At first glance, Buddy Dyer and Rich Crotty look like the typical GOP (Good Old Politician) mayors of Orlando and Orange County, respectively. In fact, they could be the new personification of a familiar idea that is long overdue, making Central Florida a greener and cleaner transportation hub. Hence, by definition, they are worthy of the "avatar" label.
Both Dyer and Crotty were behind initiatives to establish a high-speed rail link between Tampa and Orlando, potentially making the I-4 corridor less congested with polluting cars and prospectively serving as a magnet for economic activity and jobs. That promise came closer to reality recently when President Obama announced in Tampa that the Central Florida project would receive $1.25 billion in federal stimulus funds to get the link up and running.The high-speed rail line is expected to generate 23,000 jobs and should stimulate technology transfers for new industrial development along and beyond its tracks.
The separate SunRail commuter train project slated to start construction before the end of the year also has their vigorous support as a job generator that will take polluting cars off the roads between suburban communities and downtown Orlando. The politicos are exploring how the two train systems can be hooked up for even greater advantage for Central Florida.
Of seemingly lesser importance, but still another forward-thinking transportation move, was the mayors Dyer and Crotty recent show of support for electric car charging stations around Orlando. Nissan will launch its all electric car, the Leaf, in the U.S. some time this year and Orlando will be one of its first markets.
Such initiatives are sorely needed in a state that lags behind the nation in economic recovery and employment. "Blog-o-namics," a regular posting of Orlando Sentinel reporter Jim Stratton, who has been on point in reporting the jobs crisis in Florida, recently wrote:
"State forecasters have revised their projections for unemployment, saying Florida's jobless rate will peak at 12.3 percent sometime between July and September."
Experts are telling us that many of those lost jobs will never come back. The technology transfer associated with greener and cleaner transportation in Central Florida may pick up the slack by creating new employment opportunities. Immediately, the avatar mayors of Orlando and Orange County have pledged to add the electric cars to their fleets when it comes time to replace vehicles. That's a good start.
And, That's That...
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Congress is snowed
The weather outside is frightful. If anyone doubts that severe climate change induced by global warming is real, just open the window. You have freezing temperatures as far south as Central Florida and snow had to be trucked into Vancouver, Canada for the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, heavy rains cause massive mug slides in California and a blizzard whites out much of the rest of the nation.
Still, the naysayers ask, "where's Al Gore's global warming now?" There is no point in explaining the correlation to politicians who have a different agenda and can't deal with change of any kind.
In the nation's capital the federal government was closed down and Congress took a snow week, which is probably a good thing given the recent performance of lawmakers. Obviously, the lobbyists who play Congress all the time, where able to make it into work. Their hot air cuts through any obstacle, including blizzard conditions.
You can see their footprint on hung-up legislation to overhaul the student loan program and end subsidies to private lenders and to rewrite financial regulations that would protect consumers and encourage lending to small business. Everywhere you turn in the halls of Congress you see the shadowy profile of big financial institutions that want to maintain unreasonable profits and bonuses reflected on the walls.
When the sun starts warming things up again, the shadows will hopefully disappear, like melting snowmen, and Congress can accomplish what needs to be done to get our economy moving in the right direction to stimulate jobs.
And, That's That...
Still, the naysayers ask, "where's Al Gore's global warming now?" There is no point in explaining the correlation to politicians who have a different agenda and can't deal with change of any kind.
In the nation's capital the federal government was closed down and Congress took a snow week, which is probably a good thing given the recent performance of lawmakers. Obviously, the lobbyists who play Congress all the time, where able to make it into work. Their hot air cuts through any obstacle, including blizzard conditions.
You can see their footprint on hung-up legislation to overhaul the student loan program and end subsidies to private lenders and to rewrite financial regulations that would protect consumers and encourage lending to small business. Everywhere you turn in the halls of Congress you see the shadowy profile of big financial institutions that want to maintain unreasonable profits and bonuses reflected on the walls.
When the sun starts warming things up again, the shadows will hopefully disappear, like melting snowmen, and Congress can accomplish what needs to be done to get our economy moving in the right direction to stimulate jobs.
And, That's That...
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