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July 2016

AN OPEN LETTER TO TCPALM

TO THE TCPALM:

Maybe this will give you some indication as to why the county needs to hire consultants now and again. Of course, they could not worry about the lives of residents or our environment and just toss these reports and forget about it. Fortunately, a strong majority of taxpayers want the county to use every means possible to stop the trains including the legal efforts. So much so, that they’ve given their hard earned dollars to private organizations to help even more. (Oh right, you’ve noticed this.)

BRIGHTLINE RAIL SERVICE MAY EXTEND TO JACKSONVILLE

Mike Seemuth - therealdeal.com

The company that is preparing to launch passenger rail service next year between Miami and Orlando via Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach eventually may extend the service to Jacksonville.

All Aboard Florida (AAF), which expects to launch its Brightline passenger rail service by mid-2017, has formed an affiliated company called AAF Jacksonville Segment LLC.

OUR EFFORTS AGAINST ALL ABOARD FLORIDA HAVE BEEN WORTHWHILE

TCPALM editorial by Martin County Commissioner John Haddox.

It is impossible to live in Martin County these days and not be horrified at the devastating effects the toxic algae is having on our residents' health, economy and way of life.

However, an equally ominous threat is the All Aboard Florida passenger rail project.

HOW PRIVATE EQUITY FOUND POWER AND PROFIT IN STATE CAPITOLS

NEW YORK TIMES - BEN PROTESS, JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG and RACHEL ABRAMS

Since the 2008 financial crisis, Fortress and other private equity firms have rapidly expanded their influence, assuming a pervasive, if under-the-radar, role in daily American life, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Sophisticated political maneuvering — including winning government contracts, shaping public policy and deploying former public officials to press their case — is central to this growth.

NEW YORK TIMES INVESTIGATIVE REPORT OF ALL ABOARD FLORIDA

NEW YORK TIMES: BEN PROTESS, JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG and RACHEL ABRAMS

Since the 2008 financial crisis, Fortress and other private equity firms have rapidly expanded their influence, assuming a pervasive, if under-the-radar, role in daily American life, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Sophisticated political maneuvering — including winning government contracts, shaping public policy and deploying former public officials to press their case — is central to this growth.

TRAIN CRASH IN ITALY LEAVES AT LEAST 20 DEAD AND DOZENS INJURED

NEW YORK TIMES - GAIA PIANGIANI

Two passenger trains collided head-on in the Puglia region of southern Italy on Tuesday morning, killing at least 20 people, according to local officials, and leaving dozens injured.

The crash occurred around 11:30 a.m. on a single track running through an olive grove between the towns of Corato and Ruvo di Puglia, said the spokesman, Luca Cari of the Vigili del Fuoco, a part of the Interior Ministry that handles fire and rescue services. The closest major city is Bari, about 20 miles east of Ruvo di Puglia.

MOVE ALL THAT FREIGHT TRAFFIC WEST AND LEAVE TREASURE COAST UNSPOILED

Brenda McCarthy of Vero Beach

 

It has long been my contention that freight is the cause of this nonsense. Passenger trains are a flash in the pan that will not last.

The Panama Canal has been widened, deepened and modernized. The Port of Miami has had extensive work done recently. Even Fort Pierce is facing work at the inlet and harbor. A "freight depot" perhaps for Fort Pierce?

WOMAN STRUCK BY TRAIN IN WEST PALM BEACH

WPBF ABC News

A woman was rushed to St. Mary’s Medical Center Wednesday morning after colliding with an Amtrak train at the railroad crossing at 25th street and Windsor Avenue in West Palm Beach. 

The woman has been identified as Tairia Lee, 24, of Riviera Beach.

Twenty-fifth Street was closed between Australian Avenue and Tamarind Avenue while West Palm Beach police investigated. 

The train was loaded with passengers when the crash happened.

Lee remains in critical condition, authorities said.

REMAINS OF TWO FOUND FROM TEXAS TRAIN CRASH, ONE STILL MISSING

ABC NEWS - EMILY SHAPIRO

The remains of two of the three railroad employees who went missing during a fiery crash between freight trains have been recovered, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway said today.

The third missing employee is still unaccounted for, the railway said. Recovery efforts for the missing employee are continuing, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Four BNSF employees were involved when the two trains collided Tuesday morning near Panhandle, Texas.