduate is leaving the program with a jobASHEVILLE - The first job Stephen Barnard says he aspired to was that of a "thug." Barnard, 28, was raised by his grandmother in Montford. His father was in and out of prison and his mother struggled with addiction.
As a teenager, he was drawn to the young men he saw selling drugs on the streets of his neighborhood. He liked their cars, their clothes, their jewelry and their wealth. "I didn't want to work for nothing," said Barnard. "I wanted the easy money." Read more here. The new sign says "Asheville rocks"ASHEVILLE - The billboard that sparked reaction around the nation came down Tuesday and was replaced with a message to thank the supporters of a downtown jewelry store.
The new ad says, "Asheville rocks." The "o" is a sparkling diamond. "We are sorry if we offended anybody, we did have thousands more supporters than we have people who were offended so we wanted to thank our supporters," Eva-Michelle Spicer, co-owner of Spicer Greene Jewelers, told the Citizen-Times. Read more here. ASHEVILLE – The new Arthur R. Edington Education and Career Center, a training site for green jobs, will be dedicated in a public event this week. A tour of the facility will be offered after the ceremony, which starts at noon Saturday.
Housed in the former W.C. Reid Center, 133 Livingston St., the Asheville Housing Authority recently renovated the building and renamed it to honor Arthur R. Edington, former principal of the Livingston Street School. Partners envision the center will be a place where people from the surrounding neighborhoods will have access to education, job training, support services and other resources, strengthening residents' self-sufficiency and empowerment, reported the Asheville Housing Authority in a press release. Read more here. |
Beth WaltonWriter, World Traveler, Mother. These are my stories. Archives
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