Incumbent Says His Work With the City Is Not Done Yet

Click title for story link.

What Did MyRegion.org Do With All That State CSX Money?

Click title for story link.

Hey Orlando, Get Your Act Together

Click title to story link. You may have seen that US Secretary of Transportation, Ray Lahood supposedly said recently that Florida won't get high speed rail money unless the state senate agrees to CSX's blackmail payment, eerrr, Sunrail deal.

High Speed Rail Public Information Meeting

On Wednesday, September 16th, the Florida Department of Transportation will hold a High Speed Rail Public Information Meeting at The Lakeland Center, Sikes Hall K, 701 West Lime Street in Lakeland. The “Open House” meeting format will begin at 4:00 p.m. and conclude at 7:00 p.m. For those of you who are interested in learning more about High Speed Rail and/or showing your support for this project, I encourage you to attend this meeting. Meeting Details: · Polk County Public Information Meeting: Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m., The Lakeland Center, Sikes Hall K, 701 West Lime Street, Lakeland.

Senator Paula Dockery Nixes SunRail Again Today.

Visit With Dyer & Vested Special Interests Fails To Sway Dockery. Dockery Denounces Attempts To Bring Up Rail Boondoggle In Special Session. September 3, 2009 Letter from Senator Paula Dockery to the Florida Senate. – Today, as a courtesy to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, I met with him and other SunRail proponents for a brief presentation and tour of the proposed commuter-rail project. While the meeting was friendly and informative, what I saw was largely their desire for extensive redevelopment along the rail corridor. What I didn’t see was any movement by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) toward renegotiating the terrible terms of this deal with CSX Transportation. After the Senate rejected SB 1212 last May, FDOT and CSX agreed to extend the contract deadline suggesting changes would be made. Since then, however, nothing has changed. CSX has not agreed to changes in the language of SB 1212, which would require that we, the taxpayers of Florida, “assume by contract to forever protect, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless a railroad company (or its successors) from whom the department has acquired a rail corridor, and its officers, agents, and employees, from and against any liability, cost, or expense contractually assumed by the department or contractually apportioned to it, regardless of whether the loss, damage, destruction, injury, or death giving rise to any such liability, cost, or expense is caused in whole or in part and to whatever nature or degree by the fault, failure, negligence, misconduct, nonfeasance, or misfeasance of such railroad company (or its successors) or its or their officers, agents, and employees, or any other person or persons whomsoever.” Nor has FDOT renegotiated with CSX to reduce the costs of this $2.66 billion dollar project, which actually amounts to a freight subsidy for one of the most profitable railroad operators in the country. Nothing was presented to me to demonstrate that the CSX/FDOT deal for commuter rail is anything more than a poorly negotiated contract that would impose a tremendously unjustified and unnecessary additional tax burden on already over-taxed Floridians. Sunrail supporters are already campaigning to bring up this unconscionable attempt to transfer the cost for CSX’s negligent acts to beleaguered Florida taxpayers in a possible special session. Given that the fundamentals have not changed since session ended, there is nothing new for the Senate to consider. Senator Paula Dockery Doug Guetzloe Host, The Guetzloe Report www.guetzloe.com Talk Radio Big AM 810 WEUS AM Radio show call-in number: (407) 774-1085 Weekdays 11:00-Noon EST Streaming audio at www.Guetzloe.com 'listen live' GUETZLOE MEDIA GROUP, Inc. P. O. Box 531101 Orlando, FL 32853 (407) 312-1781 - phone (407) 895-8331 - telefax dougguetzloe@guetzloe.com Nick EgoroffCause Creator

SunRail supporters look at Amtrak to get the train moving

Click title for story link ORLANDO – After twice watching the Florida Legislature reject funding for a local commuter rail system, supporters of the project are turning to the federal stimulus package in the hopes of reviving the SunRail line, only this time they’re taking a different approach. “We’re trying a new model,” said U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando. Since the state’s agreement with CSX to purchase the tracks died in June, Grayson said Central Florida’s congressional delegation has been pursuing a new idea. “The Florida legislature essentially vetoed SunRail,” Grayson said of the commuter rail line that would have run from Deland in Volusia County to downtown Orlando, and then ended in Poinciana. “The result of that is the people most involved in this, we are looking to see if we can get Amtrak to pick it up and run with it.”

Backroom deals

Click title for story link. Just when you thought the Florida Legislature couldn't look any more out of control, along comes Sen. J.D. Alexander. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, is chairman of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee. As such, he is the chief budget writer in the Senate and one of the most powerful people in Tallahassee. So when he offered a last-minute amendment to Senate Bill 2080 on April 29, no one objected or even questioned it.

Storms Recounts CSX Battle for Panel

Click title for story link. By Bill RuftyLedger POLITICAL EDITOR LAKELAND Sen. Ronda Storms held members of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce almost spellbound Thursday with a passionate description of the battle over CSX in this year's state Legislature. Complete with sound effects, the Valrico Republican told how she and Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, worked to defeat a bill that would have held the railroad company blameless for certain accidents if the state bought tracks from CSX for use in a commuter rail system.

Power Player of The Week

Click the title and watch the video. Senator Paula Dockery was named Power Player of The Week. http://www.sayfiereview.com/index.php?doDate=20090505

CSX Haven Project to Be Delayed

Click title for story link. (Didn't CSX and the City of Winter Haven say these two projects weren't connected?) By Tom PalmerTHE LEDGER Published: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 9:12 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 9:12 p.m. WINTER HAVEN The combination of the economic downturn and the failure of commuter rail legislation in the Florida Legislature will delay construction of the CSX freight rail terminal in Winter Haven, CSX spokesman Gary Sease said this week.

Internet Site Gives Lakeland Plenty

Click title for story link. By ROSEMARY GOUDREAU Published: Friday, April 10, 2009 at 1:32 a.m. Last Modified: Friday, April 10, 2009 at 1:32 a.m. Readers of The Ledger's two articles about my contract with the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority might think that downtown landowners got next to nothing for their money ["City Board Shells Out $40K for Very Little," March 14, page B1, and "City Bypassed Bidding Rule for Internet Site," March 29, front page]. Please allow me to set the record straight about the work I've done on behalf of downtown Lakeland, which faces life-altering changes should the state close the pending deal with CSX railroad.AC = --> First, some background. Until November, I was the editorial page editor of The Tampa Tribune, where I wrote and edited a series of editorials about the terrible terms of the CSX deal, the most expensive rail sale in U.S. history.

Winner and loser of the week

Click title for story link. Winner of the week: State Sen. Paula Dockery. It’s mainly through the sheer doggedness and determination of the Lakeland Republican that approval for the 61.5-mile SunRail commuter rail project near Orlando looks anything but certain more than halfway through the legislative session. Up against legions of SunRail supporters, Dockery has been relentless in raising questions about the deal.

SunRail foe kicking our butts

Click title for story link. I'm a choo-choo guy. But still I can admire the way Sen. Paula Dockery of Lakeland is kicking our butts on SunRail. She led the charge to kill it last year. She has even odds of doing so again this year.Watching her take on our local legislators is watching a woman among boys. "My objective is not to derail it but renegotiate it," she says of the deal. "But nobody is interested in renegotiating it."

SunRail friends, foes turn up the volume

Click title for story link. State legislators got two very different samples of public opinion on the $1.2 billion SunRail commuter rail proposal that awaits a key Senate vote Wednesday. First thing Monday morning, the project's leading opponent in the Capitol, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, e-mailed her Senate colleagues a summary of critical editorials in 10 different newspapers all over the state (the pro-SunRail Orlando Sentinel did not make Dockery's cut-and-paste piece, which she headlined "Florida Newspapers Say No to SunRail deal.") See Dockery's full e-mail here.

City Bypassed Bidding Rule for Internet Site

Didn't the City of Lakeland beg for help in the beginning? Click title for story link. LAKELAND The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority ignored city purchasing policy when it awarded a $42,500 contract to a Tampa woman to produce a Web site opposing a state rail plan. Anne Furr, executive director of Lakeland Downtown Development Authority Click to enlarge Jim Verplanck "It should have been bid," city Purchasing Manager Mark Raiford recently told The Ledger about the contract, awarded late last year. The city's purchasing rules call for competitive bidding on goods or services costing more than $1,500. That didn't happen in the case of the deal made with Rosemary Goudreau. And the LDDA board paid Goudreau $40,000 even though the Web site was never completed. The site was to oppose a state plan to buy railway from CSX for use as a commuter rail line. The LDDA is concerned that would send more trains through downtown Lakeland.

SunRail Lobbying Continues

Click title for story link. Backers of the planned SunRail commuter train that would run through Central Florida sent a letter to state Senate President Jeff Atwater Monday extolling the virtues of the $1.2 billion project. Signed by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty -- among others -- the two-page letter touts the anticipated economic benefits of the train, which would run along 61.5 miles of track from DeLand in Volusia County through downtown Orlando to Poinciana in Osceola County.

Breaking Through The CSX No-fault Impasse

By James McGovern and Timothy Murray The Herald News Posted Mar 27, 2009 @ 05:35 PM Fall River — A historic agreement that would improve and extend the commonwealth’s rail system for both passenger and freight service, and boost the economy of the region, has been stalled for months because of an unreasonable demand for no-fault liability from CSX, the national railroad serving Massachusetts. A new federal report examining the issue, however, exposes the weakness of CSX’s position and should help break through this impasse.The deal at stake holds the future for commuter rail service west of Boston and to the SouthCoast region around. The agreement involves the rail line from Allston to the MassPort terminals in South Boston, and the Grand Junction, the line that crosses the Charles River near Boston University which is the only north-to-south freight rail connection through the city. This agreement, announced in principle last fall, also calls for raising the bridge clearance at railroad crossings west of Boston so freight trains can roll through the state with two containers stacked on each flatbed. Double-stacking will significantly expand the capacity of the system and make it more cost-effective. That’s good for CSX and for companies that ship goods by rail. It’s good for motorists and the environment because fewer trucks on the road eases congestion and improves air quality. And it helps the regional economy because Massachusetts is the rail gateway for New England. About 40-precent of all rail traffic in the six-state region flows through Massachusetts.We have come to agreement on all major elements of this plan, except the question of liability after the state buys the rail lines in question from CSX. The issue is who should be responsible for damages if there is an accident involving freight and passenger trains. CSX demands that it have no liability for an accident, even if it is the sole cause of that accident. Throughout our negotiations with CSX, the company has asserted that this no-fault provision is the industry standard, but that turns out to be incorrect.Because other states are also grappling with this same no-fault issue, Congress asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to examine the question. The GAO report, released March 26, dispels the notion that no-fault liability, even in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, is the industry standard. In fact, there is no industry standard.The GAO report describes a hodgepodge of agreements across the country, with varying combinations of liability provisions. Furthermore, the GAO report cites a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals that found “it was against public policy to indemnify for gross negligence and willful misconduct because this could undermine rail safety.” That’s just commonsense, and our efforts in Massachusetts should be guided by the simple notion that people and companies are responsible for their own actions.Think of it this way: a tractor trailer truck speeding out of control on Route 128, its driver drunk and barely conscious after logging 36 straight hours on the road, slams into a school bus. Who is at fault? Who pays for the damages? Under CSX’s view of the world, the truck driver (assuming he lives) and the trucking company would walk away scot-free, with all the damages paid by the state highway department.Clearly this is an absurd scenario, but it is what CSX is asking for with no-fault liability, even in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct. No-fault is bad public policy. It undermines the basis of our justice system and it creates an environment where the freight railroads would have no incentive to maintain safe equipment and operating procedures.Today, the passenger-freight liability arrangement between the state and CSX is mixed. On the lines CSX still owns, they demand no-fault. But every day CSX runs its trains over tracks already owned by the state (MBTA) and on those tracks there is a fault-based liability arrangement, with each party taking on the responsibility to pay for damages if it is at fault.That policy should stay in place if and when the state takes ownership of the tracks. At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want to see our freight and passenger rail systems thrive and grow. To do so, however, will require the parties to come together and work in a spirit of true partnership. It will require the federal government to act and set a true national standard for these liability arrangements. And it will take the state’s resolve to use all the legal tools at its disposal to break this impasse and complete the rail plan which holds so much promise for the economic and community development of our state and New England.Timothy Murray is Massachusetts’ lieutenant governor. James McGovern is a U.S. Congressman representing the Third Congressional District.

Will state's deal with CSX be a train wreck?

Click title for story link. By Bill ThompsonStaff writer Published: Monday, March 30, 2009 at 6:30 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 10:32 p.m. Seven years ago, a speeding northbound Amtrak passenger train derailed in Putnam County, killing four people and injuring more than 140 of the nearly 500 riders on board.AC = --> .art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; } Investigators determined the April 2002 accident was caused by shoddy maintenance and improper stabilization of a section of the tracks, owned by CSX Transportation. As a result, Amtrak paid $12 million in damages related to that crash near Crescent City, according to an October 2004 article by The New York Times. The article noted that some claims were still outstanding two and a half years later. The Times also reported that CSX did not pay one dime, even though the multibillion-dollar company was responsible.

Commuter Rail Proposal Stagnates

Click title for story link. By LINDSAY PETERSON lpeterson@tampatrib.com Published: March 31, 2009 TALLAHASSEE - With only a month left in the state legislative session, the going has gotten slow for Central Florida's commuter rail project. A bill with a key liability agreement won't come up for at least two weeks in the next Senate committee scheduled to hear it. At the same time, the head of the U.S. House Transportation Committee has called signing such agreements an "unacceptable practice." The comments from U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., came in response to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report about the arrangements that governments make when they buy freight railroads for public use. In Florida's case, the state plans to give CSX Transportation $432 million for 61 miles of the track that runs through downtown Orlando. The track would be used for a commuter system, called SunRail.

Train Activity Will Increase

Click title for story link. By LAURA KINSLER lkinsler@tampatrib.com Published: March 26, 2009 DADE CITY - Dade City will see a 50 percent increase in freight train traffic even if the state's commuter rail deal with CSX falls apart, a rail executive told city commissioners. Commissioners called a special workshop this week with officials from the Florida Department of Transportation and rail giant CSX to discuss how the proposed SunRail project would affect Dade City. The Florida Legislature is considering a proposal to buy 61 miles of CSX tracks for the state's first commuter rail line in Orlando. The project would require CSX to reroute more than a dozen freight trains from the A-line to the S-line, which travels through town, on their way to a massive new rail hub in Winter Haven.