WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015
1:00PM – 6:00PM EST
AGENDA
I. Call to Order;... more
NEWS ABOUT ALL ABOARD FLORIDA
Published: Saturday, August 1, 2015 - 12:30pm
FLORIDA DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Published: Friday, July 31, 2015 - 9:30am
Issues with the St. Lucie, Loxatachee and New river train bridges have resulted in “unreasonable obstructions to navigation” that need to be “dramatically altered,” CARE’s attorney, Stephen Ryan, said in the letter.
Each of the bridges... more
Published: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - 11:30am
An attorney fighting the All Aboard Florida project is taking aim at a series of text messages between a representative of the rail company and the chairman of the state board that will decide whether the project receives $1.75 billion in tax... more
Published: Saturday, July 25, 2015 - 12:15pm
All Aboard Florida won preliminary approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation in December to issue $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds to help pay for its express-passenger rail line planned between Miami and Orlando. The... more
Published: Saturday, July 25, 2015 - 11:00am
We knew from the start of AAF’s quest for cheap, publicly financed capital that they work the inside deals and have millions to spend on lobbyists and public relations/advertising firms and here is a fine example of how this all pays off. ... more
Published: Monday, July 20, 2015 - 12:15pm
The state this week paid $3.2 million to a woman injured in a 2013 train crash in Bridgeport as part of the settlement in a federal lawsuit filed against the Metro-North Commuter Railroad.
The payment was noteworthy beyond the significant... more
Published: Monday, July 20, 2015 - 9:30am
Four tank cars leaked an estimated 35,000 gallons of oil after a train hauling fuel from North Dakota derailed in rural northeastern Montana, authorities said.
The spill marked the latest in a series of wrecks across the U.S. and Canada... more
Published: Saturday, July 11, 2015 - 10:15am
All Aboard Florida will not attend the next meeting of the Florida Development Finance Corp., tentatively scheduled for July 21 in Orlando, a company official said.
“AAF is not attending this meeting,” spokeswoman Lynn Martenstein said... more
Published: Thursday, July 9, 2015 - 3:15pm
PARENT COMPANY OF FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY MAKING CHANGES AFTER RECENT LOSSES AND INVESTOR WITHDRAWALS
Fortress Investment Group FIG -3.06 % LLC is shuffling the leadership of its flagship hedge fund on the heels of heavy recent losses... more
Published: Thursday, July 9, 2015 - 2:30pm
The Florida Development Finance Corp. has tentatively set a hearing for 2-3 p.m. July 21, during which All Aboard Florida’s request for $1.75 billion of private-activity bonds could be discussed.
According to the finance corporation’s... more
Published: Thursday, July 9, 2015 - 11:15am
Rear Admiral Scott A. Buschman, Commander
United States Coast Guard District Seven
Bridge Administration Branch
Brickell Plaza Federal Building
909 SE First Avenue
Miami, Florida 33131-3050
... more
Published: Thursday, July 2, 2015 - 11:15am
More than 5,000 residents were evacuated after a freight train carrying a "highly flammable and toxic gas" partly derailed and caught fire overnight just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, officials said.
Ten officers were hospitalized after... more
Published: Tuesday, June 30, 2015 - 9:45am
Martin County officials on Monday took aim at a draft federal study evaluating the impacts of the All Aboard Florida rail project, saying that the study grossly underestimated the number of boats that travel passed the St. Lucie River railroad... more
Published: Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 4:00pm
Matthew Cianfrani, Jensen Beach
Letter: A rolling oil spill, a rail disaster: the calamity that would be All Aboard Florida
I am a new resident of Martin County who chose this location for the quality of life and the forward... more
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 9:30am
All Aboard Florida on Friday received a six-month extension to sell $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds to help pay for its express-passenger rail project between Miami and Orlando.
Officials with the U.S. Department of... more
Published: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 10:00am
A group that describes itself as citizens who support All Aboard Florida is little more than a ghost.
Connecting Florida, which uses a Stuart address and claims to be a nonprofit organization, has sent out emails and fliers in the past... more
Published: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 9:45am
Liquid natural gas is poised to be either a best friend to Martin County residents, or its worst enemy.
The Fortress Investment Group-related liquified natural gas plant in Medley is nearing completion without any apparent... more
Published: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 7:45am
We have just begun to fight!
All is not lost… I hate to start this edition with that thought but a number of readers have contacted us with the misconception that our setback on the preliminary injunction was the end of the line. It wasn’... more
Published: Friday, June 19, 2015 - 2:15pm
The Coral Gables company behind the All Aboard Florida rail project has pitched a complicated road realignment and small land swap that would allow for an expansion of a major transportation hub planned in downtown, according to Miami’s city... more
Published: Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 10:45am
June 17, 2015 Dear Martin County citizen: As a subscriber to Martin County's general information email list, we thought you would be interested in receiving periodic updates on Martin County's activities related to the All... more
Published: Thursday, June 11, 2015 - 3:15pm
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. PETER M. ROGOFF, et al., Defendants. Case No. 1:15-cv-00460 (CRC)
MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. DEPARTMENT OF... more
Published: Thursday, June 11, 2015 - 10:30am
TCPALM
Here’s something to ponder the next time a freight train carrying flammable liquids rumbles through your community:
Emergency responders on the Treasure Coast don’t know what chemicals are being transported on the... more
Published: Thursday, June 11, 2015 - 10:30am
American LNG Marketing LLC was granted its second free trade agreement (FTA) authorization to export containerized liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Florida.
The latest authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is to export up... more
Published: Friday, June 5, 2015 - 3:15pm
TCPALM
If you’re looking for a work of fiction to invigorate the summer doldrums, I highly recommend the “All Aboard Florida Ridership and Revenue Study,” released last week by the rail company as part of its legal fight with... more
Published: Friday, June 5, 2015 - 2:00pm
The Florida Development Finance Corp. has postponed its June 10 meeting where it was to discuss All Aboard Florida’s request for $1.75 billion in tax exempt bonds.
Sean Helton, a spokesman for the FDFC, said travel logistics “created... more
Published: Thursday, June 4, 2015 - 1:30pm
All Aboard Florida’s conceptual plan for a rail-side apartment tower would rise 23 floors above Evernia Street, with 275 rentals in a moderate price range.
The project’s broad outlines, revealed in an open house for local residents... more
Published: Thursday, June 4, 2015 - 1:30pm
The other day I took the Northeast regional Amtrak train from D.C. to New York City, got out and took the next train back.
I spent $146 to see just how bumpy the tracks on the publicly funded rail system are (very). And I wanted to think... more
Published: Thursday, June 4, 2015 - 1:15pm
The fight against All Aboard Florida played out in an austere Washington D.C. courthouse today, in a hearing to decide whether the passenger rail project will get $1.75 billion in tax exempt bonds.
The more than three-hour hearing... more
Published: Thursday, June 4, 2015 - 1:15pm
TCPALM
WASHINGTON, D.C. — All Aboard Florida will seek an extension from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the sale of $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds to finance its project, the company said in federal court here Friday morning... more
Published: Tuesday, June 2, 2015 - 2:30pm
MIAMI NEW TIMES
So you've heard about All Aboard Florida, the private railroad line that will connect Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach to Orlando set to be completed in 2017. Perhaps you've imagined one day ditching your car in... more
Published: Tuesday, June 2, 2015 - 1:30pm
Executive Summary
Introduction
Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. (FECI) commissioned The Louis Berger Group, Inc. (LBG) to develop an investment grade ridership and revenue forecast for the re-introduction of passenger... more
Published: Saturday, May 30, 2015 - 10:15am
TCPALM
Weeds and plants obscure the small brown “Trans-Florida Central Railroad” sign on 102nd Terrace from view, so nature-lovers and hiking enthusiasts might not see it. Nor might they realize the historical significance of the quiet,... more
Published: Saturday, May 30, 2015 - 8:00am
The fight against All Aboard Florida played out in an austere Washington D.C. courthouse today, in a hearing to decide whether the passenger rail project will get $1.75 billion in tax exempt bonds.
The more than three-hour hearing... more
Published: Friday, May 29, 2015 - 8:00am
Lisa Broadt - TCPalm
All Aboard Florida’s last-minute attempt to enter a much-anticipated ridership survey into court documents should be rejected, according to papers filed by Martin County late Thursday.
“AAF has offered no... more
Published: Friday, May 29, 2015 - 3:00am
Lisa Broadt - TCPalm
All Aboard Florida will seek an extension from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the sale of $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds to finance its project, the company said in federal court here Friday morning.... more
Published: Thursday, May 28, 2015 - 8:45pm
1. Despite the fact that All Aboard Florida would significantly improve the railway by enhancing the safety of existing tracks, grade crossings and by installing state-of-the-art technology, Martin County does not want AAF’s project to go forward... more
Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - 8:15pm
1. Martin County’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction should be denied because DOT’s allocation of $1.7 billion in private activity bonds was legally proper. 26 U.S.C. Section 142(m)(1)(A) provides that private activity bonds may be allocated for... more
Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - 12:45pm
From planes to trains: Robert Crandall joins opposition to All Aboard.
Crandall, a winter resident of... more
Published: Sunday, May 24, 2015 - 7:00am
MIAMI HERALD All Aboard Florida, also known as the Boondoggle Express, is having public-relations problems.
Skepticism, anger and legal challenges stand in the path of the 16 passenger trains that are fancifully scheduled to run daily... more
Published: Friday, May 22, 2015 - 2:45pm
Published: Thursday, May 21, 2015 - 5:30pm
By Phyllis Frey
Brevard County BOCC May 12, 2015
As a retired FAA Safety Check Airman, I would like to discuss safety issues with regard to AAF and Florida East Coast Railways as an appeal not to your sense of fear, but to your... more
Published: Thursday, May 21, 2015 - 4:45pm
Is there a more absurd technology than positive train control, which Congress imposed as an unfunded mandate on railroads in... more
Published: Thursday, May 21, 2015 - 4:30pm
The town council unanimously voted Tuesday to oppose issuing the bonds needed to build the controversial All Aboard Florida railroad between Orlando and Miami. They join Tequesta, Jupiter Island, Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie in their opposition... more
Published: Thursday, May 21, 2015 - 4:30pm
Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 1:45pm
Whether All Aboard Florida is eligible to receive $1.75 billion in tax exempt bonds could come down to whether it has benefited from federal transportation money already.
In hundreds of pages of court documents filed late Friday, All... more
Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 1:30pm
Martin County should put up its own financial stake — to the tune of a $50 million bond — if it wants to gamble with the future of southeast Florida transportation, according to court documents filed by All Aboard Florida and the U.S. Department... more
Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 1:15pm
National Journal Thirty-nine minutes into his southbound ride from Wilmington, Delaware, to Washington, D.C., Joseph H. Boardman, president and CEO of... more
Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 1:15pm
ALL ABOARD FLORIDA DEBATE IN STUART TODAY - TOWN HALL 6-8 PM - PLEASE ATTEND AND VOICE YOUR OPINION.
Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 12:45pm
Can't attend - send your questions in advance here:http://www.cityofstuart.us/index.php/help/contact-us
A railroad vice president and anti-rail expansion activists... more